Please review the following key information/requests for instructors of MiraCosta spring online and/or hybrid classes:
1. Online Class Schedule – Please Update!
It’s time to update the MiraCosta Online Course Schedule. It is VERY important that you complete this. Students use this information during registration and after enrolling to find out more about your class(es). Students have been learning about this resource during the Student Orientation to Online Learning and appreciate having more details about online and hybrid classes.
Providing clear, detailed information helps students (a) determine if your class is right for them, and (b) get ready for success in your course. For fully online classes, students may be anxious about how they are expected to get started. For hybrid classes, students want to know what the expectations are for in-person meetings and/or proctoring. Please add this information! Some instructors include details such as how much time students should expect to commit, what days work will be due for online classes, and/or what course materials are required.
Lisa Lane from the Program for Online Teaching has developed a video tutorial (https://youtu.be/appOsmmRKDU) to demonstrate the process. Or follow these directions:
To Update an Online Class Information Page
- Go to the Online Course Schedule
- Click the Faculty Login link at the top right, and log in with your MCC username and password
- In the left menu, click on the + symbol to the left of Faculty Preferences (if the + symbol is displaying)
- In the left menu, click on Set Preferences (be patient, may take a few moments)
- Select the Term if necessary, and then select your class.
- If you have information from previous classes, you may copy it to the current class, or provide new information.
- Click the Set/Update Preferences button at bottom. A message appears toward the top, “Your preferences have been set for this course.”
- You may close the window, or choose a new class to update.
The sooner you complete this, the better – spring registration began today!
2. New Online Tutoring Option – Consider for your Class
MiraCosta students have multiple online tutoring options available to them. A new one available in spring 2016 for MiraCosta students in distance education classes is NetTutor, which will be available to MiraCosta as a CCC Online Education Initiative pilot college.
NetTutor provides 24×7 coverage of just about any academic subject, and is available via a link embedded within your class course management system environment (Blackboard or Moodle). The link would take students directly to the subject-specific tutoring area with no additional login required. Also with NetTutor, each instructor may specify “Rules of Engagement” that inform tutors about the approach and resources you would like them to use when working with your students.
If you are interested in implementing NetTutor in any of your spring distance education classes, or would like to hear more about MiraCosta’s online tutoring options, please contact me.
3. Online Teaching Conference – Be a Presenter?
The Online Teaching Conference will again be in San Diego this June (6/16-17). My office will pay for conference attendance for all MiraCosta presenters. Submit your proposal by Friday, November 20, 2015!
Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education
