Fall 2014 Workshops

These workshops were held during Flex Week – Fall 2014

Fall 2014 Workshops

New for Fall 2014 – a 3-day, 15-workshop sequence in collaboration with the Program for Online Teaching to support current and interested online teachers! Sign up for any and all of these workshops via My Flex. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided each day courtesy of the Dean of Math and Sciences, the office of Online Education, and PDP.

DAY 1: Laying the Foundation – Friday 8/8/14

8:30-9:00 Continental Breakfast served in OC 4800 courtyard
9-9:50, OC 4804 Effective Internet Use with Chrome – J. Julius
In this interactive workshop, participants will begin by exploring important concepts and terminology on the workings of the Internet. With this foundation, participants will learn how to more effectively use the Chrome web browser to efficiently and securely search for, access, and organize web-based resources.
10-10:50, OC 4804 Blackboard Basics – K. Korstad
Get the key information needed to get up and running in Blackboard. With Blackboard, instructors create and manage course content, use publisher content, evaluate performance, and communicate with students. This workshop will introduce you to the fundamental course building and communications tools in Blackboard.
11-11:50, OC 4802 AP 4105: Requirements for MiraCosta Distance Ed– J. Julius
MiraCosta AP 4105 was adopted in 2013 and provides significant institutional expectations of all MiraCosta faculty teaching online and hybrid classes. This workshop will briefly provide background on federal, state, and accreditor requirements that AP 4105 addresses. More importantly, the workshop will explore the key elements of AP 4105 – regular effective contact, academic integrity, monitoring student progress, frequent and timely feedback, and student authentication. Participants will consider practical examples of how these requirements are fulfilled in various ways that MiraCosta faculty design and teach online classes.
12-12:50, Lunch served in OC 4800 courtyard
1-1:50, OC 4802 Foundational Principles for Online Course Design – J. Julius
The online environment has advantages and challenges for teaching and learning compared to a traditional classroom. Developing and teaching online and hybrid classes provides an opportunity to revisit, broaden, and deepen our pedagogies. Participants in this workshop will explore, in a very practical way, some of the most highly regarded, widely used, research-based principles and tools for effective online teaching.
2-3:20, OC 4804 Blackboard Grade Center – K. Korstad
The Grade Center in Blackboard Learn is more than just a way to record student grades. It is a dynamic and interactive tool, allowing you to record data, calculate grades, monitor student progress, and provide feedback. Come learn why the Grade Center is consistently rated as one of the most important Blackboard tools by both students and faculty.

DAY 2: Building the Online Class – Monday 8/11/14

9-9:30 Continental Breakfast served in OC 4800 courtyard
9:30-10:20, OC 4802 Options for Organizing Your Online Class – L. Lane (POT)
Organizing your class is the first step in creating a good online experience for yourself and your students. Discover how the strengths of your own pedagogy, and the learning objectives you have for your students, can translate into a course structure that works. A Program for Online Teaching workshop.
10:30 -11:20, OC 4802 Options for Your Online Class Materials – J. Julius & J. Paris
One of the many opportunities of online teaching is to reconsider your course materials. This workshop will help you better understand the options available to you, which go far beyond publisher resources. Learn more about high-quality digital resources available through the MiraCosta library, as well as the best sources for free open educational resources (OER). Explore low cost digital and print-on-demand alternatives to traditional textbooks as well. This workshop will also provide guidelines for creating your own digital course materials in the most typical formats – text documents, PowerPoints, and screencasts. This workshop will also consider how these various resources can be integrated into your online class.
11:30-12:20, OC 4802 Hot Topics in Online Education – J. Julius, P. Perry & R. Erichsen
When teaching online, questions often arise about rules, rights, and responsibilities of the instructor. While MiraCosta’s AP 4105 speaks to some of these areas, a number of others are also important and can be tricky. This workshop will explore the black, white, and gray areas of copyright and fair use; intellectual property of faculty and students; student privacy and FERPA; and ensuring accessibility of course materials and activities (also known as “508 compliance”). Participants will learn not only what these topics mean and why they are important for all online teachers to consider, but also practical ways to approach them and do the right thing.
12:30-1:20, Lunch served in OC 4800 courtyard
1:30-2:50, OC 4804 Screen casting for Educators – R. Kelley & L. Paciorek (POT)
Don’t just tell your online students – show them! You can record and share with your students whatever you wish to display on your computer screen, while you are talking about it (e.g. using a microphone). Screen casting is a great way to share mini-lecturettes, make quick replies to students, demonstrate a method, or provide students with feedback on their assignments/quizzes. Importantly, you’ll get hands on experience with how to do this easily and for free! We’ll focus on learning the basics of Screencast-O-Matic. You’ll learn how to share your screencasts either as a URL link or how to embed the video directly within your course (e.g. using Bb or Moodle). Other screen casting tools will also be shown. We’ll also cover options for closed captioning your course materials.
7-8:20 pm, Online Blackboard Quizzes, Tests, and Surveys – K. Korstad
This workshop is an introduction to creating and deploying tests, quizzes, and surveys in Blackboard. You will learn how to create a test utilizing different question types and make it available for students using deployment options including: date restrictions, number of attempts, time limit, exceptions, feedback options, randomizing question and response order, and pulling questions from pools and existing tests. The Respondus tool to create and manage questions outside of Blackboard will also be introduced. Access info for the online workshop: Link to CCCConfer | Phone audio (if not using computer audio): (888) 886-3951 | Passcode: 336526

DAY 3 – Inhabiting the Online Class – Tuesday 8/12

8:30-9:00 Continental Breakfast served in OC 4800 courtyard
9-9:50, OC 4802 Starting Strong in Your Online Class – J. Julius & J. Carrubba
Online student success begins even before the semester starts. Prospective and enrolled students want to know the expectations for your online class and how to get started. Providing the critical information about your class and involving students right away is important. Having a useful syllabus in place, creating a personal introduction, setting an engaging tone, and launching an initial activity to get students engaged and connected all are important contributors to a strong start to a great semester. Sharing your insights and expectations for how students can succeed as online learners in your class is also vital. This workshop will provide tips and resources for how to accomplish all of this in your online class.
10-10:50, OC 4802 Effective Online Assessments – L. Moon (POT)
Creating effective assessments online means going beyond quizzes to assessments that can guide progress and provide opportunities for practice and feedback. Come explore ideas for various kinds of assessments that fulfill learning objectives and suit your pedagogy. A Program for Online Teaching workshop.
11-11:50, OC 4802 Engaging Online Discussions – B. Perry (POT)
Discussion and student-student interaction enhances learning and critical thinking, but can be difficult to structure. Explore the effective formats for discussion boards (including good questions, appropriate guidance and assessment), alternatives such as Skype and Hangouts, and good ways to use social media to enhance learning and interaction. A Program for Online Teaching workshop.
11:50-12:30, Lunch served in OC 4800 courtyard
12:30-1:20, OC 4802 Establishing Instructor Presence Online – L. Lane & L. Moon
Teaching online means teaching at a distance, not being distant. Explore ways online teachers can make their presence felt in their online class, through introductions, audio/visuals, communications with individual students, and participation with the whole class. In addition to tools for monitoring student progress and intervening early, the instructor’s own online persona and use of original material can create a helpful environment for students. A Program for Online Teaching workshop.
2:00-3:20, Online Online Assignment Tools: Blackboard & Turnitin – K. Korstad
Assignments in Blackboard allow faculty to receive digital submissions and/or file uploads of essays, PowerPoint, or other types of student assignments. In turn, faculty can provide various kinds of rich feedback to students through audio, text, and integrated marking. In this workshop we will explore two of the most popular assignment tools available in Bb – the built in Bb Assignment tool, and the 3rd party integrated Turnitin Assignment tool. Access info for the online workshop: Link to CCCConfer | Phone audio (if not using computer audio): (888) 886-3951 | Passcode: 397960

Additional Fall Flex Week Workshops on Teaching & Technology

8/11, 10-10:50, OC 3607 Spice Your Class with Socrative and InfuseLearning – P. Mendoza & M. Baca
Do you have trouble getting your students to participate and get involved in the material you are presenting? How about using their own electronic devices to engage them in your classes? In this workshop we will be sharing and helping you create fun activities and quizzes that increase participation. Come and explore these online tools: Socrative.com and InfuseLearning.com Please bring an electronic device if you can.
8/12, 9-9:50, OC 3607 Use or Overuse of Technology in Teaching? – R. Demeo
With pressure in using technology in teaching, should everything be virtual or is there an overload in using the world wide web? What is the balance between using the basic fundamentals of teaching and adapting to a virtual driven society? What might be an overload and what are advantages in using technology in teaching?
8/12, 1:30-2:20, OC 4802 Reflecting on Practice Through Blogging – L. Lane & L. Paciorek
When we reflect on the work we do, we become better teachers. Keeping a blog of these reflections is as easy as keeping a journal, especially since MiraCosta has its own installation of the best open source blogging platform, WordPress. Blogging isn’t about extensive writing (or even writing at all), nor being technologically savvy. It’s about every teacher’s need to reflect upon and share classroom triumphs and disappointments, explore new methods, and encourage others to do the same by interacting in an open environment. Flex will be available for this workshop and for extended hours throughout the semester, as we create a community. Suggestions will be shared for setting up your first blog, deciding topics to post about, and commenting on the work of others.
8/13, 1:30-2:20, OC 1201 Streaming Media Collections at MiraCosta College – J. Paris & K. Korstad
This workshop will introduce you to the thousands of online documentaries, instructional videos, and music files that can be streamed through the MiraCosta College Library collections. Participants will explore multiple collections and locate streaming media to enhance instruction. Facilitators will also assist participants with the technical aspects of embedding and streaming media within Blackboard & Moodle.
8/13, 2-2:50, OC 3606 APC – Easy as 1-2-3! – P. LeBlanc & L. Menuck
The Academic Proctoring Center provides a supervised and secure testing site for students enrolled in online courses with on-campus testing requirement, students referred by the Disabled Student Programs and Services department for extended time, students with a critical need who have their instructor’s authorization to take a make-up exam and students enrolled in courses at other colleges requiring proctored exams. We can assist you by coordinating exams for students that are enrolled in your online course but are located outside of San Diego County. Please join this workshop to learn about how the APC can help you and your students. If you are thinking about teaching an online class, but are concerned with the authenticity of student effort, come learn how the Academic Proctoring Center provides a secure, nationally recognized testing environment. Please join us to learn more about how easy it is to utilize our center! APC – Easy as 1-2-3!
8/13, 2-2:50, Online New @ MCC Library (Online!) – S. Deineh
8/14, 9-9:50, OC 1201 New @ MCC Library – P. Perry & G. Sipman
8/14, 1-1:50, SEC 107 New @ MCC Library – R. Ma & M. Kelly
In this useful workshop MiraCosta librarians will introduce new resources and services the library has for you and your students! Also, the age-old question “How many librarians does it take to change a light bulb?” will FINALLY be answered! This workshop will help faculty identify relevant library databases and services for their discipline. Upon completing this workshop, faculty will improve the quality of their course and research assignments by incorporating relevant resources.
8/14, 1:30-2:50, OC 4804 Google Docs – R. Kelley & L. Paciorek (POT)
Do you share documents and presentations with your students, by posting them online (e.g., syllabi, assignments, study guides, class presentations, etc)? What a great time saver if you could continue to easily edit those same documents from your computer, and they’d automatically update — in every location where they were posted (at all campuses and on all course management systems). Or imagine that you’d like to collaborate with a colleague, but don’t wish to keep sending file attachments back and forth? For your students, perhaps you assign group projects, and you’d like them to have the ability to jointly edit the same online document or presentation together. Google Docs makes all of this easy to achieve, and opens up new pedagogical possibilities. We’ll cover how Google Drive, Docs, and Presentations can benefit you as an educator – and provide you with hands on experience to get comfortable with the applications.
Sign up on My Flex. Online workshops require signup to receive the login information prior to the workshop. Online workshops will be archived and posted a few days after the live workshop.