Spring is in the air!

What you say? I am just finishing grading final exams!  But yes Spring Semester is less than a month away and preparations are underway.  Blackboard will be undergoing Maintenance 12//18 – 12/22 and will be unavailable. Click here to find out what’s new after maintenance. Instructions on course copy, merge sections can be found under Faculty Resources when you login to Blackboard or click here for 2017 to do list.

If you plan on recording using Mediasite contact your ITC, Tegrity is no longer available but Voice Thread is another option for student video and/or audio/video feedback.

As some of you are aware Turning Everywhere is available to all and it is a great tool to get student’s involved.

But if you are not ready to jump into Spring yet OET can help you close out your Fall Semester.

Questions just send your request.

 

Some VT Tips

Not sure what VT is?  That would be Voice Thread and I read an interesting article about using this tool which is available to all via Blackboard.

“Competency Based Education is really what every type of learning should really be. You want to make sure everybody’s competent. . .Whatever it is, you’ll know right away if its sunk in. So, you get that feedback from them and then you can give feedback to them, so it’s a loop that goes on. And that’s the core of what VT is; It’s a feedback tool. So, you can use it to deliver information but I think you’re really only going to find value when you start asking students to give that information back to you. And then you can assess them. So, it’s all formative assessment, it’s all feedback and it’s a two-way street that makes it really easy.” from this interview

Contact this office for a demonstration of this neat tool!

Some links

Guest Posting

Voice Thread

Voice Thread at ECU

Before I leave . . . (NCSAM)!

STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™: Simple Steps to Online Safety

Identity theft is one of the number one cyber crimes that occurs daily. Identity theft is the illegal use of someone else’s personal information (such as a Social Security number), most often used to obtain money or credit. Identity theft may take many years to fully recover from.

Phishing is one way to obtain information to commit identity theft. Phishing is a form of fraud in which an attacker attempts to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details for malicious reasons, by impersonating a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Being able to differentiate between a phishing scam and a legitimate interaction is essential in protecting yourself from identity theft.

Social engineering, psychological manipulation of people to perform actions or divulge confidential information, is another way to obtain information through false pretenses.

You can learn ways to protect yourself from identity theft, phishing, and social engineering attacks by attending this Friday’s speaker series event featuring Lieutenant Colonel April Wimmer in Mendenhall Room 221 from 12pm-1pm.

Ciao for Now and a tip on grading groups

Si, ciao I will be heading to Italy Wednesday 10/4 and return to the office on Monday 10/23.  Have students working in groups?   Check out this link when using group assignments and grading.

My assistant Pete Eischens, eischensp16@students.edu.edu will be in the office most days for a few hours.  Additionally you can contact the following resources if you need assistance.

Help Desk (Michael Davis, davistr@ecu.edu and Billy Igoe, igoew@ecu.edu ) for this building 744-2903.
Blackboard – Matt Long longm@ecu.edu , Adam Brewer brewera@ecu.edu , Paul Lamere, lamerep@ecu.edu
SABA/Webex – John Southworth, southworthj@ecu.edu
Mediasite Troubleshooting –  Jarrett Shafer (252) 328-9141, shaferj@ecu.edu , Josh Brown, (252) 328-9617, brownjos@ecu.edu
My Mediasite – Jarrett Shafer (252) 328-9141, shaferj@ecu.edu , Allen Dennis, (252) 328-2841 allend@ecu.edu
Tegrity/Voice Thread – Perceival Murphy, (252) 737-5166, murphyp@ecu.edu
Wordpress Blogs – Helpdesk
Academic Technologies – Ginny Sconiers, Wendy Creasey

Since last week’s post was a repost you get 2 this week!

We are 3 1/2 weeks into the semester and here is a Best Practice that is included for Distance Education content but is a great idea for all classes to check in on “How is the course going?” and “Do you have any suggestions?“

Early feedback surveys or just informal discussions ask students to provide feedback on what is working well in a course and what might help them have a better course experience. This early feedback is done early in the course so corrections and modifications can be made. It is an easy opening for students who might have comments or suggestions or questions.”

You could use discussion board, or a doodle poll, or a round table discussion!

There have been a couple of emails inviting you to Mursion Demonstration. I went to one last spring and wrote about it https://sites.ecu.edu/OET/?p=2370 It is a very cool tool available to you.  “Mursion is a great opportunity we have available at ECU for students as well as for potential faculty and staff development. Come see what it is all about.”  and “Mursion is a tool you can use with your students to allow them to practice real-life situations in a variety of environments including education, business, hospitality and healthcare. Mursion is housed in the College of Education, but is available to the entire university. This semester we are providing sessions students can sign up for that are geared toward education students (please see attached handout), but a similar series can be arranged for other areas with interested students. We are looking forward to welcoming 2 new student environments and 10 new adults that can be mixed and matched in a conference room in sets of 3.”

Classroom Tech Hints

Want to use the computer pen to illustrate on your PowerPoint?  When in Slideshow view either press down with the pen or right click and select pen options.  Select your style, select your color on the monitor and start annotating.  Click here for more instructions.  Not sure how it works contact OET!!

Total Eclipse of the Sun

 and Fall Semester is less than 5 days!

Some quick reminders –

 

Send your lecture capture request if you would like to try this tool to give your students some extra help with course review click here for form.

Make your classes available in Blackboard – Control Panel > Customization > Properties > Set Availability > Yes.

ADD TA INSTRUCTOR: How do I add another instructor or a TA to the course?

  • Control Panel > Users and Groups > User > Find User to Enroll > Browse (type username only in the box), click Go > when you see the username, click the box and then Submit.

COURSE COPY: How do I copy my course from one semester to the next? Go here to learn more. Do NOT do another course copy if you think “it didn’t work.” Contact Blackboard Support.

SECTION MERGE: How do I merge (or collapse) two or more course sections? Go here to learn more.

Using Clicker Technology? ECU will begin providing all students with a Turning Technologies Account license beginning in the fall 2017 semester.  Enable TP in you BB course and use ResponseWare with Mobile Devices (available at their app store)  quick and easy!