Distance Education Committee Minutes
Date:
March 7, 2016
Time:
DE Business 3:30-4:30pm
DE Instructor Discussion 4:30-5pm
Facilitator/Location:
Aloha Sargent, TLC
Attendees:
Phil Carr, Robin Mara, Ed Parrish, Aloha Sargent, Deirdre Scholar, Matt Smithey, Nancy Stucker, Francine Van Meter
Topic
Topic Lead
Discussion
Action Items
TLC News
Aloha, Matt
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OEI/Title V
News
Francine
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Training is being planned for instructors who still need to migrate to
Canvas (for SU16 and FA16). TLC is soliciting feedback on what types of
training DE faculty found most effective last semester. DE committee
members reported that the flex sessions and Canvas Q&A with a trainer
were valuable, but the self-paced course was too general.
Francine plans to train Title V Grant participants on Canvas
TLC website is phasing out references to Blackboard and adding Canvas
FAQs for students and faculty
Accessibility for DE and Cabrillo Web pages remains an important issue.
The TLC is working on some handouts and updated web pages
addressing accessibility standards. Portland Community College has
some useful infographics and guides to draw from, e.g., their Web
Accessibility handbook and Accessibility Quick Guide
Francine presented a detailed list of relevant news and updates from OEI
and the Title V Grant.
Notes on Francine’s handout:
o OEI Canvas Support calls (similar to Q&A) are available to ALL
online instructors at Cabrillo. Instructions for joining a call are on
her handout
o We currently have 3 OEI faculty at Cabrillo, who are undergoing
re-review now that their courses are in Canvas. The OEI Course
Exchange pilot is scheduled to start FA16.
o More faculty are strongly encouraged to submit their transferlevel classes for review (to be added to the Exchange).
o The Cabrillo OEI Implementation Team is working on integrating
many student services, e.g., counseling, proctoring, tutoring,
WebAdvisor
o 132 students went through the “Quest for Success” online
readiness module, and results will be sent to instructors
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TLC will ask Marcelo when
SU/FA Canvas shells will be
ready
TLC will email faculty to let
them know when shells are
ready, with instructions on
how to copy/import content
TLC will schedule a variety of
Canvas training sessions and
inform faculty, targeting those
who still need to migrate
o
ACCJC
Substantive
Change
Proposal
Francine
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Canvas
Feedback
Aloha
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Other DE
Instructor
Topics
All
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The Title V project is aiming to “hybridize” transfer-level courses
for 60 faculty. The goal is to increase success for Hispanic and
low-income students – research shows that they perform well in
collaborative/active environments (vs. traditional lecture classes
or fully online classes)
We looked at the current proposal and Francine explained the process
and purpose (need to submit a substantive change proposal when 50%
or more of a department’s courses are offered online – like getting a
permit to do so)
The proposal has been submitted to ACCJC for comments and will be
followed by a live interview with Rachel and Francine
Phil reported that the Inbox is not as user-friendly as it could be
Deirdre reported that she wants to be able to shuffle quiz questions
without having to use Question Banks or Groups
Many instructors shared frustration with the Discussion Forum layout in
Canvas, most notably the inability to have subject lines for student posts
Aloha encouraged everyone to explore the “Submit a Feature Idea” link
via the Canvas Help link. Or, inform TLC of any problems, and we will
submit the idea for you! Also, periodically check the feature request page
so you can vote on any ideas.
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TLC will research these
reported issues and submit
feature requests if needed
Deirdre brought up the idea of educating students on the difference
between online, face-to-face, and hybrid courses. Students should be
more informed when making enrollment decisions. An idea was to
actually use feedback/advice from currently enrolled students, sharing
their experience with these types of classes. Deirdre planned to do
something like this to include on her faculty website.
Phil recommended “Screencast-O-Matic” as a tool for creating videos for
online classes
Francine suggested that we involve Marketing to get the word out about
the campus migration to Canvas. Students may not be aware, and it
would be nice to have information about the migration on the college
website/homepage
Online Teaching Conference: San Diego, June 16-17. Is anyone going?
Are there still conference funds available for this?
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TLC will contact Marketing to
ask about putting Canvas
announcements on the
Cabrillo homepage
TLC will ask Rachel if
conference funds are
available for the OTC
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