Dr. Deborah McMurtrie: EDUC 635- Adolescent Development
University of South Carolina Aiken
Office of Distance Learning
For several years I have been
teaching a face-to-face, semesterlong undergraduate adolescent
development course. Last fall I was
asked to adapt that course in order
to develop an online, eight-week
graduate course for teachers in the
spring. After drafting the new syllabus, I contacted Veronica Outlaw
to see if there was anything I needed to add. She invited me to join
the distance learning course development cohort, and I soon realized
that I had a lot of work to do!
Fall 2015
Volume 2, Issue 1
OFFICE OF DISTANCE LEARNING PRESENTS:
‘15 ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT COHORT
The second online course development cohort facilitated by the Office of Distance Learning included 13
faculty, of which 9 completed. The project started on January 8, 2015 and ended on May 6, 2015. As
with the 2014 cohort, the process was grueling, but rewarding. Faculty embraced completing some higher level pedagogical and technological strategies for their summer and/or fall 2015 courses. The following individuals received a Certificate of Completion for the online course they developed:
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Deanna Gore (SOCY 420) used Camtasia to create lectures that included embedded SCORM
compliant participation and self-assessment type quizzes where the scores automatically go to the
grade book.
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Melencia Johnson (SOCY 350) used Adobe Connect to created advanced learning and group
participations.
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Paul Ilukor (MATH 170) created several lectures where he demonstrated solving problems using
a tablet to annotate. His lectures included the opportunity for students to reflect, solve problems,
and return to the lecture for feedback. He also created and piloted a new system for proctoring that
could become the new proctoring model for USCA.
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Ward Reckart (EXSC 201) should be commended for completing this project while teaching 20
credit hours during the spring. He had to re-produce his lectures and endured the extra efforts in
making them compliant for accessibility. That process allowed him to shorten and focus his lectures by using the script. Ward also used the Wiki tool o allow students to self-sign up for virtual
office hour sessions.
Roy Seeger (ENGL 102) learned how to reorganize his content to provide logical flow and efficiency for he and his students. He acquired the value of categorizing his graded assignments to let
the gradebook “do the work or him.”
Ron Ruszczyk (CHEM 103) was introduced to a new format for delivering his online course.
Students will be required to complete lab projects from home and virtually submit them for grading.
Sally McClellan (EDEC 211) was open-minded into putting knowledge into practice. She created
a comprehensive online exam that mimics the specialty online exams students will take, so this
provided great practice. She also used Adobe Connect to have students demonstrate various communication strategies in a parent/teacher role play conference.
Deborah McMurtrie (EDUC 635) learned how to reorganize her course, which forced her to
reevaluate how and/or if certain objectives were being met. She utilized the digital rubrics tool and
the inline grading feature for grading assignments, which streamlined her online workflow and
made it more efficient.
Deborah Hazzard-Robinson (BADM 345) found value in using the templates provided by the
Office of Distance Learning. This allowed her to simply insert her course content without having to
recreate various jargon from scratch. She also became proficient in using Dragon Dictate to capture
transcripts for her lectures created using Adobe Connect.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
‘15 Online Course Development
Cohort ......................................1
Dr. Deborah McMurtrie
 Deborah McMurtrie ........2
 Melencia Johnson ...........3
Designing the course was challenging and time-consuming, but also
quite rewarding. First, I had to
completely rethink my instructional objectives and organize them
into modules. Next, I aligned those
objectives with readings, discussion questions, and selfassessments. I found that I had to
rewrite my project descriptions to
make them crystal clear, and then
convert my rubrics to digital form.
Throughout this process I worked
with Veronica to make sure that
everything in the course was coherent and consistent.
I taught the course from March 16
to May 5, 2015 and received very
positive feedback from the students (see below). Once the course
was up and running, it practically
ran itself. Going through this process has made me a better instructor, and I would definitely do this
again.
 Paul Ilukor .......................3
Positive comments from EDUC 635 students, Spring 2015:
 Sally McClellan ................4
New Additions to USC Distance
Learning ...................................5
“Thank you so much for putting the coursework on Blackboard early. This REALLY helps me out!” Lindsay
USCA Office of Distance Learning ............................................6
“Thanks for checking in to see how things are going in this course. I am completing my adolescent advocacy reference list and plan to upload it by the due date. My case study mentoring project is coming
along well. All of the readings and assignments for this course are clear and easy to access. Thanks for
being available, and I will post any concerns to you if needed.” –Felicia
Past Conference Presentations 7
2015-2016 Conference Opportunities ........................................8
Virtual Conference News &
Opportunities...........................9
“It is amazing to me that all of this wonderful information about adolescent growth and development
exists and many people do not utilize it. Parents, educators, and policymakers should be required to take
this course! It needs to be our daily goal to use our teachable moments and our knowledge of adolescents to help improve our students and ultimately our society.” –Elizabeth
Acknowledgement & Honors...10
Did You Know? ........................12
Distance Learning Advisory
Committee ...............................12
“I have already changed a few things I do in my classroom as a result of taking this course. My understanding of adolescent (and young adult) emotional development has changed how I view many of my
students. I understand them and their outrageous behaviors much better. Our relationships are stronger and our interactions are much more positive.” –Lindsay
Everyone who completed audio/video lectures spent a great deal of time ensuring they were ADA compliant by including closed captioning and/or transcripts. For lecturing, individuals used Camtasia,
Screencast-O-Matic, Screencast, YouTube, and Dragon Dictate. Some used the RPSEC TV Studio and
utilized the services from Instructional Services (some creative work is being produced with the use of
the GreenScreen Technology). A few used Adobe Connect to host synchronous sessions for virtual office
hours, quiz study sessions, group work, and role plays assignments. Everyone was open minded in
using various Blackboard tools to maximize the efficiency in completing work and grading. Such tools
include Inline Grading, Rubrics, Respondus Lockdown Browser, Wiki, Journal, Discussions, Assignment
Drop Box, and the grade book. The use of an online generator was a life saver for many, as it allowed
faculty to import quizzes into Blackboard within a matter of a couple of seconds. During the project
faculty learned to reorganize their content and work to perform more efficiently. Faculty discovered how
to use various technology to enhance engagement and interactivity, which could result in higher retention rates. The connectedness and community in a faceless environment was enhanced with the use of
technology and the adoption of evidence-based best practices to improve online facilitation.
There were a few complaints (I’ll keep them anonymous):
“Last week I had no problems using my network ID and password. Last night and today I can't log on.
Any advice? Am I the only one having issues? I have 4 of my resources for the research paper. Let me
know if I’m doing something wrong.”
“Sorry to be pain, but I cannot get onto the USCA website. I’ve tried from two different computers (two
different networks) and the message says, ‘This website is not available.’ Please advise.”
Moving forward, the use of the milestone deadlines in the project will continue to be strictly enforced, as
its use results in successful completions for all stakeholders. The use of the templates for the course
shell, syllabus, and schedule will also continue for the ease of use for faculty and students. The use of
templates are also mandated by EVCAA so that online courses have a similar look and feel. Online, it is
important that students have similar online experiences when they go from one online course to another.
“My classmates are moving at snail speed with discussion posts. I’m going to assume they are working
vigorously on other course materials and assignments. May I have a little extra time on my responses to
them?”
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Dr. Melencia Johnson developed and
facilitated SOCY 350
-Sociology of Delinquent Youth Behavior. She was asked the
following questions
about her online course
development and teaching experience:
What were your experiences and
thoughts before the
actual course development project? I
really thought I had
online teaching under
control before the project, but it was great to
see a new perspective. I
realized I still had a lot
to learn.
What were your perspectives on the actual course development process? The
process was time consuming, but rewarding.
What experiences
did you have facilitating the course?
The course facilitation
was easy. I felt out of
touch with the students
who did not fully participate. In a classroom
setting I can better
gauge those students
and find ways to get
them to interact in the
class. That is hard to do
in the online setting.
What worked and/
or didn’t work? I did
not like the fact that
students could go back
and access the modules
after the grading period. I had a couple students go back and complete modules after the
due date, but I did not
grade them. They were
frustrated because I did
not grade their completed work even
though the deadline had
passed.
What did you learn?
I learned that I would
much rather have visual
interaction with my students. I will consider a
hybrid course in the
future where students
must join chat groups to
speak with me.
What advice would
you give to your colleagues going
through this process? My advice will
be to stay on schedule.
Once you get behind it
is hard to catch up.
Would you do it
again? Why/why
not? I would do it
again if I were developing a new course. I’m
always up for learning
something new.
Comment on your
student’s experiences. I have not received
teaching evaluations
yet, so I’m unsure about
their experiences. I did
not receive any direct
emails about the online
experience.
Prof. Paul Ilukor
Prof. Paul Ilukor developed and facilitated
MATH 170-Finite
Mathematics. He was
asked the following questions about his online
course development and
teaching experience:
What were your experiences and thoughts
before the actual
course development
project? I initially
thought this would be
close to impossible to get
done in the time-frame
that was stated. I did not
think that it would be possible to transfer some of
material presented in the
face-to-face classes to an
online setting.
What were your perspectives on the actual
course development
process? The process
was very straightforward
as long as the deadlines
were met. It does require
commitment and effort to
be put into meeting these
deadlines.
What experiences did
you have facilitating
the course? I thought
the course ran smoothly. I
did not receive concerns
about not being able to
access the lectures or assignments. However,
from some of the questions asked by some students, it appeared that
they had disregarded
reading the syllabus.
What worked and/or
didn’t work? I thought
Adobe Connect worked
like a charm on the days
that meetings were scheduled. Granting access to
just about one module
each week did not seem to
bring too many issues.
However, advising the
students to try and get the
assignments done ahead
of the due dates did not
work. A number of them
preferred to start working
on the assignments a few
hours before they were
due. With this being the
only course for the summer, it was easy to respond to questions in a
timely manner. However,
sometimes I got the impression that the students
believed that I was sitting
right by my computer
waiting to answer any last
minute questions they
might have had.
What did you learn?
Patience with the students
because in some cases,
they might not have attempted material in a
timely manner. Not all
students will abide by the
suggested course schedule, but to be consistent,
following the guidelines
outlined in the schedule
was beneficial.
Comment on your student’s experiences.
The few students that I
talked to commented on
how they liked the template for notes provided
for each lecture. There
were no issues about what
was being explained on
the lecture videos. I may
hopefully see more comments when I read the
course evaluations.
Dr. Sally McClellan: EDEC 211—Family Life Education and
Professional Practice
Teaching EDEC 211 Family Life Education in Early Childhood online was a
great experience. My students were thoughtful in their discussions and
seemed to be able to follow the requirements with few questions. Why did
I have such a great experience? Because I had lots of help from Dr. Veronica Outlaw in putting together a high quality online course. The task of putting together the modules was a lot of work and took a considerable
amount of time. Veronica asked questions for clarification – details I had
not really thought about. But as I started building the course in Blackboard, everything was there because I had answered those detailed questions. My students turned in quality work. The discussions showed that
they had read the materials and thoughtfully contributed to the discussion.
One of my favorite parts, even though probably not the favorite of my students, was the final exam. I was so pleased to provide this comprehensive
exam online. Early childhood students now take their specialty area exam
online so this was a good practice for them. Veronica helped me with BYU
Test Generator and getting this 60-question exam on Blackboard were
fairly painless.
The assignment I was most concerned about was the role play of a parent conference. Veronica had
suggested that I ask students to pre-plan from the beginning how they would complete this assignment. The role plays were excellent! They featured the communication strategies I was looking for
and some were quite humorous.
During the course, I checked Blackboard first thing every morning and was easily able to keep up with
grading and providing feedback to the students. This was one of my favorite teaching experiences and
my students seemed to enjoy it as well.
I had the unique experience during Summer I of not only teaching a class completely online, but also
taking a class online – the first for both. Here are some highlights of things I learned.
1.
What advice would
you give to your colleagues going through
this process in the future? Be patient and consider the many resources
available to help through
the process.
Would you do it
again? Why/why not?
Maybe in a few years. It
all comes down to having
the time to concentrate on
getting the project done.
Once complete, it is worth
it!
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It’s really important to have everything ready to go from the beginning. This allows students
to see everything and there is so much to do to keep up with grading and answering questions
that trying to complete building while the course is running is really difficult. I was so glad
everything was set for the course when the session began.
2. Veronica has mentioned to me repeatedly that it’s essential to have everything consistently
named the same thing. I learned from my Summer I experience that it is essential to have
consistent naming conventions.
3. Online learning can be a really valuable experience, but it can be very challenging. Students
need to be supported not only with the content of the course, but also with the use of technology.
This was a really valuable experience, and I would absolutely do it again. I hope I have that opportunity again. My teaching is better not only for this course, but in general. This experience has taught
me to be better organized in my teaching, whether the course is online or hybrid.
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USCA OFFICE OF DISTANCE LEARNING
NEW ADDITIONS TO USC DISTANCE LEARNING
Are you considering teaching an online course? Do you know where to
start? The Office of Distance Learning (ODL) can assist you in critically thinking about the needs of your learners, effective course design, issues of access and copyright, and multimedia options. ODL can also
assist you in effective course design to develop a robust and quality
course that has proven to increase faculty workflow efficiency and increase student learning success by addressing issues with faculty presence, interactivity/engagement, and retention. Offering flexible and accessible learning formats to distance learners is laborious work up front,
but once the course is developed, it practically runs itself.
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Dr. David S. McCurry is the new Director of Distance
Education at the University of South Carolina Upstate. David joined us on February 16, 2015.
David has more than 35 years of professional experience in educational technology, media, and international educational development. He has a master’s
and doctorate degrees from the Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his undergraduate in psychology from the
University of California, Santa Cruz.
Dr. Veronica Outlaw
USCA Director of Distance Learning
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Read more about David at http://news.uscupstate.edu/2015/07/mccurry-leadsdistance-education-efforts-at-usc-upstate/.
David may be contacted at dmccurry@uscupstate.edu or (864) 503-5509.
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Lori J. Vargo is the new Director of eLearning at the
University of South Carolina Beaufort, Bluffton, SC.
Lori joined us on July 1, 2015.
Vargo is an experienced professional in training and
development with a specialization in educational technology. She has master’s degrees in Educational Administration from The University of Cincinnati, Elementary Education from Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in Communication from The University of
Cincinnati. Vargo is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum
and Instruction at The University of Akron researching
online teaching and learning. When not working, Vargo
enjoys tennis, golf, and college football.
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Lori may be contacted at vargolj@uscb.edu or 843-208-8272.
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DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
The Office of Distance
Learning is committed to
the professional development faculty need to create and facilitate quality
online courses that are
robust, engaging and interactive, which could
prove to increase online
enrollments, student satisfaction, and student
retention.
We are striving to develop
a system that provides
students with consistent
and logical navigation in
each online course. This
consistency also provides
a more efficient workflow
for faculty and students.
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Currently, the ODL webpage (http://web.usca.edu/academic-affairs/
special-centers-and-programs/distance-learning/
online_course_development_resources.dot) includes links to various
templates to build your syllabus, course schedule, modules and welcome
letter. It also includes links to valuable resources on building learning
outcomes and objectives correctly. In addition, it includes a link to
Quality Matters to reference the rubric of standard essentials needed in
building a quality online course.
WHAT’S NEW WITH ODL?
The future of ODL will include:
1. finalizing the new USCA Distance Learning Handbook for faculty.
2. offering a newly developed online course, ODL 101: Developing &
Teaching an Online Course at USCA as a professional development
opportunity for faculty.
3. scheduling pedagogical and technological workshops and virtual
conferences for additional opportunities for professional development.
4. creating an in-house quality assurance checklist, which will replace
Quality Matters after the current subscription expires in September.
5. developing a series of “How-To” videos and webinar offerings on
various pedagogical and technological topics.
6. issuing a Certificate of Completion to faculty who successfully complete the development of an online course through the Office of Distance Learning.
7. awarding an Outstanding Content Expert Certificate to the faculty
who earns the highest score upon completing a course development
project. The winner will also be awarded with a lunch date with the
director and the EVCAA.
ODL will focus on continuing to support the needs of distance instruction by facilitating professional development opportunities for faculty,
ensuring quality assurance in online courses, and promoting faculty
mentorship while implementing new forms of online instruction as pedagogical theories, innovative practices, and new technologies evolve.
Stay tuned!
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PAST CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (CONT.)
BUSY COLLEAGUES—PAST CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
FantasTech Virtual Conference (February 6– 13, 2015)

Introduction to an Online Course Development Model—Veronica Outlaw (USCA)
USCA National Distance Learning Week 2014 (November 10—14, 2014)
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Panel Discussion: Distance Learning Infrastructure—Veronica Outlaw (USCA)
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Multimedia Options—Keith Pierce (USCA)
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Welcome to the World of Disabilities Services—Cathie Justen (USCA) & Karen Pettus, (USCC)
Effective Technology Integration using Google Classroom and Other Web 2.0 Tools—
Stephanie Quinn (USCA)
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Seven Ways to Make Your Class Accessible—Dow Hammond, Bradley Crain, & Susan Quinn, (USCC)
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Coding in K-2: Boosting the 4C’s of 21st Century Learning—Chris Humphreys (USCA)
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TurnItIn—Deborah Tritt (USCA)
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How and Why We Should Use Games in he Classroom and in Life—David Corso (USCA)
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Adobe Connect—Veronica Outlaw (USCA)
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Including Inclusion-An Instructional Design Module—Erica Worden (USCA)
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Building Compelling VoiceThread Assignments for Generation Z—Ryan Rucker (USCC)
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Implementing Quality Assurance Standards in Higher Education Online Courses—Lydia
Frass & Ryan Rucker (USCC)
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Creating Effective and Interactive Adobe Presenter Presentation: An Easy Approach—Ryan Rucker &
Lydia Frass (USCC)
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Virtual Teaching & Conference Option Using Avaya Live Engage—Veronica Outlaw (USCA), Patrick
Whitaker (J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College), & Karen Kellison (Lord Fairfax Community College)
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Best Practices for Implementing an Online Course Development Model—Veronica Outlaw (USCA)
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Strategies to Ensure an ADA Accessible Distributed Learning Course—Aisha Haynes (USCC
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Copyright and Online Courses—Devin Henson (Midlands Technical College) & Tucker Taylor (USCC)
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Adventures in Learning: A Case-Analysis Activity to Foster Core Concept Learning in Pharmacy—Brie
Dunn (USCC)
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Engaging Online Learners and the Pedagogy of Presence—Cindy Jennings (USC Upstate)
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Increase Student Engagement and Learning through the Flipped Classroom—Thomas Smyth (USCA)
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Using Camtasia for a Flipped or Online Classroom—Diane Yeoman & Amy Minneman (Midlands Technical College)
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The Use of a Test Generator to Create Tests in Blackboard—Thayer McGahee (USCA)
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Learning Beyond the Bricks: A Student’s Perspective - Chief Kevin Liles (USCA)
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Distance Education Panel Discussion—Veronica Outlaw (USCA) & Kristi Garrett (Atlanta Technical
College)
Distance Learning Administration 2015 (June 28—July 1, 2015):
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Helping Distributed Learning (DL) Faculty Implement Quality Assurance Standards
Karen Edwards, Ryan Rucker—University of South Carolina, Columbia
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Adobe Connect Resolves Issues Relating to Presence, Engagement, and Retention
Veronica Outlaw—University of South Carolina, Aiken
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Online Academic Support: Theory to Software
Michael Lampe, Eric Moschella—University of South Carolina, Upstate
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Best Practices: Implementing an Online Course Development & Delivery Model
Veronica Outlaw—University of South Carolina, Aiken
2015-2016 CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITIES
Oktoberbest: A Symposium on Teaching will be held on the USC Columbia campus,
October 2, 2015. Conference site: http://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/
events_calendar/fall_2015/oktoberbest.php.
SC EdTech Conference will be in Charleston, SC from October 21-23, 2015. Conference
site: http://edtech.scaet.org/.
Association for Distance Education and Independent Learning (ADEIL 2015) will
be in Charleston, SC at the Holiday Inn Mount Pleasant during October 20-22, 2015. Conference site: http://adeil2015.net.
EDUCAUSE – Indianapolis, IN and ONLINE, October 27-30, 2015. Conference
site: http://www.educause.edu/annual-conference.
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What Can an Instructional Designer (ID) Do For You? - Tasha Brown (AliveTek, Inc.)
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L.o.o.C. What Technology Dragged In—Kristi Garrett (Atlanta Technical College)
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Online Academic Support Delivery: Creating the Foundation—Michael Lampe (USCC)
Quality Matters – San Antonio, TX, November 1-4, 2015. Conference site: https://
www.qualitymatters.org/events.
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Getting Started: The Online Course Development Tooklit—Cedric Smith (St. Petersburg College)
USCA National Distance Learning Week—USCA (virtually in Adobe Connect), November 9-13, 2015. Full details will be announced later.
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Distance Learning Administration – Jekyll Island, GA, June 19-22, 2016. Conference
site: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/dla/.
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES
National Distance Learning Week
(NDLW)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & HONORS
FantasTech Virtual Conference
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The first annual NDLW conference was
hosted by the USCA Office of Distance
Learning during the entire week of November 10-14, 2014. The virtual and hybrid
conference was held to commensurate National Distance Learning Week by showcasing distance learning innovations and
accomplishments.
The first initiative resulted in 24 presentations and 25 presenters, representing 9
educational entities from 4 states (SC, GA,
FL, VA). Participants included 69 individuals from 13 educational entities from 6
states (SC, GA, FL, AL, OK, VA).
You may review the information from the
2014 USCA NDLW conference at http://
web.usca.edu/academic-affairs/specialcenters-and-programs/distancelearning/2014-national-distance-learningweek-conference.dot. The presentation
descriptions and links to the presentation
archives may be obtained at http://
tiny.cc/2014-ndlw-descriptions.
You may also view the 2014 NDLW webinar archives from the United States Distance Learning Association at http://
www.usdla.org/category_s/2012.htm.
The next conference is scheduled for
November 9-13, 2015. Details will be
announced later.
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The first annual FantasTech Virtual Conference offered to USCA faculty and students was held during the entire week of
February 6-13, 2015, using AvayaLive Engage.
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Invitations were extended to Dr. Tom
Smyth and Dr. Gary Senn to encourage the
graduate students enrolled in the USCA
Educational Technology program to virtually present. Four graduate students
(Stephanie Quinn, Chris Humphreys, David Corso, and Erica Worden) submitted
proposal and presented their first virtual
presentation.
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You may review the information from the
2015 conference at http://
www.reynolds.edu/fantastech/
default.aspx. The presentation descriptions and links to the archives may be obtained by clicking the presentation title on
the Conference Schedule link.
Dr. Aisha Haynes, Program Manager for Distributed Learning at the Center for Teaching Excellence
USC Columbia was invited to conduct a day-long
online course accessibility workshop at York Technical College on Monday, May 18th, 2015. She has
since been invited to present at the Technical College
of Low Country in August on Accessibility.
Aisha, along with Clayton Copeland and Heather
Moorefield-Lang of the School of Library and Information Science) wrote a paper entitled “Accessing
Abilities: Creating Innovative Accessible Online
Learning Environments and Putting Quality into
Practice” that they are pursuing publication in the Education and Information journal.
Aisha and Clayton Copeland administered a survey to over 200 undergraduate students
regarding built-in accessible features within their course. They will analyze the information soon.
Aisha created and facilitated her “Getting Started Teaching Online at USC” short course
in the Spring 2015. It was a huge success. All 10 faculty who were selected successfully
completed the course and are already requesting an advanced version. She plans to
offer the course again in the fall 2015.
In June, Aisha’s proposal on How Campus Partners Engage and Inspire Faculty to
Create Accessible Online Courses was accepted for presentation at the 2015 AHEAD
(Association on Higher Education and Disability) Accessing Higher Ground Conference
in November.
Dr. Ryan Rucker, previously the Senior Instruction
Designer/Adjunct Faculty at the Center for Teaching Excellence department at USC Columbia, graduated from
Valdosta State University with his Doctorate of Education
on May 8, 2015. His dissertation title is: Exploring Faculty Use Before and After a Learning Management System Migration: A Survey Approach.” Ryan has recently
been hired as an Instructor of Information Systems Technology at Midlands Technical College, in West Columbia,
SC.
The next virtual conference is scheduled for February 5-12, 2016. The
conference site is located at http://
www.reynolds.edu/fantastech/
default.aspx. Announcements will be sent
when the conference registration and call
for proposals are open.
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DID YOU KNOW?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & HONORS (CONT.)
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
CAROLINA AIKEN

Blackboard has a site where you can download rubrics created
by other Blackboard users, or you can share one of your rubrics
if you think it will be useful to others. Here's the link:
http://www.blackboard.com/platforms/learn/products/
blackboard-learn/features/sharing-rubrics.aspx.

The overall guide to USCA Library Resources is located at
http://researchguides.usca.edu/distance. This is a helpful resource for distance faculty and students.

Faculty interested in providing their students with library instruction may contact Kari Weaver at kariw@usca.edu. She can
assist you in creating individualized information literacy instruction for a distance learning course. This is a laborious project, so please contact her well in advance of its use.

MIT offers the a webpage for Games, Simulations, Tools for
Playful, Powerful Learning at http://education.mit.edu. Check
out this open educational resource to see what it has to offer.
OFFICE OF DISTANCE
LEARNING
Dr. Veronica Outlaw’s Presentations, Publications and Honors
In January 2015, Veronica was nominated for and received the honor of Campus Citizen of the Month award. The award is given in recognition of good citizenship. She was worthy of this award because she demonstrated initiative/
creativity, loyalty/dedication, positive attitude, and leadership.
Veronica had two papers accepted to the 2015 Distance Learning Administration for conference presentation and were published in the conference proceedings. Collectively, the following two papers granted her the 2015 Wagner
Award for the Outstanding Instructional Support category:
Outlaw, V., & Rice, M. (June, 2015). Adobe Connect Resolves Issues Relating
to Presence, Engagement, and Retention. Distance Learning Administration
Conference, Jekyll Island, GA.
Outlaw, V., & Rice, M. (June, 2015). Best Practices: Implementing an Online
Course Development & Delivery Model. Distance Learning Administration
Conference, Jekyll Island, GA
The mission of the Office of Distance Learning (ODL) is to offer
flexible and accessible learning
formats to distance learners
through robust, interactive and
engaging learning experiences and
opportunities the University of
South Carolina Aiken.
The Office of Distance Learning will
focus on continuing to support the
needs of distance instruction by
facilitating professional development opportunities for faculty,
ensuring quality assurance in
online courses, and promoting
faculty mentorship while implementing new forms of online instruction as pedagogical theories,
innovative practices, and new
technologies evolve.
For additional information, contact:
Dr. Veronica Outlaw,
USCA Director of Distance Learning at the information below.
Veronica also has two articles under review for publication through OJDLA:
The Office of Distance Learning is please to announce the update
to the Distance Learning Advisory Committee. The resignation of
Dr. Clifton Jones leaves the main committee as following:
Outlaw, V., & Rice, M. (2015). Using synchronous technology: Resolving issues relating to presence, engagement, and retention in online courses. Online
Journal Distance Learning Administration.
Outlaw, V., & Rice, M. (2015). Best practices: Implementing an online course
development & delivery model. Online Journal Distance Learning Administration.
University of South Carolina Aiken
Office of Distance Learning
471 University Parkway
RPSEC, Box 03
Aiken, SC 29801
In addition, she has two book chapters under review for publication through IGI
-Global:
Phone: 803.641.3389
Fax: 803.641.3615
E-mail: veronicao@usca.edu
Outlaw, V., Rice, M., & Wright, V. (2015). Exploration of faculty’s perceptions
on technology change: Implication from quality of online courses, faculty preparedness, and student success. In K. Shelton & K. Pedersen (Eds), Handbook
of research on building, growing, and sustaining quality e-learning programs.
Dr. Veronica Outlaw, Chair
Dr. Tom Smyth, Co-Chair/Education
Dr. Michelle Harmon, Biology
Prof. Deborah Tritt, Library
Dr. Thayer McGahee, School of Nursing
Mr. Patrick Gélinas, Exercise & Sports Science
In May 2015, the committee voted to recruit for a Distance Learning Advisory Sub-Committee, which includes the addition of the
following:
Dr. Veronica Outlaw, Chair
Dr. Deborah McMurtrie, Education
Dr. Paul Ilukor, Math
Dr. Roy Seeger, English
Dr. Deborah Hazard-Robinson, Business
Dr. Deanna Gore, Sociology
Mr. Ward Reckart, Exercise & Sports Science
Outlaw, V., Rice, M., & Wright, V. (2015). Building quality online courses and
programs: The role of faculty, instructional designers and others. In K. Shelton
& K. Pedersen (Eds), Handbook of research on building, growing, and sustaining quality e-learning programs.
YOUR LOGO HERE
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DISTANCE LEARNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE