Technology – CEHS Curriculum Revision

TLTC Summer Technology Workshops

Veroica Armour, the newly hired Instructional Designer in TLTC, recently shared an email with information on the TLTC Summer Technology Workshops being offered. For more information on the sessions, you can either visit the Computer Training Classroom Website or contact William Otskey, William.Otskey@shu.edu. Additionally, Veronica can be reached at Veronica.Armour@shu.edu. Veronica will also be at the EDST meeting on Friday, May 16th, if you’d like to speak with her in person.

The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center is again offering their annual summer technology workshops for faculty and staff. This year the theme is Step It Up With Technology. Don’t miss these informative sessions, all held in the Computer Training Classroom, located on the ground floor of the Walsh Library. Lunch is included, with a fitness towel as a gift for attending.

Online and Hybrid Learning Fundamentals – May 28, 2014

To meet the needs of all learners, new modes of instruction need to be explored. Online and hybrid learning are two modes of instruction that are hot topics in teaching and learning but the transition from face-to-face coursework and activities to alternate environments can be challenging. This session will focus on essential elements of online and hybrid course development including an overview of Quality Matters and the available resources for online and hybrid course development.

Register Here:

Introduction to Personal Lecture Capture – June 4, 2014

This session will provide faculty members with an overview of the Echo360 Personal Capture System at Seton Hall University. Participants will have an opportunity to view a personal capture being created, edited, and published. Discussion will include how faculty can request an Echo360 Personal Capture account, downloading, installing, and configuring the Echo360 Personal Capture software. Best practices will be covered via viewing a sample Personal Capture from the student’s point of view. Participants will have the opportunity to create a sample Echo360 Personal Capture recording prior to requesting their own account.

Register Here:

Go the Extra Mile with Blackboard – June 11, 2014

Go beyond the basics of Blackboard with this hands-on workshop. This workshop will show you how to incorporate media, utilize voice tools and manage student assessments through various Blackboard features. The day will conclude with a demonstration of Blackboard Collaborate, a webinar tool for synchronous online instruction, which will be available soon.

Register Here:

Audience Response and Classroom Engagement Tools – June 18, 2014

This workshop will involve a demo of the Top Hat audience engagement and participation software, which allows students to respond to class material both in and out of the physical classroom using virtually any device. Quickly create polls to elicit feedback from students so that you can gauge their understanding of course content. We will also demo the DyKnow software, which allows faculty to share and record presentations to share with students, quickly assess student understanding through polls and instant questions, as well as many other collaborative features. We hope you will join us to learn how to incorporate exciting new student engagement strategies in your courses.

Register Here:

Personal Computers: Back to Basics – July 9, 2014

We have had a lot of requests for a computer basics course, so here it is. This session will cover basics such as turning on your machine to shutting it down properly, how to work with Windows, how the internet works and browsing techniques. In addition, we will discuss where to save your files and how to protect them. This course will help you become more comfortable with a PC, its components and how to use it to your advantage. If you struggle with trying to figure out what you’re looking at and what’s happening, this course is for you.

Register Here:

E-Mail, Files, Software, How Do I Manage It All? – July 16, 2014

Are you frustrated with receiving tons of e-mail every day, the stream of new software is available every day, or locating that file that you were on last week? These are common dilemmas we all have to work through but how do you manage it all? This course will show you best practices for dealing with e-mail, how to set up a system for storing files you need and how to protect both of them. We’ll also delve into the realm of “cloud” drives and how they can help you with both work and personal files.

Register Here:

Spreadsheets 101: Using Excel – July 23, 2014

We will cover a whole myriad of Excel topics during this session so come prepared to work at learning how to properly use this software. Besides formulas, we’ll cover creating graphs, using database functions, data validation, linking spreadsheets and a lot more. It will be a full day with attendees executing these techniques to help make you more efficient with this powerful software.

Register Here:

Win a FitBit Wristband! – Attend a TLTC Summer Series Event to enter the raffle. Increase your chances by attending more than one event! Drawing will take place on July 24, 2014.

For descriptions and a list of more offerings visit the Computer Training Classroom Website or contact William Otskey, William.Otskey@shu.edu.

Professional Development offered from TLTC

Many of you probably received an email from Renee Cicchino, Sr. Instructional Designer in TLTC regarding a series of workshops being offered this semester to help with Online and Hybrid Course Development. There are a number of different sessions being offered, each on several different days and times.

The information for all of the sessions and how to register is provided below.

To register for any of these sessions, click here TLT Center’s Workshops and Special Events page

Echo 360 Personal Capture
This session will provide faculty members with an overview of the Echo360 Personal Capture System at Seton Hall University. Participants will have an opportunity to view a personal capture being created, edited, and published.

Tuesday, 3/18@2:00pm

Wednesday, 3/26@10:00am

Tuesday, 4/1@3:00pm

Wednesday, 4/9@2:00pm

Engaging Students Through Blackboard Collaborate Voice Tools

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll look at tools within Blackboard that current instructors use to engage students outside of the classroom. We’ll demonstrate how to use a Voice Presentation, a Voice Discussion Board, Podcasts and Voice Email, explore possible uses and discuss best practices.

Monday, 3/17@1:00pm

Thursday, 3/27@10:00am

Wednesday, 4/9@10:00am

Friday, 4/25@1:00pm

Mastering the Art of Effective Blackboard Discussions

This session will provide tips and tricks to establishing and running an effective discussion board in your online course. Topics addressed will include setting up a forum in Blackboard, netiquette, facilitation tips, assessment strategies, creating effective discussion questions, time management, creative uses, best practices and more.

Tuesday, 3/25@12 Noon

Monday, 4/14@10:00am

Thursday, 4/24@11:00am

Wednesday, 5/7@10:00am

Assessment Tools and Strategies for Online/Hybrid Courses

This workshop will involve a discussion of some of the available strategies and tools for assessing student activities in online/hybrid courses. Authentic assessment strategies and low stakes quizzes will be discussed, as well as best practices for implementing assessments. The new inline feedback for Blackboard assignments will be demonstrated, as well as Blackboard exams, rubrics, and SafeAssign. In addition, participants will be encouraged to share their assessment ideas with each other and to receive feedback.

Wednesday, 4/2@10:00am

Monday, 4/7@1:00pm

Monday, 4/14@2:00pm

Wednesday, 4/23@9:30am

Increasing Collaboration through Groups

Do your students work on group projects? Blackboard’s Group tool will permit them to collaborate anywhere and anytime, while enabling you to monitor not only the group’s progress, but the contribution of each member. This workshop provides a hands-on introduction to the Group tool.

Monday, 3/24@11:00am

Friday, 4/4@11:00am

Tuesday, 4/15@10:00am

Wednesday, 4/23@3:00pm

Making Online Course Content Accessible

The online environment has the potential to be a powerful learning space for all students but when the technology is “inaccessible”, it can also be a barrier for students with special needs. Including accessibility into your course planning is easy and essential. This workshop will identify strategies for creating accessible course content, including Word, PowerPoint, multimedia and Blackboard content.

Tuesday, 3/25@2:00pm

Monday, 4/7@3:00pm

Tuesday, 4/15@1:00pm

Monday, 4/21@2:00pm

Utilizing Open Educational Resources to Enhance Course Content

Open Educational Resources (OER) reside in the public domain and are free to use for teaching and learning. Within these repositories are a variety of multimedia, learning objects, tutorials etc. that offer quick way to enhance any topic. Websites such as National Geographic, Merlot, and Kahn Academy provide tutorials, multimedia, simulations and even assignments that can be easily added to any hybrid course, creating a richer learning experience.

Thursday, 3/20@10:00am

Thursday, 4/3@10:00am

Monday, 4/14@12 Noon

Monday, 4/21@10:00am

The Blackboard Grade Center

This session will focus on using the Blackboard grade center and all of the features which assist faculty with course grading. Using the Blackboard grade center is a valuable tool enabling faculty to enter grades, let the system calculate a final grade automatically and allows students to keep track of their course grade during the semester.

Thursday, 3/20@3:00pm

Friday, 3/28@1:00pm

Thursday, 4/3@12 Noon

Monday, 4/7@3:00pm

Beginning Blackboard

New to Blackboard? This course is for you. Come learn about the useful features of Blackboard such as uploading of different types of documents, using a discussion board, using assignments or safe assignments. Additional topics include using the course tools to send email, obtain a class roster or a photo roster and embedding video or audio files.

Monday, 3/17@3:00pm

Thursday, 3/20@12 Noon

Wednesday, 3/26@3:00pm

Friday, 4/4@9:30am

Online/Hybrid Course Development 101

Interested in developing an online or hybrid version of your course? This workshop provides participants with the foundation for developing quality online and hybrid courses. Topics include Quality Matters, chunking course content and steps on how to design a module/week or unit of a hybrid/online course. This session is 1hour, 30 minutes.

Friday, 4/4 @ 1:00pm
Friday, 5/2 @ 10:00am

AACTE Commits to edTPA as Performance Assessment Tool

In early November 2013, AACTE the major professional association for teacher preparation, made an official commitment to use the edTPA as its official performance assessment tool for student teachers seeking certification. The sate of New Jersey has said it is ‘vendor’ neutral and will allow universities to pilot other tools, in addition to the edTPA, for performance assessments.

Hybrid Learning Workshop Series from TLTC

There are several Hybrid projects currently underway within CEHS. In addition, a main part of the CEHS Retreat on October 18, 2013 was focused on technology, terminology and different ways of integrating technology effectively. This series being offered by TLTC is an excellent opportunity to learn more about Hybrid Course Development. If you aren’t able to make a session, the presentations and recordings are available on this blog – http://blogs.shu.edu/ohcd/.

Hybrid courses carefully integrate online and face-to-face activities using the best aspects of both environments to meet the learning outcomes. Replacing seat time with online lectures and activities allows for more focused face-to-face interactions, not to mention freeing up classroom space. The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center is pleased to present the Hybrid Course Design Workshop Series.

The workshops will be held on Fridays beginning October 18 through November 22, 2013 from 12noon to 1:30pm in the Computer Training Classroom, Walsh Library.A light lunch will be served.

For the workshop description and to register, click “Register Here”

Communication and Feedback

November 1, 2013 – Register Here

Using Open Educational Resources (OER) to Enhance Content

November 8, 2013 – Register Here

Activities for Hybrid Courses

November 15, 2013 – Register Here

Rethinking Assessment Strategies for Hybrid Courses

November 22, 2013 – Register Here

For more information contact Renee Cicchino at renee.cicchino@shu.edu.

AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology

At the October 25, 2013 Curriculum Revision meeting, Dean May presented, as part of the curriculum revision work, the opportunity for EDST to consider applying for the AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology.

Information and application information are available at the link above. Once on the AACTE page, the award is listed and to find out more about it, you choose the ‘Find Out More About This Award Here’ link. This link is also available on the Resources page on this blog.

CR Meeting Notes from October, 25, 2013 Meeting

Thanks to all of our new subscribers!

The faculty of the EDST department met on Friday, October 25, 2013 for our second Curriculum Revision meeting. The primary focus of the meeting was to continue to look at the new CAEP Standards, the new NJ DOE regulations and determine how and where the CEHS could focus in order to better align with the new standards and regulations.

This document is the original CAEP and NJ DOE alignment and it also integrates all of the notes from both the September and October curriculum revision meetings.

The following are some of the key take aways or potential action items from the meetings and notes (in no particular order):

1. How does/can SHU differentiate from the other 23 EPPs (Education Preparation Providers) in the state of NJ? What can we do to make it more attractive financially? How can we increase retention? How can we identify grant funds for SHU Ed majors to help attract and retain students? Is there STEM funding for Ed Math & Science majors?

2. How, when and in what capacity is the best way to engage alumni to help improve the programs and gain better insight?

3. What is the best way to evaluate field placement schools and cooperating teachers to ensure the best field experiences for our students?

4. Is it possible for CEHS to develop a relationship with another PDS? Possible in an urban setting and potentially with a focus on STEM?

5. In an effort to better understand the effective integration of technology in K-12 schools and how to better prepare our students on the use of technology, CEHS is actively pursuing putting together a Tech Advisory Committee focus group. This group would consist of tech supervisors and coordinators at field placement schools and a few CEHS faculty and would seek to understand the possible gaps in what is happening in schools and how our students are prepared. The work following the focus group would be to develop strategies to close any gaps.

6. How and where can EDST work to better bridge the gap in technology within the syllabi and curriculum to ensure integration and continuity? The suggestion was made that we begin by looking at the freshman year courses’ syllabi, learning goals and assessments to assess alignments. During this process it is important to keep an eye on the technology components throughout the CAEP and InTASC standards.

7. Currently, the InTASC standards are presented to seniors in the EDST program. Do the standards need to be introduced to students earlier? Possibly as early as freshman year?

8. As a point of reference, the faculty recognized the need to show the students how to access and conduct research. Where and how can this be integrated in the curriculum?

9. With the new standards, there is a need to look at the current student teacher evaluation and consider changing it or adding to the current model. Some possible options are: a) add a video component to the current Teacher Work Sample evaluation, b) consider using EdTPA and c) look at the Critical Competence Inventory that was developed as a student teacher evaluation tool by a consortium of NJ colleges.

10. Considering the new state regulations for students to pass the Core Academic Test before being admitted into an education program, students would need to pass it by the Fall of their Sophomore year. This raised the possible need to develop an orientation for freshman to help align and prepare them for passing the Core Academic Test. This requirement is explained in more detail in this post.

11. In an effort to increase communication and learn from each other, it was suggested to look for opportunities to cross-teach and learn from colleagues in many different areas, but particularly in the area of technology. How and where can we provide opportunities for internal professional development and cross-teaching?

12. Continue work on aligning the SPA standards with the InTASC standards.

Technology Terminology and Integration – CEHS College Retreat

On Friday, October 18, 2013, the College of Education and Human Services had a college wide retreat. Dean May identified technology as the underlying theme for the retreat. Aspects of the retreat focused on faculty sharing success stories of online and hybrid courses versus their on ground/face-to-face courses; a review of end of course evaluations and how well our students perceive their courses as effectively integrating technology and preparing them to teach using technology; and setting a baseline of technology terminology, tools, pathways of learning and methods of engagement.

Mary Zedeck, Instructional Designer from the TLTC, created and shared her Prezi on technology terms with the faculty. In addition, she provided the faculty with the following document as a resource on terminology, tools and methods of engagement.

The retreat was an excellent opportunity for all of the faculty and administration to work from a common understanding. It was the kick off for creating a baseline and launching the conversation for driving change and effectively integrating technology during the curriculum revision process.

Diversity and Technology Themes within the CAEP and InTASC Standards

CEHS has invested time and attention on identifying where the cross-cutting themes of ‘Diversity’ and ‘Technology and Digital Learning’ are evident within both the CAEP Standards and the 2013 InTASC Standards.

The work on aligning Diversity to CAEP and InTASC is based on Donna Gollnick and Deborah Eldridge’s work on how the theme of Diversity was integrated throughout all of the CAEP standards, which was presented at the Fall 2013 CAEP Conference in Washington, D.C. In addition, they looked at how the theme of Diversity mapped to the the InTASC standards.

CEHS took the opportunity to do similar work with the Technology & Digital Learning theme as it was presented in both the CAEP and InTASC Standards. The following is an excerpt directly from the CAEP Standards on the Technology cross-cutting theme and should be highly considered when addressing this theme:

“The essence of technology is rapid change. Members of the Commission realize that for accreditation standards that may be in place for the better part of a decade, it is not possible to anticipate every opportunity through which technology might have potential to advance instructional effectiveness and student learning and development. The Commission has concluded that the current possibilities are insufficiently exploited, and those for the future are beyond current forecasting ability. Educator preparation providers should keep up with research, and those preparing educators should model best practices in digital learning and technology applications that the EPP expects candidates to acquire.”

Both the Diversity and Technology alignment documents are posted within this site.

Curriculum Revision Meeting – Friday, September 27, 2013

The faculty from the Department of Educational Studies, along with the Dean of College of Education and Human Services, held their first meeting to kick off the curriculum redesign process.

The focus of the meeting was to introduce this blog and then to have the faculty break up into groups and review the five new CAEP standards. The task was to evaluate the language and expectations in the five standards and provide notes, questions and feedback to the entire group on where CEHS was already succeeding and meeting the standards, what are new areas to the standards not previously addressed and in which areas we can improve.

Due to the high level of engagement of the faculty groups, we were only able to provide feedback and notes on the first two standards. The faculty and department will continue the discussion and review of the remaining three CAEP Standards at the next meeting scheduled on Friday, October 25th at 9:30 in the 4th floor media lab.

The CAEP and NJDOE regulations alignment document and the Diversity alignment between CAEP and InTASC, both documents discussed and used during the meeting, can be found here.