Canvas Post-Announcement News (Part 2)

NOTE: The following information is also available in the IDT team's full Canvas Post-Announcement Newsletter in Sway.

Our Transition Plan

UHCL is in the very early stages of transitioning from Blackboard to Canvas. University Technology Advisory Committee (UTAC) reviewed a tentative plan in October 2022. Below is the high-level visual timeline for the UHCL transition plan. We expect to complete our transition by the end of Spring 2024.

The following additional resources outline UHCL’s tentative transition timeline and plan:

• [Document] Blackboard to Canvas: Transition Plan (October 2022) NOTE: This document is subject to change, especially in the period until the Provost makes his presentation at the November 2022 Faculty Senate meeting.
• [Video] Canvas Preliminary Transition Plan [11:48]
• [Webpage] IDT Canvas Faculty Support Page

When Can I Start Using Canvas?

Instructors cannot yet teach their UHCL classes in Canvas. However, there are several opportunities for faculty to get practice in using Canvas:

• Volunteer to be an "early adopter" or "Canvas champion." Complete and submit the online Canvas Pilot Program form for more information or to volunteer.
• Review the IDT team's document for Canvas "early birds" to complete the following:
• Sign up for a free Canvas account and begin learning Canvas and preparing your Blackboard courses for migration in Instructure's "public" Canvas system. NOTE: Instructors must not teach their UHCL classes from this public system. Think of it as a "sandbox" space to familiarize yourself with the new LMS, import into and edit your existing Blackboard course content in Canvas, or practice building a new course "from scratch" in the new environment.
• Complete the Introducing Canvas course available on UHCL's LinkedIn Learning system. NOTE: We recommend that you obtain a free Canvas account and create a blank shell on their public system in which you can practice as you advance through the two-hour training.
• Make plans to participate in the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team's upcoming informational and initial Canvas familiarization sessions beginning in November 2022.

“Early Adopters” and Canvas “Champions”

We recognize that UHCL faculty and staff may already have experience with, expertise in, or are simply eager to learn the Canvas LMS. Faculty have the option of volunteering to be a Canvas "early adopter," Canvas "champion," or both via our team's Canvas Pilot Program online request form.

• "Early Adopter:" faculty member who would like to prepare their course(s) and deliver them in Canvas before the SP24 full deployment semester. Early adopters may opt to first teach in Canvas in either the SU23 or FA23 semesters.
• Canvas "Champion:" faculty member with previous Canvas experience willing to support other instructors throughout the Canvas transition, provide regular feedback via the UTAC, and participate in Canvas informational and professional development sessions.

OIT's Instructional Design and Technology team looks forward to collaborating with all early adopters and Canvas champions throughout this exciting transition!

What Options Exist for Training/Support?

OIT's Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team is planning a robust schedule of informational and training opportunities that will begin in late October or early November 2022. Visit the IDT team's new Canvas Faculty Support webpage for the latest resources.

This "special edition" of the IDT weekly newsletter is the first of many electronic communications to the campus to keep everyone informed over the next 18 months. Our weekly newsletter will be the primary means of electronic communication. To continue receiving those newsletters, please email IDT@uhcl.edu to opt into the newsletter mailing list. Less frequent electronic communication may originate as emails from either IDT@uhcl.edu or SupportCenter@uhcl.edu, so please keep an eye out for emails from those addresses, especially if they reference Canvas in the subject.

We invite faculty to use our "early bird" instructions document to familiarize themselves with Canvas while we finalize training and professional development opportunities. The document includes instructions for creating a free Canvas account and information about a LinkedIn Learning course that can get you acclimated to the new system.

What’s Next?

OIT is working with the University of Houston System (UHS) to secure a contract for a UHCL-specific Canvas environment. The IDT staff is continuing our documentation efforts and setting a schedule for professional development and informational sessions beginning in November 2022.

Faculty with questions currently are welcome to contact their college's University Technology Advisory Committee (UTAC) representative or contact the Support Center to request a consultation with a member of the IDT team.

Canvas Post-Announcement News (Part 1)

NOTE: The following information is also available in the IDT team's full Canvas Post-Announcement Newsletter in Sway.

Provost’s Message from the Academic Affairs Update 10-24 Email - Learning Management System (LMS) Update

The University Technology Advisory Committee (UTAC) has explored options for transitioning from Blackboard to Canvas. The process included a survey among faculty to determine the needs of the LMS as well as familiarity with Canvas. UTAC has unanimously approved a recommendation to transition to Canvas. The Provost has accepted their recommendation and will present a transition plan at the next Faculty Senate Meeting. Dr. Jana Willis, the chair of UTAC, will be one of the presenters at Faculty Assembly, and faculty are invited to ask questions about UTAC’s recommendation during the Assembly. There is much work to be done, but please join us in thanking UTAC for their hard work that led to this recommendation, as well as their work to assist in the planning of a smooth transition.

What is Canvas?

Canvas by Instructure (Canvas) is a learning management system (LMS) used to deliver 100% online courses and to support teaching and learning in face-to-face, web-support, hybrid/blended, and HyFlex courses. On Instructure's Community page, What is Canvas? they describe their product as follows:
Canvas is a web-based learning management system or LMS. It is used by learning institutions, educators, and students to access and manage online course learning materials and communicate about skill development and learning achievement.

Major Improvements Over Blackboard

Blackboard and Canvas share many similarities. Both are categorized as learning management systems and are suitable for use by medium and large entities, including colleges, universities, K-12 schools, and businesses. They share a number of tools and features, although how each LMS refers to those tools and how they function differently from one another. The University of Houston’s Instruction@UH office webpage, Blackboard-to-Canvas Tool Comparison, provides a nice overview of both platforms’ major features, a brief description of differences, and links to Canvas resources about their version of each feature.

Those who have never seen a Canvas course are invited to view the IDT team’s “crash course” video, Canvas "First Look" [6:07], in which we provide a brief visual comparison of the same course in both Blackboard Learn and Instructure Canvas.

Link to Canvas Post-Announcement News (Part 2)

Resources and Professional Development Recommendations

Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Director - Technology Learning Services

Are you looking for some new information to support your web-supported, hybrid, or online teaching? If so, we suggest that you may find one or more of the following of value:

Recommended LinkedIn Learning Courses

As stated on UHCL’s Human Resources web page, “UHCL faculty and staff have free access to LinkedIn Learning.” Access LinkedIn Learning to review their “online library of instructional videos and content that will help you strengthen your skills in technology, business, creative design, and much more,” including the following:

• Teaching with Technology (2 hours 30 minutes) - Kevin Kelly
• Learning How to Increase Learner Engagement (41 minutes) - Karl Kapp
• Gamification of Learning (2 hours, 16 minutes) - Karl Kapp

New EDUCAUSE Articles

Martin, F. & Kui, X. (2022 Sept 27). Digital Transformation in Higher Education: 7 Areas for Enhancing Digital Learning. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/9/digital-transformation-in-higher-education-7-areas-for-enhancing-digital-learning

Abstract: This article reflects on current practices and directions for digital transformation through a framework that supports the strategic responses and structural changes that higher education institutions could implement to enhance digital teaching and learning.

Thanaraj, A., Durston, P., Chathangoth, A., & Sumpter, J. (2022 Jul 29). The Digital Learning Design Framework and Toolkit: Transforming Course Design. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/7/the-digital-learning-design-framework-and-toolkit-transforming-course-design

Abstract: Teesside University and Jisc UK have developed a Digital Learning Design Framework and Toolkit. The framework and toolkit were created to help nurture and cultivate the digital confidence and fluencies of teaching staff who design and deliver courses, challenging them to think about learning design and the intersection of pedagogy and digital solutions to map the student learning journey. This collaborative effort combines national and international perspectives on digital learning design. The toolkit contains seven sections and is intended to be used by course leaders and course design event facilitators to inform their course designs.

Downloadable the Toolkit PDF at https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2022/7/digitallearningdesignframeworkandtoolkit.pptx

General Tips for Hybrid Teaching: Part 1

Contributed by Jane Nguyen – Instructional Designer I (COE)

Some of you may be aware that in addition to being an instructional designer here at UHCL, I am also a long-time college instructor who has, for years, taught both in-person and online. Currently, it’s an in-person Saturday class at Houston Community College. Even with the “in-person” designation, however, our heavy use of a learning management system (LMS) when not in class makes it effectively hybrid as well.

So, this week I’d like to riff on hybrid teaching. This will necessarily mean tips on engaging students in the classroom, engaging them online, and how to bridge the two for hybrid cohesiveness. To make this clear and easy, I’ll organize this by mode and give two tips per mode (a small # since I tend to elaborate).

Classroom Teaching Tips

Pair Share – The potential for good class discussions is always the first thing I think of when I’m assigned an in-person class – how my class and I will engage in a lively intellectual conversation where people share intelligent perspectives along with relevant personal experiences. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen easily at all. Too often, students behave as if they have nothing to say even when given an interesting topic.

I find that…they do have something to say; they are often just disinclined to share it with the whole class (too much potential for embarrassment). I overheard another educator this week talking about the very same issue—students clamming up if they’re asked a question as a whole, but gabbing away the moment they’re put in a group of three to discuss or with just another partner.

So…do that. “Pair Share” is a good practice regardless of your content. You might think…but my content isn’t the type of content that students can or will discuss. First of all, you’d be surprised at what students can come up with even about factual, non-controversial, or what seems like “dry” topics. And two, talking to one’s neighbor (classmate sitting n isn’t always about hashing out a controversial issue or giving an opinion. Letting students summarize or explain a concept you just talked about helps them learn it and helps it crystallize in their working and long-term memory. It also gives them a chance to clarify information to each other, which they will do, and even if they don’t say so, the act of articulating and demystifying concepts through speaking out loud will feel satisfying to them.

I encourage you to do this even if you are lecturing. Find breakpoints within a 45-minute lecture to let students pair-share. These pair-shares (can be three students if you prefer) are typically followed by asking if any group or pair wants to share with the whole class (either their opinion or a point of confusion). It is often the case that they will at this point since now they feel more validated in their thoughts or confusion and are willing to take them public.

How to bridge to online mode on the LMS?

Consider latching onto an interesting point that was made in person and creating a discussion board prompt in Blackboard related to it, beginning it with “In class on Thursday, Parker made the astute observation that…” and then posing the new question.

You can also latch onto an interesting resource or idea a student brought up, and post links related to the student’s mention. (A couple Saturdays ago, a student of mine mentioned a book relevant to what we were discussing in class. The next day, I posted a link to the book on Amazon as well as a YouTube video/TED talk of a person talking about the book, and I mentioned the student who talked about it in class). When you do this consistently, you’re not only bridging the in-person realm and the online realm, you’re showing students that you’re thinking of them and the ways you want them to be enriched. The class also feels more personal because there isn’t just a fixed set of resources put in place at the beginning of the semester that every semester’s iteration of that class gets, but also intermittent personalization to their specific ideas, thoughts, and interests in that semester’s unique version of the class.

Play Music

This tip will be shorter because it’s a little more whimsical. But…I want to share that a couple Saturdays ago while I was waiting for class to fill up, I had YouTube up on my projector screen and the classroom sound on and allowed a few popular easy-listening songs to play while we were idle before class started. This was at a low/moderate volume but loud enough for us to listen and enjoy. Several of my students loved it. One said, with a peaceful look on her face, “I like this…this is nice.” Another said, bright-eyed, “I like this song. This is one of my favorites.” I said, “I was just trying to wake us up.” She said with a smile, “You did.”

Of course, I did not play music once we got started (although there are pedagogical approaches for the appropriate use of music during class too, especially when it’s related to your subject matter). But I think many educators could use a reminder that school environments should not be austere all the time. School is a place to learn, but that can happen in a relaxed, easygoing, friendly atmosphere while still being serious about learning. Not to mention…your students like to see the human side of you - the side that likes some of the same things they like.

How to bridge to online on the LMS?

Well, as I said, don’t be afraid to share school-appropriate elements of pop culture and entertainment that you enjoy and that might help relax your students and give them a sense of your class and college as serious but also fun, connected to real-life, pop culture, recreation, and niche interests, etc. Of course, as with everything, don’t go overboard!

This week, I gave two classroom teaching tips and bridged them to the LMS (Blackboard or Canvas). In my next installment, I’ll give two tips on components of your class that start online but are then taken to the in-person realm. Until then, here is a good resource from Cornell University about hybrid teaching.

New! McGraw Hill Connect LTIA Tool in Blackboard

Contributed by Jenn Ray, Learning Technology Administrator

Last month we updated our integration with McGraw Hill (McGraw Hill Connect) to their new LTIA tool from the older building block. This is due to the current building block being scheduled for decommissioning by Blackboard in December 2023. We will likely disable the old building block ahead of the Fall 2023 semester, but that leaves ample time for McGraw Hill users to familiarize themselves with the new process.

When transitioning from the legacy tool (the building block) to the new LTIA tool, you’ll need to delete all Connect content (assignments and grade columns) then redeploy Connect content after pairing with the new LTIA tool. If you are a McGraw Hill Connect user please review the information below:

• Informational Video: https://video.mhhe.com/watch/RaiKjxK34o5bADisSE6qgs (downloadable PDF at the :30s mark)
• Student Registration Information: https://www.mheducation.com/highered/support/connect/first-day-of-class/blackboard-ltia.html
• Faculty Training: https://www.mheducation.com/highered/acuity-scheduling
• McGraw Hill CXG Customer Support: https://mhedu.force.com/CXG/s/ContactUs

As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the OIT Support Center and a member of our team will reach out to assist.

Maximize Engagement with Articulate Rise 360

Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Director - Technology Learning Services

Although UHCL doesn’t have a campus-wide license for Articulate 360, the members of our IDT team have the software and are ready to support faculty and staff with designing and developing interactive lessons and tutorials for use within and outside Blackboard Learn.

What is Articulate 360?

Articulate 360 is a suite of software applications that can be used to create and deploy media-rich and interactive instructional content. The two primary Articulate apps are Rise (a great option for creating simple projects or for learning basic Articulate knowledge and skills) and Storyline (a much more robust and slightly more complicated tool, best for creating complex lessons and interactive elements). For this article, we’ll focus on Rise 360, which Articulate describes as “the fastest and easiest way to create fully responsive courses for any device.”

Rise 360 Sample Courses/Demonstrations

To better understand Rise 360’s capabilities and begin thinking about how you might leverage it to support your teaching, we recommend the following resources:

• Rise Example: Creating Social Change: A Guide for Everyday Citizens
• Rise Example: Food Allergy Awareness
• Rise-Based Interactive Infographic: Beer Brewing 101
• Rise-Based Example: AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) is UDL (Universal Design for Learning)

As shown is these sample lessons and courses, Rise 360 enables you to combine video, audio, text, images, and interactive exercises to create engaging and creative instruction. Once you’ve had time to review these samples, and assuming they prompt you to consider how Rise 360 lessons might support your teaching, contact the IDT team for a consultation. The quickest way to reach us is by contacting OIT’s Support Center and requesting assistance from OIT’s Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team. Our Support Center colleagues will create a help ticket for your inquiry and pass it on, where it will be assigned to the most appropriate member of the IDT staff.

Bb Ally: Adding a Layer of Accessibility to Online Learning

Contributed by Henry Newkirk, Instructional Designer II (HSH)

Ally is a Blackboard integrated tool that helps makes course materials accessible to all students regardless of differences in vision or hearing, specific learning disabilities, or learning preferences. Leveraging the Ally tool in Blackboard helps address students' diverse needs online. Ally provides equitable access to online course materials, not just for accessibility accommodations.

Ally Alternative Formats

Ally creates alternative formats of instructors' course content based on the original. Instructors do not need to do anything to provide these options to students. The user gains access to the automatically created alternative formats via the Ally link that appears next to content items in Blackboard courses. For a complete description of the formats, go to the Blackboard Ally Alternate Format page.

Accessibility Score Indicators

Ally measures the accessibility of each file attached to a course and shows the instructor at a glance how it scores (these scores are not visible to students). Scores range from Low to Perfect. The higher the score, the fewer the issues. For files with Low to High scores, Ally provides the instructor with information about the problems and step-by-step guidance on fixing them. To get the course report from the Add Menu Item on the Course Menu, click Tool Links and select from the (Type row) drop-down menu Accessibility Report. Once you choose it, you must type in a name for the link; you do not have to make the link available to users. Click the Submit button, and the link will appear on the Course Menu.

Course Accessibility Report

The course accessibility report acts as a complement to the existing accessibility indicators. It provides an accessibility summary and overview at the course level.
The report shows instructors this helpful information:

• Accessibility score for the course
• Distribution of course content by content type
• List of all issues identified in the course

The Remaining issues section of the report allows the instructor to address each issue.

Watch the two brief videos, Introduction to Ally and an Overview for Faculty, to learn more about Ally. As always, you are welcome to request a consultation with an Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team member to learn more about Blackboard Ally or any other instructional design/technology topics. To request personalized assistance, don't hesitate to contact OIT's Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.

Blackboard Puzzler: How Can I Check on My Student Groups?

Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Director, Technology Learning Services

It’s quite common for the IDT team to field inquiries from instructors who would like to see what’s going on in their individual Blackboard groups. When in Instructor mode, you simply can’t see or experience the groups as your students do. However, you can do so when in Student Preview mode…with a bit of planning and preparation.

Begin by entering Student Preview mode using the Enter Student Preview icon in the upper right of your Blackboard screen.

Activating and Saving Your Student Preview User

Once in Student Preview mode, complete as a student any Syllabus Quiz, Academic Honesty Quiz, or other tasks if you use such assignments to adaptively release contents. Next, click the Settings button for Student Preview (1). In the Student Preview Settings box, select the option to “Keep the preview user and all data (2).” Then, click the Save button (3). With those steps complete, click the Exit Preview button (4) to return to Instructor mode.



You have now created and saved a new student user, Username_PreviewUser, in the course. You can even see them in the Grade Center. You’ll next add that student user to all of your student Groups.

Adding PreviewUser to Groups

Navigate to where you have the Groups tool deployed for students. If you can’t locate it, that’s OK. Go to your lower Course Management menu, expand the Users and Groups label, and then click the Groups option.



Locate a group to which you want to add your PreviewUser. Click the edit icon to the right of the group name. Then select the Edit Group option from the menu.



Once on the resulting Edit Group screen, scroll all the way down to the Membership region of the page. Then, click the Add Users button.



At the Add Users screen, check the box to the left of your PreviewUser name. Then click the Submit button.



You’ll be returned to the previous screen’s Membership area, where you can confirm that your PreviewUser has been added. Click the Submit button to proceed.



Repeat the steps above to add your PreviewUser to other groups.

Accessing a Group as PreviewUser

To enter a Group space as your “student” PreviewUser, use the Enter Student Preview icon in the upper right of your Blackboard screen.



Next, locate and click the Groups link you’ve provided to your students to let them access their Groups. At the Groups screen, click the name of a group to access it.



Once on the Group’s page, you can access all of the areas and tools (e.g., Discussions, File Sharing) that you provided students when you originally created the groups. For most instructors, they want to see whether discussions are taking place, which you can do from this screen by clicking the Group Discussion Board link.

Once you’re finished checking on your student groups’ activity, remember to exit Student Preview to return to Instructor mode in your course.

Improving PowerPoint Presentations: Images

Contributed by Jane Nguyen, Instructional Designer I (CSE)

This is the third article in my series about improving PowerPoint presentations. As with many ed tech tools and pedagogical approaches, PowerPoint undeservedly catches a lot of flak, with people calling it “unimaginative,” “boring,” and “lazy.” What people often don’t realize is that the tool itself is amazing; it is the way people use it that is poor; they fail to engage when they don’t have sound knowledge of how to (or even if they should) place elements and in what quality and form. Personally, I can never get tired of talking about PowerPoint because it is a tool that I love, despite all the hate it gets.

So…let’s get back into it. I’ve previously talked a lot about text in PowerPoint, and now I want to focus on images.

Making images larger

The thing is…images are king. PowerPoint presenters don’t leverage them enough. People are very visual and nothing reels them in like a powerful image. So…even if you are already a person who includes images near text to convey your learning content, consider making the images bigger in relation to the text, especially if you are presenting your PowerPoint and it is not simply being posted to Blackboard or another LMS for learners to view and read.

Presenters and teachers are conditioned to believe that the words are the most important element on PowerPoint slides because…well, that’s the information. There’s some validity to that, but it is still the case that in terms of engagement, viewers are drawn into a powerful image and may listen to your words more attentively since you’ve caught their attention. The image being “powerful” has to do with the image itself, but also to do simply with how big you make it on the slide.

Look at the difference between these two slides and consider how one might be more captivating than the other. It’s a subtle effect, but…don’t be afraid to size up your images for greater engagement.

Of course, size decisions still depend on what you want for a given slide. There may be some slides where you want students to notice the text more than the image, at least initially (presumably you want them to notice both). In those cases, by all means make the text bigger. The point is, be intentional with where you want attention drawn, and size elements accordingly rather than rotely make everything the same size.

Avoid multiple images

Another image mistake to avoid is having too many photos on a single slide. The temptation to put four photos on one slide may be there sometimes, as you’ll feel “thorough” having many photos reinforcing your content. Two or three photos may be an acceptable max; when you get into four or five, you may be dividing the viewer’s attention too much, to the point that they are too distracted by various photos to listen to you (the speaker) or to even be able to focus on any one photo. A quality image or two should be good enough.

Maintain diversity in photos

When including images of people in your PowerPoints, be mindful of including people from many different backgrounds, in terms of race, ethnicity, disability status, body size, height, age, hair color, etc. It can be easy to inadvertently include only a narrow “type” of people in images, especially if one is drawing from free stock photos on the Internet, which for a while now have skewed toward very mainstream. Though this is changing and you will see stock photos that reflect more diversity, you may still end up having to be intentional about which photos you pick. The reality is that college students come in all body sizes, hair colors, ages, backgrounds, etc, Some are in wheelchairs, some are 40 rather than 18 or 20, some have hair with green highlights, some have tattoos. They are all students who should be represented even in learning content such as images in PowerPoints.

For more on images in PowerPoints, here is an excellent tip sheet:

A Guide to Using Images and Photos for PowerPoint.

Zoom Learning Center

Contributed by Samantha (Sam) Houston, Learning Technology Administrator

Did you know that Zoom offers free training through its Learning Center? The Zoom Learning Center provides video tutorials, on-demand courses, and live training covering Zoom Meetings and Webinars. It is available to all Zoom users, regardless of account type or user role!

To access the Zoom Learning Center, ensure you are logged into your Zoom account. Log into https://go.uhcl.edu with your UHCL credentials and click the Zoom tile. Once logged in, click or paste the following link into your browser's address bar: https://learning.zoom.us/pages/27/home

From Zoom Learning Center, you can:

Enroll in an On-demand course!

Not sure what to take or how to get started? Click on the Course Catalog tile to search for and enroll in an on-demand Zoom course of your choice:

Register for a Live Training Session!

Get tips, tricks, and real-time demonstrations from one of Zoom's expert trainers in a live training session. Click the Live Training tile and search for an upcoming live training on a Zoom topic of your choice:

View the Video Tutorials

If you're looking for quick help on a specific skill or feature, explore our vast "Show Me" video collection. Click on the "Show me" Videos tile to view Zooms Video tutorial collection:

If you have any questions about the above information, don't hesitate to contact the Support Center at either 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu, and a team member will be in touch to assist!

September is National Preparedness Month: Are You Academically Prepared?

Contributed by Henry Newkirk, Instructional Designer II (HSH)

Hello everyone, and congratulations on getting the semester off to a great start! As we forge ahead, remember that September is National Preparedness Month and that September is the peak of the hurricane season along the Texas gulf coast. Have you considered how you might prepare for campus closures due to the weather? What is your plan as an instructor? If you have not taken the time to think about an instructional continuity plan for your class(es), please consider making a simple plan now. Let’s review some essential preparation tips faculty can use to make up lost instructional contact hours for their face-to-face, web-supported, or partially online classes.

The great news is that, especially after two or more years of “emergency online” teaching, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, let’s examine how you can use the wheel to your advantage. There are several essential elements you should know how to do to prepare your Blackboard shell for an emergency. You may find the information in our Disaster Recovery – Blackboard Basics document to be a useful starting point.

Please note that you already have a blackboard shell for all your courses. Once you log into Blackboard there are several resource links that I would like to bring to your attention.

 

The first resource option is the UHCL Faculty Blackboard Support link. Click this link to access several categories of resources to support your teaching.

One link on the Blackboard Faculty Support page leads to a link named Instructional Continuity, where you will find a variety of information, text, and video instructions on operating under extreme conditions. Here is a sampling of resource links from that page:
Blackboard-Specific Resources

• Document: Disaster Recovery Basics
• Video: Post-Disaster Blackboard Basics [9:44]
• Video: Create an Announcement [2:34]
• Video: Upload a Syllabus (or other documents/files) [2:29]
• Video: Using Course Messages [1:35]
• Web Page: Using Online Discussions
• Video: Create Assignment Drop Box [2:32]
• Video: Grading Assignments [1:17]
• Video: Creating an Online Test [1:41]

The final resource we will discuss is the OIT Instructional Design and Technology Blog. There are well over 223 archived blog training and support items we’ve posted over the past several years, including the team’s newsletters and our “Crash Course” videos. You can search for specific items by keyword or select from the list of topic-specific labels to find the information most useful to you.

In conclusion, we hope that these resources will support your efforts to maintain instructional continuity in the event of a campus closure. The following planning list includes critical items you may want to consider as you craft your personalized emergency plan.

1. What tools will you use to communicate with students?
2. Post an updated syllabus in each course.
3. How will you provide documents, videos, readings, and other content to students?
4. How will you collect student work?
5. How will you establish and maintain class interactions between yourself and your students and among the students themselves?
6. Do you know how to use Zoom or Microsoft teams for web-conferencing so that you could host virtual classes? Consider recording class sessions.
7. Think about how you will assess student learning and what adjustments you might make if on-campus attendance were suspended.
8. Familiarize yourself with instructor tools in Blackboard for grading student work and providing feedback via text, audio, and video.

The above items were adapted from the Continuity Planning Checklist. If you have all the items above planned for, you are well on your way to being prepared. If you need assistance in planning, please contact the Support Center and one of the IDT team’s staff members will be assigned to assist you.

IDT Crash Course Video Library (Aug 31, 2022 Newsletter Article)

Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Ph.D., Director - Technology Learning Services

Have you heard about the IDT team's "Crash Course" Videos? In recent semesters, our team has created an expanding library of short (typically 5-10 minute long) videos on a variety of instructional technology tools. You may access the full library in our blog post, "Crash Course" Video Library.

Our latest additions include the following:

• Accessing Echo360 in Bb [8:18]
• Importing Existing Zoom Meetings to Bb [2:38]
• Zoom in Blackboard - FA22 [4:00]

A few of our older videos that faculty have used in these early weeks of the new semester include the following:

• Rally/PTZ Cameras and Zoom: A Brief Tutorial [2:24]
• Rally/PTZ Classroom Cameras Overview [4:26]
• Embedded Questions in Videos [6:03]
• Automatic Transcripts and Closed Captions in Echo360 [4:29]
• Setting Zoom to Work with Echo360 [2:55]
• Providing Audio and Video Feedback to Students [1:46]

Do you have ideas for new "crash course" videos? The IDT team is standing by for your requests and suggestions for new short videos that meet your just-in-time needs. Please email us at IDT@uhcl.edu with your requests, and we'll get a new video made, send you a link, and make the link available to others via our blog page and weekly newsletter!

Revisiting Objectives for Course Design

Contributed by Henry Newkirk, Instructional Designer II (HSH)

When building a new course, especially a new online one, where do you begin? Should you construct the syllabus and schedule? Select a textbook? Assemble your exams? Although these questions contribute to the design and development of a new course, there is a more fundamental place to start -- learning outcomes and objectives.

Outcomes/Objectives lay the foundation for beginning course design with the end in mind. Specifically, you should ask yourself, "what should my students be able to do at the end of the class that they may have been unable to do at the beginning?" Once you know where you want your students to go (academically speaking), you can better select, plan, and develop the contents and activities to get them there and design assessments that accurately measure whether or not they have arrived. Let's look at an example of how we might operationalize and guide course development around the objective "Explain the effect of immigration on American culture."

It's All About the Action Verbs

Objectives define what students should be able to do as a result of successful completion of a course. They should also be measurable, a lack of which is a critical weakness in many "objectives" provided by textbook publishers and others. Although not the only such tool, Bloom's taxonomy (as shown in this table) provides a good starting point for identifying actionable, measurable verbs on which to base learning objectives for your class.

Be careful of two common errors: (1) vague verbs and (2) non-objectives. Vague verbs include statements such as "The student will understand how multiple factors led to America's entry into World War II." In addition to "understand," other common vague/weak verbs are "know," "appreciate," "learn," and "be familiar with." They are considered vague because they don't describe what students will do to demonstrate their knowledge, appreciation, learning, or familiarity. Non-objectives are statements such as "The student will be able to complete the Chapter 3 exam successfully." As Smith (2012) explained in a blog entry from Arizona State University's Teach Online resources, "If your assessment is being used to meet your objective, then you will want to write a measurable objective that describes the content of the assessment."

Course Design and Learning Objectives

What do learning objectives have to do with effective course design, you ask? Good objectives are the foundation of an excellent course, and all instructional materials, activities, assessments, and tools must align to support student success in mastering the objectives. Keeping this in mind, the three main course components that provide a solid course structure are:

• Learning Objectives represent the outcome and attainment of knowledge and skills planned using the supporting two components. Objectives should be created and or written from the student's perspective and then clearly referenced throughout the course to show students how each element contributes to their attainment of the learning outcomes. Such clarity and prominence make the objectives the foundation of learning.
• Instructional Content and Activities are critical to course design. Examining each learning objective should guide you in selecting, developing, and implementing course materials and activities that are directly related to the objective. Use activities that align with the actual skill you want the students to master. For example, suppose you have an objective that stipulates students will be able to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of government systems. In that case, the only related activity should not be a multiple-choice self-quiz.
• Assessments and Tools are the final components that must align with a course's learning outcomes. Assessments, especially comprehensive or terminal projects, papers, exams, etc., should be overtly related to learning objectives and course outcomes. Often left unconsidered is the selection of course tools based on which will most likely promote learners' achievement of course and module objectives. For example, assume that your course includes a learning objective in which students will "debate the merits and limitations of representative democracy." In this case, an assignment in which students write a paper for instructor review/feedback only would not align with the objective. You would want to select a tool that supports students in debating one another, such as a discussion forum, virtual meeting, etc.

To plan for instructional alignment during the course design process, we recommend using a course planning/design tool. Examples include the IDT team's Instructional Plan document, DePaul University's Course Blueprint document, and the Online Course Blueprint Planning Guide from the University of Michigan's Center for Academic Innovation. In addition, it's a good idea to examine each section of your course as you develop it and ask the following questions regarding instructional alignment:

• Are the learning activities consistent with all the learning goals? 
• Are the feedback and assessment activities consistent with the learning goals and the learning activities?

Additional details regarding instructional alignment, and course design in general, can be found within Fink's online A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning.

You are welcome to request a consultation with a member of our Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team to learn more about objectives for your course design or any other instructional design/technology topic. To request personalized assistance, don't hesitate to contact OIT's Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.

Recommended Articles (Week of April 11, 2022)

Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Ph.D., Director - OIT Technology Learning Services

Below are this week's recommended articles for your perusal:

Zheng, H. (2022 February 17). Short and Sweet: The Educational Benefits of Microlectures and Active Learning. EDUCAUSE. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/2/short-and-sweet-the-educational-benefits-of-microlectures-and-active-learning

Description: The combination of short videos and active learning techniques can create rich, engaging educational experiences to maximize learning.

Cummins, S., Beresford, A. R., and Rice, A. (2016). Investigating engagement with in-video quiz questions in a programming course. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 9(1), 57-66. 10.1109/TLT.2015.2444374.

Abstract Excerpt: "The results from this investigation demonstrate that in-video quizzes were successful in creating an engaging and interactive mode of content delivery. We recommend that in-video quizzes be used to increase the interactivity of video content as well as supporting formative assessment within a flipped classroom environment" (Cummins, Beresford, & Rice, 2016, p. 57).

Samson, P. J. (2022 March 1). Students Often Prefer In-Person Classes . . . Until They Don't. EDUCAUSE. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/3/students-often-prefer-in-person-classes-until-they-dont

Description: In this article, Perry J. Samson (Professor in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan) discusses his students' delivery mode preferences in his HyFlex (combination of in-person, synchronous online, and asynchronous options) course.

Tips for Teaching with Zoom from the University of Virginia

Contributed by Jenn Ray, Learning Technology Administrator I

While the University of Virginia (UVA) does not use the exact Learning Management System that we do, we can learn much from a look at the recommendations about online teaching that they've shared with UVA faculty. One resource from UVA's help site for their LMS is an excellent article with tips for teaching online with Zoom. We realize that many of our faculty have been using Zoom for a while. However, there may be some information in this article that even an experienced user would find helpful!

You can view the article at https://uvacollab.screenstepslive.com/m/integrations/l/1214518-tips-for-teaching-online-in-zoom, but below are some of the critical points from UVA:

 

• Install the Zoom client on your device. This suggestion is something we also recommend for Zoom users at UHCL. While it is possible to use Zoom in a browser, it works much better and is easier to navigate within the client app. You should already have the client installed on your UHCL computers, but if not, you can email the Support Center to request that Tech Services install it on your device. For personal devices, log in to go.uhcl.edu and then click on the Zoom card. Under "Resources" near the top of the page, you should see the Download Center, where you can download the client.
• Join a practice session. If you're not familiar with Zoom, it is always a good idea to create a meeting and practice using the controls, check your microphone/camera set up, and check your surroundings that will be on camera before it's time to hold your class. Doing so will ensure a smooth start to your class meeting.
• Record your meeting. You can set your meeting to record automatically upon scheduling. If you do this or start recording while you're in a meeting via the Meeting Controls, be sure to select the option to record to the cloud. This will make it easier to locate the recording once it has been processed. An additional note: At UHCL, we also have Echo360 integrated with Zoom. If you intend on doing a lot of recording in Zoom, or if you know that you will want to keep a Zoom recording long term, be sure to activate your Echo360 account before you record in Zoom. When you save your Zoom recordings to the cloud, it will also save a copy of that video to your Echo360 library. Zoom's cloud storage space is finite, and OIT deletes Zoom recordings at regular intervals (recordings from the current semester will not be deleted during that semester). On the other hand, Echo360's cloud space does not have the same limitations, and you will be able to keep recordings there long-term. If you need assistance activating your Echo360 account, don't hesitate to contact the Support Center, and a member of our team will be assigned to assist.

The UVA article also lists some tips with Zoom's help videos attached, which can be a great resource to have on hand if you want to access something quickly. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the Support Center at SupportCenter@uhcl.edu or 281.283.2828.

Student Video Submissions from Echo360 to Blackboard

Contributed by Sam Houston - Learning Technology Administrator 

If you will be having students submit videos as graded assignments, we recommend having them first upload their videos to their Echo360 libraries, then submit a link to their video assignment in Blackboard, instead of directly uploading those videos into your courses. Having students upload links instead of video files keeps your course file size small, so that your course continues to get backed up.

As reported in our March 29, 2021 newsletter, your students can upload their own video projects into Echo360 and then submit a hyperlink to their video in an assignment dropbox, discussion, or other Blackboard tools for review and grading.

Even if you don't use Echo360 to create and store videos, you may still enable students to access Echo360 in your course for these types of activities. Simply add an Echo360 link to your Course Menu and let them know that it's there for them to use for video submissions. Adding this link to your course menu also enables your students to create their own Echo360 accounts.

A "how-to" document for students has been created to assist with adding saved mp4 files to an Echo360 library, so feel free to share this with your students. 

Since students can also have licensed Zoom accounts, they can create recordings for assignments using Zoom that can be automatically uploaded into their Echo360 libraries. Students who are unsure about the type of Zoom account they have will need to email the Support Center to request a Zoom licensed account. Once a student has a licensed Zoom account, they should be able to record their videos to the cloud by following these steps: 

1. Log in to https://uhcl.zoom.us/ with your UHCL credentials.
2. Click "Meetings" in the menu on the left.
3. Click Schedule a meeting.
4. When choosing the settings for the Zoom meeting(s), make sure to select the option to record to the cloud. By doing so, any Zoom meetings you record to the cloud will automatically be uploaded into the Echo360 library.
5. Once the Zoom recordings have been uploaded to the Echo360 library, follow the instructions in the "how-to" document starting with step 7. (Click on the thumbnail for the video that was uploaded) to submit the recording in Blackboard. 

For more information about recording and saving a presentation in Zoom, visit the new Zoom Learning Center to enroll in and complete the short course, Record Your Meeting or Webinar. When prompted to enter your email and password, use your UHCL computer account credentials.

For information about the Echo360-related steps, refer to our support document, Submitting Video Assignments in Blackboard Via Echo360.

If your students find that they are unable to record to the cloud or if they have any questions, please have them contact the Support Center (supportcenter@uhcl.edu).

Blackboard Tip: Using Teaching Style Customization Options

Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)

Today, I will look at a part of the Blackboard Course Management menu that many of you may not even know is there. The Course Management menu is the lower half of the Blackboard Course Menu, the dark gray area on the left side of your Blackboard course. The Course Menu is only visible to instructors and includes commonly used sub-menus like Course Tools, Users and Groups, and Grade Center. Below those sub-menus, however, is one called Customization, and within that sub-menu is another sub-menu called Teaching Style.

The Teaching Style sub-menu contains four tools that can help you organize and build your course to reflect your teaching style and help make it your own. The first tool is Select Course Structure. The Select Course Structure tool allows you to choose a basic organizational structure for your course based on five focus areas. The five focus areas are Activity, Communication, Content, Systems, and Time. Each focus area provides several different menu organization options that will create a basic menu structure and a selection of content areas and tools designed to reflect a specific teaching style. For example, the Focus on Activity section features options such as Case Study, Constructivism, and Experiential learning, while the Focus on Communication section features choices such as Cooperative Learning and Guided Discussion. If you are not sure which one you might want to choose, you can click on any of the options to get a description and preview of the menu style. If you find one you like, click the Use This Structure button to organize your course in that style. IMPORTANT! If you apply a new Teaching Style (Course Structure) to a course with an existing menu structure, you can only restore the menu to its previous design by manually deleting each of the new menu items added when you applied the new Teaching Style. 

For more information about the Teaching Style (Course Structures) option, please refer to either of the following resources:

• Crash Course - Bb Course Structures/Teaching Styles [8:03]
• Blackboard Course Structures Help Site
  

The second tool is Select Course Entry Point. This tool allows you to select the first page users will see when they open the course. All you have to do is click the drop-down menu and select the page you would like to use for your entry point.

The third tool is Default Content View. This tool allows you to decide whether you would like each content item or area in your course to be represented by just an icon for the type of content, such as a file folder for a Content Folder or a file page for an individual Content Item, just the text title you gave the item or area, or both an icon and the text title. Blackboard automatically defaults to both, but you can change if you prefer. There is also a checkbox that will also allow you to apply the change to all of the existing content in the course.

The last tool is Select Banner. This tool allows you to select an image to serve as a banner at the top of the course’s Entry Point. You can choose any image you have saved to your local files, but Blackboard recommends a size of approximately 480 x 80 pixels to avoid cropping the image in some browser windows. The tool also allows you to add alt text to your banner image for accessibility.

Finally, don’t worry if you change your mind about any of these options. There is still a Cancel button in the bottom right corner of the screen. The changes won’t be finalized until you click the Submit button to the right of the Cancel button. If you have any questions about using any of the Teaching Style tools or are unsure which Course Structure would be best for your course, please consult your designated Instructional Designer.

Video Discussion: Pandemic Era College Teaching: Challenges & New Paradigms

Contributed by Jane Nguyen, Instructional Designer I (CSE)

Recently I had the pleasure of hosting a long-form video discussion (Pandemic Era College Teaching: Challenges & New Paradigms) with three Houston-area instructors: Jennifer Adams, Sociology Professor at University of Houston (Main); Kathryn Peterson, Adjunct English Instructor at UHCL; and Amy Larsen, Assistant Professor of English at Lone Star College.

We dialogued about challenges in teaching during the pandemic, hybrid/hy-flex classes, fully online learning, social constructivism, learner-centered approaches, and significant learning.

Social constructivism as a learning theory “focuses on the collaborative nature of learning. Knowledge develops from how people interact with each other, their culture, and society at large. Students rely on others to help create their building blocks, and learning from others helps them construct their own knowledge and reality.”

It is an offshoot of constructivism as a learning theory: “a theory that says learners construct knowledge rather than just passively take in information. As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing knowledge and schemas.”

We all agreed that centering learners is important, that students be seen as active agents who bring their own knowledge, past experiences, education, and ideas to their learning, and that this impacts how they take in new information and learn. A big part of being learner-centered is allowing students--at least in some parts of their coursework--choice, ownership, voice & authenticity.

Finally, significant learning was addressed. This means not just providing information, theories, and concepts to students, but encouraging them to apply that foundational knowledge in meaningful ways, make connections through integration, gain more connection with & caring toward other humans and themselves, and better learn how to learn.

I hope you’ll listen to our conversation and consider how some of our ideas & thoughts on teaching and learning mesh with your own and how challenges can be addressed.

You may also wish to explore these resources related to social constructivism, learner-centered approaches, and significant learning: 

• Social Constructivism in Education
• Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Practices to Change
• The Power of Significant Learning During Course Development

Vendor Updates and Reminders - February 2022

Reminders from ProctorU - Midterms are Right Around the Corner

As we approach the Midterms season, here are some important best practices to consider while using online proctoring.

• Provide your students with our best practices by sharing the Five Steps for Success guides.
• Please ensure that all exams are entered at least 2-3 weeks in advance of the exam start date.
• Encourage students to schedule their appointments at least a week in advance or at the minimum 72 hours in advance of their desired appointment time.
• We can accommodate up to 300 test-takers per hour and need at minimum a 1-hour window for every exam entered.
• Communicate expectations, relay permitted resources for exams, and codes of conduct with students so they are prepared for their ProctorU session.
• MythBusters addresses common misconceptions students have about online proctoring.

In need of a refresher on how to use the ProctorU system? Sign up for ProctorU 101 below.

• ProctorU 101 for Live+ and Review+ Exams
• ProctorU 101 for Record+ Exams

Best of luck on Midterms!

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Upcoming Webinar from Echo360

Session: Maximize Your Hybrid and Remote Teaching: Video Engagement for You and Your Students
Wednesday, February 23 at 11:00 AM EST | 4:00 PM GMT
Presented By:

• Dr. Linsey Donner, Assistant Professor, College of Allied Health Professions, University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Marnie Imhoff, Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center

In this webinar, our presenters will discuss the use of Echo360 among other technologies to best fit your class format. Examples will be provided for different course modalities to include online asynchronous, hybrid, and in-person class formats. They will also demonstrate how their use of Echo360 allowed for adoption of active learning strategies, which has shown to increase student engagement, course satisfaction, and performance.

To register for this event, please use the following hyperlink: https://blog.echo360.com/hybrid-online-teaching-webinars-22

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Getting Started with Echo360

This relatively new website created by Echo360 offers an excellent starting point for your Echo360 journey. The site is "here to provide Instructors a walk-through of the more commonly used features of Echo360. The pages contain click-through infographics, videos, links to our online documentation, and Quick Reference Card links, available for viewing and download as PDFs."

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Echo360 New Features and Enhancements

• January 25-26, 2022 Updates - To learn more about these items, as well as recently applied fixes, visit Echo360's support article, Deployment Notes: 25-26 January 2022.
• Users can now apply a Custom Thumbnail/Preview image for Video and Audio Media
• Improved accessibility for media transcripts
• iOS devices can now play embedded media without enabling cookies
• February 9-10, 2022 Updates - To learn more about these items, as well as recently applied fixes, visit Echo360's support article, Deployment Notes: 9-10 February 2022.
• Introducing Collections
• Consolidated Analytics
• New Question and Answer report in the Reporting API
• New Public API for Custom Thumbnail
• Accessibility Enhancements

Reminders about Respondus Lockdown Browser

If your students will be taking quizzes or exams using Respondus Lockdown Browser, please remind them of the following:

• Before exam day, students should download and install the UHCL-specific Respondus Lockdown browser on their computer by using the following link: UHCL-specific LockDown Browser Download and Information for Students. NOTE: We have seen an increasing number of students trying to download the wrong Respondus product so putting the UHCL-specific Respondus Lockdown browser link in your course may help.
• On the day of the exam, students should make sure they access the exam in Blackboard only by opening and using the UHCL-specific Respondus Lockdown Browser. NOTE: Using any other browser to access the exam will bring them to the exam’s password page. The “password” is not one that instructors give students; the password is automatically entered when clicking the exam in Blackboard from the Respondus Lockdown Browser ONLY.

For more helpful information and videos on Respondus Lockdown Browser, view the Student Information and Faculty Information tabs located at https://www.uhcl.edu/computing/course-development/online-proctoring-resources. As always, if you have any questions about the above information, please feel free to contact the Support Center at either 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu, and a member of our team will be in touch to assist.