E-Letter September 2010
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News & Notes on Teaching and Learning with Technology
Crystal Nielsen, Editor
September 2010
Contents
Students to Share Thoughts on ANGEL Usage
Plagiarism Detection Tool Upgraded
Just-in-Time Help Available
E-Learning Services Sees Slight Changes
TAs Available to Simplify Your Work Life
ANGEL Maintenance on Fourth Thursdays
ANGEL Tips and Tricks
- Appropriately Pasting Content from MS Word
- Managing Your Course List
- Uploading User-Friendly Files
Online Learning Opportunities
- Online Course Design & Development
- Synchronous Tools in Online and Blended Courses
- Online Coursebuilding with ANGEL
- 3D Immersive Online Conference
- ANGEL Training for Instructors
Onsite Learning Opportunities
- ANGEL Open Labs
Offsite Learning Opportunities
- Turning Technologies User Conference
- TurnItIn User Event
- 5th Annual Northwest eLearning Conference
- 16th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning
Resources
- Study: Definitive Research on Distance vs. Traditional Education
- List: Mindset of This Year's Freshmen
E-Learning Services Personnel
Scriptural Food for Thought:
"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. ... The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:5, 7 NIV
Students to Share Thoughts on ANGEL Usage
Our periodic ANGEL Idea Exchanges are designed to allow instructors an opportunity to share great ideas and best practices. This semester, we'll hear directly from students how they would like to see their ANGEL courses fleshed out.
ANGEL Idea Exchange:
Student Panel on ANGEL Use in Traditional Courses
Thursday, Sept. 30
11 a.m. to noon
Helstrom 101
Feel free to bring your lunch. And coming November 30, we'll hear from students in online courses. That particular ANGEL Idea Exchange will also be webcast via Adobe Connect so that distance students and instructors can participate.
Plagiarism Detection Tool Upgraded
The plagiarism-detection service known as TurnItIn received an upgrade this month. The main difference with "TurnItIn2" appears in the Originality Reports:
All formatting of a student's paper isnow preserved. This includes:
- the paper's layout
- styled text
- graphics
- tables
- charts
The layout of the actual Originality Report has changed. This includes:
- the color coding of text that may have been plagiarized
- the list of possible sources
Visit the TurnItIn website to see illustrated details about the changes. If you would like to learn how to use TurnItIn, contact E-Learning Services at elearning(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8034.
TurnItIn has also announced that it conducts routine maintenance from 8 a.m. to noon MT on the first and third Saturdays of each month. During this time, TurnItIn's services may be unavailable.
Just-in-Time Help Available
Perhaps you have received formal training in ANGEL and still have a few lingering questions. E-learning Services provides two ways for you to receive just-in-time assistance
ANGEL Open Labs
Attending another Learning Opportunity isn't necessary -- just come to an Open Lab. These sessions are weekly opportunities for you to come to a quiet computer lab, work on your course, and get quick assistance from an E-Learning employee when needed. An RSVP is not required.
Every Tuesday | Drop in between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. | Helstrom 205 |
Every Wednesday | Drop in between 8:30 and 10 a.m. | Helstrom 205 |
ANGEL House Calls
Another way to receive quick answers is through ANGEL House Calls. Instructional Technologist Crystal Nielsen and/or eLearning TAs make periodic visits to the academic departments. When we poke our heads in to see if you have questions, we'll consult with you on the spot, as needed. Of course, you can always contact us at elearning(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8034.
E-Learning Services Sees Slight Changes
In order to serve the NNU community better, the E-Learning Systems Manager position is now within Information Technology rather than E-Learning Services.
Created two years ago, the position naturally entails very technical work, as this person manages the back end of our ANGEL and ePortfolio systems. With the change that took place this summer, Carlyle King is considered an IT employee with an emphasis on E-Learning. He now reports directly to Dr. Eric Kellerer, Executive Director of IT, with a dotted-line relationship to the supervisor for E-Learning Services and Dean of Learning Resources, Dr. Sharon Bull.
Carlyle's physical work location has moved to IT on the third floor of Emerson, but his responsibilities remain unchanged. He will continue to serve the NNU community by managing ANGEL accounts, courses and enrollments, and by troubleshooting more difficult issues referred to him by the help desk, Technology and Media Resources. Please continue to submit requests for Carlyle's assistance via TMR at help(at)nnu.edu or (208) 467-8111.
TAs Available to Simplify Your Work Life
Need to learn something on ANGEL but can't make it to a Lab session? Several E-Learning student employees are available this year to assist you:
- Bethany Haglund, a junior history major from Nampa
- Aubrielle Holly, a freshman music major from Nampa
- Caity Pilgeram, a freshman elementary education major from Helena, MT
The TAs help faculty, adjuncts and program support personnel with consultations or course development using ANGEL and other online technologies, such as:
- making ANGEL pages look great
- creating online tests
- creating teams
- associating content with the Gradebook
- placing items on the Calendar
- creating rubrics
- preparing streamed media
- making course banners, and
- other projects both basic and complex that either you do not do very often or that are time-consuming
To request free help from an E-Learning TA, please e-mail specifics to elearning(at)nnu.edu and include as many details as possible, or call Crystal Nielsen, Instructional Technologist for E-Learning (208-467-8782). She will assign and supervise the task.
ANGEL Maintenance on Fourth Thursdays
The NNU E-Learning Systems Manager regularly conducts ANGEL maintenance on the fourth Thursdays of each month, from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. MT. These are announced on the ANGEL login page so that students are aware.
ANGEL Tips and Tricks
- ANGEL's Paste from Word feature strips out hidden coding that can cause corruption.
Appropriately Pasting Content from MS Word
Many of us write our syllabus, mini-lectures, assignment directions, etc. in Microsoft Word, then copy and paste the text into ANGEL. Sounds good -- but there's literally a hidden danger: MS Word content includes a great deal of coding behind the scenes. When this coding is introduced into another application such as ANGEL, problems can pop up faster than students wrap up after class on a sunny afternoon.
This instructional technologist has literally seen a 20-word sentence in Word become a 20,000-character item (behind the scenes) in ANGEL.
To avoid issues with fonts, font sizes, skewed text, and more, simply use the Paste from Word feature.
Managing Your Course List
E-Learning Services is working with the faculty E-Learning Committee to decide policy matters such as when courses will be archived and removed from the ANGEL server. Meanwhile, if your course list in ANGEL is a bit cluttered with courses from Spring (past or future) or other courses you are not using, you can easily remove these. See the Frequently Asked Questions page to learn how to unclutter your course list.
Similarly, you may have two sections of the same course and find yourself using both. Another item on the FAQs page tells you how to rename courses so that you can distinguish them.
Uploading User-Friendly Files
ANGEL's content type known as a File allows you to quickly upload a syllabus, slide presentation or other document for your students. Unfortunately, one cannot include any informative text to go along with the file.
That's where ANGEL's content link icon comes to the rescue. This icon - a little yellow folder with a chain link - allows you to embed a file right into the textbox, thereby creating a hyperlink to the document. What's more, the icon can be used when creating an announcement, discussion forum, assessment and so on.
Learn more about how to embed files into text by heading to the FAQs page.
Online Learning Opportunities
Online Course Design & Development
September 27-November 13
Lasting seven weeks, this fully online professional development course from NNU's E-Learning Services focuses on best practices in online teaching and learning. Participants spend considerable time developing particular components of their online courses. The class is available at no charge unless you wish to earn credit. See details on the ANGEL support page. Express interest to Dr. Christine Bauer.
Synchronous Tools in Online and Blended Courses
4 p.m. MT October 7
Our own Dr. Christine Bauer, NNU E-Learning Director, will facilitate this webinar for the Northwest eLearning Community. Appropriately enough, the webinar will be conducted via Adobe Connect and will focus on ways to really engage students through such tools. Participation is free, but registration is required. See details on the NWELC website.
Online Coursebuilding with ANGEL
October 25-November 14
Another professional development offering from E-Learning Services, this course goes beyond just the ANGEL course management system to also include best practices in the use of other technologies. Conducted fully online, the three-week class is available at no charge unless you wish to earn credit. See details on the ANGEL support page. Express interest to Crystal Nielsen.
3D Immersive Online Conference
November 10
Ever heard of Second Life? This three-dimensional virtual world is being used by a number of institutions now. Education, training, entertainment, and the arts are just a few of the areas where the influence and power of 3D can be seen today. The 3D Immersive Online Conference is one of the first events of its kind to bring experts together from these disciplines to explore common ground and look into the future together. Co-sponsored by Learning Times, the program will include more than 25 presenters in a series of interactive panel discussions.
Find conference details on the website. Contact Crystal Nielsen (CDNielsen(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8782) for a coupon code to get $20 off the earlybird price of $79.
ANGEL Training for Instructors
Self-paced, 24/7
Upon logging in to ANGEL, faculty and adjuncts should see the ANGEL Training for Instructors in the All category of their course list. Click the Content tab to access an overview video and several units of self-paced tutorials. Each unit includes the following:
- Fully illustrated step-by-step guides
- Quick videos
- Practice exercises
- Assessments to solidify what you have learned
Send an e-mail to help(at)nnu.edu if you have trouble logging in to ANGEL with your regular NNU login.
Onsite Learning Opportunities
ANGEL Open Lab
Tuesdays: Drop in between 4 and 5:30 p.m. in Helstrom 205
Wednesdays: Drop in between 8:30 and 10 a.m. in Helstrom 205
Come and work on your course with help immediately available. No RSVP needed.
If you would like to request a walkthrough of a specific workshop, please contact Crystal Nielsen at elearning(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8782.
Offsite Learning Opportunities
Turning Technologies User Conference
October 9-11, 2010
Cambridge, MA
Instructors who use the TurningPoint clickers may want to add this conference to their professional development endeavors. Attendees will find breakout sessions presented by fellow educators as well as members of the Turning Technologies staff. Hosted by Harvard University.
Visit the conference website for details.
TurnItIn User Event
October 12, 2010
Anaheim, CA
This is a half-day meeting offering a panel discussion by "power users," various presentations and info from the makers of the TurnItIn plagiarism-detection software. Several free seats remain as of this writing.
Visit the event website for details.
5th Annual Northwest eLearning Conference
October 21-22, 2010
Vancouver, WA
Last year, NNU hosted this conference and saw participation from quite a few of our number. This year, the event -- organized by a consortium of institutions across the region -- moves back to Washington state. Our own Dr. Casey Christopher, Music Dept., and Crystal Nielsen, M.A., E-Learning Services, are among the two dozen presenters. This is an excellent choice for a low-cost, high-return opportunity that is also close to NNU.
Visit the organization website for details.
16th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning
November 3-5, 2010
Orlando, FL
Nearly 1,400 educators attended last year's event, participating in more than 200 presentations. This conference focuses especially on online and blended research, theory and practice. The program tracks this year include Learning Effectiveness, as well as Technology and Emerging Learning Environments.
Visit the conference website for details.
Resources
Study: Definitive Research on Distance vs. Traditional Education
Still trying to convince colleagues that distance learning can be as effective as that in face-to-face classes? According to a meta-analysis of studies involving more than 20,000 students, more than two-thirds of students in distance courses outperformed those in traditional classes. The researchers take an in-depth and analytical look at the differences in
- student attitude and satisfaction
- interactions of students and faculty
- student learning outcomes, and
- faculty satisfaction among both traditional classes and online classes.
Shachar, M. and Neumann, Y. (2010). Twenty years of research on the academic performance differences between traditional and distance learning: Summative meta-analysis and trend examination. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 318-334. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no2/shachar_0610.pdf
List: Mindset of This Year's Freshmen
Every school year, Beloit College in Wisconsin has been releasing a list of trends or cultural mindsets unique to the incoming freshman class. Ranging from pop culture to technology, here are a few touchstones for the class of 2014:
- Few freshmen can write in cursive.
- Their first home computer was likely an Apple II or Mac II.
- They've never been able to go to Czechoslovakia.
- They have always been in airports that resembled a mall.
- They have always known of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a Supreme Court justice.
Visit the Beloit College website for the full Mindset List.
E-Learning Services Personnel
Our office is located on the lower level of the Emerson Administration building. Learn about the E-Learning Services employees and TAs on our main page.
