Presenter: Paul Beaudoin, Online Learning Specialist, Fitchburg State University
Date/Time: Tue, July 15, 2014, 1:45 PM – 2:30 PM
Location: Murano 3304

Description: It doesn’t take long to discover that teaching in the blended or online learning environment is not a direct transfer of the traditional face-to-face class. The challenges of online learning often require a different set of skills and there is no single sure-shot way of solving those challenges. In this presentation, Exemplary Course award winner Dr. Paul Beaudoin shares five key class room tested strategies. Whether you are looking to flip your classroom or are ready to launch your MOOC, these five tips will improve your teaching efficacy and enhance the classroom experience for your learners.

5 Key Classroom Tested Strategies

1. Maximize Your Digital Savy

• Know your LMS – find out what is in your Blackboard platform. Your institution may have other products like Respondus LockDown Browser or TurnItIn
• Know what your text editor can do – Inserting links, images, tables, etc. into your content you add
• Going outside the LMS – examples: Timetoast, Voki, Jing, Go2Web20.net

2. Be an Active and Engaged Participant

• Use learner’s name in your text responses to students
• Use discussions and group wiki activities to
• Check learners’ activity in content areas in Blackboard

3. Reinvent Your Wheel

• Try using Wordle for students to help focus vocabulary building in your class
• Try role-playing online
• Try using Toondoo to creating visual story on concepts
• Try using Twitter

4. Include Your Learners in the Process

• Have learners make a commitments to themselves and the course. Paul recommends having students post their commitment publicly to a discussion board.
• Have learners create study material to share with each other. Example: study blue.com
• Survey students during the course to gain information on how you can improve the course, during the course

5. Reassess Assessment

• Low stakes activities are great for building learner confidence (example: jigsaw puzzle)
• Add images and audio to assessment questions
• Consider mind mapping tools like mind-mup
• Have learners create info graphics using tools like Glogster
• Allow learners to create a digital story as an alternative to traditional paper

Remember – it’s ok to fail! Failure is an integral part of success. More resources from Paul available here.

Presenter: Gary Lang (@garylang), Blackboard
Date/Time: Thu, July 17, 2014, 9:15 AM – 10:00 AM
Location: San Polo 3403

Description: Following Blackboard’s corporate keynote, this session will provide more specific information about Blackboard’s long term vision for product development

Notes

Trends Driving Changes in Education

• Education is truly global
• Non-traditional learners
• Consumer preferences/alternative models
• Learner centric education
• Big-data in the mainstream
• Online and mobile everywhere

Moving from a little “t” to a big “T”

• Technology culture, developed product technology affinities

• 

  World-class foundation teams formed

  • Architecture Team

  Core Mobile Services

  • Engineering Services
  • Integration Services
  • User Experience

I’m fortunate to be able to attend BbWorld for the third straight year. In additional to presenting this year, I’ll also be spending time at the Knowledge Bar with other BbMVP’s in addition to facilitating on open discussion about Enterprise Surveys and Course Evaluations in Blackboard. I’m also honored receive a Blackboard Catalyst Exemplary Course Award.

Here’s a list of the presentations I’ll either be giving or be a part of at BbWorld…

Scheduled Presentations

Being Present and Engaging Students Online Using Blackboard Video Everywhere

Learn about one instructor’s use of YouTube’s free and easy-to-use features incorporated in Blackboard for recording, editing, captioning, and embedding video into his online course. An overview of the steps for recording, editing, captioning, video in YouTube will be provided as well as examples shared for various approaches for seamlessly incorporating video into any online course. A summary of feedback survey results from students regarding their experiences with video in the course will be shared as well as lessons learned by the instructor for those wishing to follow the same suggested steps for incorporating video in their own course. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the session and see first-hand a demo by the instructor of how the video was seamlessly incorporated into Blackboard Learn.

Date/Time/Location: Tue, 7/15/14, 2:45PM-3:30PM, Murano 3304
Presenter(s): Jason Rhode

Blackboard Catalyst Exemplary Course Award Poster: Instructional Media and Technology

Poster for 2014 Blackboard Catalyst Exemplary Course, ETT 510: Instructional Media and Technology, taught by Jason Rhode, Ph.D., fall 2013

Date/Time/Location: Tue, 7/15/14, 5:00PM-7:00PM, Exhibit Hall
Presenter(s): Jason Rhode

Trends in Online Learning

What’s holding you back from growing your online presence? Based on research with hundreds of your peer institutions, this session will explore how the use of collaboration tools, mobility, and more will be changed by shifts in student demands and the fight to attract and retain students. Join this session, led by a panel of academic technologists to learn how leading schools are thinking about online learning in the future and what you should be thinking about as part of your long term strategy. (This is based on a webinar held in April of 2014 that was very popular.)

Date/Time/Location: Wed, 7/16/14, 9:15AM-10:00AM, Murano 3301
Presenters: Jason Rhode, Melissa Stange

Enterprise Surveys and Course Evaluations: An Open Discussion of Feature Gaps

Join us for an open conversation on the feature gaps and workarounds that institutions are employing in attempting to implement the functionality. I plan to take notes of the conversations and will plan to share here on my blog as well as LinkedIn for those who can’t attend.

Date/Time/Location: Wed, 7/16/14, 4:00PM-5:00PM, Veronese 2401A

It will be a busy week, but one in which I am looking forward to! Let the presentation preparation begin.

If you’ll be at BbWorld, look me up! I’ll be tweeting @jrhode and will share my presentation slides and other resources here on my blog. I will try to also blog my experiences at BbWorld.

Looking for Presentations Slides/Handouts?

I will be posting the slides and accompanying resources from my BbWorld presenters here on my blog along with any other BbWorld-related reflections. Enjoy!