Category Archives: Instructional Design

Supporting Students’ Return to Campus

Assessment, Educational Technologies, Equity and Inclusion, Instructional Design, Uncategorized

Jennifer Jaiswal  Jennifer Jaiswal, Instructional Designer & Sr Instructional Technologist 

The pandemic and move to remote online learning over the last year and a half or so has exposed the realities of our students’ lives and highlighted some of the inequities that exist. It is important to be mindful that our students may have been affected by these social changes. Maintaining the empathy and compassion from the past year will be important as we transition and move forward and ask: What have we learned from our remote teaching experiences that we can continue to incorporate into our courses?

Communication: 

Communicating regularly with our students and being very explicit about course information, course expectations, office hours, policies, etc., should be detailed in the syllabus. One strategy to ensure students read the syllabus is to give them a low stakes quiz about the important information or record a syllabus overview video and make it available in Blackboard.

It is considered good practice to send an announcement via Blackboard at least 24 hours before the start of class. This might include explicit directions to your classroom if you are teaching face-to-face as well as the schedule and other important information for the first day of class.

Resources:

During the pandemic, many faculty incorporated more technology into their course to help with the transition to remote learning. Many of these resources can be helpful and useful for students even when returning to face-to-face instruction.

Blackboard is a great repository for course materials and resources and many other technologies like Zoom, VoiceThread, Echo 360, etc., are integrated into Blackboard. Using Blackboard as a resource repository helps you and the students manage course documents, media, grades, and communication in one place. Using the discussion boards, VoiceThread, and Zoom recordings can help extend the learning environment beyond the classroom and class time. The Zoom integration allows you the opportunity to to record short demonstrations or clarifying remarks and posting them for students to watch or rewatch as many times as they need to.

Assessment and Grading:

Having a couple of small, low stakes assessments in the first couple of weeks can help students build confidence and ease anxiety about the course. Providing flexibility in assignments and exam design such as using more open assessments and less closed assessments (i.e., multiple choice tests) follow good assessment practices. We recommend that rather than having a few large, high stakes assessments that you break those assessments into smaller ones with each having less overall weight on the students’ grade. 

Group Activities:

Getting students working together became more important but also more challenging during the pandemic. Consider how you might group students and possibly keep them working together for a large part of the semester. Returning to the classroom after the pandemic, students are likely to be eager to connect with their classmates. What technologies (VoiceThread, discussion boards, etc.) might be used to facilitate those groups in and out of the classroom?

Group Contracts – for project-based groups, they can be useful as they lay out expectations of the group members including communication policy so the groups have a guideline on how to interact. 

As we return to campus and into the classroom, it will be important to continue to extend the empathy and understanding to our students as they return. With the situation ever changing, it will be important to be flexible as institutional protocol may change throughout the semester.

Dickinson, A. (2017). Communicating with the Online Student: The Impact of E-Mail Tone on Student Performance and Teacher Evaluations. Journal of Educators Online, 14(2), n2. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1150571

 

Syllabus updates!

Equity and Inclusion, Instructional Design, ,

Jennifer Jaiswal  Jennifer Jaiswal, Instructional Designer & Sr Instructional Technologist 

Over this past semester, we have made multiple updates to CELT’s online syllabus template and the supporting documentation. This new version will speed you through the process of creating a comprehensive syllabus that supports student success in multiple ways!

Accessibility 

Earlier this year we adapted our syllabus template to make it accessible for all audiences. Navigating a syllabus with a screen reader technology is very different compared to navigating a syllabus by sight. Screen readers will read through all of the text, both visible and hidden in a document. Making sure that you clearly label information, use headers, have a table of contents and provide alternative text is key to creating a syllabus that all learners can read.

  • Headers – Headers or styles are used in Microsoft word documents to help create a hierarchy of information and to structure documents. Important information should be in Header 1, secondary information in Header 2, tertiary information in Header 3 and so on. This information can be used to help generate your table of contents
  • Table of Contents – Having a table of contents may seem like overkill in a syllabus but it helps students quickly and easily find the information that they are looking for. Your headers can easily generate and update your table of contents as you make changes. When navigating with a screen reader, the table of contents will be one of the first things that is read out loud to the student. This helps them understand the format of the document and where to start looking for information. It also creates a series of links that the students can use to jump to sections and navigate quickly through the document using keystrokes.
  • Alternative Text – Alternative text or alt text is a description of an item that cannot be read easily or at all by a screen reader. The most common example is an image. Images in your syllabus should all have alt text descriptions to describe the image. Alt text descriptions can be short, but sometimes you may need long descriptions to tell detailed information. In the image below the alt text could be “Stony Brook University and crest.” This tells the reader what is in the image with words.

SBU crest and name

  • Tables – Table should also have alt text descriptions and their header rows marked in the table settings. This provides additional information to the screen reader to let the person know how complicated the table is, what information is in the table, and what order the information appears in. Do not merge cells in your table as this can make it confusing for the person reading it since they would not be sure which column heading applies to the merged cell. 

For information on the changes made to our syllabus template and how to update the template, please see the video below.

 

For an example of how a screen reader navigates our syllabus template please see this video.

Inclusivity

When writing your syllabus, keep in mind Universal Design for Learning. Are you addressing all students in your syllabus? Is there flexibility for students? Is the content multimodal? Can students see the connections between learning objectives and what they are being asked to do? Some other pieces to think about are:

  • What language are you using? Try to avoid negative words and instead use your syllabus to show students how to succeed in your class. 
  • Be approachable! Give students multiple ways and opportunities to connect with you if they need assistance.
  • But give boundaries! Tell students upfront what you expect from them and what they should expect from you. Will it take you 24 hours to respond to an urgent email? Will you be available over the weekend? Lay the ground rules early. 

For more information, visit our resources on inclusive teaching. 

Other Updates

Best of all, we now have an orientation video designed to introduce you to the template in just 15 minutes. Don’t miss it–it explains everything that should be considered when creating an online version of your course. There’s also a “guiding comments” pdf file you can print to have by your side as you write your syllabus.

Reflections on Remote Teaching

Instructional Design, Online Learning, Updates,
multiple lightbulbs
Image by chenspec from Pixabay

In March 2020, the pandemic pushed all faculty and students to a remote teaching reality. CELT is hosting two online conversations where faculty members can get together to talk about what worked well, what they might want to incorporate into their teaching practice moving forward, and what they wish they had known back then.

When you register, you will have the option to respond to three reflective prompts. Using those responses, we will take a deeper dive into what actions faculty can take as they prepare to teach in the fall.

Your responses will remain confidential and will only be shared in aggregate as part of our study on the overall effectiveness of CELT. Your participation in this study is voluntary and you may continue to participate in CELT services even if you withdraw from the study of its effectiveness.

Register in advance to attend either of the CELT Reflections on Remote Teaching. Even if you cannot attend, register so that you can receive the recording and resources.

 

No longer “Javits homeless”!

Instructional Design, Online Learning, , ,

 Linda UngerLinda Unger, Senior Instructional Designer

Dr. Sangeet HoneyCongratulations to Dr. Sangeet Honey who was recently honored at CELT’s Celebration of Teaching Awards, for development of BIO 315 Microbiology, online. This course, when taught face-to-face in Javits, enrolled about 600 students each term it was scheduled. With Javits going offline this month, Dr. Sangeet Honey, Research faculty in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and undergraduate biology program director Dr. Peter Gergen collaborated with CELT to transition the course to fully asynchronous in Blackboard.

Quite a challenge–redesigning such a large course to a fully asynchronous delivery, but Sangeet’s commitment to his students and Peter’s administrative support made it both possible and, more importantly, effective. Beginning in August of 2019 (no, it didn’t take 2 years), Sangeet collaborated with two instructional designers, Linda Unger and Jennifer Jaiswal, at CELT to rethink how content could be provided, but more importantly, how interaction could be maintained with such a large group of students. Thanks to ample support from Peter in the form of grad and undergrad TAs, Sangeet and CELT were able to create an academically robust structure for students, while managing facilitation workload for Sangeet.

The first fully online version was taught in Summer of 2020 after the Spring course had hastily moved online mid-semester due to the pandemic. Since then it has had numerous tweaks each time to make it run more smoothly by maximizing effective learning activities and redesigning less effective strategies, especially with respect to assessment of students. This course has been taught in Spring 2021 with 400 students and is being taught this Summer 2021 semester with over 100 students.

Throughout these iterations, Sangeet’s “teaching presence” has been consistently excellent, as demonstrated through his recorded lectures; participation in discussion; Zoom office hours; and frequent announcements that provide guidance and general feedback. He also demonstrates compassion, flexibility and approachability with respect to his policies, especially his grading appeals policy.

Sangeet uses:

  •     VoiceThread for his recorded lectures,
  •     A variety of open source media to elaborate on lecture material,
  •     Bb student discussion groups (each led by a TA or himself) for clarifying concepts,
  •     Multiple, low-threshold assignments and quizzes,
  •     A large pool of questions and Respondus Monitor to safeguard exams.

A critical aspect of Sangeet’s success is his willingness to try new approaches and take risks with new teaching methods in order to engage students and promote learning using various modalities. He’s also worked hard (with CELT’s help) at making his materials accessible.

Peter’s commitment to sound pedagogy in large online courses, as demonstrated by allocation of numerous departmental grad and undergrad TAs, has enabled Sangeet to divide the >400-student class into “teams” of about 35–a critical factor that makes this course run smoothly by giving students a sense of community along with the individual attention they need.

In May, Sangeet received CELT’s annual award for Excellence in Teaching an Asynchronous Online Course at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching and CELT is delighted to have honored his work. Watch the video. 

Integrating Technology into your Class

Educational Technologies, Instructional Design,

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part blog series on choosing the right technology for your teaching needs. Read part 1, Engaging Students in an Online Math Course During the Pandemic, by Associate Professor of Mathematics, Moira Chas. 

Jennifer Jaiswal  Jennifer Jaiswal, Instructional Designer & Sr Instructional Technologist 

When considering the use of a new technology in your class, it is important to consider how it supports your course alignment. Alignment is the connection between learning objectives, learning activities, and assessment. An aligned course means that your learning objectives, activities, and assessments match up so students learn what you intend and you accurately assess what students are learning.

To ensure that your chosen technology supports the alignment of your course, you should ask the following questions:

  • Does my content, activities, and assessments align to my learning objectives? (Technology integration will work best if your course is well-aligned.) 
  • Does the technology support or enhance learning more effectively than a previous method? 
  • What skills and resources do my students need to use this new technology?

Does my content, activities, and assessments align to my learning objectives? 

Looking at the image below, go through each step starting with your learning objectives, assessments, and activities, and make sure they all work together to support each other. 

Recap: What is Alignment?

Does the technology support or enhance learning more effectively than a previous method? 

The technology should support the activities, assessments, and therefore, the learning objectives that you have identified. Below are examples for each step of the course alignment process:

  • Learning Objective: Students will be able to discuss the theme of science in Victorian Literature.
  • Assessment: Students will be assessed on their ability to work together to discuss and synthesize information into a group presentation based on their perspective of science in Victorian Literature.
  • Activity: Students will participate in a discussion board where they will discuss how the scientific advancements in the Victorian Era are shown in their reading of George Eliot’s “The Lifted Veil”. Based on their discussion, each group will create a presentation using VoiceThread. 
  • Technology:
  • Support:
    • Support Desk contact information 
    • Documentation links for Blackboard and VoiceThread 

By focusing on your learning objectives, you will see what types of technologies are needed in your class to help you make decisions. For this example, you would look for tools to aid in the discussion and the presentation. It is helpful to list out what technologies you need for your entire course so you and your students know what will be used so they will be better prepared. 

Looking through your course you may see opportunities to incorporate technology into your class. Using technology for technology’s sake may not support the students’ achievement of the learning outcomes. In fact, it may lead them to a different learning objective then you intended. If technology has the potential to drastically change your class and its outcomes, you may want to consider revising your learning outcomes and realign the related activities and assessments.

What skills and resources do my students need to use this new technology?

Now that you have decided which technologies to use, it is time to start thinking about what resources to provide to your students. Some recommendations are:

  • Instructions on how to log in and the basic functionality of the new technology
  • Video demonstrations of how to use the technology
  • Sample or practice activities using the new technology
  • Submitting draft versions of the assignment using the technology
  • Contact information for technology support 

Providing additional resources gives your students the best opportunity to complete the assignment successfully and meet the learning outcomes. Preparing detailed instructions and support documentation in advance can also help reduce your workload as the course progresses.

There are many useful resources available internally and on the web. Be sure to search for them before creating anything from scratch. 

Reflection

At the end of the semester, it is important to reflect on the major takeaways from the experience. Think about what worked well and what didn’t, and what you could change to make improvements. This helps you close the loop and decide what will be needed the next time you teach, and decide if the new technology was a success or a hindrance to your class experience. Ask your students questions about the experience. This can help you assess engagement with not just the tool but the tool and the content together.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, do not hesitate to reach out! 

 

TAs and Postdocs: Join us for the upcoming College Teaching Seminars to learn and discuss strategies and practices for effective teaching (new dates!)

Instructional Design, Online Learning, TA/Postdocs, ,

All seminars are Wednesday 3:30-5:00pm

Join using this Zoom link

books and tablet on a table
Image from: Wokandapix

2/17- How Selected Learning Theories Inform Pedagogy (rescheduled from 2/3)

In this session we will discuss a selection of current learning theories and strategies/considerations for your teaching. Learning Theory elements discussed include Constructivism, Metacognition, and Growth Mindset and how to implement them in your classes.

2/24- Effective Teaching Online (rescheduled from 2/17)

Effective teaching online has become critical with the ongoing pandemic, and will continue to be a valued skill. In this seminar, we will discuss strategies and tools for student engagement in both asynchronous, synchronous, and blended classes.   

3/3- Panel Discussion with CIE/IRACDA Postdocs 

In this panel discussion you will hear from IRACDA Postdocs who have taught in local institutions – Suffolk County Community College, SUNY Old Westbury, and Brooklyn College.  

3/17- Different Student Populations and Institution Types

We will discuss the ins and outs of applying the teaching strategies you have developed. This will focus on the different types of institutions you may teach at and their varied student populations.   

Do you have any questions? Send us an email!

Engaging All Students Virtually

Classroom Technology, Instructional Design, , ,

As we begin the semester, be sure to find out more about the technology setup in your scheduled room. Concerned about engaging all students? Here are some tips:

  • Have a TA or student monitor the chat and update you when questions arise.
  • Virtual students will need more “wait time” due to the technology – wait for most students to be ready after asking a question.
  • Be clear in your expectations around discussions, breakout rooms, presentations, and assign a role for each member.
  • Use polling or clickers. 
  • Look directly into the camera.

Contact AV Services or AV Services HSC if you have questions about your room, and contact CELT if you want to discuss teaching strategies! two monitors on a podium

 

Crafting Effective Learning Objectives

Instructional Design

One of the frameworks we often use for crafting learning objectives is Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchy with six levels that are used to categorize educational goals. Each level has different groups of verbs that are associated with the level of knowledge or skill students should have acquired. 

Blooms-Taxonomy-650x366

The lower levels of the hierarchy (remember, understand) are low level, usually involving simple recall or restatement of content. While these are appropriate in most courses, we also want students to go beyond remembering and understanding to higher order thinking skills, such as apply, analyze, evaluate, create. These higher order thinking skills are often the main focus of upper division and graduate courses, but can be implemented across the curriculum from general, introductory courses to graduate seminars.

Well-crafted objectives are concrete, specific, measurable/observable, achievable, and relevant. Instead of thinking about what the course will do, think what students should be able to do, having taken the course. Try to avoid using passive verbs such as “know,” “appreciate,” or “understand”  because these can be too subjective and difficult to measure. Good learning objectives focus on what we want students to be able to learn or to do by the end of our course, and we need to choose what evidence (behavior/performance/artifact) best demonstrates that learning.

For assistance in creating objectives, you can use our homegrown digital tool. Select the best verbs by grabbing the red portion with your mouse pointer and dragging it clockwise. The medium blue in each wedge includes the appropriate verbs, and the lighter blue outside includes related teaching methods. The notes in the left-hand, gray column will change with each new section you uncover; they elaborate and give some examples from various disciplines.

If you have difficulty crafting your learning outcomes, it often helps to work backwards. That is, think about student assessments first. What are you actually measuring? Whatever the graded items measure, that is what you want students to know and be able to do with their knowledge.

If you would like a consultation with one of our instructional designers, please reach out!

 

Mcdaniel, R. (2020, March 25). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved January 19, 2021, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

 

Tools for Engagement in Online Courses

Instructional Design, Online Learning, ,

 Kimberly BellKimberly Bell, PhD., Postdoctoral Associate

Online engagement may look different from what you are used to in your face-to-face classes, and perhaps even different from your previous online courses. If you are teaching on Zoom to a sea of black boxes with names on them, it is impossible to see facial expressions or body language – those cues we may be used to looking for in a physical classroom. The same is true for asynchronous courses, where you may not have video interaction with students. To determine if students are engaged in your online courses, you might ask: Are they submitting their work on time? Are they posting thoughtful replies in the discussion forums? Do they ask questions? Do they reply to quick polls in Zoom? How are their weekly quiz and exam grades?

→ Asynchronous Engagement 

If you make your presence known in your asynchronous online course up front, it will be off to an engaging start. A welcome video shows your students who you are and lets you speak to them more directly about course expectations. Post announcements frequently in Blackboard, and give students timely feedback. You can record videos to the cloud in Zoom for quick and accessible summaries or feedback. A clear and detailed syllabus, a variety of activities, frequent formative assessments, open-ended questions for discussion, opportunities for group work, and a careful choice of tools all make for an engaging asynchronous course. 

→ Synchronous Engagement 

Use synchronous sessions for interactive lectures, office hours, recitations to follow up on asynchronous lecture material, review sessions (try a trivia game!), group projects, and other active learning activities. Make eye contact with the camera, allow time for your students to become familiar with engagement features, wait after you pose a question, plan structured breakout activities, and check in often making sure your students are engaging in your synchronous sessions. If time allows, you can start your Zoom sessions 10 minutes early and stay around 10 minutes after, so students can chat with each other and ask you questions, as they would before and after an in-person class.

*The pandemic is an ongoing challenge*

I mentioned teaching to a “sea of black boxes” above. Does that sound familiar? Teaching remotely can be challenging, but there are many engagement options in both the synchronous and asynchronous space. It may be tempting to convince yourself that none of your students are paying attention in Zoom and that you need to require a webcam. Or it may be easy to give up if students become disengaged in asynchronous discussion forums a few weeks into the semester. At this time, when it remains hard for many of us to stay engaged, remain flexible and understanding. Reach out to struggling students. We are all doing our best!

Tools and Tips for Engaging Students in Online Courses

VoiceThread

VoiceThread is an asynchronous discussion tool designed to enhance student engagement and foster presence in online courses. You can upload media in various formats and both you and your students can add comments (video, audio, text). Read our previous blog post about VoiceThread. Try using VoiceThread in the following ways: 

  • Assign a lecture to watch and allow students to comment using guiding questions 
  • Have students create their own VoiceThread presentations and comment on each other’s for peer feedback
  • Assign a group presentation – students can add individual comments and/or slides
  • Upload a case study or other document for students to comment on and ask questions about 
  • Have students critique or discuss creative works (audio, video, or text!)
  • Use in small asynchronous classes for introductions/ice breakers             

Blackboard Discussion Board

Discussion forums are commonly used in online courses. Questions that encourage critical thinking, forums for purposes other than homework, and clear expectations help to ensure your students stay engaged in the conversation. Try out the following forum ideas: 

  • General Question or “Water Cooler” forum: students can ask questions about course administration and help each other (fewer emails!)
  • Introduction forum: you and your students can get to know each other (fostering student connections is a key to success!)
  • Study Hall forum: to use prior to exams for specific questions (a TA can moderate!)
  • “Muddiest Point” (what is still unclear) forum: students can post questions after synchronous or asynchronous lectures 
  • Student Generated forum questions: to use for class discussions 
  • “Key Terms/Vocabulary” forum: generated by students 

Zoom Breakout Rooms 

Breakout rooms in Zooms can help you incorporate small group engagement in your courses. You can assign them randomly, manually, or let students choose (Zoom may need to be updated). You can assign TAs or student leaders co-host status to help manage your breakout rooms.

 Assign random pairs to breakout rooms for a quick think-pair-share. In large classes, combine with Google Docs or have only a few pairs share

  • Pre-assign small groups for a structured, 20-minute in class activity 
  • Utilize synchronous class time for groups to work together on a long-tern project

Polling & Quizzing 

In both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, frequent quizzing and polling can help keep students engaged. Zoom polling is already built in!

  • Add multiple choice polls to your Zoom meetings Use other polling tools such as Kahoot or PollEverywhere (limited free usage)
  • Create weekly quizzes in Blackboard for asynchronous classes 
  • Use TurningTechnologies “clickers” remotely

Google Docs

Google Docs are a great way to foster collaboration in your courses. Think of creative ways to incorporate docs, sheets, slides, and other Google apps.

  • Have students produce work together such as an infographic or concept map
  • Ask your students to share their “muddiest point” at the end of class

Echo360 

Echo360 is a lecture streaming/capture/recording/active learning tool you can use to record lectures and foster student engagement.

  • Add a variety of quiz questions to your lecture
  • Students can indicate which parts are unclear with “flags”

What has worked well in your courses?

Contact CELT and request a consultation if you would like to discuss with us how you can best incorporate engagement tools and strategies. 

 

References

 

 

Strategies for Shortened Terms

Instructional Design, Online Learning, , , ,

 Linda UngerLinda Unger, Senior Instructional Designer

Preparing your online course for winter term? Worried about how to maintain the academic rigor without overwhelming yourself and your students?

Here are some strategies for shortened terms that might help.

Course Design Tips:

  • Organize your content into topical modules, rather than “weeks.” For example, in the fall semester each week might consist of 1 topic, but you can easily double or triple up on topics to teach in winter or summer. 
  • For modules with more than one topic, you can provide students with a choice in topics and have them present to the whole group so students are learning from each other and covering more than one facet of the course.
  • If you use Blackboard’s Date Restrictions to reveal new content in stages, consider overlapping dates so students can work slightly ahead. For example, if module 2 normally ends on Sunday night, you can open module 3 on Saturday instead of Monday.
girl looking at laptop chewing pencil
Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

Assessment/Feedback: 

  • Consider using frequent quizzes, short one-paragraph “checks for understanding,” or discussion boards  to help students gauge their own progress.
  • Grade assignments quickly so that students have the benefit of your feedback before it’s too late  to improve their performance.

Workload: 

  • Use an online workload calculator to get a handle on how realistic your expectations are, especially for a winter or summer term. Then think about whether you can trim anything while keeping the essentials of the course. 
  • The New York Department of Education has some guidelines for determining time on task.

Does everything in a regular 14-week term need to be identical in a 6- week or 3-week? Might it be counterproductive in an accelerated term? Can anything be omitted? Try this filtering process for examining the course content*:

Filtering Content

One to two weeks before the course starts:

  • Prepare and send out your syllabus as a Word/PDF attachment. This gives students a chance to buy books and get a jump start on the readings. It also sets the tone for an accelerated term.
  • Send out a link to a welcome video where you briefly introduce yourself and your course. Here’s an example. 
  • Allow students to post an introduction in the discussion board or VoiceThread so they can get to know their classmates.
  • Open the Blackboard site early** so students can access your lectures and other materials. Make the assignment dues dates explicit. You’d be surprised to know that experienced online students will take advantage of this.
  • Cheerlead! Use the Announcements tool in Blackboard to encourage your students to log in early and often. Post an announcement and send it to students’ email addresses. Tell them how much you want them to succeed in the course.

 

*Description of Filtering Content image

**Note: Blackboard will be down for critical system maintenance from December 27, 2020 – January 4, 2021. Consider emailing some readings, etc. to the students with your syllabus so they can get started prior to Blackboard’s availability. While Blackboard is unavailable, you can download a list of your student’s emails from SOLAR.