Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: Program LORs

Digital storage space is at a premium and there are no plans to eliminate the LOR. This means that learning objects that you publish will be secure and will be available for the foreseeable future. Along with the security of the general University of Akron LOR it is possible to create program LORs. In this type of LOR, learning objects would be available to all students in a particular program, yet not the entire university community. Individual programs would be able to control access to their own resources and learning objects. A particular class could be selected to gain access or the program as a whole. For more information on this type of LOR, contact Design and Development Services.

Select this link for an overview of the LOR.

Select this link for detailed information on the LOR.

The LOR is waiting, create a program LOR today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

Categories
Announcements

Dr. Jill Phipps and Dr. Qetler Jensrud will be presenting at the Eastern Educational Research Association Annual Conference on February 25, 2011

The Title of the symposium session they will facilitate “Structuring Online Learning Experiences: Beyond Technology.”
Abstract:
Online courses (and entire degrees) are now common place in higher education. However, the strong underpinning of instructional design cannot be traded for technological “bling.” Careful consideration to principles of “best practice” must be taken into account when designing curriculum for online delivery. To generate rigorous learning experiences that are motivating to today’s savvy students, the online teacher must engage participants while maintaining instructional rigor based on pedagogically sound principles.
The University of Akron, Technical Education Program, will be the first totally online degree offered by the institution. The learning strategies implemented are based on Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) “Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education,” as well as the five key areas on successfully transitioning into cyberspace identified in Palloff and Pratt’s (2000) “Making the Transition: Helping Teachers to Teach Online.” A data matrix has been developed depicting the online strategies, structure, and activities employed in these classrooms and their correlation with the Chickering and Gamson’s principles and Palloff and Pratt’s online principles. Each component employed in the courses is based on characteristics and principles of instructional best practices. Discussion regarding the approach used during development, strategies implemented, successful examples, instructional design, and lessons learned will be encouraged.

Categories
Announcements

Desire2Learn (Springboard) 9.2 Update Sneak Peek

Desire2Learn (Springboard) recently released a sneak peek at the features that will be available in their upcoming update, version 9.2. The new Learning Environment will offer new ways to align learning objectives, improved grading features to increase efficiency, and fixes to make everyday tasks easier, like monitoring student progress and access. The Learning Object Repository will be given updates to streamline the upload, searching, and download process.  New tools will also be given to the ePortfolio tool including templates, support for media, and groups. These are only some of the updates and new features that will be available after the 9.2 update.
The update will be applied on our test server March 14th. If you would like to test-drive the new features they will be available at this link after March 14th. If the new update proves to be reliable, the update will be applied to our production server March 17th.
For more information select this link to be taken to D2L’s Sneak Peek Page.

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services

Categories
Announcements

Ohio Learning Network Hosts First Annual Spring Colloquium!

Don’t delay, submit your proposal and be a part of Ohio Learning Network’s First Annual Spring Colloquium!  Proposals are due by Monday, February 14, 2011.

The Ohio Learning Network invites higher education faculty, staff and administrators to attend the First Annual OLN Spring Colloquium, April 11-12, 2011, at the Columbus Hilton at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio Learning Network Colloquium: Best Practices Using Technology for Teaching, Learning and Student Services will provide opportunities for Ohio Higher Education Institutions to share best practices for using technology in the general areas of Student Services and Teaching and Learning.  As eLearning in Ohio continues to grow, the need for additional eStudent Services and re-tooled academic pedagogies require educators to adapt and adopt new practices in the classroom and beyond. Learn about best practices, administration, new strategies, and what works and what doesn’t from your colleagues around the state.

OLN seeks interactive and engaging proposals in five different presentation modes.  Visit http://www.oln.org/conferences/OLN2011/ to review the Request for Proposals (RFP). Proposal submissions will be accepted until February 14, 2011, and accepted presenters will be notified by March 1, 2011.

Online registration for the First Annual OLN Spring Colloquium will be available in March.  To learn more, please visit the colloquium web site: http://www.oln.org/conferences/OLN2011/ .