Category: Announcements

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The many facets of Discussion – social gathering place.

One summer, when teaching a cohort, a spontaneous conversation broke out in the online Discussion room about someone’s sister having a baby. Everyone was interested, and if memory serves correct, there were even pictures posted. This would have been fine, had I been savvy enough to have created a separate Discussion Topic specifically for this type of interaction. The problem was that this took place in the middle of a discussion assignment based on the students’ review of a journal article. The next week a similar interruption occurred when the “Big Ships” docked in the Cleveland harbor. Needless to say, the interjections were somewhat distracting from the intended academic focus.

I now include a social gathering place Discussion Forum where students can share this type of non-class related information. I usually call mine “Coffee Time” or “Student Lounge” but you get the idea.

Here is an example of a posting I have used:
Discussion Coffee Talk

Even if you do not use the Discussion tool for graded activities, I would suggest you create this area for social interaction in your online classrooms. It is essential to community building in a course that is delivered 100% online.  I have also seen it used extensively in blended delivery courses as well.

For information on the “how to” of creating Discussion Forums and Topics,  click here.

Regards,  Dr. Jill

Jonnie “Jill” Phipps, Ph.D.

Curriculum Designer

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The many facets of Discussion – effective time-saver.

Even if you do not have formal “Discussions” that count towards the course grade, you should consider using this time-saving tool to communicate with your learners. I request that all questions not related to personal issues be posted in the Discussion Forum. When the question is answered, it is available for all others who may need clarification on the same issue. This saves a great deal of time responding to individual emails regarding the same or similar questions. Other students will often respond in a timelier manner than what I am able, and I encourage them to do this. This is especially true for the part-time faculty who may hold a full-time position as well, and are limited as to the time of day they can respond to their online students.

I monitor the answers for accuracy and appropriateness, acknowledging when correct information has been provided. Inaccurate responses can be adjusted to keep everyone on the right path, and I often provide additional insight via my comments to let them know I am always actively involved in the communications.

Here is an example of instructions you might post:

discussion save time

Specific Topic can then be created organized by week, unit, subject, or project. Be sure to provide clear instructions as to where the various questions should be posted.  Encourage participants to read these help areas if they need clarification on one of the topics; the answer may already be posted.

For information on the “how to” of creating Discussion Forums and Topics, click here.

Regards,  Dr. Jill

Jonnie “Jill” Phipps, Ph.D.

Curriculum Designer

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The many facets of Discussion – general information.

Whenever you create a Discussion Forum or Topic, you should provide instructions as to what type of postings are to be made in that specific area of the tool. This is also an opportunity to model the type of communication you consider acceptable within your online classroom. Or, even spell out your expectations and netiquette guidelines if desired. I usually start with a general statement that explains the basics.
About Discussion

For information on the “how to” of creating Discussion Forums and Topics, click here.

Regards,  Dr. Jill

Jonnie “Jill” Phipps, Ph.D.

Curriculum Designer

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Announcements

Instructors, here’s a tip on how to get some informal feedback from your students.

Before students are overwhelmed with project deadlines and final exams, take a few minutes to ask for their input.  This is a great time in the semester to query your students with a survey regarding your online classroom.  Solicit feedback about the various aspects of the course and tools you have implemented:

  • How was the pace? (on a scale from too slow to too fast)
  • Were there adequate materials provided within the various modules?
  • Did the Discussions add to the learning process?
  • Suggestions for Improvement. (Essay)

The Survey tool shares the Question Library with the Quizzes tool, thus providing several options for types of questions that can be asked.  This includes the traditional True/False, Multiple Choice and Essays type questions.  However, you can also include Ordering, Multiple Select, and Likert questions as well. In fact, the Survey tool is the only place you can use the Likert question type.  It allows you to select the scale from the following options:

Likert scale

Results can be set so they are anonymous, and you can use the feedback when refining your online materials for the next semester.

For information on the “how to” of creating Likert questions and Surveys, click here.

For information on the “how to” of creating other types of questions, click here.

Good Luck and Happy Surveying,   Dr. Jill

Jonnie “Jill” Phipps, Ph.D.

Curriculum Designer

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New Instructor Guide Available

Information IconTired of seeing tools on your Course Navigation bar that you don’t use? Interested in adding new tools to that Navbar? Look no further than our new guide for instructors on How to Edit the Course Navigation Bar: http://www.uakron.edu/dotAsset/984229.pdf.

Additional instructor and student guides can be found on the Springboard Resources page: http://www.uakron.edu/it/instructional_services/dds/springboard/springboard-resource.dot.

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Update: Combined Courses Displaying Individually

After working extensively with Desire2Learn, we have identified and corrected the issue with combined courses also appearing individually. The cause of the problem was a setting in the PeopleSoft integration process that was configured incorrectly.

If you continue to see any of your combined courses listed individually on your Springboard homepage, please contact the ZipSupport Center at 330.972.6888 or by email at support@uakron.edu. Thank you for your patience!

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Combined Courses Displaying Individually

Several instructors have reported that combined courses in Springboard are now also displaying individually on their Springboard homepage. We are currently working with Desire2Learn to determine the cause of the issue and correct it. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please note: If the individual course sections were active before they were combined, they are now active and visible to students. We strongly recommend that you deactivate the individual sections to prevent confusion.

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Update: Issues Importing Grades

Desire2Learn has installed the necessary fix to correct the errors experienced while attempting to import Grades. If any instructors continue to experience issues while importing Grades, please notify the ZipSupport Center at 330.972.6888 or by email at support@uakron.edu. Thank you for your patience, and a big thank you to the instructors who were able to help us identify the problem.

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University Network Maintenance 7:00 am on Sunday

The networking group needs to take down a piece of equipment for maintenance on Sunday morning during the downtime window at 7:00 AM.

This will temporarily disable access to the internet. Traffic between networks and servers on campus should not be impacted. Users from home may not be able to access Springboard during this time. The outage is expected to last about 15 minutes.

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Issues with Importing Grades

Warning IconWe have received reports from many instructors who are receiving an Internal 500 error when attempting to import Grades into their Springboard courses. We are actively working with Desire2Learn to determine the cause of the problem and implement a solution. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.