by Dr. Rebecca M. Mills
Associate Professor of English, Brandon Campus
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”(1) I hope Charles Dickens won’t mind if I borrow one of my favorite opening lines from The Tale of Two Cities to describe my recent experience at the Blackboard World 2011 conference in Las Vegas.
It was the best of times: thanks to the CITT, I was able to attend and help co-present a poster about HCC’s current training model entitled, “Faculty Trained in the Blackboard Learn Platform AND Distance Learning Teaching Strategy is Icing on the Cake: A Three-Tier Training Approach.” The poster session went off without a hitch, and the rest of conference proved to be very interesting and useful to me.
It was the worst of times: I found out that my job as a full-time faculty member is almost obsolete. On Thursday, July 14th, I attended a session lead by Zach Johnson, the Senior Director of Blackboard Developmental Education. I thought I might hear about some best practices or new techniques to help online developmental students be more successful, but what I heard was a sales pitch. I guess this is where I entered the ‘epoch of incredulity,’ although it was also where I realized how naïve I was.
Blackboard Developmental Education is one of the latest frontiers for the company, and for a mere $800 per student per course, Blackboard believes it can “narrow the achievement gap in the new millennium” whilst making a pretty penny for itself, partnering with K12 Inc. Blackboard provides the instructors, the curriculum, the 24/7 technical support, and the analytic reports to educational institutions and claims to be able to do so “at least 30% less than that of traditional delivery.”(2)
At the end of the pitch, my head was spinning, and I had several questions. I put up my hand and asked how much Blackboard instructors get paid, but I got an evasive answer. Mr. Johnson said the instructors received competitive pay in whatever market courses were offered. I asked if full-time college employees could teach the courses, and the answer was, no, but they could be campus-appointed mentors. Then I asked how he dealt with strong faculty unions to which he answered that he had done quite a bit of mediating between faculty and administration in the past year (I interpreted his answer to mean that union opposition was not a problem for Blackboard). My last question was about how he could claim success in the long term. Did the Blackboard developmental students transfer and graduate at higher rates than other students? Mr. Johnson conceded that Blackboard Developmental Education was only in its second pilot semester, but he was already singing its success-rate praises from the roof. I would rather wait for the evidence, but I had already asked so many questions that he moved on to someone else.
Perhaps Blackboard Developmental Education is the answer to help struggling students. I certainly suspect the company’s shareholders will do well with this new product, but I hope students will, too. It is a truth universally acknowledged (sorry Jane Austen)(3) that Blackboard is a force with which to be reckoned in online education today. No longer merely a Learning Management System, the company has moved in on developmental curriculum, so I am wondering how long before Blackboard sets its sights on college-level curricula as well. I just hope I can make it to retirement before I become completely superseded by the behemoth…oops, I mean Blackboard.
(1) Dickens, Charles, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
(2) “Blackboard Developmental Education,” Handout, blackboard.com/deved, 1997-2011
(3) Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Dr. Craig Hardesty Wins Blackboard Exemplary Course Award for MAC 1105 College Algebra
Congratulations to Dr. Craig Hardesty, winner of a Blackboard Exemplary Course Award for MAC 1105 College Algebra!
According to Dr. Hardesty, the My College Algebra course has been designed to be as visually appealing and user friendly as possible. His goal was to make sure anyone logging on for the first time would know exactly where to go and what to do. While incorporating “Why College Algebra?” as a “real-world” theme, he has attempted to consistently use a variety of visual aids, videos, websites, careers, and discussions illustrating applications of the course concepts that surround us every day. Believing strongly that students need to see their online professors as real people with whom they can connect, he has also incorporated as much of himself as possible through use of a personalized orientation video series, video lectures, weekly video summaries of all assignments, etc.
Click here to read the full article.
Click here for a list of all exemplary course winners.
According to Dr. Hardesty, the My College Algebra course has been designed to be as visually appealing and user friendly as possible. His goal was to make sure anyone logging on for the first time would know exactly where to go and what to do. While incorporating “Why College Algebra?” as a “real-world” theme, he has attempted to consistently use a variety of visual aids, videos, websites, careers, and discussions illustrating applications of the course concepts that surround us every day. Believing strongly that students need to see their online professors as real people with whom they can connect, he has also incorporated as much of himself as possible through use of a personalized orientation video series, video lectures, weekly video summaries of all assignments, etc.
Click here to read the full article.
Click here for a list of all exemplary course winners.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Is there an announcement you wish to make at our upcoming Fall Faculty In-Service?
The planning committee is preparing an “Announcement Presentation” to recognize current administrative initiatives at Hillsborough Community College. Your message will be shown prior to the General Session to all attendees and post the event to the college on the CITT website.
There will be no time during the General Session to have each dean present announcements. This is a great opportunity to communicate the services available to faculty and students at your campus and within your programs. Join us in using this medium to collectively improve our communication, and enhance the impact of HCC in the community.
You can email your announcement, including any images, video clips, and links to the planning committee, attention Lauretta O’Dell at lodell@hccfl.edu. The committee will take care of the rest.
There will be no time during the General Session to have each dean present announcements. This is a great opportunity to communicate the services available to faculty and students at your campus and within your programs. Join us in using this medium to collectively improve our communication, and enhance the impact of HCC in the community.
You can email your announcement, including any images, video clips, and links to the planning committee, attention Lauretta O’Dell at lodell@hccfl.edu. The committee will take care of the rest.
College-Wide Fall Facutly In-Service Agenda
8:00 - 8:45
Registration and Breakfast (AFC) – Cafeteria
8:45 - 10:15
General Session
Introduction/Welcome
Faculty Highlights and Initiatives Video
eTextbook Presentation
President’s Speech and Q&A
10:30 - 11:45
Concurrent Sessions
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch (FUSA), FUSA Updates, Tenured Faculty
Recognition, and New Faculty Welcome
1:15 - 2:30
A.A. and A.S. Information
2:45 - 4:30
Cluster Meetings
Registration and Breakfast (AFC) – Cafeteria
8:45 - 10:15
General Session
Introduction/Welcome
Faculty Highlights and Initiatives Video
eTextbook Presentation
President’s Speech and Q&A
10:30 - 11:45
Concurrent Sessions
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch (FUSA), FUSA Updates, Tenured Faculty
Recognition, and New Faculty Welcome
1:15 - 2:30
A.A. and A.S. Information
2:45 - 4:30
Cluster Meetings
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Important Dates For Your Calendar
College-Wide Fall FT Faculty In-Service: Thursday, August 18, 2011 at Dale Mabry Campus
Campus Fall FT Faculty In-Service: Friday, August 19, 2011
College-Wide Adjunct In-Service will be held in January, 2012
Campus Fall FT Faculty In-Service: Friday, August 19, 2011
College-Wide Adjunct In-Service will be held in January, 2012
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Cool Teachers
Chris Haskell and Barbara Schroeder, faculty members from Boise State University, host a weekly podcast called "The Cool Teachers."
Recent topics include: The importance of patience in teaching older students new technologies and a 3D Game Lab Tool.
Check out the Cool Teachers Podcast: http://coolteachers.org/.
Recent topics include: The importance of patience in teaching older students new technologies and a 3D Game Lab Tool.
Check out the Cool Teachers Podcast: http://coolteachers.org/.
Create a Free Online Form that Exports to Excel
Google Forms is a component of Google Documents that allows you to create a free web form. Consider using Google Forms to make:
After your form is created, click the 'email the form' button to distribute it. Participants answers will be captured to a Google Documents - Spreadsheet, that can be exported as an Excel file. From Excel, you can manipulate the data just as you normally would.
What else would you use Google Forms for?
- Quick surveys
- Contact Questionnaires
- Quizzes
After your form is created, click the 'email the form' button to distribute it. Participants answers will be captured to a Google Documents - Spreadsheet, that can be exported as an Excel file. From Excel, you can manipulate the data just as you normally would.
What else would you use Google Forms for?
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