cynthiasite
read. think. write. speak. be.
User loginupdates & infoSpring 2008
> While this site formerly hosted my online composition course, I migrated all of my materials to Blackboard last summer. The big news this semester, of course, is that the college has contracted to use Desire2Learn, so I'll soon be moving my online courses to a new system. This site, then, has been restructured to focus on my academic blog as well as on materials & resources for distance education faculty, both here at Suffolk and across the state. I'm also participating in The Chair Academy's Leadership Institute, so I'll be reflecting on those experiences here too. |
blogsPodcast PrimersLooking to use podcasts in your online classes, but not sure how to get started? Check out these resources:
AFT-NEA Higher Education ConferenceI'm in Washington, DC, on April 27-30 to attend the AFT-NEA Higher Education Joint Conference: Building Alliances for Higher Education and the Public Good. As Adjunct Coordinator for the Faculty Association, of course, I'll be attending several sessions on representing and advocating for contingent faculty. Unfortunately, one of the adjunct workshops I'd love to attend is being offered at the same time I'm presenting, but I'll make it to two other sessions. 03.11.08 All College DayFor my All College Day workshop on effective online teaching, here are my notes and materials to facilitate discussion and here's are my DE discussion forums so that you can share your good ideas and thinking. Currently I'm sitting & listening to Chuck's keynote & I'm blogging... because I'm a Gen Xer who goes nowhere without her laptop. Below are some of the websites Chuck cited (click "read more"): Suffolk to migrate to Desire2LearnWell, the big news at Suffolk this semester is that the college has decided to adopt Desire2Learn as its primary course management system. You can read the last college brief about the training and migration plan here: http://raven.sunysuffolk.edu:8081/CollegeBriefs/CB72.doc. I serve on the college-wide Distance Education Committee (DEC), and I know that DEC had unanimously voted to encourage the college to adopt Blackboard as its CMS. However, I have to note that several of us on DEC didn't vote for Blackboard because we deemed it the best CMS on the market. Rather, we cast our vote primarily out of recognition of those faculty at Suffolk who had already learned SLN, only to convert to Blackboard. With 30+ faculty already on Bb, we were trying to be considerate to those colleagues. That said, I've seen and dabbled with Desire2Learn, and I personally am THRILLED about the new system! It's fabulous. I've used SLN a little, and I've taught dozens upon dozens of sections of 4 different courses in Bb, and I've created this entire site using Drupal to host my composition class here at Suffolk. So I'm quite familiar with the benefits and drawbacks of each system, and I'm excited by what D2L will enable us to do. It has plenty of features that Bb and the others do not, and I'm eager to explore it more fully. Stay tuned for updates about D2L at SCCC. Free ePortfolioThose of us looking for a smart ePortfolio service to share with students might check out Epsilen ePortfolios. The basic version is free for all registered students and faculty of colleges & universities in the U.S., can be set up in minutes, and can be used for years to come. I've played around a bit with setting up a quick ePortfolio, and it's definitely quick and easy. I don't know an awful lot about the company itself, so you might want to look into this some more before recommending it for your students. Overall, though, it seems one of the stronger options out there for free ePortfolio systems. DOC Cop "does not protect intellectual property by taking intellectual property"
For those of us who have reservations about the use of the industry-leader plagiarism software program Turnitin.com, there's a new plagiarism detection service called DOC Cop. This site differs significantly from Turnitin.com because it "does not protect intellectual property by taking intellectual property." This refers to a long-standing criticism of Turnitin.com's policy of keeping a copy of all papers submitted to its database. 'Fair use' confusion threatens media literacyHere's an interesting piece from eSchoolNews online (October 9, 2007) about fair use of digital materials. While it focuses on teachers of media literacy, the comments are appropriate for a broader range of educators, particularly those of us who teach online. 'Fair use' confusion threatens media literacy CCDEC Members: Coming to June 2nd ED39 Meeting?CCDEC members: I'm wondering if you're planning to attend the June 1-2, 2007, ED39 meeting. As you may know from our meeting in D.C., we're going to be at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. I'm hoping we DE activists can use this meeting to share information and ideas about the status of distance ed in each of our locals and then plot some mischief for the pre-conference workshop on DE that we're planning for the November conference at the Otesaga in Cooperstown. I've proposed to Maureen Rizzi and Bernie Mulligan that we do something like a panel discussion, with individual CCDEC members taking the lead on some particular aspect or issue of DE that you have expertise or a special interest in. Migrating SLN to BlackboardAn update on the SLN vs. Blackboard situation: While the college has been given permission to negotiate with Blackboard, there is still no decision regarding if or when a contract might be settled. From the last Distance Ed Committee meeting, my understanding is that the college is currently doing a cost analysis of SLN/ANGEL as well as Blackboard. And so we're still not sure of the college's decision. Of course, I'll let you know as soon as we know and/or you'll hear it via an official college announcement. Stay tune This Site on That SiteCheck it out! This website is featured on the AFT OnCampus website: http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/on_campus/mayjune07/tech.htm. I recently wrote an article for the American Federation of Teachers' newsletter about how higher ed unionists might harness the powers of Web 2.0, and I used this website as an example of how to do so. 
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