We found 353 results that contain "online"

Wrapping Up & Thinking Ahead
Our April workshops are focused on course wrap up (D2L gradebook & course activity) and planning ahead for next semester. We are hosting five workshops for faculty, each offered once. The recordings will be shared by email to all registrants and also posted to the MSU Tools and Technologies D2L self-enrollment course (enroll here).
 
If you have a few "extra" minutes, we are formulating our plans for trainings and other learning experiences, and we need your help. We're trying to see what people need from us, and if they are aware of what we have offered in the past. So, if you could take a few minutes to fill out this survey that would be really helpful! What would be even more helpful is if you could share it with people you know, especially if they didn't attend one of our workshops, as we're trying to find people we haven't reached or supported yet.
 
Monitoring Your D2L Course Activity
Friday April 9th, 10am-11:30am ET
In this 90-minute webinar, we will show you how to use D2L course analytics for monitoring your online course. D2L captures a great deal of learner activity that can be used to identify needs, prompt action, and impact course design. Some of the tools you will learn more about include:

Course Overview widget
Engagement Dashboard
Content usage reports
Class Progress

Learn more about monitoring your D2L course here: D2L Course Analytics
Register for Monitoring Your D2L Course
 
D2L Gradebook
Friday April 16th, 10am-11:30am ET
This 90-minute training will go into the details of how-to setup and use a D2L points-based or weighted gradebook. There will be time for Q&A at the end. Specifically, participants will learn how to: 

Create Categories and Grade Items.
Distribute weights within a category and drop the lowest score.
Create bonus items and work with extra credit.
Enter grades and feedback.
Connect and assess activities.
Preview and release grades.
Export and import grades.
Switch to adjusted final grades.

Learn more about using D2L here: Instructor – D2L Self-Directed Training
Register for D2L Gradebook
 
Easy, Effective online discussion with Packback
Friday April 16th, 2pm ET
Packback is an AI-supported online discussion forum designed to motivate students to explore and investigate the assigned topic, encouraging genuine curiosity and engagement. Join us to hear from faculty about how Packback saves them time moderating and grading discussion posts while giving their students live AI-based coaching on their writing.
Register for Easy, Effective online discussion with Packback
 
Using iClicker for Student Engagement and Formative Assessment
Friday April 23rd, starting at 10am ET
This event will provide opportunities to become more familiar with MSU’s chosen student response system (iClicker) and is designed to allow participants to join sessions of interest throughout the day.

10:00am-10:45am - Introduction: Why use Student Response. This session will feature guest faculty sharing their experiences of using iClicker in their courses.
11am-12:15pm - In this workshop session, we will delve into the details of setting up and using iClicker. We will include interactive demonstrations; active participants will leave with an iClicker course ready to go. Topics will include:

Creating an account and setting up an iClicker course
Integration with D2L and different presentation softwares
Scoring/grading
Running a class (face-to-face, remote, hybrid, or asynchronous)
Student experience


12:30pm-1:30pm - Digging deeper. During this informal 60-minute “Lunch & Learn” session, we will revisit the “big picture” of when and why to use iClicker with our guest faculty and open the discussion to attendees.
1:45pm-2:45pm - Breakout Sessions. After lunch, we will use self-selected Zoom breakout rooms to split up for detailed Q&A with iClicker technologists and MSU IT specialists for 1-1 iClicker support or platform-specific questions.

Learn more about iClicker here:

The MSU Tools and Technologies self-enrollment “course” has a content module with detailed resources for using iClicker at MSU.
Quick overview video

Please register if you are interested in attending any part(s) of this event or simply want the workshop recordings and associated resources emailed to you: Register for Using iClicker for Student Engagement and Formative Assessment
 
Creating and Editing Media in Camtasia
Friday April 30th, 10am-11:15am ET
This 75-minute workshop will focus on the use of Camtasia for creating and editing instructional videos. The topics covered will include:

Recording a Presentation
Editing a Video
Importing Media
Adding Effects/Annotations
Adding Quiz Questions
Exporting Video
Adding Video to Mediaspace/D2L

Register for Creating and Editing Media in Camtasia

This poster outlines approximately 20 suggestions to help students navigate online courses more successfully. Even with careful planning and development, the normalization of remote learning has not been without challenges for the students enrolled in our courses. Besides worrying about a stable internet connection, students must confront a steep learning curve and considerable frustration when it comes to completing even the most basic coursework each week. Participation in the ASPIRE and SOIREE programs notwithstanding, and despite our carefully worded syllabi, weekly course modules, project packets, assignment prompts, and the like, students nevertheless experience significant confusion and anxiety when faced with the prospect of leaving the physical classroom behind for the brave new world of the virtual. The reduction of course material by instructors to bite-sized chunks and the opportunity for online collaboration with their classmates do not necessarily mean students greet online learning with open arms. Already entrenched attitudes and habits among many young adults do little to help them as they make the shift to online learning. But there are a number of fairly simple ways that instructors can smooth this rocky road over which students must now travel. The tips I share have emerged and been developed further as part of my own ongoing process to minimize confusion, frustration, and improve levels of engagement, while simultaneously imparting more agency to the students enrolled in my IAH courses here at Michigan State University.To access a PDF of the "Pandemic Pedagogy: Online Learning and Suggestions for Minimizing Student Storms in a Teacup" poster, click here.
Description of the Poster 
Pandemic Pedagogy: Online Learning and Suggestions for Minimizing Student Storms in a Teacup 
Stokes Schwartz, Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities 
College of Arts and Letters, Michigan State University 
Abstract 
The normalization of remote learning during 2020-2021 has not been without challenges for the students enrolled in our courses.  Besides worrying about stable internet connections, they must also confront a steep learning curve and considerable frustration when it comes to completing even the most basic coursework each week. Even with instructor participation in the ASPIRE and SOIREE programs, carefully worded syllabi, weekly course modules, project packets, assignment prompts, and etc., students nevertheless experience significant confusion and anxiety when faced with the prospect of leaving the physical classroom behind for the virtual. Our reduction of course material to bite-sized chunks and the opportunity for online collaboration with their classmates via Zoom or Teams do not necessarily mean students greet online learning with open arms. Already entrenched attitudes and habits among many young adults do little to help them either in the shift to online learning.  But there are a few fairly simple ways that instructors can smooth the rocky road over which students must travel. The tips and suggestions I share in this poster presentation have emerged as part of my own ongoing process to minimize student confusion, frustration, and improve engagement, while simultaneously impart greater agency and opportunity for success to the young adults populating my asynchronous online IAH courses here at MSU during the 2020-2021 academic year. 
Background 

In mid-March 2020, school pupils, university students, and educators everywhere were thrown into disarray by the mass onset of the Covid-19 virus, related lockdowns, and interruptions to normal student-instructor interactions. 
At Michigan State University, we scrambled throughout the summer to prepare for the 2020-2021AY and reconfigure existing courses for online delivery.  
Yet reasonably well developed and presented online courses alone have not enough for students to succeed.  Even in the face of MSU’s push for empathy and understanding, students have demonstrated that they require additional help making the leap from traditional face-to-face to online learning. 
Instructors are well-placed to assist students in an ongoing way as they make this challenging transition.   
Without much additional work, we can support and encourage our students with weekly reminders that exhibit kind words, cues, prompts, signposts pointing the way forward, and calls to action. 
We can foster improved student engagement, learning, and success despite the challenging, new environment in which we operate. 
We can guide students through their many weekly activities with roadmaps to help them navigate course intricacies more easily 
We can provide students with ample opportunity for new ways of learning, thinking, knowing, and the acquisition of 21st century skills. 
In short, faculty teaching online courses occupy an ideal position to prepare students to operate more efficiently and productively in the real world after graduation since remote work and collaboration online is expected to increase markedly as society speeds further along into the 21st century. 

Develop Supporting Communications 

Beside online syllabi, course modules with seem to be clear directions, etc. students need reminders to keep an asynchronous online general education course in mind, on the rails, and moving forward.   
Routine, consistent supporting communications to students from the instructor help to minimize student confusion. 
Send reminders on the same day each week for the coming week. 
Include headers in all course documents, and email signatures, listing a few ‘how to succeed in this course’ tips. 
Share same supporting communication to weekly modules in LMS.  
Students benefit from supporting communication that guide them through the activities for a given week during the semester. 
When students see supporting communications routinely and predictably, they are more likely to remember and act on it. 

Provide Weekly Guidelines 

Through supporting communication, provide additional prompts, directions, clarifications, and reminders to students.  Let’s call these weekly reminders “guidelines.”. 
Emphasize steps students can take to achieve success in the course.  
Keep guidelines fairly short and to the point to avoid information overload. 
Include the week, your name, course name, and number at top of guidelines as both an advance organizer and to help guidelines standout in students’ email inboxes. 
Provide students with concise ‘roadmaps’ in these guidelines making it easy to plan and carry out their coursework each week. 
Conclude guidelines with a call to action for students to complete course-related activities, much like a TV or online commercial, or an old fashioned print ad. 
Think of weekly guidelines as marketing communications that have a higher purpose than just promotion however.  
Share same guidelines at top of weekly online modules in LMS, so students can access them in more than one place.  

Include Key Course Policy Reminders 

Students will not remember all course policies, and expectations outlined in our syllabi.  Some might conveniently “forget.”   
Provide gentle reminders from week to week.  
Assist students by including important course information as part of the guidelines sent each week.  
Remind students of key course policies, expectations, and their responsibilities as members of the course. 
One possible segue way might be,  “For students who have chosen to remain in this course, the expectation is. . .” 
Remind students that we are in a university setting, they are adults, and to avoid letting themselves fall through the cracks. 
Invite students to seek help or clarification from the instructor if they or their student learning team need it. 

Foster Civil Interaction 

We have asked students to make a huge leap into uncharted waters.  They are frustrated and possibly fearful. 
Many are not used to online learning, self-reflection, thinking on their feet, problem solving, or working cohesively with others.  
Many already exhibit an entitled, customer service mindset. 
Make expectations for civil interaction clear with a concise statement in online syllabi, modules, and weekly guidelines.   
Model civility with polite decorum and kindness to reduce potential problems with disgruntled students. 
Be respectful and civil in your synchronous, asynchronous, or email interaction with students.  Listen without interrupting. 
Avoid terse replies, even to naïve questions! 
Use the student’s name in verbal or email replies. 
Reduce the potential for unpleasant episodes by opening all email replies with “Thank you for your email,” and conclude them with “Best/Kind Regards. . .”   
Be the adult in the room and show patience, patience, patience! 
Here are vital teachable moments that allow us to help shape students for collegial and productive working lives following graduation. 
Civil interaction is challenging given the various pressures and constraints under which all of us, faculty and students, must operate, but it is an important part of facilitating continued student engagement and success in our online courses.  

Remind Students of the Skills They Cultivate 

Besides the specific subject matter of the course, remind students in weekly guidelines that they are also cultivating real world expertise.   
‘21st century skills, ’ a term used by Christopher J. Dede, John Richards  and others in The 60-Year Curriculum: New Models for Lifelong Learning in the Digital Economy (2020), enable a smooth transition into the globalized digital economy after graduation.   
Remind students that they are refining relevant skills in:  
Deeper (critical) thinking  
Collaboration and collegiality  
Personal and agency and proactive engagement.  
Effective planning and organization  
Time management.   
Intellectually openness and mental agility.   
Learning from mistakes.   
Accountability and ownership 
Self-Awareness  
Attention to detail  
Timely and Frequent Communication with Your Team  
Creative problem-solving  
Development of high quality work 
Consistency  
On-time delivery of assignments and projects. 
Self-regulation 
Frequent practice of skills like these during weekly course-related activities better prepares students for long term employability through an anticipated six decades of working life in a rapidly changing world. 

Establish Consistent Guideline Format 
Below is a possible format for the weekly guidelines I propose: 

A recurring header in your weekly that lists easy steps students can take to ensure their own success in course.  
Begin with an advance organizer that identifies right away the week, semester, and dates the guidelines are for. 
Follow with a friendly greeting and focusing statement in a brief paragraph. 
Highlight any due dates in yellow below the greeting below greeting and focusing statement. 
Include two-three concise paragraphs that enumerate and outline individual assignments or team projects for the week. 
Provide brief directions for how (and when) to ask questions or seek clarification. 
Furnish technical assistance contact information for students who experience challenges uploading assignments or team projects. 
Remind students gently about the collaborative course design and expectations for students enrolled in the course. 
Mention to students of the need to keep course policies and expectations in mind as they complete their work. 
Highlight the big picture skills students practice each week besides the specific subject matter of the course, and how those skills are relevant to their lives after graduation. 
Finish with a closing salutation that is a bit less formal and includes good wishes for students’ continued safety and well-being. 

Conclusion 

The approach outlined here has emerged, crystalized, and evolved over two semesters in the interest of ensuring student success in asynchronous online IAH courses. 
While these observations are preliminary at this point, most students in the six courses taught during 2020-2021 have met the challenges facing them, completed their individual and collaborative coursework, and met or exceeded rubric expectations.  
 Anticipated student problems and drama either have not materialized, or have been minimal. 
Early impressions suggest that supporting communications like these are helpful to students when it comes to navigating online courses more easily and completing related tasks. 
Weekly supporting communications, presented as brief guidelines, might also be useful in the context in synchronous online, hybrid, and hy-flex as well as traditional face-to-face courses when it comes to helping students navigate and complete coursework in less confused, more systematic way. 
Future plans include refining the weekly guidelines further and possibly assessing their effectiveness through a small study. 

Authors: Jeremy Van Hof, Stephen Thomas, Becky Matz, Kate Sonka, Sarah Wellman, Daniel Trego, Casey Henley, Jessica Knott, David Howe With our guiding principles for remote teaching as flexibility, generosity, and transparency, we know that there is no one solution for assessment that will meet all faculty and student needs.  From this perspective, the primary concern should be assessing how well students have achieved the key learning objectives and determining what objectives are still unmet. It may be necessary to modify the nature of the exam to allow for the differences of the online environment. This document, written for any instructor who typically administers an end-of-semester high-stakes final exam, addresses how best to make those modifications.  In thinking about online exams we recommend the following approaches (in priority order) for adjusting exams: multiple lower-stakes assessments, open-note exams, and online proctored exams.  When changes to the learning environment occur, creating an inclusive and accessible learning experience for students with disabilities should remain a top priority. This includes providing accessible content and implementing student disability accommodations, as well as considering the ways assessment methods might be affected.  
 
Faculty and students should be prepared to discuss accommodation needs that may arise. The team at MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) will be available to answer questions about implementing accommodations. Contact information for Team RCPD is found at https://www.rcpd.msu.edu/teamrcpd. Below you will find a description of each of the recommendations, tips for their implementation, the benefits of each, and references to pertinent research on each.
There are three primary options*: 

Multiple lower-stakes assessments (most preferred)  
Open note exams  (preferred)  
Online proctored exams (if absolutely necessary)

*Performance-based assessments such as laboratory, presentation, music, or art experiences that show proficiency will be discussed in another document



Multiple lower-stakes assessments
Description: The unique circumstances of this semester make it necessary to carefully consider your priorities when assessing students. Rather than being cumulative, a multiple assessment approach makes assessment an incremental process. Students demonstrate their understanding frequently, and accrue points over time, rather than all at once on one test. Dividing the assessment into smaller pieces can reduce anxiety and give students more practice in taking their exams online.  For instance, you might have a quiz at the end of each week that students have to complete. Each subsequent quiz can (and should) build on the previous one, allowing students to build toward more complex and rigorous applications of the content. Using this approach minimizes your need to change the types of questions that you have been asking to date, which can affect student performance (e.g. if you normally ask multiple-choice questions, you can continue to do so).   For the remainder of the semester, use the D2L quizzes tool to build multiple smaller assessments. Spread out the totality of your typical final exam over the month of April. This can be as simple as dividing a 100 question final exam into eight 12-question “synthesis activities” that students complete bi-weekly.
Benefits as noted from the literature: 

No significant differences were observed in terms of keystroke information, rapid guessing, or aggregated scores between proctoring conditions;
More effective method for incentivizing participation and reading; 
Encourages knowledge retention as each subsequent assessment builds on the last

Rios, J. A., & Liu, O. L. (2017). Online proctored versus unproctored low-stakes internet test administration: Is there differential test-taking behavior and performance?. American Journal of Distance Education, 31(4), 226-241. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08923647.2017.1258628  Schrank, Z. (2016). An assessment of student perceptions and responses to frequent low-stakes testing in introductory sociology classes. Teaching Sociology, 44(2), 118-127. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0092055X15624745  VanPatten, B., Trego, D., & Hopkins, W. P. (2015). In‐Class vs. Online Testing in University‐Level Language Courses: A Research Report. Foreign Language Annals, 48(4), 659-668. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/flan.12160 
Open note exams 
Description: Open note assessments allow students to refer to the Internet and other materials while completing their assessments. By design, this disincentives academic dishonesty. Often instructors put time parameters around open note exams. These types of exams also lend themselves to collaborative work in which multiple students work together to complete the assessment. With an open note strategy, you can keep your general exam schedule and point structure, but you may need to revise questions so they are less about factual recall and more about the application of concepts.  For instance you might give students a scenario or case study that they have to apply class concepts to as opposed to asking for specific values or definitions. If you plan to make such changes, communicate your intent and rationale to you students prior to the exam.  One effective open note testing technique is to use multiple-true/false questions as a means to measure understanding. These questions (called “multiple selection” questions in D2L) pose a scenario and prompt students to check all the boxes that apply. For example, students may be prompted to read a short case or lab report, then check all statements that are true about that reading. In this way a single question stem can assess multiple levels of complexity and/or comprehension. 
Benefits as noted from the literature: 



Open-book exams and collaborative exams promote development of critical thinking skills. 
Open-book exams are more engaging and require higher-order thinking skills. 
Application of open-book exams simulates the working environment. 
Students prefer open-book exams and report decreased anxiety levels. 
Collaborative exams stimulate brain cell growth and intricate cognitive complexes.  



Johanns, B., Dinkens, A., & Moore, J. (2017). A systematic review comparing open-book and closed-book examinations: Evaluating effects on development of critical thinking skills. Nurse education in practice, 27, 89-94. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471595317305486
 
Couch, B. A., Hubbard, J. K., & Brassil, C. E. (2018). Multiple–true–false questions reveal the limits of the multiple–choice format for detecting students with incomplete understandings. BioScience, 68(6), 455-463. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy037 
Implementation for multiple lower-stakes and open note assessment strategies: 

Timed vs. untimed: On the whole, performance on timed and untimed assessments yields similar scores. Students express greater anxiety over timed assessments, while they view untimed assessments as more amenable to dishonest behavior. 

NOTE: If you typically have a time limit on your face-to-face assessments, increase it by 20% to allow for the added demands a remote (distinct from online) environment places on students.


If the exam is meant to be taken synchronously, remember to stay within your class period. Adjust the length of the exam accordingly.
Reduced scope: Decreasing content covered in the exam may be necessary to create an exam of appropriate length and complexity, given the unique circumstances this semester. 
Question pools: Create a pool of questions, and let D2L randomly populate each student’s quiz. This helps reduce dishonest behavior 

For example, a 10 question quiz might have 18 total questions in the pool, 10 of which are randomly distributed to each student by D2L. 


Randomize answer order: In questions in which it makes sense, have D2L randomize the order in which the answer options appear. 
Individual question per page: This can reduce instances of students taking the assessment together. It is even more effective when question order is randomized and a question pool is used. <//li>
Honor code attestation: Give students an opportunity to affirm their intent to be honest by making question one of every assessment a 0-point question asking students to agree to an honor code.  You can access the MSU Honor Code: https://www.deanofstudents.msu.edu/academic-integrity 
Live Zoom availability: In D2L Quizzes, set a time window during which the assessment will be available to students. 
Hold a live open office hours session in Zoom at some point during that window, so that students who want to can take the assessment while they have direct access to you - this way they can ask questions if any arise. 

Ultimately, our guiding principles for online teaching are flexibility, generosity, and transparency.  Try to give students as much of an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge as possible.  

Consider allowing multiple attempts on an assessment. 
When conditions allow, consider allowing multiple means of expression. 
Can students choose to demonstrate their knowledge from a menu of options

M/C test
Written response
Video presentation 
Oral Exam (via Zoom) 


Consider giving students choices. Perhaps they can opt out of answering a question or two. Perhaps they can choose which of a series of prompts to respond to. Perhaps students can waive one test score (to help accomodate for their rapidly changing environments) 

Proctored assessments 
Description: Respondus Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor are tools for remote proctoring in D2L. More information is available at https://help.d2l.msu.edu/node/4686. Please consider whether your assessments can be designed without the need for Respondus. While Respondus may be helpful in limited circumstances (e.g., when assessments must be proctored for accreditation purposes), introducing a new technology may cause additional stress for both students and instructors, and academic integrity is still not assured.   High-stakes exams (those that are a large percentage of a student’s grade) that use new technologies and approaches can decrease student performance and may not reflect students’ understanding of the material.  Please do not use an online proctored approach unless your assessment needs require its use.   
Benefits: 
Increases the barrier to academic dishonesty. Allows for use of existing exams (assuming they are translated in D2L’s Quizzes tool). 
Implementation:

Any online proctored exam must be created and administered using D2L’s Quizzes tool. 
Prior to offering a graded proctored exam, we strongly recommend that you administer an ungraded (or very low-stakes) practice test using the proctoring tool. 
Clear communication with students about system and hardware requirements and timing considerations is required. 
MSU has gained temporary no-cost access to a pair of online proctoring tools provided by Respondus: https://help.d2l.msu.edu/node/4686 
Respondus Lockdown Browser requires that students download a web browser.
When they click into your exam, the Lockdown Browser opens, and prevents users from accessing anything else on their computer. 
Respondus Monitor requires use of Respondus Lockdown Browser and a webcam.
Students are monitored via the webcam while they complete the exam in Lockdown Browser. 

Additional Resources: 

Remote Assessment Quick Guide 
Remote Assessment Video Conversation 
D2L Quizzes Tool Guide
Self-training on D2L Quizzes (login to MSU’s D2L is required; self-enroll into the training course) 

 References: Alessio, H.M.; Malay, N.; Mauere, K.; Bailer, A.J.; & Rubin, B.(2017) Examining the effect of proctoring on online test scores, Online Learning 21 (1)  Altınay, Z. (2017) Evaluating peer learning and assessment in online collaborative learning environments, Behaviour & Information Technology, 36:3, 312-320, DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2016.1232752 
Couch, B. A., Hubbard, J. K., & Brassil, C. E. (2018). Multiple–true–false questions reveal the limits of the multiple–choice format for detecting students with incomplete understandings. BioScience, 68(6), 455-463. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy037  Cramp, J.; Medlin, J. F.; Lake, P.; & Sharp, C. (2019) Lessons learned from implementing remotely invigilated online exams, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 16(1).  Guerrero-Roldán, A., & Noguera, I.(2018) A Model for Aligning Assessment with Competences and Learning Activities in Online Courses, The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 38, pp. 36–46., doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2018.04.005. 
Johanns, B., Dinkens, A., & Moore, J. (2017). A systematic review comparing open-book and closed-book examinations: Evaluating effects on development of critical thinking skills. Nurse education in practice, 27, 89-94. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471595317305486  Joseph A. Rios, J.A. & Lydia Liu, O.L. (2017) Online Proctored Versus Unproctored Low-Stakes Internet Test Administration: Is There Differential Test-Taking Behavior and Performance?, American Journal of Distance Education, 31:4, 226-241, DOI: 10.1080/08923647.2017.1258628 Schrank, Z. (2016). An assessment of student perceptions and responses to frequent low-stakes testing in introductory sociology classes. Teaching Sociology, 44(2), 118-127. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0092055X15624745  Soffer, Tal, et al. “(2017) Assessment of Online Academic Courses via Students' Activities and Perceptions, Studies in Educational Evaluation, vol. 54, pp. 83–93., doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.10.001. 
Tan, C.(2020) Beyond high-stakes exam: A neo-Confucian educational programme and its contemporary implications, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52:2, 137-148, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2019.1605901 
VanPatten, B., Trego, D., & Hopkins, W. P. (2015). In‐Class vs. Online Testing in University‐Level Language Courses: A Research Report. Foreign Language Annals, 48(4), 659-668. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/flan.12160 

This two-part workshop series will cover everything you need to know to successfully set up and use Zoom meetings in accordance with pedagogical best practices and MSU security and privacy policies. Features and settings will be shown from the perspective of the meeting host. For each feature we will discuss when and how it could best be applied in an instructional setting. 
In the first session, we will provide a comprehensive orientation to Zoom meetings for student instruction at MSU: scheduling a meeting, mandated security settings, how to invite participants, D2L/Zoom integration, MSU’s policy on participant camera use, local and cloud recording, captioning recordings, and generating attendance reports.  
Zoom Basics 
October 16th 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. 
 
The second session, will delve into more advanced use of Zoom features with a focus on student interaction and engagement. We will cover enabling and using whiteboard, screen annotation, remote control, polling, and breakout rooms. Faculty interested in the tools in this second session are requested to attend the first session as well, since several of these features build on the policies and orientation to Zoom developed in the first session.  
 
Here is the Recorded Session.
 

 
You can also view the recording on Mediaspace: Zoom Basics Recording
 
Advanced Zoom Tools for Student Interaction d Engagement  
October 23rd (2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.) 
 
The second session of the month will cover Zoom’s more advanced features and cover tools like polling, screen annotation, remote control, and breakout rooms. 
 
Here is the recording of the session:
 

 
You cna also view the recording on Mediaspace: Zoom Advanced Recording
 
 

Introduction
Quality Matters (QM) is a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. MSU purchased a campus subscription to the QM Rubric to assist faculty and instructors in creating quality courses that will improve online education and student learning. The initial pilot of using the rubric to inform course design started as an MSU partnership between the Center for Integrative Studies in General Science, College of Arts & Letters, and MSU Information Technology. Currently, MSU maintains its full subscription status on a yearly basis which provides access to the fully annotated QM Rubric and the QM Course Review Management System (CRMS). Additionally, MSU IT Academic Technology consults with faculty and instructors on applying QM standards to their courses and developing new approaches in online and blended learning.
The MSU QM Course Review Process is a faculty-driven, peer review process that emphasizes continuous quality improvement. The QM reviewers experience and review a course from a student perspective and provide feedback based on the Quality Matters Standards. See IT Instructional Technology & Development for information about course development and see IT’s Academic Technology Service Catalog to learn more about QM at MSU. 
Our course review process consists of three parts: 

a self-review done by you to get familiar with the course review process on the MyQM system. 
an internal review by a peer-reviewer to provide initial feedback on the course design. 
after any necessary changes are made and the course has run, a copy of the course can undergo an official review conducted by a team of three QM Reviewers (Master Reviewer, Subject Matter Expert and one additional Reviewer) resulting in Quality Matters Certification [cost $1,000].

Whole programs can also be QM certified whose courses have been peer-reviewed. Information on QM program certification can be found on QM’s website. 
Getting Started
Anyone at MSU can create an account through the Quality Matters website by using their msu.edu email address.
Quality Matters provides a fully annotated course standards rubric, different types of course reviews including a self-review, and discounted QM professional development through its website and MSU’s subscription.
Some of the Quality Matters resources involve added costs and official course reviews require MSU consultation first.
Course Rubric
The QM Rubric is a research-based peer review process that is widely adopted in higher education as a measure of online course quality. It offers weighted best practices in online instruction to improve course quality.
Visit the QM Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition to download the rubric.
The rubric is helpful as a tool to consider what elements may be missing from an online or blended course or to generate suggestions for new features.
Self-Review First
Faculty and staff can use the fully annotated, self review materials, within the MyQM CRMS (Course Review Management System). Annotations explaining each standard in greater detail can be accessed within the Self Review tool after logging in to the QM site.
This unofficial self review is a way to become more familiar with QM standards or assess a course prior to an internal or official review. You can also do pre- and post- assessments of your courses to keep a record of improvements, and a private report can be emailed once completed.
What to expect in a peer-review?
The internal and official review are almost identical. Both generally consist of the following steps:


Pre-Review Discussion


Team chair (Lead Reviewer in an internal review) contacts review members and faculty member to set up a conference call or face-to-face meeting at the beginning of the review. The purpose of the conference call/meeting is to discuss the instructor worksheet, ensure that all members have access to the course, establish the team review timeline, and answer any questions from team members before the review begins.


Review Phase


The review begins. Each team member logs into the QM Rubric website and uses the online rubric tool to record their observations about the course. Remember that you are reviewing the course from the student’s perspective. If you have questions during the review, don’t hesitate to contact your team chair.


Post-Review Discussion


Upon completion of the review, the team chair will call for the final conference. This conference will be among the review team members to discuss any discrepancies in the review and to ensure that recommendations are helpful and effective.  All individual reviews will be submitted after this meeting to compile the final report.


Post Review – Revise Course (as needed)


The team chair will submit the final review to the Campus QM Coordinator through the online QM tool. The review findings will be shared with the course instructor who then has an opportunity to respond to the review (using the course Amendment Form in the QM site). If the course does not yet meet standards, the faculty course developer/instructor works to bring the course to standards (with the assistance of an instructional designer, if desired). The review team chair then reviews the changes and determines whether or not the changes move the course to QM standards. In an internal review, revisions are made before submitting for an official review.
Steps for Internal Review
It is good practice to complete a self-review of your course before submitting for internal or official review. This is an optional step and only you see the self-review responses. For a self-review, log into the CRMS (Course Review Management System) on the QM website and use the Self Review tool to conduct a review of your own course.
When you are ready to submit a course for internal review:

Sign up for a SpartanQM Online/Blended Course Peer-Review and wait for an email response. 
Make a copy of your course to be reviewed.
Log in to MyQM at http://www.qmprogram.org/MyQM (Your login name is your email address on file with QM. If you do not have your login info choose "Forgot Username" or "Forgot Password")
Log in to the Course Review Management System (CRMS) and select “Start a Review Application” on the main screen.

Select Michigan State University.
Select David Goodrich as the QM Coordinator.
Select yourself as the Course Representative.
Select Internal Review as the review type.
Scroll down and enter course information. Select Submit Application. You will receive an email that will prompt you to complete the worksheet once it is approved.

Log in to the Course Review Management System (CRMS) to complete the Course Worksheet.
Select My Course Reviews: Open Course Reviews

Here you will choose the "View" next to the applicable course number. 
The Actions section allows you to view, edit and then submit the Course Worksheet. Select edit to input your course information. 
When finished, click “Submit Complete Worksheet.”

Your course will automatically be assigned to a Lead Reviewer who will contact you regarding the course review.
After your review, you may make any necessary changes to your QM Review course as a result of the internal review.
This review is an unofficial course review that provides feedback on meeting the QM Standards before submitting for QM recognition.

Steps for Official Review
When the course is ready for the official review:

Sign up for a SpartanQM Online/Blended Course Peer-Review and wait for an email response. 
Faculty will use the updated copy of the course that was used in the internal review. 
Log in to MyQM at http://www.qmprogram.org/MyQM (Your login name is your email address on file with QM. If you do not have your login info choose "Forgot Username" or "Forgot Password")
Log in to the Course Review Management System (CRMS) and select “Start a Review Application” on the main screen.

Select Michigan State University.
Select David Goodrich as the QM Coordinator.
Select yourself as the Course Representative.
Select QM-Managed Review as the review type. 
Scroll down and enter course information. Select Submit Application. You will receive an email that will prompt you to complete the Course Worksheet once it is approved.

Log in to the Course Review Management System (CRMS) to complete the Course Worksheet.
Select My Course Reviews, Open Course Reviews. 

Here you will choose the "View" next to the applicable course number.
The Actions section allows you to view, edit and then submit the Course Worksheet. Select edit to input your course information.
If you completed an internal review inside the CRMS, you can copy your internal review worksheet.

MSU staff will add the QM review team to the QM Review Course. This can take up to two weeks.
The Course Representative (faculty course developer/instructor) meets virtually or by phone with the QM review team for a pre-review meeting.
A QM Review is scheduled for a 4-6 week review period, which includes approximately 3 weeks of actual review time in addition to pre- and post-review conference calls.
The QM Team Chair will submit the final report which will be sent to the Course Representative.
Once the standards are met, Quality Matters recognition is provided to the Course Representative and the course is listed in the QM Recognized Courses registry.

Recertification Review
Certified courses are reviewed and re-certified after five years.
Resource Links

QM Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition
QM at MSU Community: Faculty and staff at MSU can join this D2L Community site to learn more about the QM Rubric, discounted professional development, and course examples for meeting standards.
Quality Matters website: Create an account using your msu.edu email and access the self-review tools on the MyQM site.

Course Design: Modality & Technology
Our June workshops are focused on planning courses for Fall semester. We are hosting 6 workshops, 4 vendor demonstrations, and 3 "office hours" sessions. The workshops and demonstrations will be recorded and shared by email to all registrants and also posted to the MSU Tools and Technologies D2L self-enrollment course (enroll here). As always, if you would like a one-on-one consultation on course design or academic technologies, please submit a service request to the MSU Help Desk and ask for the Instructional Technology & Development team.
Defining and Exemplifying the Modalities
Tuesday June 8th, 10 am – 11:30 am ET 
What do Hybrid, Hyflex, Flipped, etc. mean? What do they look and feel like in action for you and for your students? Some of these intersect, like a flipped hybrid class, what does that look like? In this workshop, we will define and discuss these terms and faculty will showcase how they implemented these modalities in their courses. 
Register for Defining & Exemplifying the Modalities
Choosing your Instructional Technologies 
Tuesday June 15th, 10 am – 11:30 am ET 
How do you pick instructional technologies? Which ones will work best for your modality and goals? When should you compromise on the performance of a technology to increase versatility and reduce the number of different technologies you use? In this informational workshop, we will discuss the intersections of teaching modalities, course platforms, & other instructional technologies to help answer these questions. We will also review what other external considerations should inform your design decisions. 
Register for Choosing your Instructional Technologies
Course Design “Office Hours” 
Friday June 18th, 10 am – 12 pm ET 
For 2 hours, the Instructional Technology and Development Team will be on hand to individually answer questions about course modalities and choosing your instructional technologies.  
Register for Course Design “Office Hours”
Choosing a Course Platform 
Tuesday June 22nd, 10 am – 11:30 am ET 
In this informational workshop, we will discuss the different course platforms commonly used in MSU courses: D2L Brightspace, LON CAPA, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, etc. We will summarize the strengths & weaknesses of each course platform, best use cases, tool integrations, and where to go for more information. 
Register for Course Platform Overview
Overview of D2L Brightspace 
Wednesday June 23rd, 10 am – 11 am ET 
D2L is one of the main technologies used at MSU to deliver online and remote classes. This workshop will cover the basics of D2L. This includes an overview of the interface, how to create and manage the grade book, assessment tools, external technology integrations, and uploading and creating your course content. 
Register for D2L Brightspace
Overview of Microsoft Teams for Education 
Thursday June 24th, 10 am – 11:30 am ET 
In this informational workshop, we will have and in-depth presentation on using Microsoft Teams as a course platform. Topics will include: 

Integrating Teams into instruction  
Student engagement 
Formative assessment  
Advantages of Teams  
Video  
File sharing  
Chat groups  

Register for Microsoft Teams for Education
Course Platform “Office Hours” 
Friday June 25th, 10 am – 12 pm ET 
For 2 hours, the Instructional Technology and Development Team will be on hand to answer any questions you have about selecting and setting up your course platform.  
Register for Course Platform “Office Hours”
Assessment Technologies Overview 
Tuesday June 29th – 10 am – 11:30 am ET 
In this informational workshop, we will introduce the wide array of assessment technologies supported by MSU, provide example use cases, and compare & contrast similar tech. The goal is to summarize your options and inform your selection of assessment strategies & the tools you want to use (e.g., discussions, quizzes/exams, creative projects/essays). 
Register for Assessment Technologies Overview 
iClicker Demo 
Wednesday June 30th, 10 am – 11 am ET  
Join us for a vendor demonstration of iClicker, a tool for student engagement, formative assessment, attendance, quizzing, and polling. iClicker has undergone many major updates recently, including mobile-device usage options, new question types, and D2L integrations. Even iClicker veterans are encouraged to attend.
Register for iClicker Demo
Crowdmark Demo 
Wednesday June 30th, 1 pm – 2 pm ET  
Join us for a vendor demonstration of Crowdmark, an online collaborative grading platform that allows for grading of a number of different assessment types, integrates with D2L, and provides robust analytics. The Crowdmark team will walk you through how to set up a remote assessment, grade and distribute grades using a variety of question types (multiple choice questions as well as text entry and image/pdf uploads for student responses). We will provide some tips and tricks for student troubleshooting and answer any lingering questions. 
Register for Crowdmark Demo
 
Gradescope Demo 
Wednesday June 30th, 2 pm – 3 pm ET  
Join us for a vendor demonstration of Gradescope, a tool to design and deliver assessments via D2L integrations, including handwritten work and online problem sets, projects, worksheets, quizzes, exams, and more. 
Register for Gradescope Demo 

DigitalDesk Demo 
Wednesday June 30th, 3 pm – 4 pm ET
Join us for a vendor demonstration of DigitalDesk, Inc. - Instructor Tools/Student Portal, an intuitive, multi-modal learning platform that provides a seamless pathway between paper/pencil, scan based, and online testing. Test builder includes item banking, rich content, as well as fully integrated monitor/review and remote proctoring solutions. Rubric Creator facilitates instructors’ scoring of essays and portfolio submissions. Comprehensive reporting features include exam analysis, on-demand score reports and automatic reporting. Customizable reports can be emailed whenever students submit assignments or complete exams, or at designated times. 
Register for DigitalDesk Demo
Assessment Technology “Office Hours” 
Thursday July 1st, 10 am – 12 pm ET 
For 2 hours, the Instructional Technology and Development Team will be on hand to answer any questions you have about choosing and using assessment technologies. 
Register for Assessment Technology “Office Hours” 

Topic Area: Pandemic Pivot
Presented by: Ryan Thompson, Andrew Dennis, Valeta Wensloff
Abstract:
When MSU’s campus activity closed due to COVID-19, units and departments across campus sought solutions to transition to remote learning and maintain student engagement. The game development program in the Department of Media and Information turned to a familiar source; a video game communication platform called Discord. While we were already using Discord for casual links and outside of class communication, the quarantine put our server into overdrive. Now, our community Discord is a thriving community spanning 30 classes, 10 faculty, and over 800 members. It is helping game developers of all stripes learn, share, and communicate in a screen dominated era, and keeping faculty, students, and alumni connected and collaborating.
Join three Media & Information faculty as they discuss their experience building, fostering, growing, and maintaining this online community consisting of hundreds of game and interaction design students on Discord. By involving alumni and forthright peers, they found a natural balance between professionalism and creative expression.

Topic Area: Online Teaching & Learning
Presented by: Andrea Bierema
Abstract:
I teach flipped-style undergraduate science courses for non-science majors with 100-180 students per section. Each week, students learn basic concepts toward the beginning of the week and later apply those concepts to case studies and other activities. Prior to the pandemic, students worked in teams of 3-5 students during class to apply concepts. So that students did not have to fit synchronous meetings in their schedule every week but still could meet with other students throughout the semester, I changed our assessments to team activities. I used CATME Smarter Teamwork- which MSU has a license- to create the teams. Because I was no longer present during the teamwork component of the course, I added a team charter worksheet. Also, students evaluated their team members on CATME after each team assignment. These evaluations served two purposes: students had a chance to improve their team by providing thoughtful feedback and I used them as evidence for team member participation (and they could provide counter-evidence if they disagreed with their team's evaluations). To ensure that students viewed and thought about the feedback that they received, I added teamwork skills as an objective of the course and created journaling assignments in which students reflected on their evaluations and how they will continue improving their teamwork skills. During this session, I will provide an overview of the teamwork for this class, details on how I used CATME, the team charter worksheet, the journaling assignments, and a summary of the end-of-semester student evaluations of these activities.
Session Resources:
Rating Practice and Teammaker (Document)
Team Charter Worksheet (Document)
Teamwork Journaling (Document)