The Learning Technology Center has been made aware of an unscheduled Cisco Webex Teams service outage today (9/25) that appears to be impacting all users. As of 10:15 AM this morning, the service outage had been impacting users across the UW-Whitewater campus for an indefinite period of time (possibly as early as Monday 9/24 evening). Cisco is working to restore services, but we do not currently have an estimated time in which services will be fully restored. LTC staff will continue to monitor the situation, and provide updates as they come.
Poll Everywhere is scheduled for maintenance on Saturday, September 22nd and Saturday, October 6th beginning at 10:00 pm. You may experience issues accessing Poll Everywhere during these times.
From left to right: Andrew Cole (Learning Technology Specialist), Sarah Klingman-Cole (Technology Promotion & Adoption Specialist), Shane Degen (LMS Administrator), Nicole Weber (Director of Learning Technology), Ted Witt (Teaching, Learning and Technology Consultant), Aaron Axelsen (Operations Manager).
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is here and ready to help you! Our team of experts have a wide range of skills to tackle all of your instructional course-related needs.
Canvas Transition
For nearly a year now, teams across the UW-System have been working on getting the new Learning Management System (LMS) ready for faculty and students. We are proud to announce that approximately 45% of LMS enabled courses at UW-Whitewater are already being offered in Canvas. With 24/7/365 Technical Support, a self-paced Instructor Training course, a self-paced Canvas Student Training course, and Peer Mentors for Instructors, there are various support options available to assist with the transition. Spring 2019 will be the last semester Desire2Learn is available for courses. We encourage everyone to start exploring Canvas, ask questions, and attend trainings!
Here are a couple of the most frequently asked questions so far this semester.
Why can’t I change the course navigation? How can students find my discussions? Some aspects of the canvas course, such as the home page and certain navigation items, have been locked in place by UW-System, and they cannot be changed. This was done by UW-System to maintain a consistent student experience between courses at all UW institutions.
The navigation tools that cannot be added to the course navigation are: Discussions, People, Pages, Files, Quizzes and Modules. The ability to modify the default course homepage has also been locked to always display the 3 latest news items, and the course modules.
As a best practice, we recommend creating links in the Modules area directly to items such as Discussions and Quizzes which cannot be added to the course navigation.
Why students can’t find my course? Why can’t I message my students? When courses are created in Canvas, by default they are unpublished. While the course is unpublished, you can add content and get it setup for the semester. The course must be published before students can access the material. You also must publish the course before you are able to send a message to the students.
Canvas has a robust technical support service that includes 24 / 7 / 365 toll-free hotline and live online chat interactions. Please use this for all Canvas Questions.
Whether you are already in Canvas or looking to make the move from D2L to Canvas this Spring, the LTC will be offering Fall Workshops that you may be interested in. Hands-On Introduction sessions will cover basic functions of the core tools. Deep Dives focusing on specific tools can help you in your current courses, and Construction Zones can help you transfer courses for the future. Given everyone’s tight schedules, we are also pleased to provide open lab time after the Construction Zones, where anyone can come in and work while support is present.
How can you get more done but not spend a lot more time doing it? The LTC/LEARN Center collaborative series for the 2018-2019 year will focus on improving your teaching practice and student learning without adding to your workload.
Session #1 – Thursday, September 20 12:30pm – 1:45pm in UC 259A (lunch provided) “Efficient and Effective Communication Strategies” Presenters: Ted Witt, LTC, and Heather Pelzel, Biological Sciences and LEARN Center
Session #2 – Thursday, October 18 12:30pm – 1:45pm in UC 259A (lunch provided) “Best practices on providing effective feedback using low-tech and high-tech options”
Session #3 – Tuesday, November 27 12:30pm – 1:45pm in UC 259A (lunch provided) “Using groups to engage students and maximize your class time”
If you have recently logged into your Webex Meetings account you may have noticed a brand new layout to the home screen! Webex Meetings’ new dashboard is set up to help you easily find the features you would like to use. Meetings are now more video-centric, with simplified controls and a larger screen for the video or content you share. UWW students now have the same meeting capabilities as all staff members! To check out more information about the updates to Webex Meetings go to https://collaborationhelp.cisco.com/article/en-us/nvby0ee.
What’s new with Webex Teams
This past summer, Cisco Spark changed its name to Cisco Webex Teams! With the name change comes further integration with Webex Meetings. Webex Teams has also changed its color scheme to help users better differentiate between spaces, teams, and messaging. Another change is that now all UWW users can record their video conference and save it to their Webex Meetings account. For a refresher on how to get started using Webex Teams check out the Webex Teams Reference guide on our services page https://www.uww.edu/icit/services/webex-teams#tab_TrainingDocumentation.
Have you met Ted?
As the Teaching Learning and Technology Consultant, I am a champion for the sound and effective use of technology to support teaching and learning. I support online and blended faculty development efforts; active learning; and utilizing pedagogically sound uses of technology to promote student success and enhance engagement. I administer the Quality Matters standards. I write the weekly TED tips (Technology Education Design) blog post.
Lauren is a Graduate Assistant for the LTC and will be working primarily on emerging technology projects and research projects. She is also a Graduate Student in the School Psychology Program.
Weekly Email Updates
Did you know that you can get a weekly email update about what’s going on in the LTC? Every Monday morning, you’ll get an email that contains a summary of the latest items from our blog. To signup for these updates, just fill out the form below!
Turning Point 8
Over the summer, we upgraded to Turning Point 8 – which is the latest release. Turning Point 8 has only been integrated with Canvas, and will not work with Desire2Learn. All Turning Point usage for the Fall 2018 semester should be done in Canvas.
With Turning Point 8 and Canvas, the course roster sync has been greatly improved – and now happens on a nightly basis! You will need to Publish your course before you can sync the course roster.
Poll Everywhere is a new tool on the UW-Whitewater campus this fall. It allows you to collect “real-time” feedback from your students on prompts that you create. You can display results to the polls live in class. Options include open and close-ended polls, and advanced features including competitions (like trivia) and word clouds. If you think you might be interested in using Poll Everywhere but aren’t sure where to get started, consider attending one of the LTC’s information sessions this fall:
One of the LTC’s current initiatives is exploring adaptive learning. During the 2018-2019 academic year, Dr. Matt Vick is working with the LTC team to facilitate and evaluate adaptive learning projects. Over the summer of 2018, Matt piloted adaptive learning in his own course using the platform “Realizeit,” and he is now working with other instructors to use the platform in their courses. Matt earned his Ph.D. in Urban Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and is currently the Interim Associate Dean of the UW-Whitewater School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education.
Cerego
Cerego is an adaptive learning technology that is being piloted by UW-Whitewater for the 2018-2019 academic year. Instructors can use Cerego to actively engage and assess their students’ learning throughout the course of the semester. It is intended to comprise between 7 and 10% of a course. With Cerego you can create content for students to access and work through at their individual learning level. Knowledge is tested through the use of multiple choice and true/false questions, flashcards, fill-in-the-blank passages, and interactive figures. Cerego determines what an individual student needs to study based on correct and incorrect responses and then notifies students when they should return to Cerego so that learning is distributed over time.
Active learning classrooms feature moveable tables and chairs, individual whiteboards, screen sharing technology, multiple monitors for easy content viewing, interactive whiteboards, and other technologies. Active learning spaces continue to increase on campus. The newly redesigned Heide 105 opens this fall as part of a team from College of Letters and Science with collaboration from ICIT, facilities, and campus planning with support from the Provost’s Office Classroom Redesign Initiative.
Having spaces conducive to active learning helps, but the Learning Technology Center (LTC) also supports instructors in exploring active learning pedagogies and the technologies that best support them. The LTC launched the Active Learning Academy in the summer of 2018. Instructors learned how to leverage pedagogy, technology, and space to create deep learning experiences for their students.
Interested in learning more about active learning pedagogy and leveraging technology for active learning? Contact us today!
Don’t forget to Visit Us
Are you still with us? If so – great, you made it to the end! Be sure
to stop by the LTC throughout the semester to visit. As a reminder, we
are located in McGraw Hall, Suite 120 and are available between 8:00 AM
and 4:30 PM weekdays. We can also be reached at ltc@uww.edu
or 262.472.1004. We’ll always be willing to help, and have plenty of
treats on hand for your sweet tooth. Have a great semester!
The LTC will be offering both Canvas Hands-On Introduction, Canvas Construction Zone and Canvas Deep Dive sessions during the Fall 2018 semester.
Canvas Hands-On Introduction – 2 Parts (1 Hour) We will cover the basic function of the core tools in the Canvas platform. There will be time to ask questions along the way. If this is your first time touching Canvas, this workshop is the one for you!
Part 1: 24/7/365 Support, Global Navigation, Create Module, Create Page Upload File (PowerPoint, PDF, Word, etc), Assignment Groups (set up gradebooks categories)
Part 2: Create Quiz, Create paper submission area, Doing grading and feedback in Speed Grader, Syllabus, Calendar
Canvas Construction Zone (1 Hour) + Bonus Hour! Are you ready to start digging into your course setup? Do you need help straightening up after moving a course from Desire2Learn (D2L) into Canvas? Do you have questions on how to set things up? This is the session for you! This session will be 1 hour of lab time with support staff on hand to help you construct your course in Canvas. There is also an optional 1 hour lab time directly after this workshop if you want to stick around and keep working. Don’t forget your hard hat!
Please transfer a course from D2L to Canvas before coming to the workshop. A step by step guide is available at: https://spaces.uww.edu/x/HoCc
Canvas Deep Dives (1 Hour) We will focus on a single tool, and dive deep into various options and use cases for how that tool works.
Content: This is delivered on the concept of backwards design driving the look and feel of course setup. It is about taking what you already do and molding a better experience for you and your students.
Quizzes: This will touch on different question types, building in targeted feedback in auto-graded quizzes, and most likely spend the bulk of the time in the Question Bank area to help instructors get a feel for how Canvas Question Bank is different than D2L Question Library.
Discussions: We will look at setup (including threaded vs unthreaded), visibility, the lack of a “Forum” in Canvas (compared to how D2L had it), group setup, and grading.
Grades: Weighting grades, Late policies, Muting Assignments, SpeedGrader, setting a default grade, and setting up extra credit.
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is currently looking for instructors to explore the use of adaptive learning during the Spring 2019 semester.
About Adaptive Learning
Adaptive learning platforms employ an online learning system personalized to each student. Content and/or assessments adapt based on student performance, providing feedback (including additional learning material) so students can better understand, and master, the course material.
Project Purpose
Participants in this project will utilize the adaptive learning platform Cerego, which is designed to comprise roughly between 7 and 10% of the learning activities/assessments in a course. The purpose of this project is to explore the impact of an adaptive learning platform on student success. Initial guiding questions for this exploration are:
How does adaptive learning influence student learning?
How does adaptive learning influence course attrition?
How does adaptive learning influence student satisfaction?
Project Requirements
Instructors have flexibility in determining the course in which to implement the adaptive learning platform. By taking part in the project, instructors agree to fully participate in, and complete, all project requirements. These requirements include a series of scaffolded, interactive, face-to-face instructional development sessions. These sessions are designed to assist instructors in successfully implementing adaptive learning in one of their courses.
The following semester-by-semester breakdown conveys the expectations for participating instructors:
Fall 2018
Attend faculty development sessions with LTC staff (dates TBD); and
Create, and present, a detailed plan for use that specifies how adaptive learning will be used in one Spring 2018 course.
Winterim 2018-2019
Revise detailed plan for use, and submit revised plan to LTC.
Spring 2019
Conduct at least one course using adaptive learning (as described in your plan for use); and
Complete early semester “check-in” form for LTC staff; and
Attend faculty development session focused on sharing experiences using adaptive learning (date TBD); and
Support the LTC in administering an end-of-semester (IRB approved) survey about the course to students.
Summer 2019
Complete video reflection on using adaptive learning in the course. This video reflection will be scheduled during late Spring semester or Summer 2019, at your convenience. The purpose of the video reflection is to share what was learned with other instructors who may be interested in using adaptive learning in the future.
Project Compensation
Instructors participating in the adaptive learning project will receive a stipend to compensate the work they put into their course redesign. If all required components are completed, participating instructors can expect to receive a stipend of $1000.
Interested?
The Qualtrics application form is available here. After you submit an application, LTC staff will be in contact with you to discuss the next steps.
Are you looking for a tool to facilitate communication and collaboration between you and your students this semester? If so, you might be interested in learning how to use Cisco Webex Teams in your teaching at the Learning Technology Center’s (LTC) “Teaching with Webex Teams Bootcamp!”
This fall’s bootcamp will take place in McGraw 19A on a series of Wednesday afternoons this October (10/10, 10/17, 10/24) from 3:00 pm to 3:45 pm.
Please see the testimonial below from a UW-Whitewater faculty member who piloted Webex Teams last fall (when it was called “Cisco Spark”).
UW-Whitewater has a campus license for Webex Teams, so feel free to bring your computer or mobile device to the bootcamp sessions and log into Webex Teams. Be sure to bring your device if you attend the “hands-on” session on October 17th! You can install Webex Teams on a desktop device, or on a mobile device. All faculty and instructional staff are welcome to attend the “Teaching with Webex Teams Bootcamp.” Registration is recommended, but walk-ins are also welcome.
Bootcamp Summary:
Wednesday, October 10, 2018: Why Should I Use Webex Teams?
This first session introduces participants to Cisco Webex Teams, and why instructors and students might benefit from incorporating it. Participants will be introduced to the concepts of “Teams” and “Spaces.” Facilitators will provide examples to help participants understand what Webex Teams is (and is not), how Webex Teams works, and the purpose in using Webex Teams.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018: How Do I Use Webex Teams?
This second session provides participants with a hands-on technical training with Cisco Webex Teams. Participants will practice creating “Teams” and “Spaces,” as well using Webex Teams to communicate and collaborate with others.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018: Now What Do I Do With Webex Teams?
This third, and final, session provides participants with a forum to discuss potential applications of Webex Teams in their teaching. Facilitators will provide participants with “best practices” for using Webex Teams based on recent pilots at UW-Whitewater.
Please note: There is no stipend associated with attending the “Teaching with Webex Teams Bootcamp.” However, if you complete all three sessions, you will receive a badge. The “Teaching with Webex Teams Bootcamp” is the same program as Spring 2018’s “Teaching with Spark Bootcamp.”
If you have any questions about the “Teaching with Webex Teams Bootcamp,” or any other LTC training or workshop, feel free to contact the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center.
Poll Everywhere is an interactive tool that is newly adopted on the UW-Whitewater campus this fall. It allows you to create poll questions and prompts, which students can respond to in “real-time” through mobile apps, text messages, or the Poll Everywhere website. You can then display the responses live to the class, and incorporate what you find out into class discussion, group activities, and more.
Poll Everywhere allows you many different options for poll questions, including word clouds. If you are unfamiliar with Poll Everywhere, you might find this introduction video helpful.
This fall the LTC will be offering a few information sessions which can help you get started with using Poll Everywhere. The sign-up links are below (please note you will need to log in with your UWW credentials to register):
You do not have to wait until one of these sessions to get started! Feel free to try it out, and let the LTC know if you need any assistance! Poll Everywhere also provides a detailed online instructor guide and a student guide.
As of approximately 8:30 A.M. today, users have reported errors while trying to log in to D2L. We are aware of the issue and technicians are working on a resolution.
We apologize for the inconvenience. We will be updating this news item as we receive more information.
The start of the Fall 2018 Semester is fast approaching, and I just wanted to highlight some important information about Turning Point.
Turning Point 8. Starting with the Fall 2018 semester, we will be using Turning Point 8. The software will be installed on all PC and Mac classroom machines. If you want to install it on your laptop / desktop, you can download it from: https://www.turningtechnologies.com/downloads/turningpoint-desktop/
Canvas Integration. Turning Point 8 has only been integrated with Canvas, and will not work with Desire2Learn. All Turning Point usage for the Fall 2018 semester should be done in Canvas.
Registration Link. In Desire2Learn, we were able to add some global links for Turning Point device registration. In Canvas, we no longer have that option. Instructors will need to add a link into their course for the registration. There is a guide that walks through this process available at: https://spaces.uww.edu/x/VwOv
User Guides / Video Tutorials. Turning Point has resources available that we have posted for you at: https://spaces.uww.edu/x/SIK
Vendor Support. Turning Technologies offers Phone, Chat and Email support for students and instructors Monday – Friday from 7am to 8pm (Central Time).
Course Roster Sync. With Turning Point 8 and Canvas, the course roster sync has been greatly improved – and now happens on a nightly basis! You will need to Publish your course before you can sync the course roster. The video below will walk through this in more detail and show some examples.
The 2018 NMC Horizon Report lists “adaptive learning technologies” as one of the Important Developments in Technology for Higher Education. The report lists adaptive learning with a projected 2-3 year “time to adoption” (for more on the Horizon Report, see the last “TED Tips“).
To keep on top of this development, the Learning Technology Center (LTC) is currently exploring adaptive learning technologies. If you are potentially interested in incorporating an adaptive learning element into your course but do not know where or how to get started (or even really understand what exactly adaptive learning is), consider attending one of the LTC’s adaptive learning information sessions this September.
In these information sessions, we will discuss the nature of adaptive learning as well as detail some current adaptive learning projects on campus. Even if you do not want to participate in one of these projects, please feel free to attend and learn more about the possibilities of adaptive learning.
(Please note that you will need to log in with your UW-Whitewater credentials to register for these sessions)
If you are interested in adaptive learning, you can also attend the ICIT Tech Open House on Wednesday, August 29th from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM in UC275, and stop by the adaptive learning table!
In-Person Registration
