Save the date: Wednesday, May 22, 2019 from 8:30am-3:30pm
Celebrating Teaching and Learning, May 22, 2019
This special event is meant to showcase the wide variety of ways we are all transforming the lives of our students through teaching and learning.
Themes will include:
“Grounded in research. Driven by best practices. A community that puts learners first.”
As I mentioned last week, I was recently at the annual Quality Matters Connect conference in St. Louis. Quality Matters is an inter-institutional peer review process dedicated to the continuous improvement of online and blended course design. This week TED Tips explores Quality Matters (QM). I serve as a Quality Matter Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. I am an official liaison between UWW and Quality Matters and am a go-to person for anything related to it. Please contact me if you have questions!
online course design is at the heart of quality matters
Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components through a continuous improvement process. QM promotes and improves the quality of online education and student learning. It does so through the use of current, research-supported, and practice-based quality standards and appropriate evaluation tools and procedures. It supports professional development in the use of rubrics, tools and practices to improve the quality of online education. A QM-Certified Course is an online or blended course that has met QM Standards for a QM Rubric in an Official Course Review. Quality Matters is supported by the non-profit MarylandOnline. The QM Certification Mark is more than an achievement for online course design — it is evidence of an interconnected, continual process provisioned with tools, support and professional development that helps you develop and provide successful experiences to your learners.
Quality matters is best known for its review process for online or blended courses. Four underlying principles guide Quality Matters:
The three main elements of Quality Matters are the QM Rubric, the peer review process, and professional development. It is important to emphasize that Quality Matters addresses only the course design of online classes. Quality Matters does not address the delivery (how instructors actually teach courses).
Quality Matters does not address other factors that may impact the quality of online courses such as faculty or learner readiness, and our digital learning environment. Many of these other factors are themes we explore each week in this TED Tips Blog. The Learning Technology Center offers additional faculty development opportunities to learn about Canvas or methods to improve your online and blended teaching effectiveness through programs like the upcoming Winterim Online / Blended Teaching Institute. Quality Matters addresses one aspect of online course quality – course design.
The most recent QM Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition, released July 2, 2018. The Quality Matters Rubric is designed to provide a rigorous set of Specific Review Standards that can be applied to online courses as part of a commitment to continuous quality improvement . While the emphasis is on online or blended courses, many of the design principles could also apply to traditional face-to-face courses.
These General Standards are:
Quality Matters Sixth Edition Rubric Workbook
QM courses use a faculty driven peer review process. There are several options for reviewing a course ranging from formal official course review following QM processes and protocols, an internal review, or more customized consultations. Internal reviews can guide and improve existing courses. Quality matters standards can be introduced to help scaffold the development of new online classes.
The review process is faculty driven and starts with a self-reported worksheet that lists basic information about the course that is useful to the review team, such as the delivery format, instructional materials, and supplemental materials that may require review. A formal peer review team is comprised of three faculty members includes a course representative. Each team includes a master reviewer that manages the process to ensure consistency and rigor; a Subject Matter Expert to advise the team about disciple-related materials and practices, and an External Reviewer outside our school to assist in providing helpful recommendations. The recommendations are constructive, specific, sensitive, and balanced to the course being reviewed. There is opportunity for revision to the course based on that feedback. Only official QM-Managed reviews can lead towards official QM Certification.
If you are interested in learning more about Quality Matters in Online Learning, exploring additional professional development opportunities, or would like to discuss other factors of the design and delivery of online courses please contact me at wittt@uww.edu.
– Ted Witt
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Consultant
RESOURCES:
https://www.qualitymatters.org/
https://www.qualitymatters.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/QM-Overview-Booklet-digital.pdf
Last week, I attended the Quality Matters Connect Conference in St. Louis, Missouri last week and was not able to pull together my normal weekly TED Tip. I had intended to write about Quality Matters and how the QM framework can be used to help guide and design quality courses…but conferences can provide you with so much information that it is easy to get lost or distracted in that information. And so I was.
Instead, I wanted to share a few recommendations, and a blog that I discovered at the conference. I am often looking for new and interesting books and articles to read, blogs to peruse, and podcasts to fill my commuting time. Attending the conference provided me with some interesting ideas to explore!
Four Books and a Blog: What follows are titles and authors from a handful of books that were recommended from within the context of various other presentations. A couple of them are newly published. For full disclosure, I have no connections or interests to any of the authors or publishers. All came up either directly in the presentations or in conversations at the conference. Each struck me as interesting and connected to Technology, Education, or Design … and could be springboards for further conversations and explorations.
Blog post: Catalytic Conversations with Dr. Mark David Milliron
Dr. Milliron was the keynote speaker at the annual Quality Matters Connect Conference. Ge serves as the Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Civitas Learning. “Civitas Learning Space is a digital community designed to engage education leaders as they explore key trends, issues, challenges and solutions in the use of analytics to improve student success.” The blog is a collection of thoughts, research, and stories that are intended to help faculty inform their practice. One of the key themes was the predictive analytics movement in higher education.
Reality is Broken: Why Games Make us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal. While “gamification” has been used in higher education, the book was recommended in the context of a conversation around authentic assessment and solving real world problems. The claim that playing games can help boost global happiness is intriguing. The book description reads: “we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world – from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change.”
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker. At one point in the conference, a comment was made about how divided and divisive the world seemed today. The speaker at the time was a civil war historian…Enlightenment Now was his counter argument to divided times. I knew I needed to learn more! The book asks: “Is the world really following apart? “ and makes the claim that it is not. Pinker shows that “life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise… Enlightenment Now makes the case for reason, science, and humanism: the ideals we need to confront our problems and continue our progress”
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina.“In Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina, a molecular biologist, shares his lifelong interest in how the brain sciences might influence the way we teach our children and the way we work. In each chapter, he describes a brain rule—what scientists know for sure about how our brains work—and then offers transformative ideas for our daily lives.”
High-Impact Practices in Online Education: Research and Best Practices by Kathryn Linder (Editor). This volume offers the first comprehensive guide to how high-impact practices (HIPs) are being implemented in online environments and how they can be adjusted to meet the needs of online learners.
I am always interested in what people are reading and some of the latest books and research for trends in technology, education, and design. If you have a recommendation or suggest for me, please feel free to contact me at wittt@uww.edu.
– Ted Witt
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Consultant
RESOURCES:
https://www.qualitymatters.org/
https://www.civitaslearningspace.com/
https://www.civitaslearningspace.com/CatalyticConversations/
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to announce that registration remains open for the Winterim 2019 Online/Blended Teaching Institute. The Online and Blended Teaching Institute is a series of interactive workshops focusing on best practices for teaching online and blended courses. The structure of the Institute allows participants to explore new instructional and course design methods, and participate in learning activities similar to what a student would experience. To apply, click here. The URL for registration is also available at the bottom of this post. The deadline to apply is Monday, November 5. Participation in the Institute is competitive, as typically more applications are received than can be accepted. Expect that incomplete application forms will be rejected. Accepted participants will be notified following confirmation from their respective college.
Dates for the 2019 Winterim Online and Blended Institute:
January 4: Face-to-Face meeting, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
January 11: Face-to Face meeting, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
January 18: Online using WebEx, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Submission of final Institute content February 1st
This institute provides you with a foundation in the pedagogy of online and blended instruction focusing on key terminology, principles, and practices. You will explore practical guidelines for teaching online and blended courses, designing content for online and blended courses, and utilizing technology, tools and strategies to facilitate active, participatory, and engaging online learning experiences.
By the conclusion of the institute, you will have created an online or blended learning module which will include pedagogically-appropriate assessments, discussions, and additional learning materials. This module will be developed with feedback from the institute facilitators and your colleagues, and demonstrate what you have taken away from this institute.
If you have any questions about this workshop, contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.
Application Link: https://uwwhitewater.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3f0THo4dRBWqqm9
There is still some time to learn how to use Poll Everywhere this semester!
Poll Everywhere allows students to submit answers on the Poll Everywhere website, the mobile app, or even through text messages to close or open-ended polls that you create. In the video below, Assistant Professor of Political Science Eric Loepp discusses how he used Poll Everywhere in his course.
If you are interested in learning more, register for the LTC’s workshop at noon on Thursday, Novermber 15th!
If you have any questions about Poll Everywhere or any other learning technology, feel free to contact the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center.
Two weeks ago in TED Tips Issue 13 one of the solutions to the challenge of Digital Literacy caught my attention. When digging deeper into that solution, I realized that the “23 Things” course was easily adaptable, well designed, and loaded with great examples. It has potential application in the classroom and for personal development. It’s also free! Let us explore this solution this week: “23 Things for Digital Knowledge.”
What are “23 Things for Digital Knowledge”?
23 Things for Digital Knowledge
The University of Edinburgh’s 23 Things for Digital Knowledge is an award winning, self-directed course. The course aims to expose you to a range of digital tools for your personal and professional development as a researcher, academic, student, or professional. The aim is for you to spend a little time each week, building up and expanding your skills. There are 23 “Things” to explore: ideas, tools, and tips related to Digital Literacy. The program is free to anyone who has access to a computer and the internet.
The University of Edinburgh’s program was itself inspired by previous iterations of similar activities. The original program started as part of “Learning 2.0 Program” at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County in the USA in 2006. That was a discovery program designed to encourage staff explore new technologies at ran for 8.5 weeks. In its current open source iteration as published by the University of Edinburgh, the content is free and self-paced.
How does it work?
Each “Thing” starts with an introduction, a definition or description usually accompanied with a short video or two. There are links to brief reading material. There is a “hands-on” task and further digital exploration. For example, Thing 4 is about “Digital Security.” It defines the terms and explores some use cases. It links to brief reading on “Using Apps Safely and Security” and a practical guide on keeping smartphones safe. Next, you explore the settings on your own device and have the opportunity to change them. Then you research and discover the privacy policies of several applications, websites, and social media services. Finally, there an opportunity for reflection and additional resources and research for further discovery.
The 23 Things are grouped into couplets of related content and activities (with one exception). One hour per week per thing is recommended. The content is further organized into four “focused blocks”: Digital Awareness, Social Digital, Collaboration and Sharing Tools, and Digital Play and Experimentation. The full set program could easily fit within a semester…or a compressed timeline like Winterim. The entire program could be adapted to support a variety of different learning objectives, courses, or programs. Almost every person could benefit from enhanced digital literacy.
Team Application
23 Things for Digital Knowledge has also been adapted for team applications. The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) completed the 23 Things as a team, trying each of them, and discussing those experiences during weekly meetings. That group tried to embrace the course motto and keep things as flexible as possible – but they did set up an internal scratchpad using a shared Google doc for everyone to participate. Maren Deepwell, CEO, provides some insight:
“The experience of taking part as an individual was really rewarding for me. Being in a leadership position means that I don’t often get the opportunity to collaborate or learn alongside colleagues in my day to day work as equals and courses such as this allow me to step back from responsibilities and instead focus on asking questions and discovering new things. The range of topics that the course covered really challenged my digital knowledge and there were plenty of things that I hadn’t really engaged with before. Other tools or platforms were more familiar, but looking at them with a fresh perspective was useful.”
What are the Things?
I thought it might be helpful to provide the full list of 23 Things. If you are interested in adapting the 23 Things program to your class, I would encourage you to try them! Start with one or two and discover more of the program. The entire course is built with Creative Commons licensing and is fully and freely adaptable. The supporting website is free and the activities are varied and fun. I have provided some additional links in the resources section at the end of the blog this week. Feel free to reach out to me in the Learning Technology Center or leave a post in the comments to discuss it further!
23 Things for Digital Knowledge
Thing 1: Introduction
Thing 2: Blogging
Thing 3: Digital Footprint
Thing 4: Digital Security
Thing 5: Diversity
Thing 6: Accessibility
Thing 7: Twitter
Thing 8: Facebook
Thing 9: Google Hangouts/Collaborate Ultra
Thing 10: Wikimedia
Thing 11: Copyright
Thing 12: Open Educational Resources
Thing 13: Video (YouTube/Vimeo/MediaHopper)
Thing 14: Audio (Podcasts/SoundCloud)
Thing 15: Digital Curation
Thing 16: OneNote/ClassNotebook
Thing 17: Geolocation Tools
Thing 18: Augmented & Virtual Reality
Thing 19: Altmetrics
Thing 20: LinkedIn / Academia.edu / ResearchGate
Thing 21: Online Games & Learning Tools
Thing 22: Fun and Play
Thing 23: Reflection
– Ted Witt
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Consultant
RESOURCES:
The University of Edinburgh’s 23 Things for Digital Knowledge. http://www.23things.ed.ac.uk/
Original Learning 2.0 Program. This site was created to support PLCMC’s Learning 2.0 Program; a discovery learning program designed to encourage staff to explore new technologies and reward them for doing 23 Things. https://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/
“#23things – how taking part turned into a digital knowledge habit” by Maren Deepwell. CEO Association for Learning Technology. https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2017/01/23things-how-taking-part-turned-into-a-digital-knowledge-habit/#gref
This 23 Things for Digital Knowledge program by Stephanie (Charlie) Farley of The University of Edinburgh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The materials are free to share, copy and redistribute in any medium or format. They can also be adapted: remixed, transformed, and built on for any purpose including commercially.
As of this afternoon, Webex Teams messages, spaces, and teams appear to be fully restored. Cisco reports that a few issues may persist for the next day or two, but services are more-or-less fully restored.
You can continue to monitor the updates on Cisco’s website, or reach out to the Learning Technology Center with any questions.
As of 7:45 AM this morning, Webex Teams is still not fully restored. Cisco is continuing to work to address the issues that caused the outage. At this time, the LTC still does not have an estimated time for when services will be restored.
For more information, you can monitor the outage directly from Cisco’s website, or reach out to the Learning Technology Center.
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.
For more information, you can monitor the outage directly from Cisco’s website, or reach out to the Learning Technology Center.
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.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.