Developing online courses can be an overwhelming experience, but Kathleen Pigg and Brenton Scott wrote a blog post that gives you some insight into their transition from traditional to online courses.Our adventures in the transition to digital format. - Kathleen B. Pigg and Brenton D. Scott, SoLS Plants & Civilization (PLB 302) is a course that explores the wide range of how we grow, eat, build with, discover, exploit, modify and imitate synthetically the plants and plant products that are essential to our world and our survival.The course has always lent itself to a lot of in-class activities, e.g., "activity days" when we bring in real things (tropical fruit juices to test, herbs and spices to identify, chocolate of varying % cocoa, knitting needles, crochet hooks and yarn, drop spindles), group projects (e.g., "create a farm", "create a menu") and guest lectures (e.g., on herbal medicinal tea, xeriscaping, coffee roasting, etc.) As the internet became an increasing presence in everyone's lives, we started adding more and more online activities, starting with "20 questions" a wide ranging online discussion board. We went from objective exams to broader-based essays, and homework assignments based more and more on online sources.Short Lecture VideosIn May 2015 we ran the first 6-week online version of the class. Major things we learned:Shorter lectures or segments are best for presenting topics (5-10min)Example: https://youtu.be/kwjutJh6O90Do this by making a concept map of what you want students to learn, and then check it off as you go. Find short YouTube videos that illustrate or explain something you want to coverExample: https://youtu.be/ZuDJaUb7tHokInclude activities that get students to relate what they are learning to their everyday life.Example: https://youtu.be/P2yKHmOa5G8Student Diary ProjectWhat worked? Generally, reworking the lectures into shorter segments based on our learning goals worked pretty well. Figuring out what to focus on and what to strip away in order to streamline lectures was not difficult, but it was very time consuming. This was partially because the Powerpoints for this class are so image intense. We were happily surprised at the quality and breadth of materials available online. We ended up mostly using short YouTube videos (around 10 minute maximum), rather than editing segments from longer ones. We list our "top five" on the Conference Poster.Students were fairly good at engaging in online discussions but we would like to determine the best way to host live online discussion sessions with studentsWhat either didn't work or needs development:Students were not interested in online office hours, which were not mandatory.There were technical issues with the video taped lectures we would like to have had time to fix.It is difficult to cram such a diverse course into a 6-week course, therefore, we would like to develop student-produced lecture topics as part of the course.What are we doing next? We want the students to make more of their own videos as projects.We want to film our own "documentary style" interviews and segments to replace Powerpoint based lectures. Students found Youtube videos in this style more engaging.

Our guest blogger today is Rene Tanner ASU librarian, who specializes in biology, life sciences and environmental resources, and will be regularly sharing tips and tricks through our TeachTech Blog. In her post below, she shares how to set up an alert, and a great app called BrowZine that may be helpful for your classes and research. APP:  BrowZine Do you remember coming to the library and browsing the periodicals to see what was new in your research area? BrowZine is an app designed for browsing recent issues of scholarly journals on your iPad, iPhone or Android tablet. As the name implies, BrowZine is unlike many traditional research tools in that it emphasizes browsing over focused research and searching. Many journals develop issues around a research theme and having a tool that displays articles in the larger content of a journal issue can produce serendipitous discovers. In BrowZine you can create a bookshelf of favorite journals, browse a collection of journals by subject, search for your favorite journal by name, view the tables of contents, and read or save articles as they are released. Saved articles can be read on- or offline. TIP:  Email Alerts: With so much research being produced and discussed it can be difficult to keep up. Setting up alerts is a way to get the latest information automatically without actively searching for a topic. This guide covers email alerts for both saved searches and table of contents, RSS feeds, and more.Article alerts can be created for a variety of databases including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and more.Many journals have an option to create table of contents alerts and JournalTOCs brings journals together so you can create an RSS feed or email alert for many of your favorite journals. To monitor the Web for new research you can create an alert for Google by following this link https://www.google.com/alerts. To create alerts for Google Scholar, do a search for the topic of interest, click "Create Alert" at the bottom of the sidebar located on the left-hand side of the results page; enter your search query, email address, and how many results you'd like to receive. Newly published papers will be periodically sent to your email address. Comment below if you are using Google alerts, and share how you are using them!!

Categories of Teaching Resources In our latest TeachT@lk Webinar (Sept. 1), we highlighted several useful teaching and learning resources available to instructors at ASU. Heidi Blair, Ph.D. , College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Rene Tanner, ASU Libraries, showcased services and technologies that are available for free. Furthermore, we showed exemplary resources to stay informed about pedagogy and developments across the university. Please take a moment to review the webinar recording and PowerPoint to see a full demonstration.Teaching with CLAS Hub (email CLAS-IDT@asu.edu for further information)ASU LibrariesStreaming VideoLib GuidesUTO Training for BlackboardASU Help Desk Live Chat in Blackboard (how to add it to your courses) TeachOnlineQuality Matters at ASU Twitter:ASU OutagesTeachOnline If you have a favorite resources that you would like to share, please add them by commenting on this post.Resources:Recording of Webinar: https://connect.asu.edu/p2u35o7n0fg/ PowerPoint Slides: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12594701/Final_Gallery_webinar.pdf

Today's Guest Blogger is Katelyn Cooper. Katey is a PhD student in Sara Brownell's Biology Education Research lab studying ways to promote equity in undergraduate biology education. Specifically she is interested in how different social identities impact student experiences in biology. Katey is also an Academic Success Coordinator in the School of Life SciencesNational recommendations call for college biology instructors to create active learning environments for all students (AAAS, 2011), but can all students afford to learn this way? Active learning has been shown to increase student learning and decrease the failure rate (Freeman et al., 2014), yet the student economic challenges associated with active learning are often hidden. The economic costs to students of doing active learning While active learning can be done in a low cost way (e.g. students drawing on the whiteboard), several new technologies have been developed to aid instructors in implementing active learning in large enrollment courses. Because these technologies often make the job of the instructor easier, instructors are incentivized to adopt them into their class. However, undergraduates are often responsible for purchasing these tools and technologies. These extra costs are commonly revealed to students only after they have enrolled in the course and may not be accounted for by the student when they are financially planning for the semester. While scholarships and financial aid are often directed toward tuition and housing, there may not be options to subsidize these hidden expenses. Consider three examples: Access to online learning- One of the common ways that instructors use active learning is to have students engage with the material prior to coming to lecture. Recently, this has been called "flipping the class" so that students read and/or watch videos outside of the normal lecture time (Tucker, 2012; Herreid and Schiller, 2013). The frequency with which students need to access the internet is increased for those enrolled in active learning classes that use a "flipped" format. While students can access computers in libraries and computer labs, there are a limited number of computers and set hours for these facilities, which place constraints on availability. Further, the time spent commuting to the library or computer lab is time that more advantaged students can spend doing homework.Clickers- The use of a student response system is an easy way to quickly assess student understanding in a large-scale course and allows instructors to tailor the class in real time to maximize student learning (Wood, 2004). However, clickers can cost students up to $100 and some companies require an additional registration fee per class. Instructors may require students to purchase these devices by using their responses to clicker questions for participation points. Additionally instructors can often choose among different technologies, which may require students to invest in multiple systems for different courses.Supplemental online learning materials- Many textbook companies now provide supplemental online material for an additional fee (e.g. Pearson’s Mastering Biology). This supplemental material can include interactive videos, practice questions, and a test bank for instructors to use to quiz students on their reading. These questions can be used by instructors to "flip" their classrooms, so students read and answer questions outside of class. However, some instructors make the purchase of this supplemental material mandatory for all students if they assign course points for students completing quizzes administered on this platform. What can instructors can do about it?  Be cognizant of student financial challenges-The first step in attempting to alleviate this inequity is for instructors to recognize the potential economic challenges for students. While an unexpected $100 expense likely is manageable for a faculty member, $100 for students who have to take out loans to pay for college may mean that they have to go without a necessity.Be transparent about costs and understanding of individual student issues- Instructors can provide students with a detailed syllabus, including information about these extra costs, before students sign up for the course. Furthermore, instructors can post assignments in advance, providing students with ample time to plan their personal and work schedules around accessing computers.Advocate for students who are struggling financially-When choosing from a range of possible active learning technologies, instructors can talk with providers about strategies to accommodate students who cannot afford access to their technologies. Companies may be willing to work with these students and provide discounts or even free access. However, instructors need to create an open environment in which students feel comfortable coming to them to discuss financial constraints.Change in policies: from extra costs to course fees- Up until this point, these costs are treated like textbook costs. However, if instructors require students to use these technologies to gain course points, then it seems like including them in a course fee would be more appropriate. This would minimize the out-of-pocket expenses that are required of students and scholarships and financial aid may be able to be used to cover them more easily. Lessening financial challenges should lead to enhanced student learning in active learning environments We encourage faculty members to continue to use technologies in their efforts to convert courses, particularly large enrollment courses, into active learning environments. However, we hope to promote awareness that student financial challenges may be a barrier for them in using some of these technologies. These technologies have been shown to improve student learning and we want to continue to harness that power, but we want to do so in a way that doesn’t disadvantage certain groups of students. References American Association for the Advancement of Science (2011). Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, Washington, DC: http://visionandchange.org/files/2013/11/aaas-VISchange-web1113.pdf (accessed 19 March 2015).Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410-8415.Herreid, C. F., & Schiller, N. A. (2013). Case studies and the flipped classroom. Journal of College Science Teaching, 42(5), 62-66. Tucker, B. (2012). The flipped classroom. Education Next, 12(1), 82-83.Wood, W.B. (2004). Clickers: a teaching gimmick that works. Dev. Cell 7, 796-798.

Writing strong objectives for your course can help you:plan better assignmentsassess students easiercommunicate clearly to students Strong objectives can help students: understand what they are learningwhy they are learning ithow to meet the requirements of the courseFinally, objectives help align institution, program and courses to meet the learning needs of the community.During our webinar, we discussed the steps to writing objectives, including choosing verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy. We demonstrated a couple of  technologies to help you write them like ASU's Objective Builder. We also took time to practice evaluating and writing our own objectives. Below are some of the resources that were shared.Resources:PowerPoint SlidesVideo recording of WebinarTechnologies ASU's Objective BuilderEasy GeneratorThe Padagogy WheelOther Resources:Writing Measurable Learning ObjectivesCourse Objectives and Learning Outcomes ABCD Model for Writing Objectives

Dr. Sarah Dalrymple ran an exercise in her BIO530 Scientific Teaching course, that had some excellent tips for all our ASU instructors. Below is her summary of that activity.This semester in the graduate-level Scientific Teaching course (BIO 530), we have talked a lot about active learning pedagogies and how to successfully implement them in the classroom. In a recent class, the graduate students considered hypothetical classroom scenarios involving challenges that often come up when instructors try to implement active learning. For this post, I chose one scenario and presented the notes from our class discussion about possible solutions to the challenge. Davis Blasini, Latoya Campbell, Keith Crenshaw, Ryan Davila, and Tiffany Lewis came up with and compiled most of the ideas listed below. Scenario: You know that it is important to check for understanding at multiple times during a class period, but every time you ask if anyone in the class has questions, no one ever says anything. Can you assume everyone understands everything or is there a better way to get feedback? Problem: Instructor is not getting feedback or no indication if students actually understand the material being covered.Content can be really boring or difficult to understand.Teaching style might be boring or not interactive.Professor is not engaging students by not probing for understanding or using active learning within the classroom.There is possibly not enough "wait time" between the question and the professor moving on. Possible Solutions: Clicker Questions- ASU primarily uses Turning Point TechnologyIndex Cards/Post Its asking students to write questions over material that can be discussed next class (Muddiest Point)Ask students a question that has an actual answer, not just asking for clarification Restate the question in a different way Break down into small group discussion where students can discuss material and professor can walk around and answer any questions that individuals may have in a more approachable setting rather than in front of the entire class Increase the "wait time" and promote individual student thinking before answering any question. Instead of asking for questions from specific students, take a quick poll of the class (show of hands) that can help the professor determine if the class still has issues with the material. Helps students feel more comfortable by not being singled out.One Potential Solution Explained: Hand students Post-Its that they can use to write questions on a post on the door on their way out at the end of lecture. Professors can collect these Post-its at the end of each class to identify remaining questions student have at the end of the lecture. Then at the beginning of the succeeding lecture the professor can address these questions by developing some interactive activity (for example: clicker questions or strip sequences or small group discussion) that can go over the content that was discussed and can probe student understanding and clarify any misconceptions or muddy points.

How do you feel now that the semester is almost over? Our final TeachT@lk Webinar for 2015 was a terrific way to wrap up the year. So often we are overwhelmed with grading, and just submit grades and walk away, never thinking about the course until we teach again. This is not an effective way to end the semester, and loses some great opportunities to reflect on your course and make improvements for the next time you teach.Dr. Peter van Leusen shared 7 Action Tips for wrapping up the semester.  They included:Collect student feedbackGet student permissions for exemplary workArchive important information on your courseDocument the experiences from student interactions and reactions to assignmentsGet additional feedback from peers, TAs and Instructional DesignersPrioritize and make a plan for any changesTake action now to prepare for next semesterParticipants went through this worksheet, and took time to write comments about their courses for each of the tips. To watch a video of this information, see the resources listed below.Resources:Video Recording (30 min): https://connect.asu.edu/p7jvn9ns497/ PowerPoint Slides:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugtoy08m4g2lq5t/Now_What.pdf?dl=0Faculty Focus: Student Feedback: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/philosophy-of-teaching/a-new-twist-on-end-of-semester-evaluations/Qualtrics at ASU: https://asu.service-now.com/ess/kb_view_customer.do?sysparm_article=KB0012750 Alignment Map: https://drive.google.com/a/asu.edu/file/d/0B9g84rnCFm_sMVBSOW5leURna3M/view?usp=sharing ASU Online Course Startup Checklist: https://docs.google.com/a/asu.edu/document/d/1Ov0yWnZnt_qT5C3-ViQlFmaQWqHsoYYcuJT8F7mFX7A/edit?usp=sharing

Do not start with the Project Schedule.  It is stupid, stupid, stupid to build a plan before you know who is involved and what they want. How can you build a Plan without knowing why the solution will bring value to your organization? Move away from the over-promising software tools and skip ahead to Bite 4.

The Project Charter can be made into a nightmare by over complicating it but we have one that only takes 45 minutes - fill in the blanks.  Really- it's available here.  Once you build your first Project Charter,  you can reuse it for another project. Need a bit more help-  here's a webinar recording (1 hr) that shows you how to fill it in. ​

My favorite tool in the Project Charter is the Project Scope Diagram. List all your stakeholders including the Project Sponsor (see Bite 1). Stakeholders are roles that will provide you with or get something (usually both) for/from the project.  Put a circle in the middle of a flip-chart sheet. Put the name of the project in the circle. This is where you, as the role of Project Manager sit  since you are coordinating the project, just like a traffic coordinator.  Put each stakeholder role (for example, HR) on a Post-It and put them around the circle. Draw at least one in and one out arrow from each Stakeholder to the circle, labeling what gets handed off. I bet you a Turkey Leg that you learned a lot about your project by doing that.  Share with all stakeholders, and adjust this picture as the project goes on. Bad News Early is Good News.

As a hopeless optimist, it is natural to resist thinking about all the bad stuff that’s about to happen on a project. Face the fear and you'll become amazingly resilient. Risks, things that have not happened yet but might are created by  your powerful intuitions if you listen. Trust them. Then quickly think how you could avoid if, possible, or react to these smart thoughts created by your observant brain. Constraints are things you can't do anything about, so don't let them bring you down. Instead, figure out how to go around them. Determine what the rank order is for your Project Sponsor of these three things: Time, Budget, Scope/Quality.  Make sure your plan reflects these priorities, not the ones that you prefer. It's not about you.

There are two secret tools that are amazingly effective but rarely used- like cream of mushroom soup and fried onion strings are to green beans. If you do these two things, you will out-rock most other project managers. First, figure out a Communication Plan which includes regular and predictable Status Reports (use a boiled down version of your schedule to double-dip - I use Excel here). Tell everyone over and over again what the context of this project is and of course, how cool it is. See Bite 2 for tagline guidelines.Don't stop sharing until the project is done.  Next, figure out the Decider. Figure out who is the one person who can say your project is done. Then figure out people who have the clout to change your schedule, budget and scope. Take them to lunch - a lot. These two steps ignored are the primary reason projects fail to end.

Stop trying to figure out every little task on your project and how much time it will take to complete. It is impossible to answer that question in today's chaotic workplace. Here's an example - you estimate five hours for IT to create new login IDs for your e-learning program. Is that five hours on the clock or five hours of effort which will take two weeks? See how confusing it is?  Instead, work backwards from the due date and use milestones to put tasks together into neat little bowls of goodness just like the bowl of corn.

Okay, I have never had Fried Clams for Thanksgiving, but being from Massachusetts I always wish I could have Fried Clams.  They really don't ship well.  There's a special gift much appreciated in Project Management. All stakeholders (people) get a brief, high level email every Monday AM from you - the project manager -   which clearly states what each need to do that week (if anything) and how everything is going.  Impressive, right?  Status Reports are the best path to you looking like a Rock Star even when you don't feel like one. Use a simple list of tasks and/or milestones with Task Name, Owner (person) and Due Date, check them off when they are done and send the updated spreadsheet (as a PDF) every week on the same day to all your stakeholders. They will be thankful for YOU!

Project  Management is a team sport, just like Thanksgiving is.  Connect with others who do projects and shore each other up.  Notice and share your lack of confidence and fear, and then agree to re-frame the craziness into the experimentation of innovation, doing amazing things that have never been done before.  You and your peers are the ones who will forge a new solution, and bumps and bruises are required to get it right.  Be thankful you have the ability to drive value in your organization.

 "I'm such a dubious soul and a walk in the garden wears me down. Tangled in the fallen vines, pickin' up the punch lines, I've just been fakin' it. Not really makin' it. -Simon and Garfunkel  With insane velocity, we're heading to the end of 2015 and the start of 2016.  Each year, this is when we celebrate our ability to start again. As I started to reflect on conversations I've had this year, I focused most on the delusion of being too busy. So many people are missing life being victims of busy. So, in this final newsletter of 2015, I'd like to chat with you about how we fake ourselves out of our own lives.

Last month, I talked about two articles on why projects fail- one from the Standish Group and one from Gallup. To review, here are the reasons projects fail. It's the people.   Summary of Standish Group Research: We're faking it by avoiding the important people dynamics, for example:Poorly skilled Project Executive SponsorsPoor Emotional Maturity skills for all (aka too much drama)Team capability (not superior, but good) with calculated decision makingLack of issue resolutionSummary of Gallup Research: We're faking it by worrying about how to do the project, not about the outcome.  Projects come together when there is an engaging shared vision. The brain needs context to help. What will we have at the end that we don't have now? This context is defined through focus on #2 and #3 below. Projects have three levers:Technical (technology developed, project management techniques) - the problem is this is where most effort is Individual (project leadership, scope management, communication)Stakeholder (user involvement, executive buy-in, goal specificity)At Project Summit * BA World Boston, I reconnected with a friend Michael Mah (Benchmark Practice Director, Cutter Consortium Managing Partner, QSM Associates). His company tracks metrics of large IT projects to determine what really does drive success. Michael's Cutter Consortium article emphasizes similar points to the Standish Group and Gallup. Critical components to project success include:Buy-InVP or higher Senior Executive SponsorCore Group Energized, Passionate and trainedTeamworkPrototypes, PilotsFrequent, rigorous peer reviewsIntentional prioritization of communicationCo-locatedI attended a presentation he did comparing the results of outsourcing the 'coding' to keeping it all in-house. Turns out it is not cheaper to outsource coding. Here is a slide that compares the two: As Michael said, "We are not looking at an emperor with no clothes on, we ARE the emperor with no clothes on!" We are faking it, thinking that coding is a rote, precise and manual process. Michael's research shows that it is not the talent of the coders or the fact that they are outsourced that's the problem. One major issue is the difficulty communicating virtually with conflicting time zones and language issues. This creates more rework than an 'in-place' project team. Michael likes to mention the power of being co-located with your project team and your ability to 'swing your chair around and ask a question'. He also reminds us of 30-year-old research called Brooks Law that shows when you add people to a project, communication goes up exponentially not linearly because of (love this term…) combinatorial explosion. IT expert Ed Yourdon calls this Death March. Here's a graphic of that dynamic: ​ In 2016, let's stop pretending and deal with the mental game of project management through the growth of people.  RMA will continue to emphasize this critical change in focus next year .   If you'd like help revolutionizing your approach to projects, give Brittney a shout - bhelt@russellmartin.com. 

Open content is gaining traction in K-12, 2013 K-12 Horizon Report puts it on the mid-term horizon which predicts its going mainstream in about 2 years. Open educational resources(OER) also make up three quarters of the content in most MOOCs; paid content, such as required textbooks, is less than 10%. The movement toward open content reflects a growing... Read More ›

Imagine that you can listen to famous short classical pieces performed by world-class musicians, and watch a story unfold with the melody. Imagine that you can paint to the music, or play maze games, or have illustrated characters come alive at your fingertips. Imagine that you can learn about classical music and increase your IQ... Read More ›

The story started with the picturing of the urgency of challenges in education in many parts of the world… There is sometimes a sense of paralysis at the enormity of the challenge and the apparent impossibility of managing conflicting expectations. But we need a change in direction, as suggested in the scenario painted by Edward de... Read More ›

By Marianne Stenger, re-published with the permission of OpenColleges.edu.au This week we talked with Flipped Learning’s Jonathan Bergman; teacher, writer and educational coach who is passionate about helping educators figure out what is best for their students in their classroom. Bergmann has over 24 years of experience as a high school science teacher and in 2002 he... Read More ›

by Justin Marquis Ph.D., OnlineUniversities.com Radio, TV, computers, video games, the Internet, and MOOCs. As major technological innovations have occurred throughout our history they have been regularly touted as the next great thing in education. Few of them ever actually live up to the hype though, and eventually fade out of education even as their prominence in... Read More ›

Although organizations desire to leverage mobile technologies to train employees, and education institutes want to engage learners and improve learning outcomes through the devices in their pockets. Some expectations for mobile learning (mlearning) might not be realistic. According to Mobile Learning Decision Path(MLDP, published by Advanced Distributed Learning), when reflecting on whether mobile learning is... Read More ›

The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required. There are 4600 images from the J. Paul Getty Museum available in high resolution on the Getty’s website for use without restriction—representing 4,689... Read More ›