dlfinlrprts

It was a privilege for me to participate as one of the original pioneers of the Title Three Distance Learning Team. I have learned a great deal this semester by attending several of the Advanced Blackboard workshops held at CCC sponsored by the T3. In addition, I have benefited greatly from the one–on-one assistance of Pre-Ah Hill with some of the more technical aspects of the work.

This semester I have completed the following:

Inserted new images and video in my SOC 210 Course

Developed five small pod casts for my SOC 210 course

Learned audacity and other programs necessary for developing these tools

Put power points into my online course

Began creating SOC 244 – the Sociology of Death and Dying which will be offered for the first time this fall

Will attend Black board Boot Camp on May 18th

On May 18, 2007, I will be assisting in helping Patrick Keough lead the methodology section of the Blackboard Boot camp.

I would like to nominate Mrs. Donna Galley for the team next year. I would be happy to assume the mentoring role for Mrs. Galley. She is well on her way in developing some great Psychology courses for our online program.

I believe that I have fulfilled my goals as outlined by the expectations of the T3 iniative.

Respectfully submitted,

Johnny Underwood

Lela McClanahan, Interior Design Coordinator

First of all, allow me to say I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of being able to participate in this Title III DL Team adventure! I feel privileged to have been a member of the Pioneer Team! I have grown a great amount in learning the technicalities involved with Pod casting. My online teaching has become more visually-stimulating, and I am making a conscious attempt to stay “on top of” my announcements. The goal being to always have an up to date announcement posted, and for it to be visually exciting. I have become more familiar with the I-pod (and its recorder) and its amazing capabilities! Through all of the professional development activities, I have also gained camaraderie with my fellow team members.

I have accomplished a great deal, as far as Professional Development. During the semester, I had two private training sessions with Patrick, and one with Cameron. These were related to Pod casting and I-tunes technicalities (metadata, importing/exporting,.) and giving an update on my accomplishments. Learning to use Audacity for editing has been a great accomplishment. Who would’ve thought it could be so simple?! I have attended both Basic and Advanced Training Workshops. During these I gained knowledge in regard to inserting more photos into our Bb courses, and being consistent with the size and placement of these was stressed. CCC I-tunes I have been trained to utilize, and have produced 4 pod casts. I did Welcome/Introduction pod casts for both DES 115 Color Theory and DES 265 Lighting. Also, I did a couple of them for two chapters covered in DES 265. One of the more recent workshops I attended was interesting, as it covered the Enhanced Pod casting, and also the latest version of Blackboard (which we will soon be using). Last week I enjoyed a workshop on Camtasia where I learned how to record audios, and place the audio within my Power Point presentations. I am now in the process of adding audio to two of my Power Points.

I’m also looking forward to attending the Distance-Learning conference in May (paid for by Title III)! Thanks for letting me be part of your DL Title III team!!

Laurie Freshwater, Director of Health Sciences

I attended the following professional development training in the area of distance learning:

I accomplished the following in terms of online course upgrading for RCP 114 Cardiopulmonary Anatomy & Physiology and RCP 214 Neo/Peds Respiratory Care:

Created, edited, and posted course introduction podcasts using Audacity software.
Created, edited and posted course review podcasts using an iPOD and Audacity software.
Created, edited and posted multimedia presentations using Windows Movie Maker and Audacity software.
Added images to my content folders to enhance the visual appeal of the courses.
Created, edited and posted a grading rubric for the Discussion Board.

The key things I learned from being part of the Phase I team of the Title III DL initiate:

It is essential to have a method in place for evaluating online courses.
Consistent structure for online course presentation is essential
Online courses must be engaging and interactive
Learning styles must be addressed in the course content
A variety of learning outcome assessment tools should be utilized
Online students need consistent feedback from the instructor
Resources for online students must match those of on-campus students

I would like to recommend Elaine Fuge for Phase II of the Title III DL initiative.

Pioneer: Skip Kemp, Director of Marine Sciences

Program: Aquaculture Technology

Date: May 15, 2007

Testimonial:

I came to the Title III DL pioneer group with little knowledge of the rich content that could be added to online courses to make them more understandable and help create better retention of information. Previously I had used the Blackboard to organize the course content, lectures and assignments. Not having the skills to add pictures and podcasts my courses were plain with the exception of color coding text in documents.

The Title III DL training was excellent and I learned the technical aspects for adding pictures to Bb courses but also just hearing the experiences of other instructors motivated me to enhance with not only pictures of course content but also to visually reinforce the different areas such as calendar, assignments, instructor info and so on with little pictures and visual cues to improve students retention and navigation through the Blackboard portal.

Another great opportunity was the training in Podcasting and editing audio with Audacity a free program. I managed to become quite expert at editing audios with that user friendly program and I produced welcome orientation podcasts for two Blackboard courses. I used both the Title III provided iPod with recorder and a Sony digital recorder that I received for completing the DL Boot Camp. Both of the courses that I am working on will be offered fully online in fall semester 2007.

I was very fortunate to benefit by one-on-one tutoring and training by the capable and talented Title III work-study student, Cameron Lockey, who worked with me on producing and editing enhanced podcasts. I will be working this summer to produce more enhanced podcasts to further improve the two courses and other courses as well.

Finally I began learning to use various video equipment with the digital imaging programs on the MacBook loaner computer that was provided to me by the Title III DL training program. I became very enraptured with the possibilities for this technology and conducted a real-time video lecture/workshop with a secondary high school in Hatteras Village, NC. I used web cam and telephone conference call to teach students and teachers and a UNC colleague to propagate oysters with a technique called “strip spawning.”

Susan Smith, English Instructor Adjunct

Along with teaching four courses for CCC, I was on the Title III distance learning “pioneer” team. When I first began this project, I thought it would be fun and rewarding. While it was fun and rewarding, it was also challenging. As part of being on this team, I had to learn to podcast announcements, lectures, etc. Podcasting involves much more than I anticipated. Editing of podcasts became quite a challenge, as I had to learn to use Audacity effectively. I also had to add more visuals to my Blackboards. Along with those additions, I also used the Assignment link for students' submission of all assignments.

I managed to accomplish these goals, and I incorporated them in all of my courses. I ordered my own iPod and learned how to use it. Once I was familiar with my iPod, I started recording announcements, directions, and lectures. After recording them, I added them to my list of iTunes, and then I edited them using Audacity. After editing them, I added them to CCC's iTunes page. While they are far from perfect, I see them as a beginning of what I will be able to accomplish in future courses. Students commented that they like the new additions to on-line learning. If it helps just one student in the course, I consider it well-worth the challenge!

Students also frequently commented that they like the visuals that I added to the Blackboards. Many students told me, at the end of the semester, that they felt the visuals reflected my personality, and that made them enjoy the courses more. I felt that was a goal accomplished, because I did carefully chose the visuals to correspond with each week's lesson.

Using the Assignment link for students to submit their work for grading was a plus for me, as I could effectively and efficiently grade the work and then add the grades to the gradebook through the same link. While most students used the link with no problems, a few students did complain that they "did not know" they should have used it. I did announce it in the course schedule, on the discussion boards, and in announcements; therefore, I "chalk" that up to some students not assuming responsibility for reading course material.

Overall, I believe my time spent on the Title III "pioneer" DL team was well-worth it. While it was challenging, I did learn a lot to help me be a more effective instructor! I hope to incorporate all that I have learned in future courses. Along with that, I hope that I can continue to improve.

Mary Walton, Director of Business Technology

Summary of my accomplishments for DL grant Spring 2007

For DBA 110, I totally designed and taught that class. I was able to create a total of 12 Camtasia lectures for that course. I added PowerPoint handouts, lecture notes and enhanced the appearance of that course with many graphics. This semester was the first time this course had ever been taught, so designing as I went along was quite a challenge. We taught this course online with optional meetings for both day and evening students.

For CIS 110, I’ve had quite the challenge getting it ready for Summer implementation. We moved from Office 2003 to Office 2007. The book was not published until early April and the supplements are still in works. I’m using the lecture media materials that come with the texts. The narrated PowerPoints for the theory portion were already created by the publisher. Additionally, there are several videos for labs, etc. for that portion of the class. For the software applications, I’m using the author’s video lectures that show him lecturing with a large computer screen in the background. This simulates exactly how we teach this class in the regular classroom setting when we lecture. I will be continuing to develop this course further over the summer for implementation in the fall.

I attended the NC3ADL conference in Raleigh in February. Additionally, I attended one of the blackboard workshops and the Camtasia workshop offered on campus. I’ve also been learning new technologies on my own that will be helpful. I’ve purchased a webcam that I intend to create videos with as well as a wireless microphone that I’ve used to create audio lectures while in my seats class that I can post to my online sites. I also use these on blackboard sites for students who missed the in class lecture.

I would lastly like to recommend that Lynn Judy and Shannon Cotnam be included from the Business Technologies division next year. We have made a division wide effort to step it up in all courses in our division. Buddy Miller and Debra Walsh have already begun creating new media for inclusion in existing courses. We’ve had some division meetings, this past semester, dedicated to learning new technologies and techniques from one another and plan to keep that up for fall 2007.

Jennifer Eyl, Math Instructor

DL Report

I have been researching the best way to provide plenty of practice problems with feedback for the students. After trying to create and program these myself, I knew that it was going to be necessary to use a package to provide this kind of practice and feedback that is so necessary when learning mathematics. After careful consideration I have decided to use a product from Hawkes Learning Systems to aid in the delivery of the course material.

I will be attending a training session during the summer semester with a representative from Hawkes Learning Systems to learn how to interface the program with my Blackboard site.

I have been developing a welcome/ orientation for the course, as well as the syllabus and some other basic ice-breaker and informational pages. I plan to continue working on these and others to finish the course Blackboard site during the summer semester.

I am registered to attend summer semester Blackboard training sessions designed to help with the transition to the new version of Blackboard. Through these workshops, I will learn the differences in adding images and course content as well as the completely new features podcasts.

Some other equipment and software that is meant to help specifically with the difficulty in delivering mathematics without face-to-face interaction have been ordered. These will enhance my interaction as the instructor with my students in terms of holding virtual office hours and being able to more effectively answer students’ questions. Upon the arrival/ installation of these items, I will train with them to be able to effectively use them for my course.

Charles Jason Smith, Associates of Fine Arts CAC

Title III Progress Report 5-12-07

As a member of the first Title III (T-3) Grant “Pioneers” I would first like to say that I have had a blast. I have learned a lot and am thankful to have been included in this wonderful program.

I am an Art teacher and I have been teaching online Art Appreciation and Art History for several years. It is only recently however that I have ventured into on-line supplementation for my studio classes. Just before I began the T-3 program I had created Black Board Supplements for ALL of my studio and traditional Classroom taught courses. The Art Appreciation and Art History Courses had substantial Lecture and image content but for the Studio classes the supplement was limited to Course calendar and Project Schedule, Grade Book and External Links but in two specific courses (Design 1 and Design 2) I had included substantial course content to include detailed lectures and visual examples of previous student’s work. In all cases I feel the online supplement was static and rather dry.

Thanks to the Grant opportunity and the wonderful help afforded me by Patrick Keough I have begun the long process of updating my courses with Audio Loops and Enhanced Pod Casts.

I have created an Audio Introduction for my On-Line Art Appreciation Classes that includes all of the pertinent information a new student might need to successfully navigate the course and understand their expected responsibilities. I did this in the Garage Band Program installed on the Mac Book lap top loaned to me by the T-3 Grant authorities and by using it’s built in microphone.

In addition to the Audio Introduction to Art Appreciation I have created two Enhanced Pod Casts for my Design classes. The first was an introduction for my Design 1 class and the second was a “Project walk-through” for my Design 2 class. I used Garage Band for both of these projects as well. I recorded my voice via the Built in microphone of the Mac Book, incorporated photos taken with my 8-mega-pixel digital camera, and took advantage of the multi-channel audio aspect of Garage Band by including background musical tracks to supplement my voice and add a sense of atmosphere and drama to the presentations.

I have in the works two additional Enhanced Pod Cast “project-walk-through pod casts” planned for my Design 2 class with all of the pictures taken and scripts written. Unfortunately, End-of-term-chaos set in before I could complete them. This summer I plan to finish both of these as well create several new Enhanced Pod Casts for my Design 1 class. I would also like to begin supplementing my other courses with Introductions and project example pod casts, especially for the Computer Art class that I am teaching during the summer months. I would also like to play with video pod casts but right now the equipment is not at my immediate disposal and I am intimidated by the potential Learning curve of the endeavor.

The learning curve so far has been substantial but manageable due to the ease of use inherent in the Garage Band Program. I had never used this program or any like it before the T-3 experience and find it wonderful. My previous static approach to online course supplemental development has forever changed. When first approached with the idea of taking Studio courses online I was dubious. However, after this T-3 experience I know the potential for my classes is massive. By combining visual images and audio lecture/explanation I can aide the student’s absorption of the material in a way I never thought possible. And for the students that unfortunately miss a class, I now have the ability to provide them with online course content that is a fair complement to the in class experience.

I hope to further my skills in the later part of May by attending a Distance Learning Workshop at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Ashville North Carolina and also by taking part in the new CCC switch to Black Board 7 inspired faculty indoctrination course also scheduled later this month.

Bob Tyndall, Physics Instructor

Distance Learning Experience

Spring Semester 2007

This semester has been a growth experience in the realm of Distance Learning for me. While I have taught an online class before (Online Ocean Studies) I had not used BlackBoard before.

Through several individual sessions and two group sessions, I have been able to become pretty functional at using BlackBoard. Some of the many skills I’ve picked up include; producing an audio podcast, creating a banner, adding content in the form of files, websites and graphics, including some music and graphics in announcements, using the Discussion Board as a Help Desk, tracking student use and “attendance”.

The online course I taught (AST111-Descriptive Astronomy) was offered in conjunction with a face-to face lab session (AST111A-Descriptive Astronomy Lab) each week. While different from the face-to-face counterpart I was used to, the class was able to meet the same set of goals. I also used BlackBoard for my face-to-face classes (PHY 152 and PHY251) for assignments, documents and discussion.

Many students take astronomy because it appears to be the “easier” of the science courses offered for liberal arts students. It has never taken very long for them to realize that the course, in any format, takes a lot of work. Several challenges surfaced in the online class. One of the ways students get experience with the night skies is through the use of a desktop planetarium. Some students experienced difficulty early on using this software. For the next offering, in the Fall, I am producing an enhanced podcast to show students exactly how to use the software. Also, I am going to be more strict about enforcing deadlines for assignments. It was obvious during the semester that once a student got behind, they rarely ever caught up.

Retention and grade distribution were basically the same as for a face-to-face class.

I like the online experience and will expand my offerings in the Fall 2007 with the addition of PHY110 (Conceptual Physics) and the incorporation of the things I learned this semester.

Cathy Crowell, Photography Technology CAC

I have enjoyed the chance to wok with the Title 111 DL Team for the Spring 2007 and will continue to work with the new equipment and skills throughout the summer and Fall semester. I have attended 2 workshops on using the the new equipment and programs. In addition to that I have also attended the itunes university training held here on campus and had a one on one session for podcasting. This spring I completely overhauled my documentary photography class with exciting new images for each Announcement, DB and assignment.

I also added a introductory podcast and a lecture on Grants. I look forward to upgrading both of my summer classes with the new version of BB. During my summer break I was fortunate to be in Paris at the Arts and Science Museum where I photographed the chronological development of the camera from Daguerre to the Early moving image apparatus. These will be part of my History of Photography upgrade along with enhanced podcast. I will continue to use what I have learned to improve all of my future classes.

Thank you for this exciting opportunity to part of the first team. Learning is fun!

Final Observations

Patrick Keough, Director of Distance Learning CCC

The Title III Grant has been invaluable this past year in getting our faculty (and many staff members) trained (upgraded) in all aspects of distance learning including the technical aspects of the blackboard, instructional design and teaching methodology and creating, producing and adding rich media content into their online courses at CCC. We have been able to offer a variety of in-house professional development activities, in addition to sending a cross section of online dl pioneers to distance learning conferences and workshops. As you can see by these reports, our first DL Team of online faculty benefited greatly from the various professional development opportunities offered them by the Title III Grant and the equipment (laptops and IPods) we were able to purchase to aid in their course retooling and development. It has been a pleasure working with these ten online teaching professionals and I look forward to working with them next semester as we begin the mentoring phase of our DL initiative. We have identified another 10 faculty for Phase II and this initial group will be acting as mentors as they begin upgrading their teaching skills and various online courses.

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Date	Location	Presenter	Topic(s)
1/12/07	CCC	Patrick Keough	Audacity, iPODS, Images
1/26/07	CCC	Patrick Keough	Advanced Blackboard
2/19-20/07	Durham, NC	NC Assoc. of Distance Learning	Online teaching practices, structure, software
2/26/07	CCC	Roundtable	Assessment of Learning Outcomes
3/16/07	CCC	Patrick Keough	Blackboard 7.2
4/20/07	CCC	Cameron Lockey	Camtasia /Audacity Software
5/23-25/07	Asheville, NC	NC Distance Learning Alliance	Globalization, DL Courseware, Learning Engines, Collaborative online environments