Inspire Blog

Boldly Go Where No Discussion Has Gone Before

Discussion forums are commonly used to generate interaction among students, and research shows that higher-level thinking is possible. But all too often discussion prompts can be stale and unimaginative. Learning by Reflection Several Ecampus math classes are using discussion prompts in a creative way to help students develop meta-cognitive skills related to their learning. The first is a reflection activity. After the assignment is graded, the instructor releases an answer key so students can look back at their work. “Learning from our mistakes, we start to understand what we are doing properly and what we are doing improperly,” explains the instructor in the purpose statement for the reflection forum. This is an effective activity and, from the instructor’s perspective, easy … Boldly Go Where No Discussion Has Gone Before
by · July 16, 2018

Apps Educators Use for Work and for Life

I recently attended one of Bryan Alexander’s Future Trend’s Forum webinar session (recording on youtube) on apps educators use in their work and in their life and learned about some very interesting apps. Anti-app App: ?Forest: an app to monitor time off phone (for personal use or group use, family use, etc.). ? Flora: (free app) helps you and your friends stay focused on the task together (recommended by my wonderful co-worker Dorothy Loftin) Apps for teaching and learning: ? Desmos: Graph functions, plot data, evaluate equations, explore transformations, and much more – for free! ➗Algebrabyhand: The most advanced drag and drop algebra tool for the web. ?‍♂️Fabulous is a science-based app, incubated in Duke’s Behavioral Economics Lab, that will help you build healthy rituals into … Apps Educators Use for Work and for Life
by · July 10, 2018

Use a Mix Map for Blended Learning

Along with the vast growth of fully online education, a corresponding trend is the growing popularity of hybrid (or blended) courses and programs. OSU defines a hybrid course as one that includes both regularly scheduled on-site classroom meetings and significant online out-of-classroom components that replace regularly scheduled class meeting time. The blended learning mix map is a widely used tool to visualize a hybrid course under design or redesign. This simple template of two overlapping circles provides space to list online learning activities, face-to-face learning activities and possibly activities that occur in both learning environments. For example, discussions may be a regular course activity online, in class, or in both environments. Much of the real value of developing a mix … Use a Mix Map for Blended Learning
by · June 19, 2018

Kudos To OSU Ecampus’ Amazing Online Instructors: My Takeaways from 2018 Faculty Forum

2018 Ecampus Faculty Forum concluded a month ago. However, I am still fascinated by the dedicated quality work our selected online instructors have showcased that day. You can access recorded sessions and view SlideDecks here. Horticulture instructor Betsey Miller cares deeply about how to provide quality instructor feedback to students who truly want instructor feedback in peer review assignment , trying several rounds of three different ways of keeping students engaged and providing quality feedback comments in discussion forum grading rubrics google form contest with students voting system College of Business instructor John Morris uses a variety of strategies to prepare students in a career in business: teach students to use word cloud automation of words used in resume to … Kudos To OSU Ecampus’ Amazing Online Instructors: My Takeaways from 2018 Faculty Forum
by · June 8, 2018

OSU Open Textbook Network Workshop (Key Takeaways)

Recently, I attended an open textbook network workshop, hosted by Oregon State University and sponsored by Open Oregon Educational Resources and OSU’s Affordable Learning Initiative. If you are an instructor or a faculty administrator who cares about the impact of textbook costs on our students and want to learn what you can do about it, I would highly recommend to continue reading. Key Takeaways The Concept of Open Textbooks: Open textbooks are textbooks that are free and can be used either in whole or in part at no cost. They are often written by experts, scholars, and professors in their respective fields and are edited and published in the same matter as commercial textbooks. Open textbooks are licensed with an … OSU Open Textbook Network Workshop (Key Takeaways)
by · May 25, 2018