Once upon a time, there were limited ways to communicate. Professionals used telephone, memos, and fax messages. Things have certainly changed. Now, there are so many communication channels it’s difficult to know which is more effective for various audiences. Come hear about a few communication methods that have gained popularity, when to use them, and how to analyze your audience to determine the best channel to use.  Register

The Grade Center is more than just a way to record students' grades. It is a dynamic and interactive tool, allowing instructors to record data, calculate grades and monitor student progress.  In the Grade Center, instructors can provide and manage students' grades for a variety of assessments, including assignments, tests, discussion board posts, journals, blogs, and wikis. Faculty can also create grade columns for any activities or requirements that require grading but do not require submission through Blackboard, such as special projects, presentation, participation or attendance. Workshop participants can bring their computer or tablet to gain first-hand experience during the workshop.  Register

This session will provide an overview of best practices for creating an online lecture with closed captioning to meet course accessibility needs. The presenters will first discuss online lecture recording options on campus, including the Office of Distributed Learning’s course production studios that are available to faculty and instructors. Next, they will present best practices to create an effective and engaging lecture video. Then, the presenters will direct participants to and demonstrate the resources available for creating closed captioning for lecture and other videos to ensure the content is accessible to all students.  Register

The presentation will address the educational applications of 360° videos and how they can be an effective tool to increase engagement, which several studies have shown is considered an important predictor of student achievement. The presenters will begin by describing how they are working to assist interested faculty to select, create, and edit 360° video for appropriate courses. They will also provide examples of ways in which to implement 360° videos into courses to increase learner engagement with course content as well as share existing 360° video resources.

One of the presenters will also explain how she is using 360° videos in her course, Principles of Retailing, including how she selected and created the 360° video content focusing on visual merchandising and store design and layout. The presentation will end with a demonstration of a 360° video. Participants will leave the presentation with a better understanding of how to use 360° videos in their courses, a list of resources for existing 360° videos appropriate for use in higher education courses, and the presenters’ contact information should they need assistance with creating and editing 360° videos for their courses.  Register

Learn how to post assignments, load files, receive student input and files, organize information, and grade assignments using the Assignment Manager. Discover how to check for plagiarism using SafeAssign. Workshop participants can bring their computer or tablet to gain first-hand experience during the workshop.  Register

Learn to create tests and surveys, to use pools of questions while creating these items, and to modify the deployment rules for individuals or groups of students. Workshop participants can bring their computer or tablet to gain first-hand experience during the workshop.  Register

Virtual reality (VR) provides an immersive experience (e.g., videogames and movies) or simulates presence in a real-world environment (e.g., watching a sporting event or visiting a foreign location). This presentation will discuss and provide a demonstration of one piece of VR equipment, the Oculus Go, a portable, all-in-one VR, and review the educational applications of apps available on the device. Apps that will be discussed include:

• AltSpaceVR which is a social platform for virtual reality that allows users to meet with people from anywhere around the world and could be used to create a virtual classroom or learning space
• ENGAGE which is a VR social platform that allows educators to host meetings, classes, private lessons and presentations with people from all over the world in a safe, virtual, multi-user environment
• Wander which uses data from Google Streetview and allows users to teleport almost anywhere in the world and can let students virtually visit locations that they cannot visit physically
• Art Plunge which is a gallery of famous paintings that allows users to go inside and explore the scene
• Apps providing immersive experiences in the medical field such as The Body VR, Human Anatomy, and VLIPPmed.
• Apps providing immersive video experiences such as BBC VR, YouTube VR, and National Geographic VR.

Participants will leave the presentation with a better understanding of how to use the Oculus Go and a list of apps that can be used for educational purposes if they are interested in implementing VR into their courses. Register