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Category: VCCS News (Page 2 of 10)

Reynold’s OER project in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

October 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments
© 2013, ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH

© 2013, ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH

Today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch story, Reynolds offers classes with no book costs, describes J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College’s Zx23 Project, with interviews with students, project leader and English faculty member, Jane Rosecrans, and a few faculty skeptics who are still not convinced about the quality or efficacy of open educational resources. I thought the quote from JSRCC student Eric Eichenlaub was incredibly poignant, and underscores for me why reducing the cost of textbooks is so critically important:

Eichenlaub said he has paid up to $200 per course for a new textbook and supplemental materials to make sure he gets the most from the class.
So he was especially gratified when he enrolled in two of English professor Jane Rosecrans’s American literature courses that are part of a pilot program using free open-source educational materials rather than traditional hardcover textbooks. Eichenlaub, father of twin 14-month-old boys, calculates his savings meant extra cash for diapers, formula or his education.

You can read the full article on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website: http://www.richmond.com/news/article_f6f457a3-7f0d-5d63-beb9-150a718afe99.html.

VSU’s Digital Course Fair: Oct. 23, 2015

September 25, 2015 / / 0 Comments

VSU Digital Course FairHey, are you are looking to check out some new digital course tools and materials to possibly incorporate into your instruction to engage your students? If so, you may want to check out Virginia State University’s Digital Course Fair. According to VSU’s Director of Distance Education, Art Fridrich, the goals of this event are “to introduce or reintroduce college faculty to the rich variety of digital course tools currently available to facilitate learning, enhance or create new partnerships, and reduce the cost of education for college students.”

Some of the things you’ll see at this event are adaptive learning courseware built upon Carnegie Melon University Open Courseware, new products and services from publishers like Cengage, Pearson, and McGraw-Hill, open educational resources vendor Lumen Learning, and much more.

The event is free. There will be refreshments (yes!) and door prizes (I never win). If interested, please register by clicking on this link: http://vsu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1BQzyxy2qdYlqVD

If you want more information or have questions, please contact VSU’s Director of Distance Education, Art Fridrich at afridrich@vsu.edu.

New OER Courses Available

September 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments
OER Courses Blackboard Learn

click to enlarge (+)

Over the past several weeks, we’ve added new courses to the OER Course Catalog in Blackboard Learn, bringing the total number of curated OER titles to 15. The newest open course, and one that has been heavily requested by colleges, is ITE 115: Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts.

All VCCS faculty have access to the OER Courses tab in Blackboard Learn. You just fill out a short form to request access to any of the available open courses in Blackboard, or you can preview a copy of the course materials (without assessments, quizzes, etc.) on a public site hosted by Lumen Learning. Just click Public Link.

Lumen Learning is offering daily online office hours for all of their clients. All VCCS faculty are welcome to consult with Lumen experts during these times about any open course or OER topic. You can find the Lumen office hours calendar here: http://lumenlearning.com/office-hours/.

UPDATE with link: Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF) Informational Webinar

September 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments
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CC-By Nataliia Lytvyn for the Noun Project

The Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF) is a competitive fund open to faculty and staff of VCCS colleges to fund innovative, targeted projects that closely align with the new VCCS Strategic Plan, Complete 2021, and other system priorities. All CIF projects are developed, piloted, and assessed by the end of each fiscal year. Both credit and non-credit projects are welcome.

Past CIF recipients have used the funds to contribute such valuable, lasting projects as PluggedIn VA, the courses in the Teaching Online Program (TOP, IDOL, LOGO, TOTAL), Northern Virginia’s Digital Open OER-Based General Education Project, and a number of crucial workforce certifications and academic programs. All faculty and staff with innovative ideas are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity as we all work towards a common goal: a successful community college experience for all of our students.

If you have a potential project in mind and are wondering if it is the right fit for the CIF program, or simply want to find out more, please visit the CIF site and register for the webinar at the bottom of the Overview tab. You will receive the webinar link once your register.

The link to the CIF Informational Webinar recording is below:

noun_15342_ccWatch the CIF Informational Webinar recording

 

Update: Zx23 Project Featured on WCVE’s Virginia Currents

September 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments

WCVE logo Public radio fans in the Richmond metro area, listen up: the Zx23 Project will be featured on WCVE’s Virginia Currents radio program this Thursday, September 10 during NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The radio version will air on WCVE at 8:44 am and 5:44 pm respectively. There will also be a longer online version available on the Virginia Current’s site.

The piece includes interviews with Kerrigan Sullivan, Professor of Theatre and Department Chair for Visual and Performing Arts at John Tyler Community College, and yours truly,  about the Zx23 Program. The online version will also include interviews with Cora and Marcus, two of Kerrigan’s students. I will post the link to the program once it is released.

UPDATE: Here is the link to the longer, online version of the piece: http://ideastations.org/radio/news/virginia-community-colleges-building-degrees-no-textbook-costs. 

 

Distance Education Peer Group: Call for Proposals Closes August 28!

August 25, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Distance_Education_Peer_Group_2015_Call_for_Proposals_Closes_August_28

The Distance Education peer group conference is scheduled for October 9-10, 2015 at Reynolds Community College’s Parham Campus. Proposals are due on Friday, August 28.

Get together with your peers and bridge the distance to superior teaching and learning online. If you have an innovative idea, suggestions for best practices for distance education and/or hybrid classrooms, new research, or other information you want to share that will enrich the practice of teaching and the process of learning online, please submit a proposals. We need our pioneers and trailblazers, our full-timers and our adjuncts. We need the diversity of thought and ideas that drive educational innovation. We need you to step forward.

Proposals are being accepted now and must be received by the August 28 deadline. Sessions are 60 minutes long and may be in the form of a:

  • presenter’s forum with one or more presenters
  • panel
  • roundtable
  • hands-on training in a computer lab.

Click on the link below for more information on the Distance Education Peer Group Conference or to submit a proposal: http://www.vccs.edu/careers/office-of-professional-development/peer-groups/distance-education-peer-group-conference/

Adopting OER Just Got Really, Really Easy

August 18, 2015 / / 0 Comments

OER_course_tabThere is a new feature in Blackboard Learn that is going to make it extremely easy for VCCS faculty to browse, preview, and adopt open courses to use in their classes. Now, when faculty login to Blackboard Learn, they will see a new tab at the top of their screen called OER Courses (OER stands for open educational resources. For a good definition of OER, see the Hewlett.org site). The new tab contains a list of openly licensed courses—courses that use free and open educational materials instead of traditional publisher-created textbooks—that have been developed, reviewed, and shared by VCCS faculty.

All VCCS faculty are welcome–scratch that—encouraged to browse this catalog of open courses to request access to preview any courses they are interested in. Once a faculty member finds a course they like, they can copy it into a Blackboard shell to use. For free. No strings attached.

Simple as pie, right? Well, that’s what we hope at least.

Currently, the following eleven open courses are available on the OER Courses tab:

  • BIO 101 General Biology I
  • BUS 100 Introduction to Business
  • BUS 236 Communication in Management
  • CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking
  • ECO 201 Principles of Macroeconomics
  • ECO 202 Principles of Microeconomics
  • ENG 111 College Composition I
  • ENG 112 College Composition II
  • ENG 243 Survey of English Literature I
  • PSY 200 Principles of Psychology
  • SDV 100 College Success Skills

If you want to take a guided tour of the new tab, feel free to register for a webinar that will walk you through the features of the tab and provide more details about adopting the courses found there. The next session is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25 from 9:00-10:00am via Blackboard Collaborate. You can register by completing the short online form: http://edtech.vccs.edu/sneak-preview-of-the-oer-courses-tab-in-blackboard-tuesday-aug-189-10am-sign-up-here/. Once you sing up, you will be emailed the link to join the webinar.

Hopefully, this new tab will make it easier than ever for interested faculty at colleges across the VCCS to adopt open courses, giving them more flexibility with their course materials and saving their students money to boot.

This week’s events

August 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Calendar_Noun_project_1194.svgWow, it’s been a busy summer, with a lot going on. Here are a few events happening this week that may be of interest to you. Take advantage of them now before the busy semester gets underway!

Keep track of all upcoming EdTech@VCCS events here: http://edtech.vccs.edu/upcoming-events/

Zx23 Ink: Freddyburg Free Lance Star

July 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Cheryl Huff, professor of English and humanities at Germanna Community College, is rethinking textbooks.

GCC professor and Zx23 Program Manager Cheryl Huff got a nice write-up in the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star about her role in the VCCS’s Zx23 Project.

Cheryl Huff has heard the excuses over and over from her students at Germanna Community College. Those who started class without the required textbooks would explain that they were having problems getting their financial aid or had to wait until their next paycheck to buy them.

“It’s very frustrating on both sides,” said Huff.

Now the GCC associate English and humanities professor is working to eliminate their frustration and hers. She’s on a one-year leave of absence to head the Virginia Community College System’s new Zx23 Project.

Read the entire article online at http://goo.gl/EqYNFM.

Announcing the Zx23 Project Grantees

July 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Congratulations to the VCCS colleges selected to participate in the Zx23 Project. Each college will receive grant funds to support faculty and staff in building a Z-Degree at their respective institutions. You can click on the college abbreviation in the first column to see additional application details.

See the Zx23 Project page for news and updates on grantees and other aspects of this groundbreaking project.

There is still a chance for a few additional colleges to participate in the Zx23 Project. Contact Richard Sebastian at rsebastian@vccs.edu for details.

College First Last Type of credential Type of program Grant
NVCC Dr. Braddlee Associate degree Liberal Arts $15000
VWCC Elizabeth Wilmer Associate degree General Studies $15000
PVCC John Donnelly Associate degree General Studies $14760
TNCC Patrick Tompkins Associate degree Social Science $15000
TCC Daniel DeMarte Associate degree Administration of Justice $15000
GCC Ann Woolford Associate degree General Studies $14855
CVCC William Sandidge Associate degree General Studies and Business Administration $15000
NRCC Pat Huber Associate degree General Studies $15000
WCC Lorri Huffard Associate degree Science, Specialization in Mathematics $15000
PDCCC Tara Atkins-Brady Credential* Certificate in General Education $14100
JTCC Leonda Keniston Associate degree General Studies $15000
JSRCC Jane Rosecrans Associate degree Social Sciences $14912
MECC Vickie Ratliff Associate degree Management $15000
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