#Summit2016 – Wrap Up
The 2016 COTE Summit in New York City concluded on February 26. If you’ve never been to a COTE Summit, mark your calendar for next year, towards the end of February. It will be in Syracuse (home of Heid’s Hot Dogs and Dinosaur BBQ). The Summit always has phenomenal speakers and the takeaways are valuable for anyone involved with online teaching. As tradition dictates, talks always run the gamut of topics – this year was no exception.
The Summit was a veritable Dagwood, sandwiched by the opening remarks from Alexander Cartwright and a delicious closing by Alexandra Pickett.
Opening Remarks
Alexandra Pickett | Carey Hatch | Alexander Cartwright | Kim Scalzo
The Summit was kickstarted by a quick welcome and overview from Alex Pickett and some welcoming words from Carey Hatch. Then Provost Alexander Cartwright, after welcoming everyone to the COTE Summit, talked about the “Best in Sector” model, so that different institutions in SUNY can show their particular strengths (community colleges have different services and strengths than research universities, for instance). There was also a call to action, as Provost Cartwright mentioned that there are 7 million people in New York without college credit, and SUNY is poised to help them. He pointed to the University of Massachusetts, a system that pooled resources across multiple institutions and the whole system thrived (including a sizeable boost in overall ranking).
VIdeo presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/edf987fcb74345bd9ae08565fa181e3a1d
Open SUNY Update
Kim Scalzo
Kim Scalzo then took center stage to talk about the great things happening at Open SUNY. The entire update was captivating and interesting for people involved in online learning and Open SUNY, but the most thrilling was the unveiling of the focused efforts in the next three years:
- Facilitate strategic growth
- Cultivate best practices
- Build capability
- Promote financial sustainability
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/edf987fcb74345bd9ae08565fa181e3a1d (jump ahead to 51 minutes)
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/kim-scalzo-open-suny-update
Open SUNY Online Concierge Panel
Moderator: Michele Forte
Panel: Maureen Owens (FLCC) | Karen Schuhle-Williams (Brockport) | John Locke (Plattsburgh)
The “single point of contact” on campuses has been proven to be a successful technique for helping online students. John Locke at Plattsburgh described the RN to BS program, which coordinates with recruitment, admissions, and the registrar to ensure that one common message is articulated to the student. On behalf of Finger Lakes Community College, Maureen talked about the “One Stop Center“, a place offering administrative, academic, and technical support. Karen at Brockport discussed the exploration into a broad concierge service that looks at early alert tools, online orientation, student support services, and the differences between students in fully online programs and those taking only a few online courses.
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/691bd957c00049aaa1a12609fec39e291d
Open SUNY COTE Effective Practices Awards Panel
Moderator: Erin Maney
Panel: Anne Reed, University at Buffalo, Quality by Design (QbD)
Eric Machan Howd, Binghamton, Teaching Online Certification Program
Ginger Bidell (Buffalo State) and Michele Forte (Empire State), AccessMOOC: Designing for ALL Learners
Erin brought stellar contributions from campuses across SUNY, and briefly outlined the different submissions for the Effective Practices award. Through nine submissions, four were the winners in the peer voting process. The submissions are representative of the ingenuity and innovation that campuses are exploring, and are testament to the power of a campus to bring powerful ideas to the rest of SUNY.
The first place award went to the Access MOOC (from Buffalo State and Empire State College) Binghamton had two awards – the Teaching Online Certification Program and the Creating Accessible Online Classrooms. The University at Buffalo received an award for Quality by Design
- Nine submissions, of which four were the top winners in the peer voting process
- 1st place award went to the Access MOOC [Buffalo State and ESC]
- Quality by Design [University at Buffalo]
- Teaching Online Certification Program [Binghamton]
- Creating Accessible Online Classrooms [Binghamton]
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/4732abf958714eb7afd84663e8d011de1d
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/the-open-suny-cote-effective-practices-showcase
OER Hack-A-Thon
Nate Angell | Allison Brown (Geneseo)
“For most authors the greatest risk is not piracy but obscurity.”
After a primer on the philosophy of “open”, Nate and Allison guided participants through the process of
- Finding open resources
- Aligning these open resources to standards and outcomes in a course
- Inserting the OER into the Lumen Learning CMS
It is a great exercise for faculty to undergo, as it demonstrates both the wide range of OER available, as well as the ease of installing them into a course.
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/a43d42a5ee734c03939a1453a33e23bc1d
Slide presentation: http://lumenlearning.com/ost/
Making Sense of the New World of Digital Credentialing
Carla Casilli
“14% of employees at Google have never gone to college!”
Carla started off with interesting facts about the employment landscape, talking about the needs of employers versus the specific preparation of graduates. She then pivoted to the importance of credentialing, and how stackable credentials are mutually beneficial to employers and students. Outlining various programs that are available today (Purdue’s Passport, Michigans MBLem, Cities of Learning, etc.), she suggested that learning institutions should look at the success of these programs and investigate adapting the programs to their own institution and pipeline with employers.
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/86231204d1384eae9525e22075e1eff91d
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/carla-casilli-making-sense-of-the-new-world-of-digital-credentialing
What I Have Learned After Completing 28 Online College Courses
Alicia Fernandez
This presentation should be watched by anyone involved in online learning (faculty, staff, and students); it has some of the most practical and relevant information offered for online learning:
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/ddcb1652dbb443b2b00a912bb3314bce1d
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/alicia-fernandez-what-i-have-learned-after-completing-28-online-college-courses
KEYNOTE: The Disruptive Potential of Online Competency-Based Education
Michelle R. Weise
“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”
-Theodore Levitt
Michelle Weise dazzled the crowd with a deep exploration (backed by the experiences of Southern New Hampshire University) into competency-based education. The data is convincing, and the model that SNHU has developed is very promising. Check out the book (only $1.99) for a deeper exploration into Michelle’s talk. Quotes of interest from her talk:
- 71% nontraditional
- By 2020, 42% of college students will be 25+
- 178 skillsets in September 2009 to 924 in June 2012 (McKinsey)
- 91 million Americans with HS and no degree
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/0851060109ba448da6983def4ba221221d
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/michelle-r-weise-executive-director-sandbox-collaborative-hire-education-the-disruptive-potential-of-online-competencybased-education
Unsession
Alexandra Pickett
Once again, Alex moderated the “Unsession”, which gave participants the casual opportunity to share ideas – big and small – that they have developed at their campus. The Unsessions historically have great merit, in that the ideas that are shared are easily adopted by other campuses.
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/63df0bdc8c3a482f9d3ca52132532c961d
Slide presentation: http://bit.ly/unsession2016
Solutions for a New Majority
Daniel Greenstein
Daniel Greenstein (Director of Postsecondary Success at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) piggy-backed on Michelle’s alarming perspective of the future of job growth in America (as well as the danger of failure of current educational growth and preparation). He offered solutions for institutions to look at, as well as some ideas and trends that could help higher learning:
- Growth
- We’ll see a 4-6% increase in job offerings by 2025
- We need to enroll more students
- We need to graduate more of the students that already attend
- Things to help students
- Predictive analytics
- Students need a clearer pathway (like a GPS that offers alternative routes)
- Credit transfer policies
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/abc1e4d8727f4193a541a7c00ee900fe1d
The Formation of Positive Attitudes in Online Teaching
Moderator: Peter Shea
Panel: Dr. Joanne Souza, Director, Biology Online, Lecturer, Stony Brook, Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Dr. Alisia Grace Chase, Historian of Art and Visual Culture, SUNY Brockport, Department of Art
Kathleen D. Borbee, Associate Professor, Business Administration & Economics, Monroe Community College
Meet the 2016 Open SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors
Peter moderated a panel for online practitioners that addressed the following questions:
- How did you come to teach online?
- Were you influenced by colleagues? How?
- Did you receive any kind of support from your campus or from SLN/Open SUNY?
- How did that influence your attitudes toward online learning?
The conversations were interesting, and there was general consensus that:
- Faculty attitudes about online learning matter
- Students need online opportunity
- Negative attitudes limit growth and access
- Understanding the formation of faculty attitudes is essential
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/c43201af8a944f5d96584caa3a4ca9f91d
How Gameful Design (Not Gamification!) Will Save Higher Education
Kevin Bell
“Weren’t afraid of failing – weren’t afraid of trying stuff”
Kevin always impresses when presenting, and his talk at the COTE Summit was no exception. Being careful to elucidate the difference between “game dynamics” and “gamification”, he gave a brief primer on how game dynamics can drive learning, and then shifted into some case studies that gave great examples of small (and big) things that educators can to to make learning more authentic and promote internal motivation.
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/bbb426dbfc69484a93a942a648c9415e1d
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/kevin-bell-how-game-dynamics-not-gamification-will-save-higher-education
The Backwards Classroom: Using Peer Instruction to Increase Active Learning
Cristi Ford
Cristi Ford talked about using peer instruction to teach peer instruction, and leveraged the power of peer instruction by having participants embrace principles of peer instruction as they taught other participants. Working through the process was a potent endorsement of peer instruction.
- The best way to teach peer instruction is to use peer instruction
- Goals of peer instruction
- Engage students actively in the course material
- Exploit student engagement in the course
- Get a pulse on your students abilities
- Administer concept tests that apply the basic information
- Based on the results, review topics where students demonstrate a weakness
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/4919d217bfa94bd6bd0c63bf6aa5acaf1d%20
Slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/cristi-ford-the-backwards-classroom-using-peer-instruction-to-increase-active-learning
OPEN SUNY/NUTN Engagement: Creative Collaboration in an age of Consortia, Collaboratives, and Crazy Workloads
Cristi Ford | Kevin Bell | Dale D. Pike
This was a brilliant opportunity to network and collaborate around synergies in the field of online learning and institutional digital strategy. The video demonstrates the potential of collaborating with NUTN.
Video presentation: http://sysadm.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/7506ad9515d44766b7e183eed2fbb4711d
MEDIA
The live recordings: http://opensunycotesummit2016.edublogs.org/mediasite/
The materials: http://opensunycotesummit2016.edublogs.org/registration/materials/