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SUNY Effective Online Practices Award Program

VoiceThread is a learning tool that enables instructors and/or students to create and share various texts (images, videos, documents, PowerPoint slides, etc.) that they can then share comments on using text or audio. At MCC, it is embedded as a tool in Blackboard. My Fall 2018 pilot study using VoiceThread in an Online Composition course showed a dramatic positive impact on my student success and retention. I achieved a 78% C or better rate, with 22% of students receiving A's; this is in stark contrast to the overall stable average of 59% C or better rate in all Composition Courses from semester to semester. In my online course, I used Voice Thread as an introductory icebreaker exercise during preview week, to provide weekly lectures and feedback on drafts, and to facilitate group discussions and for peer review. In addition to the positive data, students provided anecdotal feedback stating how much they enjoyed the VoiceThread lectures and discussion.

Although I began using virtual immersive environments with Second Life in the 2000’s, it was the advent of open source virtual reality environments that made these island affordable. Since 2013 within the Masters of Arts in Emerging Technology (MALET) program, I have had my own virtual reality environment so online courses and graduate-program meetings could have a presence and community for students across the globe. These environments have allowed: classes where I develop shared activities and discussions (without the teacher dominance of a webinar); places for students to work independently or with course colleagues; forums for outside speakers; and, a pilot virtual-reality residency where I emulated interactions with speakers and audience as during geographically-based event. After some startup assignments, the students quickly adapt to an environment where they perceive a shared space that transports them beyond simply sitting at their computer. The relationships built between the instructor and students have been strong, and alumni have continued with me beyond their graduate program. I am even developing a nascent think tank to look at the many new ways that virtual and augmented reality is starting to influence education, communication and the world.

As we begin to delve more deeply and consistently into assessing SUNY GenEd and NCC Institutional Learning Outcomes across the curricula, it seems logical to search for new and varied ways to convert existing projects to achieve the goals of additional learning outcomes. There are new/different methods of assessment to appeal to a variety of learning preferences. I piloted use of a new tool to enhance digital learning, visual literacy and presentation in two of the business courses I teach. The students were asked to create infographics using Visme (visme.co) in lieu of writing a traditional paper.

Alternative formats for traditional assignments, especially in online and blended environments, is an engaging way to assist students in engaging with their work. It opens the students to new skill sets and improved ways to present what they have learned. It provides an alternate opportunity for students to synthesize the information they are exploring and reading, and can also raise the interest level of the instructor and students. The varied formats and themes add visual interest as well as room for clear content. The added bonus is the production of one assignment that can be used for varied types of assessment.

Now that the “BSN in 10” has been signed into law in New York State, nursing programs are investigating ways to create seamless transitions from the associate degree level to the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. The new law requires that nurses earn their bachelor’s credential within ten years of their initial licensure as a registered nurse.
SUNY Empire State College offers a RN-BSN program, as well as a Masters in Nursing Education and a Masters in Nursing Administration. These degrees are delivered online and serve the needs of adult learners very well. They afford flexibility and reasonable costs, and assist students in balancing work, family and life demands.
The college has established enhanced partnerships with several SUNY community colleges to facilitate degree complete for their nursing graduates. Three examples of partnership programs include SUNY Ulster, SUNY Corning and SUNY Rockland.

Active Learning at ESC

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Online Teaching & Learning Practices

The purpose of an active learning classroom is to make it easier and more effective for faculty or instructors to facilitate collaborative work and authentic learning activities with their students.

Teaching State-Wide Students Synchronous

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Online Teaching & Learning Practices

Synchronous teaching using cloud technology is the newest way of having class with students at a distance. Very different than Lecture Capture, the instructor sits alone and teaches from a studio-like room which ensures that the students' experience are the same regardless of their location. And very different than Telecourses (courses via television or video-streaming), the class is live and relies on real-time interaction and collaboration between faculty and students that are rooted in active learning principles and other online learning practices such as flipping the classroom. In this online synchronous modality, students are able to connect with classmates as they usually would in a traditional face-to-face class, and learn from a faculty member who teaches in another location.

Practical Guide to Meaningful Gamification

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Online Teaching & Learning Practices

The Practical Guide to Meaningful Gamification is an OER module and workshop that introduces gamification, suggests ways to implement it, and allows participants the time to develop their own gamified activities. All workshop content (learning module, handouts, facilitator's guide) can be downloaded freely from the following website: bit.ly/UBMeGa

Online Offering for Study Abroad

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Online Teaching & Learning Practices

I developed an online component for a 3 credit art history study abroad course when the amount of time for the trip to Paris was reduced to a single week. The semester-long online course offers an opportunity for students to prepare for their trip by introducing them to the key ideas and works of art they would later see first hand. Assignments and self-tests cover the reading, mini-lectures and websites, provide a reasonable weekly workload of homework and criteria for seeing that the course objectives are met. The online format offers a wealth of superlative and informative websites, videos and lectures. As well, the online classroom helps create a class community, a place where students can interact with each other and with me, exchange ideas and concerns.

Creating Accessible Online Classrooms

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Online Teaching & Learning Practices

This practice ensures that all students have equal access to the content I present in my courses. By making all PDF files I post to the course website accessible, students who require the use of text-to-speech processing have the ability to digest, process, and participate in online discussions of class materials. In so doing, this practice facilitates interaction and collaboration between discussants on online forums. Through exposure to diversified instruction, my students construct their own understandings of course content through PowerPoint presentations, audio lecture narration, visual media, primary sources, and scholarly work.

Using VoiceThread to Enhance Presence

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Online Teaching & Learning Practices

VoiceThread has been in use at FIT since 2008. It was first brought to the attention of the History of Art Department by an adjunct faculty member who received FIT Faculty Development Grants and Awards funding. As part of the initial testing phase, I was deeply impressed with VoiceThread, its ease of use and the enthusiastic feedback from participating faculty. Since then, in my role as the coordinator of the FIT Center for Excellence in Teaching, I have developed and demonstrated creative uses for this tool and guided/trained faculty on its effective use for online, blended and conventional learning spaces. As part of our advocacy I’ve presented with numerous colleagues and collaborators on the effective use of VoiceThread at events and workshops outside of FIT.