Webinars & Recordings

NDLW: The UX / UI of an Online Course

Online courses and degree programs are becoming more and more prevalent in Higher Education. Quality Matters (QM) recommends online courses are structured and establish a social presence and interactions among students and the instructor. This requires a shift in instructional tactics from the instructor’s point of view where implementing these recommendations is often met with skepticism without consideration of the user experience’s online experience. This instructor resistance is detrimental to the quality of the online course design and, consequently to student learning outcomes. A correlation has been found between students’ grades and the resources accessed in online environments (Crampton et al., 2012, as cited in Redmond, P., et. al, 2018), as well as the emotional and intellectual investment made by students when studying online (Pittaway & Moss, 2014, as cited in Redmond, P., et. al, 2018). Consequently, the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design are crucial considerations in course design and pedagogy, especially when seeking to maximize the engagement of online students. The proposed topic demonstrates the importance in considering UX/UI in online course designs while using QM instructional methods of social presence, interactions, and structure. Considering the student experience can produce learning outcomes that can be as good as or better than traditional, face-to-face courses.

NDLW: Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success (#EmTechMOOC): experiences of student learners for course requirements

The State University of New York (SUNY) has launched “Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success” (#EmTechMOOC), an online learning opportunity to enhance 21st-century skills, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Through the MOOC, participants explore established and emerging technology tools for career and personal advancement. Students in both traditional and online courses have recently participated in the MOOC as a part of their required course activities. Learn how this usually voluntary learning opportunity has impacted students’ MOOC activities.

NDLW: What we did this summer: Our eight week journey to creating a fully on-line graduate engineering management program

In the summer of 2019, UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering launched an initiative to transform a traditional classroom based graduate program to a completely on-line environment. We will introduce our approach and emphasize the importance of effective leadership, school wide collaboration, and faculty engagement to create an innovative program for a diverse audience in such a short time. This talk will include perspectives from multiple individuals and roles involved in this initiative.

NDLW: Teaching Sensitive Topics Online

Understanding and addressing the challenges associated with teaching sensitive and/or distressing topics online, such as domestic and sexual violence. This presentation will focus on strategies to create safe online learning communities which encourage student engagement through and peer-to-peer and student-to-instructor interaction. Specific examples from online courses on family violence and diversity issues will be shared.

NDLW: Simulation & Gamification in Online Education

The use of digital games and simulations in online courses seems to assume a laggardly adoption rate reflecting the spread of knowledge about game-based learning as well as gamification in the context of higher education. This presentation addresses the following research questions to uncover knowledge and familiarity with gamification and simulations in an online education.

NDLW: Highlights from the ICDE World Conference on Online Learning

Join in for a live commentary from the 28th ICDE World Conference on Online Learning, taking place in Dublin. Phylise Banner will be bringing you highlights from the conference, with the theme of “Transforming Lives and Societies”. Join in to hear highlights from presentations focusing on contemporary problems and opportunities facing today’s educators in this globally connected digital era.

Innovations in Hybrid Learning: How to Engage Students and Promote Institutional Success

Hybrid programming introduces another dimension in teaching and engaging students. In this webinar for university leaders, innovators in the hybrid learning space will discuss how to leverage the hybrid classroom opportunity and navigate the challenges around making sure hybrid and online students feel engaged as individual learners and as part of the institution’s larger community.

NDLW: Sharing Stories from Buffalo to East Africa

Buffalo State’s Anne Frank Project (AFP) uses the power of stories to share valuable lessons in conflict management, community building and identity exploration. AFP trains teachers (locally, nationally and internationally) to utilize stories in their classrooms and schools–story-based learning. With strong partnerships in East Africa, AFP has successfully trained hundreds of teachers in Rwanda and Kenya. After establishing the work in person, the training continues weekly via virtual e-training, thus 90% of the training is accomplished through distance learning.

NDLW: Enhancing online and traditional classes using Zoom and VoiceThread

Team projects can be difficult in the classroom, especially when the room is too small and the furniture is not conducive to it. The challenges of teamwork, mobility issues, a desire to increase class community and to push students out of their “comfort zones” sparked using Zoom web conferencing, VoiceThread, Ensemble and Blackboard to transform all my classes, online and traditional, into blended delivery. In this session, I’ll share the mostly positive lessons learned.

NDLW: The Win-Win-Win Using the R2T (Ready to Teach) Model for Online Programs

Win-Win-Win: Using the R2T (Ready to Teach) Model to Build a Strong Online Program, Deliver Great Classes and to Help New Faculty to Teach Successfully Online

Fellow Chat: Excelsior OWL and ORC

The Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL) provides multimedia support to students preparing for college-level writing, as well as students making the transition out of introductory-level writing courses. The Online Reading Comprehension Lab (ORC) is the, first of its kind, online reading resource, which offers an abundance of support materials designed to help students develop college-level reading skills.

Fellow Chat: Group Work

Are your faculty interested in incorporating online group work into your course? Not sure where to start? Have any of your faculty already incorporated online group work and encountered challenges?

In this interactive session, Senior Instructional Designer, Theresa Gilliard-Cook, will discuss the current research regarding groups in online courses and what kinds of things you can suggest to your faculty when considering online group work. Based on the research, our experiences, ideas and challenges, we can add to these suggestions that may help your faculty and their students have a more positive and productive group work experience!

Fellow Chat: Best Practices for BYOD and Mobile

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies that encourage students to use their mobile phones in the classroom can offer a new level of curricular interactivity and engagement. In this webinar, Gina Sipley, introduces the philosophical framework for inviting mobile phones into the classroom and offer strategies for developing an effective web enhanced class.

SUNY Online Teaching: Interested in Teaching Online

Interested in Teaching Online? - an openly-licensed self-paced online course offered by SUNY Online that is free of charge and open now to any one interested in learning more about online teaching and learning. To access the course visit: https://online.suny.edu/interested/

Fellow Chat: Reducing Online Student Isolation

With more traditional students taking online degrees, the needs of online students are changing. Students are now looking for a fuller college experience beyond the usual links to campus resources and services. At the same time, institutions are struggling with the challenge to retain students in their online programs. Both traditional and nontraditional online students are more likely to drop out of their programs than their classroom counterparts due to feelings of isolation. To reduce isolation, campuses must use strategies that strengthen the connection online students have with their peers and their institution.

The Campus Life Model for Reducing Student Isolation is an innovative, cross-campus retention effort to increase the success and retention rate of online students by creating community and connected-ness in a virtual environment. SUNY Canton seeks to increase the retention rates of fully online students through a campus life model that will transform their online learning experience. Engagement strategies grounded in technology, innovation, and pedagogy, and mapped to the different dimensions of campus life (academic, social, and co-curricular) are shared.

OEW: SUNY Open Education Week Resources

A compilation of resources shared during OEW 2019.

NDLW: Program Design at Scale

SUNY Online Degrees at Scale campuses will talk about their experience in the program pilot relative to the following areas:

-design for large enrollment classes
-template course model
-accelerated courses and multiple entry terms
-collaborative course model
-use of TAs for large enrollment courses

NDLW: Distance Learning Leaders’ Response to COVID-19

Panelists will share their experiences with providing just-in-time training for faculty new to online and remote teaching and learning, creating customized checklists and Online SWAT teams to support faculty, engaging the voices of our learners, and more. SUNY Plattsburgh’s E-Learning Best Practices Handbook

NDLW: Coursera for Campus

Coursera for Campus provides SUNY students with access to a library of world-class learning experiences aligned with the needs of today’s leading companies. Additionally, professional development courses and course authoring tools are available for SUNY faculty and staff. This session will review what is available and the details of the Coursera & SUNY partnership.

NDLW: Integration of Human Intelligence Badging into Online General Education courses

This webinar will review the Doctoral work of Jennifer Naimark, who worked with Tony Contento on integrating and measuring soft skills awareness and student success at Colorado State University Global.

NDLW: Online Blackboard Community

Research shows online students seek a sense of connectedness to their institution as well as clear, easily accessible program resources. To meet these needs the SPH Online Community in Blackboard was created to provide fully online students at the University at Albany School of Public Health with relevant information to assist in navigating their programs as well as serving as a mechanism for connecting with classmates and staff. Categories such as “Meet the Staff”, “Student Services” and “New Student Orientation” allow our largely non-traditional students 24/7 access to relevant materials in one convenient location.

NDLW: SUNY Mental Health Initiative

As part a new plan to help address the uptick in mental health and wellness needs among college students due to the impact of COVID-19, SUNY has partnered with Thriving Campus to provide every student from SUNY’s colleges and universities with access to a network of more than 6,000 licensed mental health service providers. The mobile-friendly app, already utilized at two SUNY campuses, breaks down a number of crucial, often overlooked barriers that students frequently encounter in the process of reaching out for help. By streamlining and simplifying what can be a stressful and overwhelming process, and building synergy with local mental health providers, more students will be seamlessly connected with the specific help they need, when they need it.

NDLW: Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success (#EmTechMOOC)

The State University of New York (SUNY) has launched “Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success” (#EmTechMOOC) is an online learning opportunity to enhance 21st-century skills, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Participants in this free online learning opportunity explore established and emerging technology tools for career and personal advancement. Attend this session to learn how this voluntary learning opportunity has impacted learners from across the globe. Since January 2018, nearly 25,000 learners from across 150+ countries have participated to learn about the value and implications of using emerging technologies. Come to this session to learn about what’s new in #EmTechMOOC.

NDLW: COIL during COVID

COIL, or collaborative online international learning, is a “teaching and learning methodology…which fosters faculty and student interaction with peers abroad through co-taught multicultural online and blended learning environments emphasizing experiential student collaboration.” This presentation will discuss the way our collaboration (with students in Oswego, New York and Monterrey, Mexico) was conceived, created, and facilitated in the time of COVID.

NDLW: Using the Best Practices of Asynchronous Online Learning to Synchronous Online Learning

In response to the pandemic instructors were asked to engage in online learning that may have only taught face to face before. From the perspective of an instructional designer, who primarily works with “traditional” asynchronous online course work, the faculty relied on best practices from those online courses to create their synchronous online course. The best practices that we will be discussing will be universal design for learning and backwards design, as they both came to the forefront in designing the synchronous course work.