October – 2018 – St. Thomas E-Learning And Research
Monthly Archives

October 2018

Future of Higher Education

STELAR Staff Sharing Their Expertise at International Conferences

Educause is the largest community of technology, academic, industry, and campus leaders advancing higher education through the use of IT.  The Educause annual conference gathers people from around the world to share ideas and discover solutions to today’s challenges.

Creating the STELAR Experience:  University Center’s Impact on Educational Transformation.
Brett Coup, Associate Vice President for Academic Technology (St. Thomas eLearning and Research- STELAR)
Peter Weinhold, Director of Academic Technology (STELAR)

Delivering Course Materials Inside the LMS:  An ITS and Libraries Partnership
Greg Argo, Associate Director for Access & Digital Services (St. Thomas Libraries)
Trent Brager, Education and Social Sciences Librarian (St. Thomas Libraries)
Glori Hinck, Instructional Designer and Research Manager (STELAR)

 

OLC Accelerate is the premier global gathering covering the field of online learning in higher education.  The conference is devoted to driving quality online learning, advancing best practice guidance, and accelerating innovation in learning for academic leaders, educators, administrators, online learning professionals, and organizations around the world.

Development of an Online Student Orientation: Supporting Success in the Digital Environment
Jo Montie, Online Learning Support Systems Manager (STELAR)

Hyflex Course Delivery: Learner Choice, Equivalency, Reusability, Accessibility
Glori Hinck, Instructional Designer and Research Manager (STELAR)

Town Hall:  Professional Development and Support
Glori Hinck, Instructional Designer and Research Manager (STELAR)

Stay tuned for highlights from these conferences in a future post!

This post was written by Glori Hinck, an Instructional Designer for the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.  To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu.

Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks, Canvas: Did you know...?

What’s All the Hype About Modules?

Since the university moved from Blackboard to Canvas, we’ve heard a lot about Modules: “Build your content in modules; don’t forget to publish your modules; I never had to use modules in Blackboard, they’re too confusing.”  So, what’s all the hype about modules anyway?

True, Blackboard didn’t use modules. That’s one of the main paradigm shifts we encounter when moving to Canvas. Instead of creating menu items and folders as you did in Blackboard, Canvas has you assemble and display content items in Modules. But once we wrap our heads around the modules concept, we can see they’re pretty powerful.

To better understand the idea behind modules, picture a scrumptious spread of holiday food set out on the dining table. The items on the table really come from other locations: the kitchen, the cupboard, the refrigerator, or pantry; but they are assembled and displayed on the table for the benefit and consumption of our guests.  So it is with Modules. Content items like files, assignments, discussions, and pages really live elsewhere in the course site, but we intentionally assemble and display them in modules so there’s a logical sequence that walks the student through the learning process.

One of the powerful features behind modules is that you can set requirements for viewing or completing the items inside a module, or specify the sequence in which they will be completed. By setting module requirements, you can release individual items based on certain criteria met on previous items. You can also control the visibility of module items or an entire module through the Publishing function.

Modules really help us assemble content in logical, sequential ways, allowing us to display various content pieces, whether it be an assignment, a page of instructions, a file, and so on. The flexibility and capability of modules make them a great feature in the Canvas learning management system.

For more information on the power of modules, check out these guides and videos.

 

This post was written by Michael Wilder, an Instructional Designer for the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu.

STELAR Events

Introducing the STELAR Scoop

Have you seen this sign around campus?

Flyer about the STELAR Scoop Events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe you’ve seen this banner on OneStThomas or other websites.

Flyer about the STELAR Scoop Events

Either way, we want you to know that STELAR is starting a brand new series of round-table discussions called the STELAR Scoop! Faculty and Staff, feel free to stop by STELAR St. Paul (LIB LL20) on Wednesdays from 3:00-3:45pm to “get the scoop” about the latest trends in educational technology and pedagogy. Oh, and also stop by for the free ice cream!

These sessions are very informal, so feel free to come late or leave early as needed.

Sessions begin on Wednesday, October 10, 2018.

This post was written by Karin Brown, an Instructional Designer for the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu.