Portfolios are a very common tool used by many people as they enter into or advance in their career fields. As faculty at Ivy Tech you may wish to create a portfolio for your own promotion, or you may wish to have your students put together a portfolio as part of their coursework. Blackboard has a portfolio tool that can be used by both faculty and students and is accessible by individuals both inside and outside of Ivy Tech. Lacie Couzin, Director of Academic Affairs in Sellersburg, hosted a webinar in March titled ePortfolios for Faculty and Students. The webinar focused on:
identifying uses of eportfolios, both personal and professional
planning considerations while constructing a portfolio
reviewing existing portfolios
creating a sample Blackboard portfolio
sharing Blackboard portfolios with internal and external users
Banner and Campus Connect will be unavailable for system maintenance from 11 pm to midnight on Thursday, June 23rd.
The Interaction Desktop is undergoing an update. The functionality remains the same and the application should continue to remember your login credentials. Should you experience any issues please contact the helpdesk for assistance.
The summer semester lasts only 8-10 weeks, compared to the 16-week semesters in fall and summer. Because of the shortened schedule a 3-credit course may meet 6 or more hours per week. Keeping a student engaged for such a long period of time can be difficult! Here are some ideas for classroom engagement that may help keep your students focused and learning:
Toss around a ball for class discussions- have students toss the ball to the next student (make sure the students have the option to "pass" without penalty)
Switch places- have the students create the assignments and allow the instructor to demonstrate their knowledge
Group competitions- put students into groups have them solve problems together then compare their answers
Do some role playing- ask students to respond to a certain scenario as though they were a different person, encourage them to have a discussion with other students in different roles
Journal- writing about our learning, particularly in how it compares to our every-day lives, helps reinforce knowledge
Hands-on projects- our kinesthetic learners struggle especially with long classes so incorporate physical activities when possible
Faculty who are interested in teaching online may now sign up for IVYC110-SP!
Next week a new section of IVYC110-SP will be opening for those faculty who wish to begin the online certification process.
Please note that all faculty are required to complete BBRD101 prior to beginning IVYC110-SP. Also note that completing IVYC110-SP does not certify faculty to teach online, faculty must also complete IVYC110-IL in order to get an online teaching assignment.
Tutor.com usage reports were released for the month of May. Kokomo reported a sharp increase in Tutor.com usage with 15 students served during the week classes were in session, compared to 38 during the month of April.Lafayette reported 50 students served by Tutor.com (down from 286 in April).
Thank you to everyone who continues to promote the use of this great tool!
Systems Information
Blackboard experienced issues on Monday, June 6th from approximately 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm. During this time users attempting to log in received a message stating that their login information was incorrect. It appears that anyone who was already logged in when the error occurred was able to continue working within the system.
Ivy Tech phone systems will be taken offline on Saturday, June 18th for maintenance. Users will not be able to call in or out via the Ivy Tech phone systems between 2 pm and 8 pm on Saturday, June 18th.
The Distance Education blog
has up-to-date information about system maintenance, training
opportunities, unplanned outages, special tips, etc. Please subscribe in
the box to the right so you can receive the weekly posts by e-mail!
GoToMeeting is available for free for any current faculty or staff member at Ivy Tech. To set up your account:
Log in to Blackboard
Click on the "Click for Help" tab
Scroll down to the "Citrix GoToMeeting" module on the left side of the screen
Follow the instructions in that box to request your account
Account set up takes approximately 24-48 hours.
Tips for Your Students
As
we continue to integrate Blackboard into more of our courses, your
students may have questions about how the system works. Fortunately we
have a great website that can help get them up and running! Please
encourage your students to check out the Online Education website, even if they've taken a class online or used Blackboard before they can get a quick refresher! http://bit.ly/ivytechonline We have had great feedback from students on the new Tutor.com services. Students can access those free services from the home page in Blackboard. Assistance is available for many
courses and the tutors will help students with homework assignments,
help students review papers and study for tests, and much more! Tutor.com use is currently limited to 15 hours per semester per student, however if the need arises additional hours may be requested.
Lafayette
region has the second highest Tutor.com usage in the state! 97% of
students who used Tutor.com said they felt it helped them improve their
grades and helped them be more confident about their school work. 98% of
students reported that they were glad Ivy Tech offers this service.
Please encourage your students to take advantage of this free service!
Systems Information
The
first three chapters of most titles are available in digital format for
the students. Please ensure that the book for your course is available
through the website before sharing this information with your students.
McGraw-Hill Titles - http://www.mhlearningsolutions.com/ivy_tech/ Username: student Password: student123 Choose the Department from the department drop-down and the course number from the course drop-down and then click search
Portfolios are a very common tool used by many people as they enter into or advance in their career fields. As faculty at Ivy Tech you may wish to create a portfolio for your own promotion, or you may wish to have your students put together a portfolio as part of their coursework.
