Over the winter break, ITS upgraded Laulima to version 12.5. For a brief summary of changes, click here. For a comprehensive list of changes, refer to this document compiled and shared by the CELTT team at Kapiolani CC.
Author: rinake
Tech It Out Day 2018
We kicked off the fall 2018 semester on Monday, August 13 with Tech It Out Day, a free half-day event to explore how technology can enhance teaching and learning in the classroom and online. There were four tracks of four, 30-minute hands-on sessions with about 60 faculty and staff participating. It was also a time to reconnect with each other after the summer break and enjoy some tasty snacks and manapua!
Sessions were facilitated by the EMC Educational Technologists and Leeward CC instructors. Topics included:
- using Google Team Drive for collaboration
- engaging students with reading resources
- augmenting reality
- promoting student engagement with Pear Deck
- creating interactive content for knowledge checks using H5P
- using Zoom for synchronous web conferencing to interact with students online
- blogging
- using Google Sites for weekly modules and committee websites
- giving video feedback to students through screencasting
- and more!
Visit the Tech It Out Day website for more information, resources, and photos.
Participants commented:
I participate in tech it out day to see how others are using technology in their classrooms trying to visit those presentations that I think might possibly be useful in my teaching.
I liked the fact that the sessions covered online feedback; in class activity interaction; creating videos for students and creating websites.
I really enjoyed the sessions. The length of the sessions were perfect to get just enough to decide whether you need more assistance. Most of the sessions had a hands-on component that was really helpful. Thank you!
Thank you for having Tech it Out day! It’s really amazing to find out what’s out there to make life easier for people.
Mahalo to our facilitators, participants, and the Leeward Staff Development Funds. We hope you join us at next year’s Tech It Out Day… maybe even as a facilitator! The call for proposals will be emailed in March 2019.
Highlights from the “Course by Design” track at PRLS 2018
At this year’s annual Pacific Region Learning Summit (PRLS) at Leeward CC on May 14 to 18, Brent and I facilitated an updated version of our “Course by Design” workshop series from the one we offered last summer. Joining us this summer were:
- Heather McCafferty – Math and Sciences, Leeward CC
- Benjamin Zenk – Philosophy, Hawaii CC
- Amy Shiroma – Hospitality & Tourism Education, Kapiolani CC
- Don Maruyama – Culinary Arts, Leeward CC
- Robert Oshita – Digital Media, Leeward CC
- Sandro Jube – Human Anatomy & Physiology, Leeward CC
Using our updated four-step course design process for in-person classes, we guided instructors through systematically organizing and structuring their courses by aligning their course outcomes with appropriate learning activities. The four-step process consists of:
- Identifying student learning outcomes.
- Creating specific learning objectives.
- Creating activities to meet the learning objectives.
- Building your lessons on a website.
Participants used a planning worksheet (Google Doc) that guided them through each of the four steps. New to the process is mapping alignment of outcomes, objectives, and activities which greatly helped instructors to see all the pieces and how they relate to each other. Once they had everything mapped out, they started to build their lesson modules using our Google Sites template for a quick-start.
The goal was to go through at least one cycle of the course design process to create one lesson module. Then you would repeat the process to create the rest of your lesson modules.
Participants who created at least one lesson module using the four-step course design process earned the “Course Designer Creator” badge of achievement that can be used as evidence in contract renewal/tenure/promotion dossiers.
At the end of the week, participants said the following:
Attending the “Course by Design” workshop was a great opportunity to reflect back at the course that I teach and implement new ideas and concepts to keep my students engaged and motivated. I will certainly implement if not all, at least some of the activities that I envisioned during the PRLS, and I am glad that we discussed about the development of rubrics to assist with the process of scoring the activities.
I’ve gotten a chance to look more closely at how my course activities align with my learning outcomes, and this has allowed me to cut a few unnecessary lessons and replace them with others that align.
Course by Design helped clarify the alignment of course level outcomes with modules and activities. It opened my mind to new connections, and I hope to take this knowledge and use it to re-work my class to improve the overall experience for the student.
We look forward to checking in with our participants and seeing what they create and how implementation goes!
Our Future is Open Access
A poem written by Ann Inoshita, Instructor of English at Leeward CC.
We must break the limits of the past
and construct new methods to collect and access
the contributions of all.
We must find answers at a faster rate
and unite our efforts to create breakthroughs.
We must participate in a free exchange of ideas
unbarred by bias.
We must embrace diversity as a strength
and realize that humility opens our minds to possibilities.
Problems have evolved and our minds must evolve
to support new ways to communicate and collect solutions.
Access to shared ideas is necessary
to learn and discover
beyond what we think is possible.
Ann Inoshita shares her poem, “Our Future is Open Access.”
Kelsie’s OER Journey Continues
The following is a special guest blog post by: Kelsie Aguilera, Instructor of Anthropology, OER committee member, and graduate of the Go Open, Go Free Using OER workshop series.
During the fall semester of 2016, I first shared with you my Open Educational Resources (OER) journey through a special guest blog post. I now wish to update you because some things have changed!
But, what has not changed is my support for OER and the global Open Education movement OER are a component of. There are so many barriers and challenges that our students face on their paths to academic and career success; purchasing an expensive textbook no longer has to be one of them. I now advocate for OER by serving on our campus OER committee along with serving on the Awareness subcommittee. Through my OER committee work, I am grateful for the many opportunities I have been given to share my experiences with OER to our campus and the community, such as being a guest speaker for the Go Open, Go Free Using OER track at the Pacific Region Learning Summit.
After taking the incredibly enriching Go Open, Go Free Using OER workshop series in 2016 and launching two of my courses as “$0 Textbook Cost” soon after, the response I have received from students has been overwhelmingly positive. I have received countless words of gratitude and thanks about going “$0 Textbook Cost” from students and no major critiques. In stark comparison, I used to receive countless complaints about the traditional textbook I used to assign. Furthermore, my success rates have increased since the switch. Although I cannot confidently attribute the increase to my adoption of free resources, many of which are OER, I like to believe that my efforts have made a positive impact.
Ultimately, I wanted to impart a note of encouragement to you. When I first heard about OER in 2013, I immediately became frustrated because I couldn’t find any suitable OER for anthropology. Thus, I abandoned the project until I took the Go Open, Go Free Using OER workshop series, which gave me the confidence and resources I need to take the leap. New OER materials are steadily being created and added to the movement. For example, an organization I am involved with, the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (SACC), recently released the first peer-reviewed, open access textbook for cultural anthropology called Perspectives: An open invitation to cultural anthropology.
Movements elicit change as the result of the participation of its supporters, so you can contribute to the OER movement too. I am doing my part; I am currently working with a dedicated group of SACC members to produce and edit an OER introductory biological anthropology textbook, which will be the first of its kind. If OER doesn’t work for you at the moment, don’t indefinitely rule it out. The movement keeps growing and evolving, and you can contribute to it, too, so that you can make OER work for you.
Why OER Was Appealing for Me
The following is a special guest blog post by: Lois-Lynn Deuel, Instructor of Psychology at Leeward CC.
My path to using Open Educational Resources (OER) was not a hasty one. When I taught my first college course 25 years ago, I dutifully selected a well-known textbook for the spine of my course, promptly employed all of the publisher’s bells and whistles and creatively developed colorful PowerPoint presentations to organize my in-class lectures and facilitate student note-taking.
As my experience and expertise increased, a lot of things changed in my instructional style. I started incorporating more active learning activities, stopped using the “death by PowerPoint” approach and adopted a number of flipped classroom techniques. Most importantly, I began a slow drift away from using the textbook as the foundation in my courses.
Why was OER appealing to me?
- Each semester, more and more students were not purchasing the textbook, purchasing a really old edition, using a “similar textbook,” or depending on the University of Google. I found the potential of increased access for ALL students to be very appealing.
- In a similar vein, access from DAY ONE and continued access long after the course has ended (something that is not possible if students have rented or resold their textbooks) gives students a substantive and permanent resource.
- I wasn’t making use of the entire textbook. Each year, I would “require” fewer pages to be read and leave some chapters as “optional reading.”
- I was using an increased number of supplements to address shortcomings in the textbook, e.g., short YouTube videos that succinctly explained course concepts, popular literature with meaningful examples, clips from movies, TV shows and the news.
- Even with new editions every few years—the information in textbooks was immediately out-of-date. I was making corrections “on the fly,” and sharing stories about cutting-edge research that was YEARS from making it into a textbook.
Last year, I participated in the OER Workshop offered through PRLS. My initial intention was to increase my technical knowledge and learn about more scholarly resources that I could systematically use to beef up the supplementary materials for my courses—like an “OER Lite” to accompany the textbook. As the week progressed, I decided that an OER text along with my existing supplementary materials might be an option. It would certainly save my students money.
Unfortunately, the next thing I came to realize during the PRLS week was that there were no existing OER texts for Developmental Psychology. If I wanted something better for my students (i.e., higher quality, up-to-date, more relevant, better explanations and examples, more efficient or concentrated learning), I was going to have to make it myself—an OER mash-up using hundreds of different resources.
The PRLS workshop on OER gave me the confidence to try (WARNING: Junie, Wayde, and Leanne are really sweet, helpful and persuasive!). So, I decided to take the plunge.
A Student’s Perspective on OER and Textbook Cost: $0
The following is a special guest blog post by: Kimo Burgess, Leeward CC student, Student Government Senator Fall 2017 – Spring 2018.
There are many benefits when it comes to taking OER or $0 cost textbook courses. When I first entered Leeward Community College several semesters ago, I didn’t realize how outrageously expensive textbooks could actually be. I thought textbooks would generally cost around $20 to $30, but I was flabbergasted to realize that textbooks can cost up to $150 and above. Having to pay for books in addition to tuition is ridiculous. As an average college student, I have to pay for a bus pass that is priced at $250 a semester and tuition that is $2500 every year. The most I have spent on textbooks during one semester was $500. That $500 can be better spent on transportation and even alleviate the cost of living.
OER and $0 cost textbook courses offer many benefits such as financial and academic freedom, the unburden of carrying heavy textbooks, and not having to worry about whether it’s in stock at the bookstore or on Amazon. Though there are benefits with $0 cost textbooks and OER courses, access to computers or an online device can be difficult for some.
When I entered an OER course during my second semester at Leeward Community College, I felt liberated not having to carry a heavy textbook with me every time. It’s efficient and cheaper for professors to go OER. It can be irksome for both the professor and the students if they need a required reading/textbook that can be possibly out of stock in the bookstore or even unavailable at the library. Having Ebooks (electronic books) introduced as course material can make school life a lot more simple and sustainable, too. Ask yourself this question, “Why would I need to buy an expensive book when I can just read it for free?” I hope in the future that Leeward Community College offers more OER courses because it makes college life and work a whole lot easier.
Here are some statistics on Leeward’s Textbook Cost: $0 courses for Spring 2018. Let’s help more of our students, like Kimo, by offering more textbook cost: $0 courses!
UH System Open Education Week Activities
In the spirit of Open Education Week, UH Manoa is hosting some wonderful events. Check them out on their website. If you are available, you are encouraged to register for the various sessions that are taking place on Thursday, March 8 at the Manoa campus. Here is the link to the livestream channel on YouTube if you wish to view the sessions on that day. Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani (University Teaching Fellow in Open Studies and a Psychology Professor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, B.C., Canada) will be the keynote speaker and will also be conducting a hands-on workshop about strategies and resources to redesign course assignments.
In the afternoon at 2:30, our own Wayde Oshiro, Head Librarian, will be part of the closing session that highlights the potential for OER to improve outcomes and the learning experiences for UH system students.
In addition, UH West Oahu will be celebrating Open Education Week with the following workshop on Tuesday, March 6 from 1 – 2 pm.
OER: Affordable Course Content
Dr. Gloria Niles and Dr. Tom Scheiding
Location: E109
Open Educational Resources (OER) are sources of information that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Learn how OER is being implemented at UHWO and across the UH System.
Both the UH Manoa and UH West Oahu sessions will be recorded and we will be posting recording at a later date.
It’s Open Education Week 2018!
Join the Leeward CC OER Committee in celebrating Open Education Week, starting today, March 5th until March 9th! This week, you’ll receive a special daily email to inform you about topics in open education, particularly those related to our campus about Open Educational Resources (OER) and textbook cost $0.
Open education encompasses resources, tools and practices that employ a framework of open sharing to improve educational access and effectiveness worldwide.
The idea of free and open sharing in education is not new. In fact, sharing is probably the most basic characteristic of education: education is sharing knowledge, insights and information with others, upon which new knowledge, skills, ideas and understanding can be built.
Open is key; open allows not just access, but the freedom to modify and use materials, information and networks so education can be personalized to individual users or woven together in new ways for diverse audiences, large and small.
– from Open Education Week at https://www.openeducationweek.org/page/what-is-open-education
To start the week off, we compiled a few articles and resources to introduce you to Open Educational Resources (OER).
OER Myths
These are some common myths about OER:
- OER are just free resources
- There’s no such thing as a free resource
- OER course labels punish faculty who haven’t adopted open resources
- Publishers are going to fight this
- The bookstore is going to fight this
Read why these are myths here.
OER Textbooks for Your Course
One way to start using OER is to find an OER textbook. Curious if there’s one for your course? Check out Leeward’s OER LibGuide for OER textbooks. On the OER LibGuide you’ll also find a lot of useful information and resources.
What are you waiting for?
In this funny short video, OpenStax, a non-profit company that creates peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks, shares reasons for why you should use OpenStax.
Leeward OER Spring 2018 Update
Here’s a quick re-cap on what’s happening with Open Educational Resources (OER) at Leeward CC.
Open Textbook Network
The Open Textbook Network (OTN) is an alliance of over 600 higher education institutions promoting access, affordability, and student success through the use of open textbooks. OTN maintains the Open Textbook Library, a collection of 453 peer-reviewed open textbooks. The UHCC system recently joined this growing community of open education advocates. Our membership allows UHCC OER advocates to participate in discussions with regional and national leaders, share best practices with other members, and tap into the collective expertise of the network. A highlight this year is an upcoming visit by two presenters from OTN coinciding with HSSI, March 28-29. A presentation is planned for Day 1 and a train-the-trainer workshop on Day 2. The all-day workshop at Honolulu CC is for individuals who will return to their home campuses as open textbook advocates and provide faculty with training opportunities. We are excited to participate in this network and share our successes with colleagues around the U.S.
Spring 2018 Textbook Cost: $0
Preliminary, we now have 273 sections at Leeward that are “textbook cost: $0” leading to a savings of $459,826 and a total savings to-date of $2,087,575. “Textbook cost: $0” “is a designation for a class that does not require students to purchase any course materials out-of-pocket. Classes may use a variety of Open Educational Resources (OERs), online resources, library resources, and faculty-authored materials to replace commercially-produced textbooks” (Go Open, Go Free).
“Go Open, Go Free Using OER” Spring 2018 Workshop
Are you interested in OER or going OER? Register today for the upcoming workshop series from February 13 to March 20 at 1:00 PM -2:30 PM. In this six-week workshop series, participants will learn about no-cost and Open Educational Resources (OER) which have the potential to replace costly commercial textbooks and other course materials.
Workshop Objectives:
- Articulating the value of OER in higher education
- Defining OER
- Distinguishing between openly licensed, public domain, and copyrighted materials
- Finding OER in your subject area
- Evaluating OER
- Understanding the differences in Creative Commons license types
- Combining different types of Creative Commons licensed materials
- Adding a Creative Commons license to your own work
- Giving proper attributions to OER