NRCC - Title III Grant

Questions or comments?

Summary | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5


	Course Development Professional Development

Year 4 (2004-2005)

Professional Development Activities

use the links to the left to change categories

Professional Development is a great way to take advantage of Title III funds. To apply for funds to attend an instructional technology focused training or conference check out the criteria for professional development and the Request for Professional Development Funds found in the Resources section of the site.

Blackboard Users Conference

Marsha Underwood and Adam Bryant attended the following sessions:

Blackboard Academic Suite Keynote Session
Supporting Multiple Teaching and Learning Styles with Blackboard Learning Suite
A Media-Rich Highly Interactive Online Speech Course
The Evolution of Blackboard at LSU

Academic Suite:
The principals of Blackboard, Matthew Pittinsky and Michael L. Chasen, shared their vision of creating a Networked Learning Environment (NLE). The new features of Blackboard 6 and subsequent application packs were introduced in depth, many of which emphasize their “Learn. Connect. Share” theme. Adaptive releases of interest contain a discussion board grading feature and the ability to embed discussion forums within content areas. The reporting/statistics features are also greatly enhanced and will report information on student progress and content item usage. The Content System will also allow instructors to manage and share information without duplication.

Additional insight was gained on the following issues either through session presentations or interaction with other Blackboard Administrators.

Learning Styles:
Blackboard advisors presented information that identified the need for different modes of delivery for students with a variety of learning styles. The presenters stressed that instructors need to identify how their student’s best relate to the particular subject matter prior to designing the delivery of the course material. This session reinforced our desire to create a student profile system that would help students to identify their unique learning styles. Knowing this information, students will be better able to seek out appropriate resources to meeting their learning needs.

Migration Issues:
Cory Hutchinson of Louisiana State University reviewed the evolution of Blackboard usage at his college. LSU will be migrating to version 6 during Summer 2005. Although none of LSU’s courses are fully online, Blackboard is widely used for online testing, community building, and content distribution. The question and answer period provided additional insight into the trials of motivating faculty to attend training.

Online Speech Course Delivery:
Dr. Mary Clerkin, Berkeley College, presented her online speech course. Various multimedia applications were utilized in the delivery of the course. The instructor tapes an introduction to the course, shares video clips of successful speeches, and requires students to present their speeches via webcams. Through this presentation, we saw an alternative but unacceptable solution to concerns of online speech courses. Students did not have a live audience when delivering their speeches, thus missing out on the face to face audience interaction and peer review opportunity. Upon further reflection, we feel that it would be feasible for students to videotape their speeches in front of a live audience of their composition and forward it to their instructor. The speech could then be encoded and posted online for other students to peer review.