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This workshop introduces participants to Quandary, an easy-to-use tool for creating sophisticated, interactive, decision-making mazes that actively involve students in their learning and encourage them to develop higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Participants will learn how to plan and build a pedagogically-sound maze – including text, images and audio - that can be adopted to any discipline. Participants will leave the workshop with a completed activity that incorporates their own materials and learning objectives and can be incorporated in their WebCT course. Intended Audience: Faculty, support staff, and designers. No specific WebCT knowledge is required, but participants should have solid computer skills. Facilitator(s): Date: 20 June 2006
This workshop introduces participants to a variety of easy-to-use tools — including Study Mate, Play Station, QuizGameMaster and Hot Potatoes — for creating interactive learning exercises (such as games, puzzles, and flash cards) that go beyond typical quiz and homework assignments. Participants will leave the workshop with complete, ready-to-use interactivities that incorporate their own course materials and learning objectives. The workshop will also explore a number of ways these activities can be incorporated within their WebCT courses to increase student interest and enhance learning. Intended Audience: Faculty, support staff, and designers. No specific WebCT knowledge is required, but participants should have solid computer skills. Facilitator(s): Date: 19 June 2006
Would you like your students to be able to access course content on the web quickly and with fewer complications? Then we have the workshop for you! In the first part of this workshop, participants will learn how to convert existing Microsoft Word and/or Power Point files to “clean and mean html” pages. Participants are welcome to bring any of their existing course content files in MS Word and/or Power Point format for the “hands-on” workshop component. In the second part of the workshop, the facilitators will give some recommendations to be used when creating html content from scratch. Intended Audience: Faculty, support staff, and designers. No specific WebCT knowledge is required, but participants should have solid computer skills. Facilitator(s): Date: 19 June 2006
This hands-on session will focus on the creation and manipulation of audio and video clips or samples using free MS Windows-based tools that are readily available over the Internet. Intended Audience: This session is intended for those with little or no knowledge of this area. Participants are encouraged to bring their ideas and to work with them during the session. Facilitator(s): Bob Kennedy, Senior Professional Development Specialist, E-Learning Services Team, U of Alberta, Canada Date: 20 June 2006
Today there is a greater emphasis on assessing student performance in more meaningful, realistic ways. Instead of traditional quizzing, techniques such as portfolio-style assessment, case studies, group projects, and qualitative discussions are used to measure learning. In this workshop, participants will learn to develop alternative assessment activities, including portfolios and grading rubrics, using the Assignment, Student Presentation, Discussion, and Chat tools. Working individually and in small groups, participants will develop specific strategies for their courses and create assessment aids to help grade student participation. Intended Audience: Instructional designers, faculty, and academic support staff with solid knowledge of WebCT. Facilitator(s): Date: 20 June 2006
This workshop will take you through the steps of creating digital audio content, and explain the technology to make your audio files available to your students and the rest of the world. We will look at current activities on the University of Alberta campus, and other DIY (do-it-yourself) solutions. Intended Audience: Faculty, support staff, and designers. No specific WebCT knowledge is required, but participants should have solid computer skills. Facilitator(s): Date: 19 June 2006
The integration of Tablet PCs with Elluminate and WebCT allows instructors to deliver dynamic content to students in multiple environments. Tablet PCs can be used as digital blackboards to generate dynamic, interactive images. Elluminate can be used to deliver and capture these images and the instructor’s commentary, and WebCT offers instructors the ability to deliver these recordings in a supported asynchronous environment. In this way, the core of three courses can be developed from one teaching session. The workshop session will focus on the individual technologies as well as their integration. Finally, the session will be model the practice as well as demonstrate it. Tablet PCs will be provided – for use during the workshop. Facilitator(s): Bob Clougherty, Director, Institute for Technological Scholarship, Tennessee Tech U, USA Date: 20 June 2006
WebCT Campus Edition 6 and Vista 4 offer a new technical infrastructure and state-of-the-art teaching and learning tools. Building a plan for this transition can help you ensure a successful deployment. Implementing any enterprise level application requires some degree of planning: ensuring the right resources are involved (human, technical, financial); organizing effort in key areas, and assessing readiness. This seminar will review these areas in detail and provide attendees with examples of implementation strategies and best practices. Facilitator(s): Scott Baily, WebCT, A Blackboard Company Date: 20 June 2006
The future of e-learning has never been so bright. Whether you are talking about the increased sophistication of Learning Management Systems like WebCT and Blackboard, the integration of new e-learning tools that range from wikis, blogs and personal learning landscapes through games and simulations to e-portfolios, or the advent of virtual classrooms and real-time collaboration environments like Elluminate, it is clear that we now have the potential to change all learning environments. However, it is not simply a matter of the technology but our approach to learning and high education. Panelists:
TBA Panelists:
Maisie and John have issued a call for interested conference participants to attend a Delegates’ Forum, the focus of which is to discuss how e-learning production, support and delivery are organized at various institutions. Since many institutions are currently involved in discussions of these issues, this forum should be of interest to a significant number of participants. Full details of this and the questions Maisie and John have articulated are listed below: Does your institution offer online credit courses and programs? If so how many?
Panelists:
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Institute of Technology and Red Deer College are all upgrading to CE6. This panel will explore their approaches to this migration, the issues they have faced and the methods they have used to ensure success of this upgrade. Panelists:
Active learning in a large class of students was found to be enhanced by the use of digital computer technology in addition to conventional lectures. Students enrolled in a large lecture-based undergraduate medical microbiology course were surveyed using questions related to their experience of various learning tools within the WebCT portion of the course. This course was supported by the use of WebCT Vista, which allowed greater interaction between the instructor and students as well as more opportunities for students to actively interact with the course material. Digital games, interactive case studies, on-line crosswords and quizzes were used to supplement posted handouts and case studies. All of these interactive strategies were considered excellent tools for active learning and exam review by the majority of students. 79.5% of students liked the WebCT technology, 18.7% were neutral and 1.8% were negative. 84% of students were positive about the interactive case studies on WebCT but only 41% liked the non-interactive cases posted on WebCT. The digital games/quizzes were used for exam review: the most popular were “Microbe Slayers” (an asynchronous multiplayer educational game), closely followed by Millionaire and the WebCT self-tests (multiple choice quizzes). When asked about why they liked the games the majority of the students opined that they made learning and studying fun and this helped them to remember the factual portions of the course. 85% of students stated that digital games increased their ease of learning. Presenter(s):
Research indicates that students who are actively involved in the learning process discover new ways to engage with the course content and develop high order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. In Health Sciences, simulations and case studies are often adopted to encourage students to explore possibilities, develop a deeper understanding of materials, and practice before encountering real clients and real situations. This is especially important when life, health, and safety are at risk. Creating effective online case study environments allows instructors to bring their material to life while offering students resources they can use repeatedly to apply learned concepts and develop skills for life long learning. To integrate active learning into a personal safety module developed for students preparing for their first home visit or reviewing for home visits, a team at the University of Alberta consisting of faculty members and a graduate student from the Faculty of Nursing and a member of the E-Learning Group in Academic Information and Communication Technologies (AICT) developed a sophisticated interactive maze using Quandary software. Throughout this interactive learning maze students are required to make the right choices in order to have a safe and successful outcome to the problem they face. Integrating text, images, and audio along with content review materials and self-tests creates a rich learning environment that can meet the needs of students with a variety of learning styles across four years of undergraduate study. The learning module is made conveniently accessible to students through their course Vista site. This work is a result of the ongoing collaborative research project by Skillen and Williams. In this session we will demonstrate our Home Visit Safety learning resource and share with participants the creative process used to develop our on-line, interactive decision-making maze as well as some very preliminary student feedback.Presenter(s):
In Fall 2005, the University of Alberta brought in a WebCT Solutions Architect to help analyze our course, template, and enrollment work flows. We wanted to streamline many of the manual procedures into more automated processes and needed to be adaptable to change from all sources of data. This session will cover our experiences, implementation so far, and how our strategies can help other institutions build solutions while coping with changes along the way. Presenter(s): Fletcher Nichol & Hardave Riar, Systems Administrators, E-Learning Services Team, AICT, U of Alberta, Canada
For the past two years, the U. of S has offered its Music 101 class entirely online. Although there are no prerequisites, this is a full three credit class which can be used to satisfy Fine Arts requirements in a number of different degree programs. It can also be used to satisfy entrance requirements to the B.Mus. program. The course uses the full range of webct resources as well as a music writing program, an ear training program, and a wide range of skill based flash drills designed by the University's Department of Media and Technology. The presentation will review briefly the design process, outlining the kinds of resources that the Department of Music had to allocate to this process, but will focus on the place of the teacher in the delivery of this class and on its pedagogical effectiveness. Presenter(s): Audrey Bayduza, Department of Music, U of Saskatchewan, Canada
Instructors expect senior-level students to research empirical literature, critically appraise found information, and write cogently using some conventional writing style. Few students receive direct training in these important information literacy skills, however, and experience a large and painful learning curve when they are assigned research and written work in senior level classes. Following a needs assessment with introductory psychology students, we developed a series of online information literacy tutorials and accompanying assignments to help students develop essential skills in searching for, reading, and writing about scientific research. We developed five tutorials on Web searching, critical appraisal of Web resources, searching an online library database, reading empirical research, and using American Psychological Association writing style. We integrated these tutorials into large introductory psychology classes; 4000 students complete these tutorials each year and we have adapted the tutorials for use in other faculties and post secondary institutions. We manage close to 12,000 assignments each year using WebCT Vista. In this presentation, we will showcase the tutorials, created in Macromedia Director, describe how we mark the accompanying assignments with a team of only 10 graduate students, and discuss procedures we have developed to ensure successful learning and assessment of information literacy skills that are increasingly important for our technological society.Presenter(s):
Developing courses for Web-CT always presents challenges. The challenge magnifies when trying to create a hands-on distance course in a subject that is, by its nature, environmentally interactive, problem focused and client centered. This presentation will address the creation of a 3-D virtual home that will be used for a course in Accessibility. The 3-D home will allow the student to enter the homes of clients without infringing on the privacy of the clients. The student will be able to move throughout the home and decide which areas are accessible for a given problematic scenario. They will be able to measure doorways, countertops, wall dimensions, and other physical characteristics of the home. Modifications will be identified by the student in order for the home to be fully accessible for their scenario. The project applies current Web-CT functions in ways not previously considered. It adapts computer based learning to the hands-on client based learning required in Occupational Therapy. By being able to go into a realistic virtual home, the students gain a real life experience without leaving the classroom and without interrupting the lives of clients. The 3-D virtual home may be useful as an instructional aide in many professions including architectural design and other healthcare professions. Presenter(s): Gail Amort-Larson, Distance Education Coordinator, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, U of Alberta, Canada
The WebCT Portfolio is a new, personal portfolio solution that allows students to collect and reflect on a wide array of learning experiences. Learners are at the center of the process, deciding what learning artifacts to include, how to present materials, and who gets access to different views of their portfolio. The WebCT Portfolio is a natural extension of the WebCT virtual course environment, and because it takes advantage of your existing WebCT infrastructure, it's easy for students and instructors to learn and for institutions to manage. Join Phil Chatterton, Senior Sales Engineer at WebCT to see how the WebCT Portfolio makes portfolio projects easy and successful. Presenter(s): Phil Chatterton, Senior Sales Engineer, WebCT, A Blackboard Company
Developing communities of practice at large research institutions can be challenging. At the University of Alberta an active and vibrant learning community of on-line support staff has emerged to connect professionals from across campus who had previously worked in isolation. The Online Program Support Group consists of staff in various faculties and departments whose role is to provide support or leadership for e-learning or online programming. The group was formed in a grassroots manner by staff who occasionally interacted in meetings related to technology and learning. They recognized that individual units on campus were likely “reinventing the wheel” in support and planning for e-learning. At the time there was no organized network on campus where the information, knowledge and experience gained by individuals doing this type of work could be shared. The Online Program Support Group arose to fill that gap and is committed to identifying and developing resources for campus-wide use and fostering collaboration across faculties and disciplines. It’s about connecting people. In this presentation we focus on linking this theoretical framework to our practical application of the concepts. This is a “how to” of an approach that has worked well in our environment and we believe is supported by the literature on communities of practice. A common characteristic of OPSG members is their use of WebCT and dedication to discovering new and exciting implementations for e-learning. The group uses a Vista site not only to connect members but also to provide them with a place to test out and share educational resources.Presenter(s):
Are you using WebCT? Are you inspiring others to use WebCT? Let’s share our experiences and look at WebCT with a fresh face and an open mind. The goal of this session is to provide a forum for sharing current best practices, as well as brainstorming andragogically sound opportunities for the future. This session will start with a guided discussion to share best practices, followed by an explanation of Keyano College’s innovative support tools and why they work for us. Time permitting, the audience will engage in a feedback session and offer suggestions on improving these tools. In keeping with the theme of the conference Learn, Teach, Inspire I will share my experience as an Instructional Support Technologist. Excited by what I learned at last year’s conference, I returned to my job and soon identified some barriers that were stopping me from effectively teaching WebCT to our staff. As such, I was inspired to develop a non-technical design process to teach and engage WebCT users. In this session you will learn about my success using Flowcharts, Quality Standards, Templates and Interactive Design Sessions to significantly improve WebCT courses. The development of these tools was inspired in part by Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Theory where he identifies the requirements necessary for new technology to become mainstream. “No matter what our role or experience, we’ve got a lot to learn about engaging people.” -Tom Crawford, Director of E-Learning, Root Learning Inc. Presenter(s): Stephanie Taylor, Instructional Support Technologist & WebCT Administrator, Keyano College, Canada
The objective is to create an opportunity for educators to take online, open-sourced learning to the next level by combining a huge variety of digital learning aids and putting them into one, simple and easy to use environment. Specifically, we propose to utilise Pachyderm as the primary learning aid. With increasing demand in online teaching and learning, lack of technical skills may limit instructors’ ability to deliver their course content. Using easy-to-use templates to quickly build interactive media rich presentations and integrating them into WebCT will foster a better learning and teaching environment. Using Pachyderm in conjunction with WebCT establishes a visual element for learning that benefits instructors in educating and students in learning.Presenter(s): Angela Lam, Instructional Support/Designer, Arts Instructional Support & Information Technology, U of British Columbia, Canada
This paper overviews the development and implementation of a department-wide blended learning strategy within a Business Department in a, Higher Education ESL Institution based in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. The presenter shares useful “change management” strategies that have been used to gain management support for the project and also outlines various successful methods used to involve Faculty, previously accustomed to a predominately teacher-led learning model, in the process. The paper then moves on to overview a WebCT-based, 5-element learning and teaching framework incorporating the “Learn”, “Teach”, “Assess”, “Communicate” and “Support” components and discusses the advantages it offers as an initial step in the move towards the integration of blended learning technologies within the historically traditional classroom environment. The presentation concludes with an update on the current progress of the project and offers recommendations to other Institutions wishing to embark on a similar blended learning strategy.Presenter(s): Beverley Day, WebCT Senior Certified Trainer, The Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates
Mathematics is a particularly suitable area for electronic learning. With present-day information technology it is possible to create interactive learning tools which “know” an impressive amount of mathematics, e.g. using the Maple TA system for delivering and automatically grading mathematical exercises. Learning success in mathematics crucially depends on access to teaching in the student’s own language, however. In a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society such as Canada’s, providing access to quality teaching can mean providing teachers with tools to help their students overcome language barriers, since no teacher can provide all possible translations by hand. However, fully automatic translation between different languages is not possible. The fundamental unsolved problem of providing automatic high-quality translations between languages is that of determining the meaning of a given text. In mathematics, translations must be guaranteed to be correct to be of any use. In order to attain the goal of providing high-quality mathematical teaching materials in many languages simultaneously, the Web Advanced Learning project (WebALT) side-steps this issue by creating tools that work in the opposite direction: tools for authoring semantically well-defined mathematical content, and for generating high-quality text in many languages from such content, e.g. for delivery through Blackboard or WebCT via Maple TA. Since creating such high-quality content is a significant task for a teacher, a repository for easily sharing such content is under construction. Currently, exercises in mathematics (in particular calculus and linear algebra problems for first-year students) are being developed as a particularly promising showcase for this innovative technology.Presenter(s):
We’ve all heard about the promise of learning objects, we’ve gotten excited and are now doing a lot of waiting. But rest assured that there are a some new developments in the world of knowledge repositories and the sharing of digital contents. This talk will provide brief glimpses into what we can expect in the near future. Presenter(s): Akil Pessoa, Team Lead Oracle Tech Support, AICT, U of Alberta, Canada
TBA Presenter(s): Roger Hanley, Director of Academic Strategies, Elluminate Inc.
Web 2.0 is a much-hyped conceptual revision of the web from a publishing orientation to a community-based model with many producers and many receivers. Information control is relinquished in favour of a cooperative and co-development approach. By inviting the community to participate at all stages the quality and quantity of content is improved without an increase in support resources. Brock University applied this approach to both its WebCT support and its distribution of public presentations and lectures, creating the WebCT Wiki to support the university’s LMS and the University Teaching Podcast to distribute the Centre’s speakers series. Presenter(s): Matt Clare, Educational Technologies Support Specialist, Brock U, Canada
TBA Presenter(s): Kevin Watts, Team Lead Network Operations, AICT, U of Alberta, Canada
Want to see a WebCT chapel, WebCT student lounge, WebCT preparation course, WebCT learning community, WebCT communication hub, WebCT learning object repository, WebCT rss feed, WebCT parents portal, f2f WebCT classroom portals, WebCT School Plus portals, WebCT grade level portals, WebCT division portals and WebCT 150 day calendar tool? This session will show you a selection of these developments - and more. If time permits, as a bonus we can talk about the Teaching and Developing Online blog, Blackboard and Webct Are One blog or a WebCT filemaker pro student tracking tool. Presenter(s): Darren Cannell, Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||