Friday, December 13, 2013

Institute update and infrastructure support


At the Institute meeting on Tuesday, December 10, we provided an update on recent strategic planning efforts regarding online/multimedia-enhanced education at Rose-Hulman.  We’ve formed a Rose-Hulman Online strategy team of faculty members, administrators, and technical staff to build a strong support infrastructure for teaching online courses (seminars, workshops, etc.), hybrid or “flipped” classes, and creating/using multimedia learning tools in face-to-face classes.  We’ve also identified a set of goals to be achieved by the end of June, 2014.  We’ve created a visual dashboard of our progress on these goals, which we’ll update periodically and post publicly via this blog.  The dashboard is viewable/downloadable here:


At the Institute meeting we didn’t have time to go into details about all of the issues that the strategy team is working on, but we’re basing our work largely on the outline suggested in “Infrastructure and Administrative Support for Online Programs,” by John Mayer and Amanda Barefield, Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 13(3), Fall 2010.   We’ve added a few things to the issues listed by these authors (examples include policies/practices regarding cyberbullying, teaching students in countries where internet access is controlled, merging good practices with our academic calendar).  However, we haven’t taken anything identified by these authors off of our list of ‘things to consider!’

If you’d like to learn more about the issues we are tackling, the original article we’re working from is available in pdf form, downloadable at:

The article is also viewable in a web browser at:

Wednesday, November 27, 2013


Faculty Online Readiness Tool, developed and hosted by Penn State University

Thinking about teaching online?  Take a few minutes and use the online tool linked at the end of this post!  This tool allows you to self-assess readiness to teach online by asking you to reflect on your skills in three categories:  Technical Competencies, Administrative Competencies, and Pedagogical Competencies.  Enter your name and email address on the first page to begin using the tool.

Items within the first category will appear on the left; click one box in each row that best describes your experience level with that particular item.  When all of the items for the first category are finished, click on the next long box below to open the next category.  When you are finished with all of the items in each category, click “Finished”. 

The tool will display your results on the screen, and you can scroll through them to briefly review – however, the type is small and the recommended online resources are not hyperlinked on these screens.  Fortunately, the tool will email you the same summary, in a readable font size and with hyperlinked resources!  The emailed, hyperlinked results are a valuable resource, for either individuals seeking to build their skills or people with extensive online teaching experience, seeking a brief refresher of best practices.
https://weblearning.psu.edu/FacultySelfAssessment/#

Tuesday, November 19, 2013



What changes are we likely to see in the near future of technology and learning in higher education?  Click through this link to view an excerpt from 'Lessons from the Virtual Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching,' by Rena M. Palloff & Keith Pratt, eds. Second Edition, via the 'Tomorrow's Professor' eNewsletter.  

A sample:  "Because the most effective way to achieve learning outcomes in the online classroom is by using active learning techniques, students are encouraged to become empowered learners.  Today's technologies promote the ability of learners to significantly contribute to and co-create their learning experiences.  More fully engaged, active learners are likely to bring new demands to the learning situation and will not be able to return to business as usual in subsequent learning situations, face-to-face or online."

Monday, November 11, 2013


On Tuesday, November 5, personnel from the Library, Continuing & Professional Studies, and the Learning & Technology group viewed a webinar on copyright law.  The webinar was given by Joseph Storch, Associate Counsel of the State University of New York, and offered through PaperClip Communications.  Storch summarized the “Fair Use” conditions under which copyrighted materials can be used without violating copyright law.  When determining whether material could be used fairly, one should consider:

1.  The purpose of the use – it should be for education (commercial or nonprofit),

2.  The nature of the copyrighted work – the more creative the work is, the greater degree of protection it enjoys,

3.  The amount and substantiality of the work – the more of the work that is used, the greater the degree of protection,

4.  The effect upon the potential market for the work – the more of a potential negative effect on the market, the greater the degree of protection.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013




If you have recently updated your Mac to the latest operating system OS X 10.9 Mavericks, please take a moment to ensure you can continue to create great videos with Camtasia for Mac by downloading our free update.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Rose-Hulman Sloan-C Institute Membership


Rose-Hulman is now an Institutional member of the Sloan Consortium, a well-respected international group dedicated to quality online education.  With this membership, any Rose-Hulman faculty or staff member can create a free account affiliated with Rose-Hulman at the Sloan-C website, and get access to research and publications, practitioner documents, the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, free webinars, discounts on conference attendance and more. 

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Microsoft Surface 2 debut: Pricing, specs, and other info









Microsoft is readying its next-generation Surface tablets and peripherals for launch on September 23. Here's what we know (and think we know) about what to expect.

Read More: Microsoft Surface 2

Humanizing Your Online Class

Google and edX Create a MOOC Site for the Rest of Us









Until now, massive open online courses have mostly reinforced existing hierarchies in higher education. MOOC providers have recruited elite institutions and offered them and their professors the opportunity to broadcast their courses to the world.

Continue reading:
Google and edX Create a MOOC Site