Keeping Accessibility in Mind During the COVID-19 Conversion of Courses

March 24, 2020.Reading time 20 minutes.

quote from text in an image: It is much, much harder to retrofit accessibility onto existing educational materials than it is to get it right the first time.

We welcome today’s guest post from Cyndi Rowland, Executive Director of WebAIM (at Utah State University) which empowers organizations to make their web content accessible to people with disabilities. Cyndi gives us great and compassionate advice for teachers and faculty suddenly thrust into teaching with technologies. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Cyndi! — Russ […]

Support for Veterans Shown by Congress’ Quick Response to Preserve GI Benefits during COVID-19

March 23, 2020.Reading time 7 minutes.

The dynamic conversion of face-to-face courses to online format at post-secondary institutions nationwide due to the closing of campuses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic became a concern for our nation’s veterans who rely on GI Bill benefits. As we previously reported, institutions that provide GI Bill benefits to veterans for programs must follow a […]

GI Bill Guidance Provides Some Relief and Real Challenges for Veteran Students

March 17, 2020.Reading time 11 minutes.

***Updated 3/17/2020 2:50 PM MT time*** We are pleased to share that although the guidance we referenced in the article below was provided by the Veterans Administration (VA) on March 13, 2020, the VA rescinded this guidance. Senate Bill, S.3503, was introduced on March 16, 2020 and passed the same night. It is anticipated that […]

Accreditation, Continuity of Operations, and COVID-19

March 12, 2020.Reading time 11 minutes.

On March 5, 2020, the Department of Education issued guidance to institutions facing possible interruptions of study because of COVID-19. WCET’s Cheryl Dowd, Director of the WCET State Authorization Network, provided an overview of the guidance for WCET Frontiers. As of the morning of March 12th, a growing number of institutions, especially those on the […]

Evaluating Faculty Participation in Online Workshops

February 27, 2020.Reading time 9 minutes.

Example of a network analysis graph for the discussion-based workshop. Each circle represents a participant in the workshop, while the shaded groupings represent different sections of the workshop. Circles show how particpants are grouped in large circles. The lightly facilitated group is more dispersed and have lines drawn between participants showing how they interact. The Facilitated discussion forum is one tightly connected circle with more interaction.

Last week we welcomed Lynn Wahl, Instructional Designer for UNC Charlotte, to discuss how they used design thinking to create online faculty development workshops. In a continuation of the topic, Lynn joins us today to talk about how to assess a learning opportunity such as the online workshops to ensure they continue to engage attendees […]

Design Thinking for Faculty Pedagogy Training

February 21, 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

a circle graph showing the "innovation sweetspot." Three circles labelled "desirability, viability, feasibilty" all interlapping. The innovation sweetspot is right in the middle of the three other circles.

Have you heard of design thinking? This process is a non-linear, iterative process that focuses on understanding users and redefining problems to create innovative solutions and prototype said solutions to make them even better (interaction-design.org). We can use design thinking in a variety of arenas, not the least of which is to design courses. Today’s […]

Algorithms, Diversity, and Privacy: Better Data Practices to Create Greater Student Equity

January 30, 2020.Reading time 12 minutes.

A collage of images of 45 students facing the camera. The majority of the students are white, with minimal diversity.

Data is Everywhere Everything we do online or out in the world is collected as data and stored. This data is tracked and analyzed and used to inform predictions about the future. Data about our spending habits informs companies about strategies for Internet advertising. Data about our values and interests informs online dating websites. And […]

What do they still need to learn? The Impact of Smartphones on Curriculum

January 28, 2020.Reading time 10 minutes.

Hold on, let me finish up one thing on my phone. Okay, I’m finished! Now, onto our post. I don’t know about you, but it can be hard for me to put my smartphone down sometimes. This relatively small device has become a large part of my life. I not only keep in touch with […]

The Landscape of OER Policy and Practice in Texas

December 19, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

cover of the OER report reads open education resource s in Texas Higher Ed 2019

Welcome to Judith Sebesta, Executive Director of the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), who joins us with an update on the strategic planning process for the former Virtual College of Texas and to tell us about this year’s survey by DigiTex on Open Educational Resources (OER). Judith provides an overview of the survey […]

Three Keys to Opening the Door for OER

November 6, 2019.Reading time 12 minutes.

Today marks our the finale for our 2019 WOW Award series. The WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Awards honor member institutions and organizations that develop technology-based solutions to challenging educational needs. As we mentioned last week, we have three outstanding award winning initiatives this year: the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s OER Council, Granite State College, […]