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Faculty Feature~
Elizabeth M. Hodge
Associate
Professor
Department of
Business & Information Technologies Education
Associate
Director for the Center for Scholarship in Education
College of
Education hodgee@ecu.edu
From the time I began
graduate school, I knew I was destined to be a distance education
professor. During my studies for my Master’s and Ph.D. I geared my
course work to understanding the principles of teaching in an online learning
environment. In fact it was here at East
Carolina University
in 1996 that I received my first dose of distance
education. At the time my master’s graduate assistantship included
working with Ivan Wallace and other professors from the BITE department
to provide online courses in Craven and Carteret counties. It was
during the assistantship that I realized the value of providing online
courses and the amount of students we could reach by offering the
flexibility of taking classes anywhere at any time. I considered my ECU
professors pioneers, and after pursuing my PhD at the University
of Florida I
returned to ECU. I’ve been teaching in the department since 2000.
Like many of you teaching at ECU, I’m
lucky to have a very supportive program that has allowed me to
integrate a variety of tools to deliver course material. You can find a
list of articles and resources on the instructional tools I integrate
on my website @ http://www.bite.ecu.edu/hodge/index.html.
It is difficult to highlight just a few, but the tools that I am most
passionate about are those centered on developing a social presence in
an online environment. Some of these include, virtual environments,
chroma key technology based modules, sms text messaging and
screencasts.
Areas of
Specialization
Distance Education,
Virtual Environments, Instructional Design, and Scholarship in
Research.
Courses Currently Teaching
BVTE 5388: Seminar in
Virtual Environments
BVTE 5389: Seminar in Web Site Development
Using Technology
to Teach DE Courses
I use a variety of technology to deliver
my DE courses. I have incorporated both Blackboard and Moodle as the
platform to manage my classes. The courses are designed to be consistent,
interactive and informative. What makes my classes unique is the
variety of styles incorporated in my modules to meet the diverse
learning styles of the students. My courses incorporate both
asynchronous and synchronous class sessions. So it is typical to find
podcast, screencasts, green screen tutorials, which are all
asynchronous combined with sessions that integrate centra, desktop
conferencing and Second Life class session, which are all synchronous
formats. In all my online
classes I have integrated Centra systems software which allows me to
conduct video chats with students. I upload a presentation or a file to
share and students can collaboratively work together on the document
while seeing and hearing one another. It truly creates an environment that
mimics group work that might take place in a student center or library.
What online students enjoy is the ability to see each other as well as
the professor. Another element that has received positive feedback from
students are the screencasts which include video narration to the
assignments students turn in.
Students in an online environment have enjoyed receiving video
feedback coupled with markups on the documents they submit. The video
narration provides cues to areas they can improve upon; it provides so
much more than a grade in the grade book. By providing a video
narration of what was right/wrong, it allows them to reflect on the
assignment, and make improvements on the next submission. Students also
seem to appreciate the sms text messaging I incorporate into the class.
When students have a question, they know that they can send me a text
message and are relieved when they receive a quick response. Unlike
email it is a great way to have a synchronous discussion when you are
not sitting at your computer.
My most recent
research addresses the use of virtual environments in education. During
the spring 2008 semester, I taught a course in Second Life. With
support from Academic Outreach I was able to build my classroom, office
and course objects. Also on the SL ECU Campus, we have the library,
Mendenhall and the Brody School of Medicine. The experience has truly
been positive. The ability to conduct class and meet with my students
in a classroom setting that mimics a traditional classroom has been phenomenal.
Furthermore the educational opportunities that exist in Second Life
have provided my students with the ability to immerse themselves in
different cultures, settings, museums as well as educational
simulations. The classroom environment has been a success as you are
able to create objects that contain scripts to access course content.
For example, my bookshelf contains several books that access course
material, assignments, tutorials and readings. It is an exciting time
to be a professor and I’m happy to share my experience and tools. Feel
free to contact me if you wish to discuss any of the technologies.
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Elisabetta’s Technology Tip:
Technology is an exciting
venue, as educators we tend to want to integrate new instructional
strategies as soon as they become available. My tip is to not rush in
and add the technology just because it is new, instead assess the
course material, the delivery method and the comfort level of students
who will be using the technology. If you do find that the technology
will add value to your course, be sure to provide the appropriate
support to students through tutorials and or demonstrations.
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Second Life ~ A 3D Virtual World
ECU has entered another
life! Second Life that is….the 3D virtual world which is gaining
popularity in the real world. Academic Outreach now has
space available for instructors that would like to use the virtual
world for classes, office hours, and research. If you are
interested in learning more about Second Life, please contact Sharon
Collins collinss@ecu.edu.
Join us as we develop our campus and make a community of distance
learners. By entering the virtual world, it is the first time
some students may ever “visit” the campus of ECU. We are excited
about the possibilities this new teaching dimension offers faculty and
their students.
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Global Academic Initiatives Award
East Carolina
University was honored at the
United Nations on Thursday, March 13, in recognition of its successful
efforts to internationalize education. ECU’s Global Academic
Initiatives program received Honorable Mention in the category of Best
Practices in International Education at the 2008 IIE Andrew Heiskell
Awards ceremony in New York
City.
ECU was one of eight institutions
worldwide to be recognized by the Institute of International Education
(IIE), the leader in international education exchange and development
training programs, for its success in forging international
partnerships with universities around the globe. On hand to accept the
award was Rosina Chia, assistant vice chancellor for Global Academic
Initiatives, and Jami Leibowitz, associate professor in the Department
of Anthropology.
The Global Academic Initiatives Program was created
in 2003 by Chia along with Elmer Poe, the associate vice chancellor for
academic outreach. Their goal was to provide an international
educational experience to students unable to travel abroad. Nationally,
only 4 percent of students study abroad and at ECU the percentage is
even lower.
Today, Global Understanding, a freshman-level
course offered through both international studies and anthropology,
utilizes ECU’s global classroom to give students firsthand
international experience without leaving campus. Currently ECU has 21
partner universities in 18 countries. The program also maintains
developing partnerships with six more countries, including Japan
and Brazil
. This year ECU will host representatives from
many of the program’s partner institutions at the first Global Partners
in Education conference May 19–22.
The
IIE Andrew Heiskell Awards were created in 2001 to promote and honor
the most outstanding initiatives in international higher education. The
IIE awards one winner, as well as honorable mentions, in the categories
of Study Abroad, Internationalizing the Campus, and International
Partnerships. ECU received its award at a ceremony at the UN as part of
IIE’s annual Best Practices Seminar.
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Quick Start to Online Teaching
~ July 10, 2008
Are you new to online
teaching? Do you want to learn more about the technologies
available to teach either face-to-face courses or DE courses? If
you answered yes, then you will want to come hear how some of our
ECU faculty are effectively using Blackboard, Camtasia,
Centra, Moodle, Second Life and more.
Please visit the website for
more
information or to register for the July 10th session. http://www.ecu.edu/academicoutreach/quickstart/
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April 2008
In This Issue
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1. Faculty Feature
2. Second Life- A 3D Virtual World
3. Global Initiatives Award
4. Quick Start To Online Teaching
5. Moodle
6. Sakai
7. Centra
8. Academic Integrity
9. DE Orientation Website
10. Contingency Plan -DE Courses
11. Technology Advancement
Center
12. Think-In 2008
13. D-ECU News
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Moodle @ ECU
Join the many Moodle users and become a
member of an exciting online learning community. Moodle is an open
source course management system designed using sound pedagogical
principles, to help educators create effective online learning
communities and is available for you to use. Discover a
new way to share and teach with your students and revamp your
current course. If you would like to teach with Moodle,
please contact Sharon Collins at collinss@ecu.edu. We have a staff that will assist
you in moving your content and teaching you how to use Moodle.
Sakai
Sakai
is an open source course management system that
supports teaching and learning, group collaboration, and research
collaboration. If you would like to teach a class or
host a project site in Sakai
, please contact
Ginny Sconiers at sconiersg@ecu.edu.
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Centra
Centra
webconferencing is the tool to use if you would like to collaborate
with your students on documents, web sites, and powerpoint
presentations. Faculty and students are able to use video and
audio to share ideas, which eliminates basic text chat.
Centra will also be upgraded to a version that provides a new
recording studio and future versions include starting meetings from
Outlook, Windows Live Messenger, and Microsoft Office. If you
would like to use Centra, contact Sharon Collins, collinss@ecu.edu, or John
Southworth, southworthj@ecu.edu.
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Academic
Integrity for DE Courses
Distance
Education courses, whether they are fully online or blended, pose
new challenges in the area of Academic Integrity. Presenting
students with guidelines or discussions concerning integrity
early in each course will go a long way in securing decisions which
will help develop ethical behavior and improve Academic
Integrity. An Academic Integrity web site for Distance
Education is now available at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/
academicoutreach/Integrity/.
This website contains information and strategies that
will help foster Academic Integrity within online and
blended courses.
Please direct questions or
comments to Ginny Sconiers at
sconiersg@ecu.edu or
Sherion Jackson at jacksonsh@ecu.edu.
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Distance Education Orientation Website - For Students
The DE Orientation will take you step-by-step through the
process of how to get started taking classes online. As you
work through the orientation, you will discover answers to
questions you may have such as: What is distance
education? Who is my advisor, and how do I contact
him/her? How do I access course material? How do I get an email
account and DE student card?
http://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/DE Orientation/index.cfm
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Contingency Plan - DE Courses
As with any technology,
Blackboard and other Internet based course delivery systems have
the potential for technical
problems. To prepare for
potential problems and/or downtime, we strongly advise all
instructors using Blackboard or other Internet based course
delivery systems to have a contingency plan when the technology is
not available. A contingency plan involves anticipating and
planning for an alternate delivery of course material and
communication when a service interruption occurs. Your
contingency plan should appear on your course syllabus or other
course documents so that students know their responsibilities and
what to expect in a downtime situation. You can find suggestions
to help develop your contingency plan at: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/learningplatforms/contingency.cfm Please direct questions to Ginny
Sconiers at sconiersg@ecu.edu.
Technology
Advancement Center
The TAC ( www.tac.ecu.edu) designs and implements new products, solutions
and applications for distance, mobile, and hybrid eLearning. Our alliance partners represent
corporations, universities, public schools, the military and
professional organizations. To discuss collaboration, moving your
innovative idea into action, contact: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/tac/index.cfm
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ECU
Think-In 2008
Think-In 2008 will be held in November.
This event will showcase faculty and how they utilize
technology to educate students in the classroom – in both
face-to-face and distance education courses. Presentations will be
made via “laptop” poster sessions and will include course
demonstrations. It’s not too early to start thinking about
submitting a proposal.
Visit
last years’ website for a video summary and a list of all
presentations.
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/academicoutreach/thinkin2007.cfm
D-ECU News
The latest
edition of D-ECU News, the newsletter emailed to
all DE students is available at: http://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/DEOrientation/Newsletter.cfm
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