Beginning another semester always draws our focus to the tools of teaching. Things like the syllabus, the text, our learning experiences, and the course learning objectives. Good learning outcomes are a helpful reminder for us and our students. I challenge students to use the daily learning objectives as a tool to measure their learning. Using Linda Nilson's suggestions in her book Creating Self-Regulated Learners (BRCC Library LB1060 .N55 2013) helps us to understand how we can facilitate life-long learning habits in our students. Inside Higher Ed has a good article today written by Cathy Davidson about learning outcomes and the path that a senior faculty members takes as she tries to understand (in her own words) "what we require, how we organize knowledge, how we facilitate learning and what we hope our students will gain from what they learn." It is a terrific starting point to help us decide what it is we will truly focus on during that precious class time (or synchronous instruction time in our elearning courses). As our students move through the material we teach, how will they themselves know when they have truly learned something? Ms. Davidson concludes the article with samples of what she has come to determine to be good learning objectives. One of her aspirational learning objectives is, "Form an appreciation of the importance of critical and creative thinking and problem-solving and use these to guide my future life and work." A good standard for all of us to use I think.

UNPACKING RELATIONSHIPS: INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT OUTCOMES
What is the relationship between instruction and student outcomes? We know that for students to persist, complete, and achieve success in college, the learning environment matters. Students need to feel integrated into academic and social culture, but integration is not enough. They must be engaged. The more engaged students are in learning environments, the more likely they are to complete, learn, and be satisfied. Further, student beliefs about their academic ability influence their success in education, and faculty interactions sit at the intersection of reinforcing or debunking student beliefs. Yet, the evidence-based practices that we know impact student outcomes and instruction, while widely documented as effective, are not widely used in practice. Read the full report here.

ANALYTICS JUST ONE OF THE TOP TECH TRENDS
Courses that educators can adapt any time based on student learning data. Hackers empowered by artificial intelligence. Augmented reality used in conjunction with campus maps. All of these technologies are on the horizon in 2017. This past year, higher education saw a boost in the use of technologies like predictive analytics, cloud, and augmented and virtual reality — and research indicates that these trends will only continue to rise. About 41 percent of higher ed IT leaders said their organizations will increase spending on tech in 2017, reports University Business in their trends and predictions report, “Outlook 2017.” You can view some of the analytics that can be used in your courses by attending the professional development session Using Analytics to Respond to Student Needs on Thursday, February 16 at 3:00 pm in the Center for Teaching+Learning Enhancement. Register now.

RUBRICS FOR CANVAS
Many of us are using rubrics in our courses to not only help us offer transparency in our assessment but to really guide a student to success. Now you can create rubrics outside of Canvas and import them into your courses. Here is a brief video explaining how to do it.

ASSIGNMENT DESIGN AFFECTS LEARNING
"We can more effectively shape learning outcomes if we start with objectives that force us to get specific about what we want students to know and be able to do. Most of us write objectives for the course approval processes and they appear on many of our syllabi, but are they front and center when we make assignment decisions? If not, we can come at this from the other direction. We can look at the products produced by the assignment to make some determinations about what and how students are learning. I can hear some being adamant that the better way to start is with objectives, and that may be right. I’d rather be adamant about all of us understanding the relationship between assignment design and the learning that results." That is just part of Dr. Maryellen Weimer's post about how the design of assignments affect student learning. Read more here.

DESIGNING ACCESSIBLE ELEARNING COURSES
Since we are migrating to Canvas as our new LMS, now is a great time to look at the design of your course material. Take a look at this free ebook. You will have to create an account first. There you will find a great explanation of what accessibility means in the e-learning setting. Course navigation is also discussed as well as the use of audio and video. Here is one of the tips from the ebook, "Make sure that every activity, object, and element in your course that conveys meaning is keyboard accessible. And just what does 'keyboard accessible' mean? It means you shouldn’t include any activities that require a mouse—such as drag-and-drop assessments and rollover effects. If visually impaired learners can’t use their keyboards to access content or an activity, they’ll miss it."

INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS
The excellent folks in our Academic Learning Center recently sent us some reminders about the services they offer for all of our students. As we enter the home stretch of the spring semester, it is a great time to make sure that your students are aware of all of the academic support available to them. For instance, Smarthinking is an online tutoring service that provides assistance 24/7. Our students can access it through their Blackboard account. If your students would rather work individually, the peer-tutor program in the ALC is the best option. The program was developed using the best research available and the ALC staff continue to update their strategies and intervention methods. If you are looking for more information on the ALC, visit the website or contact them at 216.8300.

MAKING PROMISES TO STUDENTS
Dr. Peter Filene says that there are two halves of the teaching/learning dialogue: aims and outcomes. Aims describe how you want to convey crucial aspects of your subject in lucid, interesting fashion. Outcomes describe how you want to change how your students think and feel, what he describes as the essence of learning. Dr. Filene says that faculty very often confuse outcomes with what they themselves will do rather than what they will ask of their students. He encourages us to think about outcomes as the promises we are making to our students. What will you ask them to understand and do? How will you (together) go about achieving these goals? What kind of assessment will you use to allow them and you to measure progress in learning? You can find more of Dr. Filene's wisdom in his book The Joy of Teaching: A practical guide for new college instructors (LB2331.F493).

NEW JOURNAL PROVIDES NEW OPPORTUNITY
Here is a great new opportunity for our eLearning faculty to publish their research findings. The inaugural issue of the Journal of Emerging Learning Design (ELDJ) was published in April. The ELDJ is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that provides a platform for academics and practitioners to explore emerging learning design theories, concepts, and issues and their implication at national and international levels.  An outgrowth of the annual Emerging Learning Design Conference, which makes its home at Montclair State University, the ELDJ invites scholarly communications in the emerging learning design field and will present best practices in design and implementation by offering articles that present, propose or review engaging and dynamic approaches to pedagogy and how technology can better enhance it.

RECRUITING AND RETAINING BLACK MEN
Marilyn L. Riley is still haunted by a teenager named Dante, who came reluctantly and angrily to her summer program for black men and ended up nearly walking away with five credits from Mesa Community College, in Arizona. The first few days, he slouched in his chair and glared at his instructor, his cap sideways, his pants sagging. "Sweetie, in my world, this isn't going to work," the petite adjunct professor and clinical psychologist, who is also black, told him. "You've got all this leadership potential, but no one's going to relate to you when you're looking like a thug." By the end of the summer session, she said, he was sitting up straight in his chair, was demonstrating critical-thinking skills, and was within striking distance of earning five college credits. But before that could happen, his mother packed up and moved the family to New Mexico, and he had to withdraw. Ms. Riley told that story at the annual meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges, in one of several sessions devoted to the challenges of recruiting and retaining black men. In another session, J. Luke Wood, an assistant professor of administration, rehabilitation, and post-secondary education at San Diego State University, described his research on black male students in community colleges. He visits community colleges to administer surveys and advise them on strategies for recruiting and retaining minority men. Mr. Wood said that faculty members tend to pay more attention to students who speak up in class and that many black men, in particular, lack the confidence to do so. In addition, "a lot of men are reluctant to ask for help because it makes them look weak," he said. "You have to be proactive in establishing relationships with these men."

IS A MOOC IN YOUR FUTURE
Community college leaders haven’t exactly jumped on the “disruption” bandwagon. That may be understandable given the popular narrative that digital innovation will replace faculty members and even entire colleges according to an Inside Higher Ed story. But the two-year sector’s wariness seems to be fading, if the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges is any indication. The conference featured many sessions on how budget-strapped colleges can use self-paced online courses and free digital content, such as massive open online courses, to boost efficiency and serve more students. The two-year sector is open to that idea, said Walter G. Bumphus, the association’s president and former BRCC Chancellor. Bumphus later told the meeting’s attendees that he and fellow leaders of the association talked with Khan backstage about possible collaborations, and discussed setting up a committee to consider how to use the academy’s material. “It’s going to be good for community colleges and good for AACC,” Bumphus said.