WORKSHOP COUNTDOWN NOW AT 2 DAYS
Where will you be at 3:00 PM on Thursday, February 28? Hopefully you will be joining most of your fellow faculty members for Dr. Barbara Millis' workshop "A Learning-Centered Approach to Teaching that Fosters Retention." Registration is still open and although more than 80 people have registered the Bonne Sante Wellness Center gym provides us with room for the rest of you. Participation in the two hour workshop will provide you with two faculty development service points but more important is the knowledge you will gain. This workshop promises to expand your teaching toolkit and provide you with the confidence to explore new teaching techniques. This event is part of the Teaching+Learning Center's distinguished speaker’s series.

HOW DO YOU LEARN?
Empathy is a good quality to have if you want to be an effective and influential teacher. Our passion for helping others learn may become dimmed by the many challenges we face in our classrooms (whether in buildings or virtually). That is where the learning styles perspective can play a part. While the debate continues over the need for more empirical research, the fact remains that students do tend to learn better when the experience ignites their brain. That ignition is often caused by triggers that help them connect to previous learning and stored knowledge. Lynne Celli Sarasin tells us in Learning Style Perspectives: Impact in the Classroom (LB1060.S27) that "before instructors try to understand and accommodate their students learning styles, they need to understand their own learning style. Because we naturally tend to teach in ways that are consistent with how we learn or may even emulate a favorite teacher, we do have specific techniques that allow us to process information." Sarasin offers a number of short exercises to help you identify your preferences.

TEACHING AS SCHOLARSHIP
Ken Bain, in his book What the Best College Teachers Do (LB2331.B34), says that "teaching must be judged using a learning perspective. Institutions must rate the quality of teaching, both so they can help people improve and ultimately so they can keep the best teachers." He reminds us that "an evaluation is an informed attempt to answer important questions that require difficult decisions and can't be reduced to a formula." He states that the "quality of learning objectives" are important and the teachers "contribution to student learning" is what matters. He urges us to think about teaching "as a serious intellectual act, a kind of scholarship, a creation, complete with evidence" that the teacher is "fostering achievement and learning."

FOOD FOR LEARNING
Edward Nuhfer, Director of Faculty Development at California State University at Channel Islands, tells us that tryptophan is an important brain amino acid that is converted into useful brain chemicals such as melatonin. A deficiency of tryptophan reduces the chemicals that aid with restful sound sleep. As age reduces the body's ability to produce melatonin, tryptophan's role becomes increasingly important. Fowl is a source of tryptophan, so a chicken or turkey sandwich for lunch may cause drowsiness in afternoon classes. Because tryptophan is a nutrient that aids in sound sleep, sources of it are best taken at day's end. Tryptophan taken in before classes or before quiet study can cause problems for many of us and that is useful information you can share with your students. In addition, he notes that many students who are watching their budget tend to gravitate towards less expensive choices like breads or processed cereal. He says, "Such breakfasts, largely devoid of important nutrients tyrosine & choline, won't provide the boost for thinking and learning that good protein sources, such as eggs and meat provide. Creatine found in meats is known to benefit working memory and intelligence."

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP COUNTDOWN: 10 DAYS
Dr. Barbara Millis will facilitate an interactive workshop entitled A Learning Centered Approach to Teaching that Fosters Retention on February 28 from 3:00 until 5:00 PM in the Bonne' Sante Wellness Center's gym. Participants will come to know the theory and philosophy behind cooperative learning, including its belief in the value and educability of all students and the need to provide cooperative environments that balance challenge and support.  As important, however, they will learn how to use cooperative structures to foster academic achievement, student retention, and liking for the subject matter.  Additionally, the presenter will emphasize efficient facilitation of group processes.  The session itself will model a cooperative classroom with combinations of direct instruction, interactive group work tied to the session objectives, and whole-class discussion with questions.  Participants will experience at least three cooperative structures and two report-out methods, applicable to virtually all disciplines, that they can apply in their own classrooms. This seminar is  part of  the  Teaching+Learning Center’s faculty development series. Faculty will receive participation credit for the Faculty Development Program. Registration is now open. She has a number of articles on the concept of cooperative learning including discipline specific for accounting and occupational therapy.

CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS START THE CONVERSATION
One of the most useful methods that instructors have found to update and enhance their teaching to improve student learning is the use of an objective classroom observation. If done properly, the observation is a collaborative assessment that should continue as an ongoing conversation between the observer and the instructor. When the observation is conducted for the purpose of student learning improvement, judgments are formative and the instructor is actively involved in the assessment of teaching quality and needed improvement. The observation method has been validated through extensive use and the research data are fairly consistent on the effectiveness of the exercise. If you are looking to have a classroom observation for the Spring 2013, now is the time to contact me either by email (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu) or telephone (8534). 

E-CONFERENCE REGISTRATION OPEN

Educators are searching for tools that can help them assess and evaluate their students' achievement of defined learning outcomes in fields as diverse as engineering, business, health professions, math, science and technology (to name a few). These assessments and evaluations are part of a national trend toward transparency and accountability regarding the value added in education. The RosEvaluation Conference 2013 will bring together those who are developing assessment and evaluation tools to share information and their expertise. The conference will emphasize concrete, effective, and efficient solutions to assessment and evaluation challenges. Registration is now open for the conference that takes place on April 1-2 and is offered completely online this year so you can participate from your office at BRCC. The 2013 conference topics include: assessing work-based learning-projects with industry, student competitions, design projects; designing and implementing course assessments;developing sustainable processes for program and institutional accreditation; and, using electronic assessment tools.

GET ORGANIZED FASTER
Are you having problems staying organized? Teaching five or more classes in a semester requires a sophisticated level of organization but the use of technology can help you accomplish your goals. Fellow blogger Heather Whitney recommends Todoist to help manage your tasks. She notes, "There are a lot of options available for online task management. Todoist is another option. If it doesn’t sound completely new, it is because it is not. Todoist was originally started in January 2007, but in the summer of 2012 it underwent a relaunch after being rebuilt in HTML5. The result is a very well-built task system that doesn’t suffer from the lag of some others. I have been trying out the website and several associated mobile apps for about three months now. Todoist has all your usual online task management options, such as the ability to apply some kind of categorization label (tags, in this case) to tasks. But there are some additional features that I think make the system worth the time to check into trying it out," she says.

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT ON TAP
Dr. Barbara Millis' visit on February 28 will include a session at 3:00 PM on using cooperative techniques to improve student learning and retention. Dr. Millis has three books in the BRCC Library's collection including Cooperative Learning in High Education: across the disciplines, across the academy, The Course Syllabus: a learning-centered approach, and Using Simulations to Promote Learning in Higher Education: an introduction. In addition, I would encourage you to read two of her IDEA papers, namely Active Learning Strategies in Face-to-Face Classes and Promoting Deep Learning.

ACE PROVIDES BENEFITS FOR PLA AND MORE
As a member of the American Council on Education (ACE), BRCC has a number of resources available that can help us as we navigate the creation of a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program of excellence. ACE has been involved in a three year program funded by FIPSE (Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education). Maps to Credentials is designing and piloting credential road maps for student veterans, applying ACE credit recommendations for military occupations and training and incorporating other PLA methods to accelerate veterans' post-secondary attainment. The project is focusing initially on military veterans, a population with college-level skills and knowledge gained through military service, which are essential to the country’s workforce. Cross-sector project advisory groups have been established at the national level and at each partner college and include both employers and veterans in addition to individuals from higher education.

 HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR STUDENTS
An article by Trigwell, Ellis and Han published by the Studies in Higher Education journal indicates that there is a strong relationship with how students feel about a course and their motivation and approaches to learning. The article, Relations between Student's Approaches to Learning, Experienced Emotions and Outcomes of Learning, reports that there are strong links between the approaches taken to teaching and those taken to learning. The authors' research revealed that teachers who use the covering material approach will create an environment that encourages their students to memorize the information with little understanding or retention of the material. A positive classroom environment, which includes student engagement, provides motivation and promotes effort especially as it relates to studying and preparation.

PROBLEM SOLVER ON THE JOB
Chancellor Andrea Miller made a splash in the Sunday edition of The Advocate. The story reports on the challenges that have occurred during Dr. Miller's one-year tenure and describes the resolve she has shown as she continues to work to create a better BRCC.  Tabbed the "Problem Solver" in the article, Chancellor Miller says, “Retention is one of my top priorities. We’ve got to meet students where they are. If we see them on the brink of dropping out, we have to provide that support. We also have to do a good job in assessing our students when they come to us, and identify potential problems as early as possible and provide the assistance they need.”

UNCOVERING THE SIGNS OF SUCCESS
The second week of classes is upon us. How are your students doing? You can actually tell a lot about how well your students will do in your course at this point. Are they engaged in the class? Have they visited with you outside of the class? If you are teaching an eLearning class, have they accessed the material yet? Are they participating in the discussion board conversations? It is not too late to give them some great advice on how to successfully navigate your course. Talk with them about successful strategies you used in college. Bring in someone who excelled in your class last semester to give a talk about the methods they used to succeed. Ask your students to map out a schedule for their college work. It should be integrated with their other responsibilities. This will provide them a realistic look at what it will take to succeed in college. Of course, implicit in all of this is you will become much more engaged with your students and that is a proven retention technique.

NATIONAL EXPERT COMING TO CAMPUS
Dr. Barbara Millis will visit BRCC to deliver a faculty development workshop on Thursday, February 28 at 3:00 PM. Dr. Millis is a nationally recognized faculty development expert and currently serves as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She will be presenting material and leading discussions on the topic of how collaborative work can be used to improve student learning. Her approach is hands-on and you will leave the workshop with examples, ideas, and the tools to begin to implement new active learning methods immediately. Look for reservation information in an evite arriving soon.

 ABSTRACTS DUE SOON
 If you are looking for a conference that can help you expand your teaching toolkit by learning from your peers, you might be interested in the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning. There is a call for proposals that closes February 15. While this year's conference theme is Teaching and Technology, they are looking for all sorts of work within the scholarship of teaching and learning arena. The conference in Mobile, Alabama will take place May 13 and 14.

DOES USING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
Although technology can be a great teaching tool, many professors do not think that it improves student learning. That is the feeling that emerged from a recent report by David R. Johnson who says, "There is little or no indication that innovative pedagogy motivates technological use in the classroom, which sort of flies in the face of how the use of information-based instructional technologies is usually presented." The report suggests, technology is more often used by professors for managerial reasons, such as to help with the demands of growing class sizes. Mr. Johnson said the findings show a gap between how universities market their use of technology—often framing technology as more sophisticated than prior approaches to instruction—and how the faculty actually uses it.

BIG CHANGES FOR ONLINE LEARNING AT BRCC
Those involved in online or eLearning at BRCC know that there is change on the horizon. With a renewed commitment to establishing an eLearning program of excellence, we have recently hired Susan Moak Nealy to manage the eLearning Program at BRCC. Nealy was most recently interim department chair of business at BRCC, holds a MBA from Louisiana Tech University, and has been a faculty member here since 2006. In that time, she has taught a number of classes using the online delivery method and has received certification from the Quality Matters program. BRCC has recently migrated to Blackboard 9.1 and is implementing several new policies designed to enhance our student's learning experience in the online environment. Nealy joins the Office of Teaching and Learning, directed by Dr. Todd Pourciau, and has some exciting innovations planned for all involved in the eLearning program.

THE PLEASURE OF MOTIVATION

Research has shown that students remember things that matter to them. It is why education scientists encourage teachers to use examples and design learning experiences with real world applications. Discovering what interests your students is an important part of the initial engagement process and should begin on the first day of your course each semester or term. In 2009, Min Jeong Kang’s research team published a brain imaging study that confirmed the importance of a well known but often under-utilized condition for enhancing learning: curiosity. In Kang’s study, the participants guessed the answers to a set of trivia questions, were then shown the correct answers, and were tested one to two weeks later to see which answers they remembered best. These answers turned out to be the ones about which they had already known something, but had guessed wrong, so that they had been very curious to learn the right responses.It was precisely at the moment that the participants guessed incorrectly that their brain images showed the most activity in their caudate nucleu, a structure that plays a central role in the motivation to obtain rewards and the pleasure that comes along with them. Kang’s study showed that this structure also seems to be behind the intellectual pleasure we get from adding a new item to our store of knowledge.

BUT I AM A VISUAL LEARNER
While the learning objectives are the same for eLearning and traditional classes, we know that the delivery method can cause some students to encounter new problems. As the delivery method naturally favors students who self-identify as visual learners, there are a number of things that faculty should do to make the experience effective for all types of learners. A research article entitled Knowledge Construction in Online Learning by Shalni Gulati notes that learners should be reminded that they should explore various learning pathways. Faculty need to construct their learning experiences so that they are flexible and accessible, taking into account the learners personal learning interests and goals, the time they have for learning, their different learning preferences, and the learners’ personal and professional responsibilities outside the course. Gulati adds that faculty need to recognize the importance of personal control, emotions and emotional connection for participation in online discussions. Any online discussion strategies need to ensure the discussion tasks are relevant to learners with different professional needs. A pre-course induction may be necessary where learners can develop technical skills and practice online communication to openly discuss and challenge each other.

USING THE STUFF FROM LAST SEMESTER
James M. Lang has written a fascinating piece about his frustration with students who seem to use and dispose of the knowledge he is helping them to learn. He noticed this when he participated in a program that allows him to have the same set of students for two classes that follow each other in the academic sequence. He says, "For two years I taught in a special program in which the same cohort of students took two consecutive courses with me: freshman composition in the fall and introduction to literature in the spring. In the composition courses, I worked hard to help students move beyond the standard strategies they had learned in high school for writing introductory paragraphs: Start with a broad statement about life and narrow down to a specific topic." In their book, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, Susan Ambrose and her co-authors label the cognitive activity of applying learned material from one course to another and beyond as "far transfer." They note that it might be the most fundamental expectation faculty have for students. "Far transfer is, arguably," they point out, "the central goal of education: We want our students to be able to apply what they learn beyond the classroom."

SHINY AND NEW
The promise of a new semester is always exciting. Our old ideas are new again. We will have a new roster of motivated students. All of our teaching will be met with enthusiasm. All of our carefully thought out learning outcomes will be achieved. Of course reality can be anything but the scenario just described but the possibilities keep us motivated. It is, after all, the reason you became a teacher. Your great desire to share the excitement of discovery and inquiry along with a sense that the world's problems are just one student away from being solved. The person that finds a cure for cancer could be in your class. The person that determines how to pull our economy back from the fiscal cliff might be sitting in the back row this semester. The person that writes the next great novel could be enrolled in your elearning course for the spring. Even more likely, the nurse that helps during your hospital stay or the vet tech that saves your cat or the police officer that provides the first line of defense between you and a criminal is very likely to be here at BRCC ready to start the path to their new career. It is an exciting time for all of us and I hope that I can be a resource for you this semester. As you continue to plan for your upcoming semester, feel free to contact me with any requests for help that you may have. I am ready to assist you so that each and every course you teach will have maximum impact. You are the key to improved student learning at BRCC and I am ready to help.

WHAT IS THIS TEST FOR AGAIN?
A new study by Liu, Bridgeman and Adler reveals that motivation plays a big part in the performance of students on standardized tests used to measure general student learning. Many colleges are using tests of learning outcomes, such as the Collegiate Learning Assessment to prove to their stake holders and accreditors that higher education matters. They note that the CLA, and popular alternatives from ACT and the Educational Testing Service, tests the critical thinking of small groups of entering and graduating students. In theory, comparing the scores of new and graduating students yields evidence either that students are or are not learning. Many call the difference between the entering and graduating students' performance the "value added" by a college degree. The researchers note that when students were told that the test (which typically are not graded and therefore hold little value to the students) were being used by potential employers, the scores improved.

GETTING STUDENT FEEDBACK YOU CAN USE
Gary Cooper has written an excellent blog post about the merits of student ratings. He suggests that you survey your students throughout the semester so that you can circumvent any big problems that may crop up during the term. I have suggested, in faculty development seminars, the use of the Stop-Start-Keep Doing student survey to improve student learning. He gives a number of other suggestions that could be put to use in your course.

THE ALT-AC TRACK
One of the highly attended sessions at the recent Modern Language Association's annual meeting had to do with life as an adjunct professor. Brian Croxall, a steadily employed digital-humanities strategist and lecturer in English at Emory University, extolled the virtues of life as an adjunct. Others on the panel added emphasized the need to be flexible and to acquire potentially useful talents along the way. Learning administrative skills, for instance, comes in handy whether you work in faculty development or as a digital-humanities project manager or any number of other jobs in and around academe.

DEEP LEARNING AND THE BRAIN
Skip Downing, creator of the massively successful On Course student success course, notes that there are three principles of deep learning. The first is prior learning. That is why it is important for us as teachers to relate new information for our students to previously learned information. Brain research reveals that when you connect what you are learning now to previously stored information, you learn the new information or skill faster and more deeply.The second, quality of processing, refers to using numerous and varied deep-processing strategies. Much of what we teach in college is too complex for mere memorization and calls for deep processing. The third is quantity of processing. This requires using frequent practice sessions of sufficient length distributed over time because the quality of learning is significantly affected by how often and how long someone engages in varied deep processing. You can learn more by visiting Downing's website.

ASSESSING THE ASSESSMENT

The Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE) is now accepting proposals for presentations at its third annual conference. The AALHE 2013 conference theme is “Juggling Conflicting Priorities: Rethinking What We Thought." How we can deal with existing and emerging challenges while seizing new opportunities to create more meaningful systems of assessment focused on improving learning is the central theme of the conference, which will be held in Lexington, KY, on June 3-5, 2013. In AALHE’s continuing effort to provide a robust and transformative experience for conference attendees, they are offering a wide variety of session formats this year. From standard concurrent sessions to one-on-one consultations with assessment experts, assessment practitioners attending the conference will have diverse opportunities to will allow us to develop skills and strategies for improving assessment at BRCC. Proposals are due by February 8, 2013. Visit the AALHE website for more information.

GETTING WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Aaron Bady has written an interesting blog post about the value of MOOCs. He asks, "Why have we stopped aspiring to provide the real thing for everyone?" And adds, "MOOCs are only better than nothing and speculation that this will someday change is worth pursuing, but for now, remains just that, speculation. It should be no surprise that venture capital is interested in speculation. And it should be no surprise that when academics look at the actual track record, when we try to evaluate the evidence rather than the hope, we discover a great deal to be pessimistic about."

CRITICAL SELF-REFLECTION IMPROVES TEACHING

Coming to the end of a semester always conjures up the inevitable wondering about having accomplished what you described in your learning objectives. Not simply "getting through the material" but really having your students learn. Lyons, Kysilka, and Pawlas (in their book The Adjunct Professor's Guide to Success LB1778.2.L96) tell us, "The instructor who regularly engages in systematic self-evaluation will unquestionably derive greater reward from the formal methods of evaluation commonly employed by colleges. Regular self-evaluation is especially important early in your career as you seek to develop insights and skills that will form habits you can incorporate into your continually evolving teaching style." It is just as important for those who have taught for a number years as it will help you uncover habits that are causing you problems in the classroom. I always recommend that you keep a journal for each class. This will allow you to reflect on your teaching experiences. Regularly investing 10-15 introspective minutes following each class meeting, noting what worked and what did not, will help you tremendously. Focus especially on the strategies and events in class that you feel could be improved. Jot down any breakthroughs, milestones, and disasters that occur over the course of the semester. Then commit to reading the comments before you begin to teach the same class again. This is especially useful if you are beginning a course redesign. 

WHY DO YOU TEACH
Sam Intrator and Megan Scribner are  co-editors of the upcoming book Teaching with Fire, Leading from Within and Teaching from the Heart. They are looking for folks to submit a poem and a brief 250-word commentary describing how that poem inspires you, informs your work, or provides sustenance as you negotiate the complex challenges at the center your vocation. Importantly, this project is not just seeking poems about teaching and the classroom but poems on any topic that intersects with how you think about your life and work as a teacher. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2013. This book will be a brand-new edition modeled on their best-selling Teaching with Fire: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Teach. If you have questions, email megan@couragerenewal.org .

HOVERING SLINKIES AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
Brian Mathews has a very interesting blog post today that suggests that research should be more accessible. He notes that a new physics paper is being promoted using a YouTube video about slinkies. He writes, "This is exactly what research libraries are talking about: data, visualization, modeling, social media, etc. While the open access aspect of the article enables people to read the work, it’s the YouTube video that creates buzz building word of mouth and fueling discovery."

NO CRITICAL THINKING REQUIRED
Kim Blank wants to kill the use of term papers as a type of assessment. Blank notes that the term paper is a practice adopted from the Germans in the early 20th century and writes, "It was one way for students to demonstrate that they could absorb what they had read, in a form fairly close to what we now call a research paper. The practice exploded in the second half of the century, and it continues today, having also devolved into variations of the now ubiquitous five-paragraph essay." Blank argues that the term paper has no connections to what students will encounter in the work place as one of the reasons (there are others) that we should discontinue the practice.

YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED
You have one more opportunity for faculty professional development before the fall semester ends. Lisa Hibner, Director of the Career Center at BRCC, will present a fascinating seminar on how you can integrate career activities in your courses. Helping your students to discover their strengths and abilities is a rewarding endeavor. Providing students with the knowledge they need to be productive citizens has always been a hallmark for community colleges. The seminar will be held on Wednesday, November 28 at 3:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Building). You can register now but walk-ups will be accepted. Your participation provides you with one professional development credit.

TEACHING SCIENTIFICALLY OR SCIENTIFICALLY TEACHING
Take a look at the picture on the left to see your colleagues engaged in an active learning environment. The faculty development seminar, Active Learning Methods Revealed, held yesterday in the Teaching+Learning Center was both active and filled with learning opportunities. The participants learned from the presenters Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael and from each other. Although the subject matter used to illustrate the process was about life science (specifically diabetes), the methods employed could be implemented by anyone in any sort of course. Hackney and McMichael used their classroom experiences and lessons learned from the Gulf Coast Summer Institute they attended earlier this year to illustrate the effectiveness of using active learning experiences to enhance student learning. Your next opportunity for faculty development comes on November 28 at 3:00PM when Lisa Hibner presents Integrating Career Activities in the Classroom. The event will be held in the T+LC (311 Magnolia Building).

BENEFITS OF MENTORING
Have you ever offered to mentor a new colleague? Organized mentoring programs are beginning to gain traction as a proven method for providing the assistance necessary to help new faculty succeed in the academic arena. Research shows than an organized mentoring program promotes faculty productivity, advocates collegiality, and advances a broader goal of attracting, retaining, and advancing faculty members (Perna, Learner, & Yura, Journal of Education). Mentoring supports professional growth and renewal, which in turn empowers faculty as individuals and colleagues (Luna & Cullen, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports). It also serves to reduce the chances that a newcomer will experience isolation or job dissatisfaction (Boyle & Boice, Innovative Higher Education).  Stress is also lessened for the new faculty member when there is a reliable mentor to address the initial uneasiness or potential impediments. An effective mentoring program promotes collaborative liaisons between junior and senior faculty and is generally felt to have a positive impact on building community within and among a campus population.

THRIVING IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM
In their book The Adjunct Professors Guide to Success (LB1778.2.L96), Lyons, Kysilka and Pawlas distill their research findings into useful nuggets of information. For instance, they describe what college students want and expect from college instructors in a straightforward and concise manner. Specifically, they note that students need the following: expectations of their performance that is reasonable in quantity and quality and consistently communicated; sensitivity to the diverse demands on them and reasonable flexibility in accommodating them; effective use of class time; a classroom demeanor that includes humor and spontaneity; exams that address issues properly covered in and outside of class, are appropriate to the level of the majority of students in the course, are punctually scored and returned, and are used fairly to determine final class grades; and, consistent positive treatment of individual students, including a willingness to spend extra time before or after class to provide additional support. The flip-side of this is what the teacher expects of the student. Our premise is that the education process is a 50/50 partnership that requires our students to take ownership for their academic career. As you develop your expectations, it is important to consider both sides and to communicate those to your students.
 
BAD TEACHING OR VALUABLE DATA
CourseSmart, the digital textbook provider that is partnered with five major publishers, recently announced the launch of CourseSmart Analytics. The Program, which is currently being piloted at three colleges, tracks students' engagement with their e-textbooks and provides and allows professors and colleges to evaluate the usefulness of learning materials and to track student work. The debate now begins. John Warner blogs that he thinks it is a bad idea. Alexandra Tilsley is mostly positive in this news article.

nside Higher Ed

LEARNING REFRAMED
Dr. Donna M. Qualters uncovers some interesting information in her research study Do Students Want to be Active? Four important themes emerged from the analysis: the students had an overall positive attitude toward active learning; active learning was perceived to enhance their ability and efficiency in studying; active learning was perceived to improve the learning environment; and, active learning promoted their thinking about their learning and thus helped them to better understand their individual learning style. She also uncovered a few negatives that could easily be converted using the right interventions. She concludes by writing, "The most important need to be addressed is the inability of some students to deal with change. Many of these students come to higher education with expectations of very passive classroom experiences and those expectations must be uncovered, probed and altered. For some students it may go as far as the necessity to reframe what learning is: learning is not about covering material or gathering facts, learning is about integrating and using information in a meaningful way."

USING FACEBOOK IN CLASS

Research shows that there is a correlation between social presence and student success. When students feel connected to a community of inquiry they are more enthusiastic, motivated, and they perform better. If that engagement, communication, and awareness happens continuously and in real-time, as it does in a face-to-face classroom — all the better. Sidneyeve Matrix wrote a recent blog entry about bringing students together who are enrolled in a class that is being taught face-to-face and online concurrently so that the e-students would feel connected and not isolated online? Feeling out of the proverbial loop is one of the most oft-cited challenges for distance learners. Traditionally, a face-to-face classroom, “requires a disciplined commitment from the students to actually participate in the learning activities and reach out to others in the class,” observes Cory Stokes, director of the University of Utah's Technology Assisted Curriculum Center, in charge of testing for online courses. Matrix concludes, "In an online course, the onus is on the student to be self-disciplined enough to engage in self-study, often without the benefit of a class community to drive engagement and interest."

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION

Joshua Kim has written an interesting post about Pearson's OpenClass. He discusses how it fits in the LMS ecosystem and how it compares to Blackboard and Moodle among others. Now that BRCC has decided to move forward with Blackboard 9.1, it is beneficial to take a look at the other add-ons out there. Stay tuned for more information about our eLearning and course delivery efforts.

FILLING IN THE GAPS

Here is an active learning method, pulled from the BRCC Active Learning Manual, that has proven to help students learn from each other and test themselves. Offer note completion time in your class. Towards the end of a class that you have provided a heavy dose of information, ask students to exchange notes and fill in any gaps they identify. This technique helps them generate complete notes as they review the course material. It also helps them to identify what they know and what they need to study. In addition, it allows less-skilled note takers to learn from those who are adept at taking notes. You could also have them share their note-taking tips with the class.