[ED-TECH] FW: Beyond Basic Metrics: What Analytics Can Do for Your Campus

FYI -  I've registered for this EDUCAUSE series, which will run from 2-3:30  in the Richter Library Information Literacy Lab [3^rd Fl, Rm 344] for the three days [ July 24-26].    Recordings of the webinars should be available after each session.

 

You might be particularly interested in Wednesday's topic, "Analytics for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success".    A special website is released the morning of each day's webinar containing additional materials, polls, discussions, etc. on that day's topic.    You can access these sites and find more information about the series at: http://www.educause.edu/events/educause-analytics-sprint

 

Regards, cheryl

 

Cheryl Gowing

Director, Information Mgmt & Systems

University of Miami Richter Library

Coral Gables, FL  33124-0320

 

(305) 284-6018                 (305) 505-2898 (cell)

(305) 284-4721 (fax)       cgowing@miami.edu

 

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Analytics for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success

How does analytics affect faculty and students? Explore early warning systems, educational pathways, and use of student data to improve courses.

Featuring
Marsha Lovett, Director, Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Teaching Professor of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
Ellen Wagner, Executive Director, WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET)

Hosted by
Diana Oblinger, EDUCAUSE President and CEO

From: EDUCAUSE [mailto:educause@educause.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 2:23 PM
To: Gowing, Cheryl A.
Subject: Beyond Basic Metrics: What Analytics Can Do for Your Campus

 

If this e-mail message does not display correctly or hyperlinks are missing, please view our online version.

 

What's Possible with Analytics? 90 percent of our community believes analytics will be more important in 2 years. Presidents, provosts, trustees, students and the federal government are looking to analytics as a solution for complex problems. If you haven't already become involved with analytics, it may soon be knocking at your door. To bring the community together on this topic, EDUCAUSE will hold an Analytics Sprint, July 24–26. Over three days, we'll explore the many ways analytics is impacting IT.     The 3-Day Sprint: July 24–26 Join us for this free, online experience for a discussion about analytics. The Sprint is a build-your-own experience—you choose which activities to participate in, based on your interests. Each day we will reveal a new web page with links to articles, videos, daily webinars, and online discussions.     Daily Themes Tuesday, July 24: What Does Analytics Mean for Higher Education and IT? Learn about the "big questions" analytics raises. Wednesday, July 25: Analytics for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success How does analytics affect faculty and students? Thursday, July 26: Analytics for Enterprise Effectiveness What kinds of data governance, policies, and infrastructure need to be in place to ensure effective institutional use of analytics?     How to Participate Save the Date Add the Sprint to your calendar and make plans to visit the site throughout the event. Sign Up for the Webinars Virtual seating is limited—register early. Sign up for any or all of the daily webinars. Join Us on Twitter Interact with us and your peers before, during, and after the event using the hashtag #EDUSprint.   This project is made possible through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

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[ED-TECH] Urgency

I apologize for my last message; it was insensitive. I have been so busy with other things that I wasn't thinking of the trauma being felt by the lay offs at the medical campus. Obviously the urgency level there is at its highest level. This is not a quiet, restful time to reflect, for people affected either directly or indirectly. I am sorry for not recognizing that on my own. Thank you to those who kindly pointed it out.

I am working hard to align myself to the new reality, to me, that we are not a university with a medical school attached but a medical school with a university attached. I was told that 2/3 of our income and 2/3 of our expenses are based on our medical school, including our clinical services. I didn't know that.

Changing this mindset is important for me. I think of the story of President Kennedy and the janitor at NASA. See http://goo.gl/i8MQ9 to read the story, if you don't know it. I want to know that instead of just helping the faculty at UM use technology to enhance learning, _I_ am working to cure cancer and do all the other amazing things happening at this institution.

When people ask me how I am I always answer "Excellent!" with emphasis. It is just as easy as saying "Ok" or "Fine" or "Getting by". It reminds me that I am doing important things and it is an honor and a calling. When people ask me what I do, I sometimes falter. I need to work on that and have some things that make me proud(er) when I say what I do.

- I am changing our future generations.
- I am helping to cure cancer.
- I am increasing the well-being of Miami.
- I am discovering new knowledge.

I will work on this list and, in the process, hopefully be more sensitive to the many associated parts of this wonderful organization, as I reframe my role and join with them.

Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more

[ED-TECH] Starting with Creation

Ed-tech List Members,

What a different feel our institution has now that the semester has ended. A few summer classes are in session, but nothing like the bustle of the semester. New sod has been laid next to the walkway between the University Center and Richter Library, now that the Farmer's Market is over until next fall. The music/law parking lot is closed, while part of the new circulation(?) road is being built and the parking lot is being reconfigured. The Student Activity Center (SAC) has sprung up and work continues in earnest. (Want to watch the SAC construction? Go to http://129.171.166.15/appletvid.html for a live video feed.) 

For most of us, this is a time for important/not-urgent activities. (See http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_91.htm if you are not familiar with the important-urgent matrix.) I posted a lengthy (for me) post on http://vilberg.com this morning. I am including it below, so you don't even have to go to vilberg.com to read it. It certainly isn't urgent, but reflecting on our teaching mission is important, IMHO. If yu want to reply back to the group after reading the article and my comments, just send your thoughts to ed-tech@listserv.miami.edu. No need to include all of this message in your reply.

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LINK TO SOURCE ARTICLE: http://goo.gl/oe1bs

If you have heard about flipping the classroom, read this article. If you have heard of Bloom's Taxonomy, read this article. If you haven't heard of either, read this article. (That covers everyone, right?)

I admit to a curious error when I first saw the image for this article. I saw "cheating" as the starting point. Of course creating and cheating only differ by one letter, and "r" does resemble "h", doesn't it? But now I am wondering, do some (many?) teachers/faculty see Google as cheating? 

We live in a Google world. With smart phones and iPads, the answer to most questions is available instantly, anywhere you are. They can use the facts before having to be told all of them. They can construct the rules, not perfectly or rigorously, but they can begin the construction of the scaffold of understanding, without all the practice and drudgery that we had to experience. Ask a question, and they have the answer immediately, if you let them use Google. How is that learning? They are cheating! 

We feel sort of cheated, too, since we had to memorize all the facts before we could start creating. Now our students can access the information and start creating immediately. Their creations are not the high-level research that we are doing, but the creation of the relationships of the facts, creation of the basic rules of our discipline, and creation of learning tools that can be communicated with others to help them learn all of this. 

How do we assess the attainment of the basic knowledge in our discipline? Normally we use low level testing. This article mentions having the students create an infographic. That sounds too much like fun. It isn't fair. Why couldn't I have learned that way. I feel cheated. 

So maybe I need to let go of my feeling that students can learn in this new way, that it isn't cheating, and that I was not cheated because I was born earlier and didn't have this opportunity. They are not mini-me and they will not learn the way I learned. Maybe starting with "create" makes sense.

This article was written by a high school teacher. I wonder, how will higher education react if/when more of our students come to us having "learned" in this way? How does our mission in higher education differ from the mission in high school, and does that difference affect this flipped Bloom's Taxonomy? This was a great article, for me. It generated far more questions than it answered. 

(via <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/flip-this-blooms-taxonomy-should-start-with-creating/">Flip This: Bloom's Taxonomy Should Start with Creating | MindShift</a>)

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Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more

[ED-TECH] New content on vilberg.com

Ed-Tech list members,

UM is about to see some serious changes, for the better, in Academic Computing (or whatever it will be called). A Chief Academic Technology Officer is being hired to head things up and report directly to the CIO. New positions will be created to build up this important area. New programs will be designed to partner with faculty involved in technology enhanced learning. It is an exciting time.

I have been posting to Vilberg.com almost every day, rather than cluttering your mailboxes with all the stimulating articles and ideas I come across. If you are interested, please check out what is being posted there. If you would like to receive it via email, just enter your email address on the Vilberg.com web page.

Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more

Re: [ED-TECH] Why do we have an LMS?

Great discussion, Bill.

The comments posted thus far are very interesting, and I would add the following for consideration.

LMSs have become increasingly necessary beyond use for online courses. Traditional brick and mortar courses benefit from LMSs by using it as a repository for digital materials (e.g., syllabi, handouts, supplemental readings, etc.), computer scored quizzes, gradebook functionality, and more. As for costs associated with learning management systems, there are several "free" options available. Moodle, Sakai, and others are free to download and install, however, the "free" usage comes with a cost. That cost is associated with personnel necessary to provide tech support, security, software updates, etc. That said, several institutions have found a way to make free solutions work for them so perhaps it's worth pondering:

- Florida International University (Moodle)
- Johns Hopkins University (Sakai)
- Rutgers University (Sakai)
- University of Delaware (Sakai)
- University of Florida (Sakai)
- University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (Sakai)
- University of Washington (Moodle)
- Wake Forest University (Sakai)
- and others

Moodle has been around since 1999, and Sakai since 2004. Therefore, the user base and available training/support/implementation resources have had a bit of time to grow and mature. Neither free LMS is perfect, but each could provide many of the same functions as LMSs that have a cost for entry. So if cost is the issue, these might find their way into the conversation.

As far as paid online learning solutions go, I think an LMS worth taking a look at is Canvas by Instructure (this company received seed money from Google's Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt). Auburn University and Brown University recently switched to Canvas LMS. The jury is still out as to whether it holds up over time, but indications look promising.

At the Global Academy, UM's online college preparatory school for grades 6 through 12, we constantly look for ways to make the most of the technology within our grasp, while extending our reach to emerging technologies. Since we are a fully online school, the LMS is essential to our daily operations. And having one that is reliable, scalable, and easy to use is key. If cost is an issue, the previously mentioned solutions (e.g., Moodle, Sakai) could be implemented while saving money, at least in terms of software license costs.

Kind regards,

Craig

Dr. Craig Wilson | JD PhD
Executive Director
Collegiate, Online, and Pre-Collegiate Programs
Division of Continuing and International Education
University of Miami
Web: http://www.miami.edu/bgsdegree
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Web: http://www.umga.miami.edu
Email: cdw@miami.edu
Phone: (305) 284-2727


Dr. Craig Wilson | JD PhD
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University of Miami Global Academy
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5050 Brunson Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33124
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Email: cdw@miami.edu
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-----Original Message-----
From: UM Educational Technology List [mailto:ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Vilberg, William R.
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 8:12 AM
To: ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [ED-TECH] Why do we have an LMS?

Ed-Tech list members,

I just added a post on my vilberg.com blog that I wanted to share with you all: http://goo.gl/D7JqK

In my 14 years at UM I have brought in, set up, promoted, supported, and updated the Blackboard learning management system (LMS). An article, referring to another institution, suggests that the major functions of an LMS can be done on other systems for free, the minor functions are not being used, and an LMS costs a lot of money each year.

I don't agree with the conclusion that the LMS is a needless expense. I do agree that you, as a faculty member, should evaluate whether your teaching and student learning has been positively affected/changed by the use of an LMS. At the end of another academic year, this is a good chance to reflect on this question.

Please read my post at http://goo.gl/D7JqK and the original article referenced in that post. Then, if you would like, let me know what you think.

Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more