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Workshop Descriptions

Workshop

Assignment Design with Equity in Mind 

Students do better on assignments when they have a sense of purpose, clear tasks to accomplish, and transparent evaluation criteria. This workshop gives participants the opportunity to design or redesign their own assignment with equity and transparency in mind. Please watch and reflect upon this brief video series before attending: 

Best Practices for Creating Introduction Videos 

Creating a short introduction video can go a long way in humanizing your remote or online course and making your students feel welcomed. In this workshop we will go over the best practices for creating a short introduction video. We will cover the variety of tools available for video creation, where to store your video and how to upload it to your Blackboard course. 

Blackboard Grade Center - Discovering the Features & Tools 

Come and review the many features and tools available to you in Bb Grade Center. These include generating reports, applying filters, adjusting due dates and sending email reminders all from the same interface! 

Blackboard Ultra Assignments

This 90-minute workshop is intended for faculty have attended the Blackboard Ultra Essentials workshop and who want to learn how to add various types of assessments, such as discussions, assignments, tests, Hypothesis assignments, and Turnitin assignments to a Blackboard Ultra course. 

Blackboard Ultra Course Copy

This one-hour workshop is intended for faculty and staff who have taken other workshops in our Blackboard Ultra series and are ready to convert a course or organization from original to Ultra for the Spring 2024 semester. During this workshop, attendees will learn how to request the Ultra course view for future courses; how to copy content, assignments, rubrics, and test banks into their Ultra course; and how to edit course materials in Ultra.

Blackboard Ultra Essentials

This 90-minute workshop is intended for faculty, staff, and administrators who want to learn more about the Ultra course view, including where to find features and tools; how layers work when navigating an Ultra course; how to organize course content using learning modules and folders; how to add content, announcements, and a Zoom link; and how to use course messages.  

Blackboard Ultra Gradebook  

This 90-minute workshop is intended for faculty who have attended the Blackboard Ultra Essentials and Blackboard Ultra Assignments workshops and who want to delve deeper into using the gradebook in an Ultra course. During this workshop, attendees will learn about various views in the Ultra gradebook and gradebook settings, how to create rubrics and categories, how to set up calculations for the overall grade, how to monitor students’ performance using analytics, and how to use new features in Ultra that allow students to practice self-determination by keeping track of their own progress. 

Building Connections Online – Virtual but Human 

In this workshop we will look at the value of social presence in remote and online courses. We will also review tools available in Blackboard and Starfish that will help build community and connections in your remote and online courses.   

Communicating with Students 

Communication is a key element in creating a positive learning environment for your students. In this workshop we will go over the importance of social presence and creating a communications plan. We will also review some best practices for effectively communicating with students in remote and online courses. 

Creating, Collecting, and Grading Assignments in Blackboard

This workshop is intended for faculty members who want to collect student assignments in Blackboard. Participants will learn how to create and edit an assignment in Blackboard, explain to students how to submit an assignment in Blackboard, and grade submitted assignments either online using Blackboard’s inline grading tool or offline by downloading submitted assignments. The workshop also will include tips on how to make grading a more efficient process while still providing students with effective feedback to aid their learning. 

Empower Yourself! Creating Assignments in Blackboard Learn

Have you been using email, messages and Discussion Boards for assignments in Blackboard?  Another option is creating Assignments in Blackboard which allows the Instructor to provide the assignment & submission for students in one location.  You can also then review their assignments, provide feedback & comments and grade them quickly and easily.  Join us to see how easy this can be! 

Encouraging Critical Thinking and Authentic Student Writing with Hypothesis​ 

(This is part of the Learning Tools for Assignments Workshop Series)

This workshop highlights how the Hypothesis social annotation tool can be used to cultivate students’ critical thinking and writing skills, to discourage use of AI text generators like ChatGPT, and to demonstrate how to ethically use such AI tools. Attendees will learn how to set up a Hypothesis reading in their course, see examples of Hypothesis assignments—including how a Hypothesis assignment can be used as a formative assessment to scaffold a summative one, and hear from colleagues about their experience using Hypothesis.  ​

From Files to Flyers: How to Make Materials and Presentations More Accessible for All 

Throughout the QCC Campus, we are all sending out wonderful information to our students. Attend this workshop for tips, tricks and techniques to make these materials more accessible. 

Getting Ready for the Semester

This workshop covers how to copy your Blackboard course from a previous course shell to your upcoming course, where to find the syllabus template, how to post your syllabus and other files to your Blackboard course, where to find resources about getting ready for the semester in the Educator Instructional Resources course, and helpful tips about using Blackboard and other tech systems to set you and your students up for a successful semester. 

How to Help Online Students Succeed 

This workshop is intended for online faculty members, but any QCC employees are welcome to attend. Attendees will learn how to orient students to their online course, create a welcoming environment and build community in their online classroom, help students manage coursework, use various academic and non-academic services to help students achieve their goals, and design assignments that promote student engagement and success

How to Schedule and Hold Office Hours/Student Appointments

During this workshop you will learn how to create your appointment preferences in Starfish, use the Starfish appointment tool to create office/appointment hours that students can sign up for online or that you can schedule for individual or groups of students/advisees, associate these office hours with a Zoom room, sync these appointments with your Outlook calendar, and hold these office hours/appointments in Zoom.  

Introduction to OER at QCC 

Interested in learning more about Open Educational Resources (OER)? If so, this one-hour virtual workshop is for you. This workshop, co-facilitated by a faculty member and a librarian, will provide you with an overview of OER, including what they are, the benefits of using them, and where to find them. For those interested in adopting, adapting or creating OER for their own course(s), we will share next steps on how to do so and explain what QCC supports are available to assist you. 

Just in Time Technology Help 

These drop-in sessions are for faculty and staff who need assistance with technology used at QCC, such as Blackboard, Zoom, Starfish, Turnitin, The "Q". 

*We strongly recommend taking these three Kaltura workshops prior to taking others.  

Kaltura Planning and Recording Videos*

Description:  This workshop will introduce you to the Kaltura tool in Blackboard and should be taken first in the Kaltura workshop series. We will discuss recording videos in Kaltura and will review the differences between Kaltura Capture and Kaltura Express Capture. We will go over the importance of planning and the role of storyboarding in creating well-structured and polished videos.   

Kaltura Express *

Description:  In this workshop we will identify the differences between Kaltura Express and Kaltura Capture and learn to use Kaltura Express to create an Intro video for your course using  the Big Red Button!     

Kaltura: Bring Your Questions 

Description: This workshop is designed to provide answers to questions you may have about Kaltura Express, Kaltura Capture, Kaltura Quiz and Kaltura Chapters; from starting with Kaltura to exploring any of the Kaltura features you have not had a chance to try Kaltura yet. 

Kaltura Capture *

Description: We will confirm all Kaltura tools are available, review how to install Kaltura Capture on your computer/device and begin making engaging interactive videos which allow you to share your screen. This tool is great for creating course tours for your student to show them how to navigate the information and materials in Blackboard.

Kaltura: Create Chapters

Description: Do you have long instructional videos?  Afraid your students won’t view them?  This workshop will show how you can break your instructional videos into chapters to help support your students in their viewing of your longer videos. 

M365: Navigating and Structuring Your One Drive

Want to know how OneDrive can become the hub for all your documents? Want to learn how to create a workflow that suits your filing needs. Want to have all your documents available to you wherever you have internet access?  

In this workshop we will review the features in OneDrive. We will discuss ways to structure your files and how to upload document to OneDrive. We will organize Word, PowerPoint & Excel documents created in the online apps as well as review how to move and share files and documents in OneDrive.  

M365 Overview Training

Administrators and faculty at QCC all have access to Office 365, which many of us know as Outlook and Calendar. However, the suite of Office 365 has many other features that make for powerful sharing and collaboration. In this 1-hour training, CAE staff will provide and overview of functions as well as tips for Office 365 tools:

  • Login/Logout information
  • Outlook and Calendar tips and add-ins
  • OneDrive set up and online Word, PowerPoint, & Excel
  • MS Teams and SharePoint
  • Additional topics (time permitting): OneNote and Planner

M365 Teams and SharePoint Connection 

Description: In this workshop, you will create a Team, create folder(s) for the Team’s documents, and learn how to invite members of your Team.  We will explore the connection between your Team and its corresponding SharePoint site.  

Media Uploads and Creating Playlists in Kaltura

Description: Do you have course videos scattered across various websites?  You can now put them all in one location, Kaltura. This workshop will review how to upload your existing videos and even create custom playlists for your students.  

Online Faculty Innovations Group Sessions

During these monthly informal sessions, faculty will have an opportunity to discuss specific online pedagogical practices. Although the topics will be related to online pedagogy, we welcome anyone who teaches in any modality to join us. Attend one or all of these sessions. 

Ultra Users Group

The Ultra Users Group meets once a month during the academic year to discuss Blackboard Ultra-related topics and to support those using Ultra. Faculty and staff are welcome to attend one or all of these sessions.

Using Kaltura Video Editing Interface

Description: You have recorded your Kaltura video and now you need to do some editing. Learn how to use the Kaltura Video Editing Tools to clip, trim, fade & produce your video using the Kaltura interface. Please note that this is not meant to be a robust video editing tool (like Adobe Premiere), but will provide basic video editing functionality. 

Creating Interactive Video Quizzes in Kaltura

Description: Ever wonder if your students actually watched a video you created? Did they truly listen and learn?  Kaltura has a Video Quiz feature which can help you answer those questions. Learn how you can easily create a video quiz using existing video lectures and add questions at strategic points to enhance engagement and learning.  

Quick & Easy Changes to Increase Student Engagement in an Online Courses

This workshop will review student engagement theory and applied strategies targeted for the online environment. The major areas for review will be creating a community using active learning and ARCS Model of Motivation.  

Student Creation and Submission of Videos

(This is part of the Learning Tools for Assignments Workshop Series)

Description: This workshop is intended for those who are interested in having students create videos as well as share them with their classmates and/or submit these videos as assignments. Attendees will learn how students can use Kaltura to create various types of videos, and share or submit them in Blackboard.  

Using Kaltura to Give Students Video and Audio Feedback

Description: Kaltura provides instructors with options to create video (or audio only) content in a variety of Blackboard tools, such as the assignment, discussion board, blogs, journals, and others. During this workshop, you will learn how to use Kaltura to give video or audio feedback to your students.   

Set Up Your Grade Center Course Average Column in Blackboard

During this hands-on workshop, participants will set up the course average column in one of their Blackboard courses. 

Spring Cleaning Your Blackboard Course(s)

You’ve set up your course in Blackboard, have taught it for several semesters, and are feeling pretty comfortable teaching in your virtual classroom. So now what? Now it’s time to clean up your course! Delete broken links and old assignments in the Grade Center, assess whether your current course structure is easy for students to navigate, reduce the size of your Bb course, move videos stored in Bb and Zoom to Kaltura, and review which features of Bb would best help students reach your course objectives. This workshop will cover all of those topics and provide a hands-on learning experience so that you can begin to “spring clean” your Blackboard course(s).

Starfish Overview 

This workshop is intended for faculty and staff who want to get an overview of what Starfish is and how it can be used to help students remain on (or get back on) the path to academic success and achievement of their goals. Topics covered will include how to understand what you see in a student’s Starfish folder; how and why to use the message tool; and raising and resolving, as well as adding notes to Starfish flags, to-do’s, kudos, and referrals. Learn how to integrate these tools into your work in ways that promote best practices, maximize efficiency, and allow you to have meaningful interactions with students. 

Structuring Your Blackboard Course for Student Success 

In this workshop we will review the various ways you can structure your Blackboard course. We will also cover the use of course links and repetition of information involved in creating a successful and inviting learning environment.  

Student Learning Outcomes & Objectives Workshop  

Description: This workshop will provide a brief overview of Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). We will explore how SLOs help build consistency across course sections, identify gaps, redundancies and misalignments in course content and increase transparency for students.   

Tactics to Reduce Cheating in Online Tests & Proctoring Options  

It is virtually impossible to completely eliminate cheating in an online environment, however there are ways to mitigate the potential for cheating. Join this workshop to learn about strategies you can adopt to reduce this possibility and share the value of true learning. 

Teaching Students How to Use Turnitin as a Learning Tool 

(This is part of the Learning Tools for Assignments Workshop Series)

This workshop is intended for faculty who want to use Turnitin as a learning tool to promote critical thinking and authentic, well-supported and correctly cited writing. Workshop attendees will learn how to integrate Turnitin into their lesson plans; how to “read” Turnitin originality reports; and how to teach students to use these reports to recognize plagiarism and unacceptable paraphrasing in their own writing, to notice when they have relied too heavily on quoted passages, and to understand how to cite and quote correctly. You'll also learn how you and your students can use the grammar, citation, and originality of writing checker available through the Draft Coach add-in in Word. 

Tips for Writing Your Online Course Adaptation Proposal 

This workshop will cover application questions, the timeline, and overview of required training.  

UDL Principles: Making Content & Materials more Accessible for All

Explore the basics of UDL principles and how they advance accessibility, equity and inclusiveness in your online course while simultaneously increasing student engagement. Topics covered in this workshop include: Community of Inquiry, Social Presence, Universal Design for Learning, and Empathy & Access.  

Using Blackboard in Your In-Person Classes

This hands-on workshop is for faculty who want to integrate Blackboard tools into their in-person classes. Topics that will be covered include posting your syllabus, course materials and homework; using journals and discussion boards; linking to websites, library materials, and other online tools; and collecting assignments through Blackboard.   

What's New in DE and the CAE?

This workshop is meant to provide attendees with a broad overview of new tools, systems and trends in the Center for Academic Excellence and Distance Education. The specific topics covered will change on a regular basis, so be sure to read the specific description for this workshop on the Faculty/Staff Development calendar. 

Zoom Practice Session: Creating and Managing Breakout Rooms, and Creating and Administering Polls 

This workshop is intended for those using Zoom to conduct virtual classes or hold meetings. The workshop trainer will show how to create and manage breakout rooms as well as how to create and administer polls. Attendees then will have an opportunity to practice using these two tools.  

Zoom Practice Session: Managing Participants and Using the Whiteboard 

This workshop is intended for those using Zoom to conduct virtual classes or hold meetings. The workshop trainer will show how to integrate the chat feature and reaction icons into one’s lesson plan as well as how to use the whiteboard. Attendees then will have an opportunity to practice using these tools.

Zoom Practice Session: Screen Sharing and Recording

This workshop is intended for those using Zoom to conduct virtual classes or hold meetings. The workshop trainer will show how to share one’s screen as well as how to record sessions. Attendees then will have an opportunity to practice using these two features. 

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