OCONEE FALL LINE TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Transcription

1 1 OCONEE FALL LINE TECHNICAL COLLEGE Distance Education Faculty Handbook September 2015

2 2 NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT: The Technical College System of Georgia and Oconee Fall Line Technical College do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, political affiliation or belief, genetic information, disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam Era, or citizenship status (except in those special circumstances permitted or mandated by law). This nondiscrimination policy encompasses the operation of all educational programs and activities, including admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other Technical College System and College-administered programs, including any Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) Title I financed programs. It also encompasses the employment of personnel and contracting for goods and services. TITLE IX Coordinator Susan Hammock Office: North Campus 204C shammock@oftc.edu ADA/504 Coordinator Lydia Barfoot Office: South Campus WRS 119A lbarfoot@oftc.edu EEOC Officer Sharon O neal Office: North Campus sveal@oftc.edu The Technical College System and Technical Colleges shall promote the realization of equal opportunity through a positive continuing program of specific practices designed to ensure the full realization of equal opportunity. Oconee Fall Line Technical College is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia.

3 3 Contents Definitions of Distance Education... 4 Distance Education Mission Statement... 4 Distance Education Faculty Responsibility and Course Requirements... 5 Distance Education Faculty Credentials... 6 Distance Education Faculty Workload... 6 Angel Learning Management Suite Training... 6 Developing an Online Course... 6 Course Evaluation... 9 Faculty Evaluation... 9 Master Courses... 9 Getting Connected Angel Components and Layout Making a Course Unavailable to a Student Work Ethics Required Management of Course OFTC Student Accounts Student Learning Resources Faculty Learning Resources Requests for Purchase of Books or Journals Copyright Appendices Appendix Appendix

4 4 Definitions of Distance Education The Coordinator for Distance Education, along with the Dean of Academic Affairs for Distance Education, oversees all online courses. Oconee Fall Line Technical College offers web-enhanced, hybrid, and online courses. Web-enhanced courses are taught in the classroom as traditional courses but incorporate the use of web-based technologies. Web-enhanced courses are coded as a V schedule type in BANNER. Online courses are taught 100% via an online learning management system; students may only be required to come to campus for an orientation. All online classes contain at least one mandatory proctored event. Students not taking the mandatory event automatically fail the course. (Note: A student always has the right to come to campus to meet with the instructor, use the library, or do anything else that a traditional classroom student would do.) Online courses are coded as an O schedule type in BANNER. Hybrid courses simply mean that a class is taught through a combination of online instruction through the online learning management system and partially through a traditional classroom experience. These courses are taught partially via the Internet and partially via the classroom. Hybrid courses differ from web-enhanced courses in that hybrid courses are not assigned to a classroom for every contact hour described in the course catalog. If a course is coded as K1, the course would be taught 50% face-to-face and 50% online. If the course is coded as K2, the course would be taught 60% face-to-face and 40% online. The form of delivery for online instruction at Oconee Fall Line Technical College (OFTC) is via the World Wide Web within our courseware product Angel Learning Management Suite, accessible from any number of places (home, work, school, public library, etc.). Delivery via the web enables students and instructors accessibility from any number of locations (asynchronous), yet dependent upon how the instructor designs the course, students may be required to submit and participate in course requirements that are subject to specific time frames (synchronous). Having students participate in an online chat environment is an example of a "synchronous" environment in which students are required to participate in and be at a specific place at a specific time. Although OFTC recognizes that, at some points in a course, there may be some "synchronous" requirements, the goal is to make the courses that are designed by OFTC instructors and staff as asynchronous as possible. OFTC also utilizes Tandberg technology to offer courses via distance education means. The course is taught on one campus and then broadcast simultaneously to a classroom on a different campus that is monitored by a class proctor. Tandberg courses are coded as an X schedule type in BANNER. Distance Education Mission Statement As with on campus courses, distance education courses provide the information, skills, and abilities necessary for its graduates to attain primary employment; and offers opportunities for students to participate in a general education curriculum that promotes the development of intellectual, personal and social values and an understanding of society. The distance-learning program supports the College s mission by:

5 5 providing an assortment of courses, via the Internet that offer the same intensity, rigor, and experience as those same courses offerings on campus; allowing students to electronically complete a course and earn college credit toward a particular program of study, below the baccalaureate level, that prepare graduates for immediate employment; offering continuing education and training to allow experienced employees to obtain and uphold advanced levels of competency; and supplying both full and part-time faculty and support staff who are trained in online instructional theories and practice. For any program to be successful, it must have the full support of the college in which it will be executed. Therefore, in support of the concentration and direction of the distance education program, Oconee Fall Line Technical College has adopted the following goals: Oconee Fall Line Technical College will supply distance-learning courses that are equivalent in quality to those offered on campus. Students must meet the same criteria as students enrolled in on-campus courses. Oconee Fall Line Technical College s online instructors must meet the same criteria as instructors teaching on-campus courses. Oconee Fall Line Technical College will have the same student outcomes for both on-campus and on-line students. Oconee Fall Line Technical College will provide library and instructional support resources to students enrolled in distance learning courses that are the same as those offered for on-campus programs. Oconee Fall Line Technical College will afford students enrolled in distance learning courses with student support services comparable to those in oncampus programs, including contact to admissions, registration, advisement, financial aid, textbooks, job placement and career services. Oconee Fall Line Technical College in collaboration with the Georgia Virtual Technical Connection (GVTC) will promote and identify students whose academic strengths and career objectives are well-matched with distance learning. Oconee Fall Line Technical College will work with the GVTC and Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) to supply human and technical resources necessary to consistently deliver distance-learning courses that uphold a high quality standard. Distance Education Faculty Responsibility and Course Requirements Full-time and adjunct professional staff employed at Oconee Fall Line Technical College must satisfy the terms and conditions of employment as set forth in the Terms and Conditions of Employment manual of the State Board of Technical and Adult Education. The Terms and Conditions of Employment manual is located in the Office of the Human Resources Coordinator.

6 6 Distance Education Faculty Credentials Faculty must meet the minimum academic and professional credentials required by OFTC, the Technical College System of Georgia and regional and/or national accrediting agencies. Please see OFTC s Faculty Credentialing Manual for specific faculty credentials. Distance Education Faculty Workload Faculty who teach distance education courses have the same teaching load as faculty members delivering courses by traditional on-campus means in accordance with Oconee Fall Line Technical College s Faculty Workload Policy. Distance education courses have the same credit hours and contact hours as those delivered by traditional means. Angel Learning Management Suite Training Instructors, who develop or offer an online course, receive Angel Learning Management Suite training. This training can be through the Distance Education Coordinator or designee. This training may be one-on-one or in a group setting. Additionally, distance education continuing education training sessions are scheduled regularly at the North and South Campuses. Instructors are also invited to attend webinars covering a wide range of topics related to distance education. Faculty learning resources are maintained in the OFTC Instructor Resources Area course in ANGEL. Resources such as software downloads, websites that contain free multimedia resources, instruction sheets, manuals, etc. are maintained on these sites. These items are also added to and updated continuously. Developing an Online Course Before starting to develop web-based instruction, instructors need to ask these questions about their course: Can the content be delivered via the web? Can the students work be adequately assessed? Can the student gain the knowledge and experience the same as a student would in a face-toface environment? Can the content of the course be delivered in an independent manner from the text book? The instructor still guides and motivates the student's learning and acquisition of skills; the web is only the medium of delivery. Although textbooks are considered a guide, instructors should call upon their independent skills, remaining true to the set objectives of the course, to meet the course objectives and determine the greatest success of their students.

7 7 Once instructors have determined that their course content is suitable for delivery online, course development may begin. Points to consider when building a course Do not assume students will know or figure out how to find course material and navigate through the course. Explain thoroughly how to use Discussion Forums, submit assignments, use system mail, etc. Make expectations known at the beginning of the online course regarding attendance, participation, grading, submissions, etc. and include instructions for each area. Plan ahead. Build your course on paper first: unless you are using a course cartridge, which provides a structure for the material in the course for you, carefully work out the best outline, or structure, for the content you need to deliver. Consider the use of modules Content delivery through weekly folders Content delivery through unit or chapter folders Do not string material down a single page and hope the students will intuit the organization of the course Before you build it, make sure the organization you ve decided upon is consistent with your teaching style, as well as the content itself Make sure that all grading criteria are explained in your syllabus. Do not introduce new grading rules in the middle of a term Build community deliberately Delivering a fully online course strictly through text is less effective. Incorporate multimedia Graphics, flash, other devices that illustrate concepts and encourage students to study and interact with the material Do not include multimedia simply for the sake of being flashy or for grabbing attention choose your multimedia wisely Consider the goals of the assignment, as well as the overall goals of the course will the multimedia bring the students closer to achieving those goals? Provide opportunities for one-on-one discussion Responses/feedback to assignments Personalized s Chats that are informal, ice-breaker type sessions Provide opportunities for interaction within the online community: Chats Live office hours Discussion forums Group/team s Create a Timeline for students to be populated in courses (ask Coordinator of Distance Education generally 7 business days) What to do with course enrollments during the term 3 day, no harm, no foul period students may drop/add a course in the first 3 days of the term with no penalty from Financial Aid. Deletion of students should not occur. You may disable the students. Students who attend once should NOT be deleted during this period, they should be disabled inside the course roster.

8 8 Student withdrawals NO deletions from course roster records of student participation and work must be maintained. Students dropping the course should be disabled in the course roster. Below are descriptions and suggested uses of each page and tab found in an Angel course. Specific instructions on creating or loading materials, editing and rearranging content, and navigating through Angel can be found in the Angel 8.0 Instructor Reference Manual (See Appendix1). 1. Course Home Page On this page are nuggets, specific predetermined areas that contain selections that perform specific tasks. Nuggets may be turned on or off depending on the desired functionality of the course. A few popular nuggets an instructor may use are Course Mail: Students can contact the instructor or other students by sending messages inside the Angel. Students can only send messages to instructors and other students in courses in which they are currently enrolled. Live Office Hours: The instructor can be available for a virtual chat session during posted scheduled live office hours. Students can simply click on the office hours link and request a chat. Course Announcements: Students are advised to check the announcements each time they login. The instructor will post updates and reminders in this area. An online dictionary: A quick and convenient check for meanings of words and spellings! Calculator: A very easy to use calculator GALILEO: Students can use this service to research. Google search: This one is obvious. 2. Calendar tab Instructors may post assignments on a visual calendar. This offers a quick visual representation of assignment due dates for both instructors and students. 3. Lessons tab In this tab, instructors will place most of the content for the course. Instructors advise students to review all content in this area. Course content is everything that the instructor expects the student to complete. This includes items such as folders to divide the content area into logical groupings, instruction sheets for explanations such as the syllabus, drop boxes for student assignment delivery, assessments for quizzes and exams, discussion forums for student interaction, and several others. Details on how to setup and use these components can be found in the Angel 8.0 Instructor Reference Manual (See Appendix1). 4. Communicate tab Instructors may access their course mail and discussion forums here. Any chats may be available here, as well. 5. Report tab Instructors may run many different types of reports. Depending on the category and type of reports settings, instructors can track almost every dynamic of the class. Details of report setup can be found in the Angel 8.0 Instructor Reference Manual (See Appendix1).

9 9 Course Evaluation Prior to an online course going live, courses must be reviewed to ensure that the content meets the standards of all governing agencies. Content should be presented in an interesting and simple format. Courses: are reviewed by the Dean of Academic Affairs to ensure that course standards are being met; are reviewed by the instructor to make the content as engaging as possible; are reviewed by the Distance Education Coordinator to ensure that the course is properly organized and formatted in ANGEL; When the course is approved according to the Online Course Evaluation Form (See Appendix 2), the course will be added to ANGEL and will be ready for student enrollment. Once a course is live and is being used by students, the course is evaluated by each student in the course utilizing a survey in Class Climate. Students are encouraged to fill out an anonymous survey at the end of the term per course. This input is shared with the instructor to give insight as to how to improve the course content and also with the appropriate Dean of Academic Affairs. If the Dean notices a trend with the course evaluations, the Dean will once again review the course. Faculty Evaluation All OFTC full-time faculty are evaluated annually. Normally the evaluation is conducted prior to May 31 st by supervisors, and documentation is submitted to the Human Resources office by June 30 th. A copy of the faculty evaluation form is located on Faculty & Staff, HR Forms & Links. Part-time faculty are evaluated upon their first term of employment with the college. If the division chairperson suspects issues with an adjunct faculty member, hears complaints from students, or notices comments on the course evaluation form, the division chairperson evaluates that part-time faculty member and consults with the appropriate Dean of Academic Affairs. Additionally, all college faculty are evaluated by each student in the course utilizing a survey in Class Climate. Students are encouraged to fill out an anonymous survey at the end of the term per course. This input is shared with the instructor to give insight as to how to improve instruction and also with the appropriate Dean of Academic Affairs. If the Dean notices a trend with the faculty evaluations, the Dean will once again review the faculty member. Master Courses Once the course is approved, a Master Course should be developed. Master Courses are courses that are only used to develop and house the most current content for a specific course. At the beginning of every term, the content of master courses are copied into the live course in which students are enrolled. Master courses will never be used for student enrollment. Any modification of a course s content should always be done in the master course. This ensures consistent pedagogy, instructional integrity and course look and feel across all sections of large enrollment courses. Individual course sections are a one generation copy of the content in the Master Course. A designated lead instructor has permission to edit Master Course content. Changes made to Master Course content apply to all future course sections.

10 10 Flexible permissions give alternate instructors such as course section teaching assistants rights to supplement Master Course content with unique files, assessments and other learning objects to enable individualized instruction. Getting Connected If students are running a dial-up connection, please note that such connections sometimes time out. If students have taken Angel tests before and find that the connection times out before they finish the tests, they may want to consider taking the tests for the course on a faster connection (a DSL or cable connection), perhaps at a friend s home or at the school. They will also need to consider the advice following this paragraph, as will those students running faster connections. Angel 8.0 only supports Internet Explorer 7, 8, and 9, Mozilla.3+, or Google Chrome browsers inside the internet for an Angel course to function properly. You may download Internet Explorer for free from or download the free Mozilla browser by visiting and following the instructions there. If using Internet Explorer, students will need to adjust their internet security settings. First, they will need to allow pop-ups on the Angel site, which may involve adjusting the Active X controls. (Look for the yellow tool bar just below the tool bar or the search bar on the browser. Right-click on it, then allow popups or adjust the controls for that site.) Students can access internet security controls through the Tools button at the top of your screen. Drop down to Internet Options and then select the Security options to modify. Finally, students will want to Allow Angel as a trusted site on Internet Explorer by adjusting the trusted sites in the internet options screen. Please refer to Angel Supported Browsers (See Appendix1). Angel Components and Layout Angel System Check Box The system check box performs a quick system check to validate if the computer being used has all the required software plug-ins installed and system settings enabled. Every listed item must be installed in order for Angel to function properly. A green check beside the item name indicates that the item is installed and working correctly. A red X indicates the need to install that item. After all elements are installed, instructors may log in. Please refer to Angel Tour menu selection Understanding the System Check Nugget (See Appendix1). Angel Log In To access Angel Learning Management Suite use the following link This link is on OFTC web site s home page. Everyone using Angel must log into Angel by entering their Username and Password. Instructor and student usernames are generated by the Banner system and follow a specific protocol as well as their passwords. An example instructor username and password follows: Name: John Longfellow Username à 817_jlongfe1 Password à 817_jlongfe1 817_ is Oconee Fall Line Tech s number prefix for instructors + j is the first character of instructor s first name + longfe instructor s last name up to 6 characters. After six characters the last name is truncated and a number is assigned by Banner. Instructors are prompted to change their initial password after their first login.

11 11 An example student s username and password follows: Name: John Longfellow Student ID number: Username à 17_ Password à 17_ _ is Oconee Fall Line Tech s number prefix for student s the student s ID number. Students are prompted to change their password after their initial login. Making a Course Unavailable to a Student If a student is dropped from a course for any reason, it is better to let the student remain in ANGEL but disable the student s ability to access the course rather than deleting the student from the ANGEL course. This way all course statistics and grades are retained on the student, but the student will not be able to access the course. This helps at the end of the term when attendance has to be verified for financial aid purposes or if a student disputes a grade. Please refer to Angel 8.0 Instructor Reference Manual (See Appendix1). Work Ethics All students in online courses must be assigned a midterm and final work ethics grade. This form should be ed to the student, and their returning it is their acknowledgement in place of their signature. An electronic copy is accessible on InfoFusion. Online work ethics exercises have been developed and are at following link They are easily incorporated into course content on a weekly basis just as in a face to face course. Required Management of Course All s/messages must be acknowledged within 24 hours (not including weekends and holidays). Communicate with students at least three times per week even if nothing is due. Use the student s OFTC account for communication. Make the course unavailable to students who have been dropped. DO NOT DELETE STUDENTS OFF THE ROSTER!!!! Have a scheduled time to work on internet classes; only grade on due dates. Actively maintain your course Announcements Keep in touch with students through weekly announcements Identify pertinent information for students through announcements Upcoming tests or due dates Records Opportunities and events on campus Reminders of where to locate materials or how to find grades inside the course

12 12 Grade books should be downloaded weekly Course should be backed up weekly Print login reports or class attendance records weekly to verify attendance online Representative samples of graded student work should be downloaded and stored with course during term Updates Anytime updates are made to material that has already been distributed to the students, notify these students of the change. For this reason, instructors may not want to build too many date sensitive items into the course as you will have to maintain all of these date references each term. Using a single schedule (in the syllabus), as well as the course calendar, is an effective way of minimizing maintenance on dates inside the course. Check links inside the course regularly remove or repair broken links Report any problematic features to your Point of Contact (Coordinator of Distance Education) as soon as possible. When requesting assistance, please be sure to provide the following information to the Point of Contact: When problem occurred Nature of problem What operating system you are running What internet browser (and which version) you are using Which course is involved (CRN needed) Provide a timeline for feedback on assignments and return work along this timeline so students will know their current standing in the course Double check settings on assessments and assignments before reporting a problem. Make sure that access, interaction, and calendar items reflect consistent dates and grading criteria, for example. OFTC Student Accounts All students will be given an OFTC account upon registration. Students with questions regarding their OFTC accounts can find information on the OFTC internet homepage or by accessing: Student Learning Resources Student learning resources are maintained on the Oconee Fall Line Technical College s Library s (OFTC) web page ( Access to resources is continuously updated as pertinent, new resources are released and/or found. Faculty Learning Resources In addition to one-on-one reference help, the Library staff provides library research instruction services for faculty, staff, and students. Library staff will prepare an instruction session for your class based on your curricular needs. Workshops, orientation tours, and online web-based instruction are also available. Library news, handouts, and web pages are frequently updated with the latest information.

13 13 Requests for Purchase of Books or Journals If you have a specific book title or series you wish the library to purchase, please contact either the Librarian or the Director of Library Services. You can call, send an message, or drop a note in the mail. Please provide as much information as possible including: title, author, publisher, ISBN, edition, number of volumes, and publisher address. Purchase of a specific title depends on the curricular needs of the College and budget constraints; therefore, purchase of a specific title is not guaranteed. Please forward all requests for new journal titles to the Director of Library Services. Copyright Oconee Fall Line Technical College and the State of Georgia comply with all United States and International copyright laws and treaties. The responsibility to ensure that all materials used in the classroom comply with the conditions of fair use belongs to each faculty member. Please contact the Director of Library Services for more information.

14 14 Appendices

15 15 Appendix1 To access Angel 8.0 Instructor Reference Manual, click on the following: To Access Angel Supported Browsers, click on the following To access Angel s Tour, click on the following: The above links are also found on Oconee Fall Line Tech s website.

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17 17 Appendix 2 Online Course Evaluation Course Title Course Instructor Criteria for Course Organization Course makes use of technology to enhance student learning. A clear, complete course overview, syllabus, and schedule are included in the course. The course provides for timely and appropriate interaction between students and faculty and among students. Sufficient learning resources and materials to increase student success are available. Information is provided to students on how to communicate with the online instructor, including information on the processes for these communications. Important dates can be clearly identified. Assessment and assignment feedback procedures are provided. The course design allows for the instructor to adapt learning activities to accommodate students needs. The course design engages students in learning activities that address a variety of Meets Criteria Partially Meets Criteria Does Not Meet Criteria Comments

18 18 learning styles and preferences. Criteria for Course Content The course structure includes adequate and appropriate methods and procedures to assess students mastery of content. The course content and assignments are aligned with TCSG curriculum and standards The course content and assignments are of sufficient rigor, depth, and breadth to teach the standards and identified student learning outcomes. The course goals and objectives are measureable and clearly state what the student will know or be able to do at the end of the course. Meets Criteria Partially Meets Criteria Does Not Meet Criteria Comments Distance Education Coordinator s signature Date Dean of Academic Affairs signature Date