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Let’s get caught up with some of the recent Canvas updates and take a look at what’s to come. The most recent Canvas production release was March 31 and contains several small updates:

• DocViewer now allows users to comment on annotations, even if they are not the author of the annotation. This is useful for students adding questions to specific comments by instructors.

• DocViewer offers three options for line thickness for Free Draw annotations:

• If you are using TurnItIn, you may edit the language of the Similarity Pledge seen by students, or to adjust when the students see their originality score: immediately, after grading, after the due date, or never:

Please see the New Feature Screencast video below, or the Production Release Notes, for additional information.

The previous Canvas release (March 10) allows students to comment on course Announcements. When editing your Announcement, please check the checkbox if you would like students to be able to comment. Comments are off by default.

More information on the March 10 release can be found in the Production Release Notes and the New Feature Screencast.

As always, please contact the Macomb Center for Teaching and Learning at 586-226-4774 or ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about improving learner engagement and interaction in your courses, or if you would like to schedule a one-on-one professional development session on any of a number of topics related to online learning.

Last month’s blog focused on The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). The survey was administered at Macomb and other community colleges nationwide. Results are being compiled and analyzed by the survey organizers. Specific results for Macomb Community College will be shared at an upcoming FDD.

That leads us to the topic of this month’s blog – Engagement.   Student engagement, whether online or on-ground, can be enhanced with polling, gamification, and videos. Let’s take a look at some of the tools available.

For an on-ground class polling is great way to query students to determine what areas of course content they have mastered and what areas may need some additional clarification. In the spirit of the election year, here are some examples of free, cloud-based polling solutions in which students can use their phones to respond:

• Poll Everywhere – polleverywhere.com
• Easy Polls – easypolls.net
• eSurvey Pro – esurveyspro.com
• Poll Snack – pollsnack.com
• Canvas – https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-5131
                   https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-2092

While not limited to an on-ground course, polling may be more practical for an on-ground course. However, there are other tools that could work in an online course.

One option is to create a game to provide a quick check on student understanding. Not only does the Jeopardy Labs website have free software to create a Jeopardy game, it also provides the ability for you to create other games and practice tests/quizzes. For more information visit – https://jeopardylabs.com/

Another tool for online and on-ground courses that may be beneficial is the Future Me tool which enables students to send an email to themselves at some future date. This can be used to for reflection on past activities or a motivation message to keep the student focused. See https://www.futureme.org/ for more details.

Finally, incorporating a video into your online course can help to enhance student engagement. While not limited to use in online courses, incorporating them into an online course helps to add variety to the instructional materials and create a more personal connection to the students.

There are a couple of possibilities available. One is to stream one of 12,000 videos from the Films on Demand catalog available through the Macomb Library portal (http://www.macomb.edu/future-students/student-resources/library/find-books-videos/index.html).

Another possibility for adding a personal connection to students in your online course is to record and stream videos yourself using TechSmith Relay. Relay enables you to screen record content and then stream it from your own personal server channel. Visit their website to find out more about Relay from TechSmith. A college-wide license was purchased so there is no cost to you for this solution. Workshop information is available via the Professional Development Brochure or by contacting the CTL. You can register for training via WebAdvisor.

Remember that whether you include games or videos, both must meet accessibility standards.

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather and feel free to contact the Center for Teaching and Learning for assistance with integrating any of these technologies into your classroom.

Stay tuned for our next post when we will highlight other methods and tools that can be used to engage students.

The CCSSE (Community College Survey of Student Engagement) will be administered to Macomb students between Monday, March 28 and Wednesday, April 13. The CCSSE is celebrating its fifth year in ground-breaking efforts to promote institutional transparency and reporting on student learning. We, at Macomb, are proud to be part of these studies and use the feedback we receive to examine our educational practices and continuously improve them

What are the key findings about engagement and some related questions asked of students that can help us improve our teaching and learning at Macomb?

Active and Collaborative Learning:
During the current school year, how often have you:

• Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions.
• Made a class presentation.
• Worked with other students on projects during class.
• Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments.

Student Effort:
During the current school year, how often have you:

• Prepared two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in.
• Worked on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources.
• Come to class without completing readings or assignments.

Academic Challenge:
How much does your coursework at this college emphasize:

• Analyzing the basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory.
• Synthesizing and organizing ideas, information, or experiences in new ways.
• Making judgments about the value or soundness of information, arguments, or methods.

Student-Faculty Interaction
During the current school year, how often have you:

• Used e-mail to communicate with an instructor.
• Discussed grades or assignments with an instructor.
• Talked about career plans with an instructor or advisor.
• Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with instructors outside of class.

Support for Learners
How much does this college emphasize:

• Providing the support you need to help you succeed at this college.
• Encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds.
• Helping you cope with your nonacademic responsibilities (work, family, etc.).

Student engagement means motivation, curiosity, attentiveness and interest that a student has for a given class. A student who is “engaged” is a student who has invested themselves in the class beyond getting a good grade. Student engagement also refers to the methods and tools that are used by educators to reach their students and their effectiveness.

To get a sense of some of the information that CCSSE aggregates, here are a few sample questions that are asked of faculty members:

• How often do students ask questions in class or contribute to class discussions?
• How often do students skip your class?
• How often do your students discuss ideas from their readings or classes with you outside of class?

Students are surveyed as well to gauge their learning experiences and these are a few of the questions that are asked of them:

• In your experiences at this college during the current school year, about how often have you asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions?
• About how often have you participated with other students on projects during class?
• About how often have you worked with instructors on activities other than coursework?

CCSSE is a nationally recognized tool, which is intended to aid institutions in improving their educational practices to provide more engaging learning experiences. To learn more about CCSSE and their standards for student engagement, by visiting their website at: www.ccsse.org

For a current editorial on engagement, read the Glossary of Education Reform: www.edglossary.org/student-engagement

Be sure to check out next month’s blog post for more on student engagement!

Using online tools to perform a quick learning comprehension check may appear to be identical to pen-and-paper tests and raise-your-hand polls. However, they can actually have a far wider reach and effect on students. Benefits to using these technologies include:

• Testing your students’ knowledge and tailoring your lesson/review to their comprehension
• Allowing students to make mistakes anonymously (risk free)
• Igniting intellectual conversations

The question is, how do polling and quizzing applications differ from their non-technical counterparts?

To answer, let’s look at three free popular online review tools.

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