For the very first time, Northern Illinois University offered in January 2013 a fully-online teaching effectiveness institute utilizing a combination of Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate, and Blackboard Mobile platforms. This cross-platform approach has proven to be very successful and provides a model for faculty to incorporate an integrated approach for implementing all three platforms in their teaching. In this session at BbWorld13 we will share NIU's cross-platform strategy, practices, and lessons learned that can be applied to any online professional development initiative.
Offering Online Professional Development Using a Cross-Platform Strategy
1. Offering Online Professional
Development Using a
Cross-Platform Strategy
JASON RHODE
Director of Distributed Learning
STEPHANIE RICHTER
Instructional Technologies Coordinator
Northern Illinois University
2. ABOUT PRESENTERS
JASON RHODE
Director of Distributed Learning
Northern Illinois University
jrhode@niu.edu
@jrhode
STEPHANIE RICHTER
Instructional Technologies Coordinator
Northern Illinois University
srichter@niu.edu
@slrichter
3. 2013 CATALYST AWARD
WINNING INITIATIVE
2013 Blackboard Catalyst
Teaching and Learning
Award
2013 Blackboard Catalyst
Staff Development
Award
8. ABOUT NIU
» Main campus in DeKalb, IL
located 65 miles West of
Chicago
» Total enrollment: 21,869
(Fall ‟12)
» 1,185 instructional faculty
» Student to faculty ratio:
18:1
» 39 academic departments;
57 undergraduate majors; 80
graduate programs
» 95% of undergrads and 79%
of grad students are from
Illinois
» 685 international students
from 116 countries
9. BLACKBOARD USAGE
AT NIU
» 98% of students
» 82% of instructional
Faculty/Staff/TAs
» 53% of course sections
» 4 course sections per student
on Blackboard
As of Fall 2012:
12. NUMBER OF CREDIT
COURSE SECTIONS
53.3% of all scheduled course sections among the 4,947 sections use Bb, fall ‘12
*Course sections range from face-to-face courses with online components to “online courses”
2,637
14. BLACKBOARD MOBILE
LEARN
App students can
install on their smart
phone or tablet to
access their
Blackboard course,
receive notifications,
and participate in
course activities
15. BLACKBOARD MOBILE
LEARN AT NIU
24,276 unique users during past year
Total Logins
Logins by Day of the Week Logins by Hours of the Day
22. MORE INFO ABOUT TEI AT
NIU
niu.edu/facdev/programs/history.shtml
1
2
23. WHY ONLINE TEI?
» Feedback from previous attendees asking for “online”
version
» Interest in exploring flexibility of the online delivery format
» Opportunity to model collaborate online learning
experience using available synchronous and
asynchronous tools
24. F2F VS. ONLINE
ATTENDANCE – SP „13
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Day 1 AM (F2F) Day 1 PM (F2F) Day 2 (Online)
Spring 2013 TEI Participants
51
46
58
36. ROLES FOR STAFF
presenter,
live discussions,
discussion board
Dan
Cabrera
Jeff
Geronimo
Janet
Giesen
Tracy
Miller
Cherie
Quillman
Jason
Rhode
Stephanie
Richter
presenter,
live discussions,
discussion board, twitter
host, moderator,
live discussions,
discussion board
tech assistance, live
tweeting @facdev,
discussion board
technical support,
live discussions,
logistics
coordinator, presenter,
live discussions,
discussion board, twitter
presenter,
live discussions,
discussion board, twitter
41. CUSTOM CLICKABLE
ICONS (48X48)
Recommended Mobile Apps
Links to Activities and Resources
Computer
System Check
Blackboard
Mobile Learn
Bb Collaborate
Mobile
NIU
Mobile
Intro to Bb
Collaborate
Bb Collaborate
Live Sessions Discussion Blog
Journal Wiki
Tweets
#niu #tei13
Presenters
& Staff Download
s
Badge
Online
Archive
Mobile
Archive
44. SUMMARY OF DECISIONS
MADE
» Picked topic
» Used a community
» Chose to make entirely
mobile-accessible
» Decided on roles for staff
» Additional resources
» Give-aways
» Used consistent
design template for
presentations
» Offered “badge” for
recognition
» Available after institute for
ongoing conversations
» Archives available of all live
sessions, accessible in
community
45. PROCESS FOR
DESIGNING / DEVELOPING
» Built using mobile-friendly design practices
Course fully-accessible via Bb Mobile app
Activities in live sessions (avoided web tour, used polling)
Use of guest links for Bb Collaborate sessions to make it
easier to access via mobile
50. FACILITATING STEPS
» Opened community 1 week early for preliminary access
and intro activities
» Used “Announcements” feature and email to notify
participants about sessions
» Used time availability feature to only show current
sessions link in a content area
» Online evaluation at the end of the institute
» Online and mobile archives available
67. ICONS AVAILABLE FOR
DOWNLOAD & REUSE
j.mp/niubbicons
Computer
System Check
Intro to Bb
Collaborate
Bb Collaborate
Live Sessions Discussion Blog
Journal Wiki
Tweets
#niu #tei13
Presenters
& Staff Download
s
Badge
Online
Archive
Mobile
Archive
70. FEEDBACK FROM
FACULTY PARTICIPANTS
“The online delivery of this subject
was critical to my understanding of
how it feels to be the learner as
well as the design required from a
faculty perspective.”
71. FEEDBACK FROM
FACULTY PARTICIPANTS
“It was really convenient to have
this (institute) online, and I think it
showed what Blackboard
Collaborate can do. I learned a lot
and have new ideas for the
upcoming semester.”
72. FEEDBACK FROM
FACULTY PARTICIPANTS
“This was wonderful! The flow
was easy to handle and I stayed
engaged throughout the day. I
LOVED being able to attend from
home.”
74. LESSONS LEARNED
1) Online format was very successful
2) Raised awareness of potential for using cross-platform
strategy in teaching and learning
3) Modeled many features of Bb Collaborate and Bb
Mobile Learn
4) Need to plan better backups (have backup activities if
there is a lull)
75. LESSONS LEARNED
5) Have plan for managing time between live sessions (left
30 mins between live sessions, but hadn‟t planned who
would stay in the session to see that everyone was
removed so archive could begin processing)
77. NEXT STEPS
1) Repeat model in the future, build upon
2) Possibly reuse content / framework that could be
replicated using mobile-friendly best practices
3) Consider other online formats (multi-day, extended
conversations, etc.)
4) Perhaps have invited speakers present instead of our
staff (save $ on travel expenses for invited speakers)