Strategy

ELI Key Issues in Teaching and Learning

keyissues2019ELIRecently, the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative released the 2019 “Key Issues in Teaching and Learning“.

Each year, ELI surveys the higher education community to determine key issues and opportunities in postsecondary teaching and learning. These key issues serve as the framework, or focal points, for our discussions and programming throughout the coming year.

More than 1,400 community members voted, and the following were identified as the 2019 Key Issues.

This blog post captures the highlights from the ELI’s 2019 Key Issues with alignment and connection to the work of the eLearning and Emerging Technologies team at GVSU.

 

1 – Faculty Development & Engagement

ELI1The eLearning and Emerging Technologies team at GVSU is on mission to engage with faculty and to “Support faculty pursuing innovation in teaching and learning…”

Innovation in teaching and learning happens when technology is creatively applied to craft active learning techniques that help students most efficiently achieve learning objectives.

The following facets of the eLearning team provide effective faculty development at GVSU:

From a professional development perspective, the eLearning team offers: consultations and coaching, on demand support, seminars and workshops, a teaching and technology podcast, tips for teaching with technology, faculty learning communities, video “TECHBytes”, and a “Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium” that has been held for 18 years.

2 – Online & Blending Learning

ELI2Distance education continues to grow at GVSU with a +25% increase in enrollment in online/hybrid classes since 2017.  With over 5,000 student enrollments in the Fall 2018 semester, just over 17% of all students are taking at least 1 online or hybrid course.

To support distance education initiatives, eLearning and Emerging Technologies has trained over 250 faculty to teach online/hybrid classes in the past year through the Foundations of Online and Hybrid Course Development and Delivery course.

As one of the most desired professional development opportunities, the “Foundations of Online and Hybrid Course Development and Delivery” workshop  is a required training for all faculty that teach an online or a hybrid class at GVSU. As part of this professional development, Blackboard competencies are also required.

As faculty begin to engage with online and blended learning, and construct courses to serve remote learners, the skills and techniques learned also provide extensive benefits to on-campus students as well.

3 – Instructional & Learning Experience Design

ELI3Through the IDeL group of instructional designers, the eLearning team facilitates faculty learning communities on the topic of online teaching and learning, enhancing the skills of faculty. The instructional designers have also established TIP (theory into practice) sheets, offering guidance to faculty in the use of student feedback to help shape and improve teaching.

The eLearning team also hosts regular weekly open office hours to connect directly with faculty, enabling opportunities to focus on learning experience design by leveraging technology.

Finally, each year, the eLearning team organizes the Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium to provide a venue to showcase unique innovative pedagogical approaches based on peer experience in delivering high quality courses.

4 – Digital & Information Literacy

ELI4GVSU has established opportunities for students to build literacy and fluency as it relates to the use of everything digital. The eLearning team supports equipping the digital literacy of students and the campus community by offering a variety of enterprise applications and services.

The eLearning Digital Studio maintains a vast project list that provides great breadth and depth of leveraging to technology that contributes to dialogue around 21st century literacy skills for students.

Virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, and a wide array of other emerging technologies are provided to students through the Atomic Object Technology Showcase.

Further, the eLearning team is looking into the future by working collaboratively to establish more support for student-based digital media creation at GVSU through a potential “Digital Media Center“.

5 – Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

ELI5Diversity, equity, and inclusion is “built-in to the DNA” at GVSU through the university’s vision:  “GVSU demonstrates its commitment to providing an inclusive learning environment where all students can explore new directions, find their niches, and develop skills for life and productive careers.”

The eLearning team focuses on supporting inclusive education through accessibility and UDL by equipping faculty. Blackboard Ally was adopted and put into production at GVSU in the summer of 2018 to:  generate awareness, build capacity, and increase institutional oversight of accessibility.

In addition, Panopto was implemented to provide video caption capability for faculty who are using instructional video content in their teaching. Both Ally and Panopto support the principles of inclusive education through accessibility and UDL.

6 – Competency and New Methods of Assessment

ELI6eLearning facilitated the implementation of open badges for faculty professional development in partnership with the Faculty Teaching and Learning Center and University Libraries at GVSU.  In fact, the first badge awarded at GVSU was eLearning and Emerging Technologies’s “#EdTech Summer Teaching Institute” badge. Further, 7 badges are currently offered by eLearning, including 4 Blackboard badges, a digital media badge, and a badge for the successful completion of Foundations of Online and Hybrid Course Development and Delivery.

GVSU also offers a variety of credit and non-credit student badges such as mobile computing, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

7 – Learning Analytics

ELI7Taking advantage of “big” data and “small” data through analytics offers many opportunities.

BIG data, meaning the large scale and mass amounts of data that can inform strategic decisions. Also, SMALL data in the use of course level information about students and their levels of engagement in their courses. Solutions that include early alert, intervention, and that provide student insights empower faculty and advisors with unique capabilities in the support of early alert to improve student retention.

Applications such as Starfish Retention Solutions and Blackboard Predict provide capabilities to inform faculty and advisors with students at-risk through early alert, and also at the individual instructor level through in course tools such as the Blackboard Retention Center.

Notable also is “Clicks, Grades, Engagement, and Student Success” whereby, Blackboard has provided research in how successful students are using learning management system tools based on learning analytics.

“The most successful students are those who access MyGrades most frequently; students doing poorly do not access their grades. Students who never access their grades are more likely to fail than students who access them at least once.”

8 – Open Education

ELI8GVSU has been involved in the open education resources (OER) movement for many years, and most recently has seen a growth in the adoption and use of #OER in teaching and learning. For example, there have been several adoptions of OpenStax textbooks in Chemistry and Mathematics and a new interdisciplinary team lead by the university’s library is helping to coordinate resources and raise awareness.

In fact, GVSU has been participating with the K-12 community through the #GOOPEN initiative as part of the US Department of Education’s goal to encourage states, school districts and educators to use openly licensed educational materials to transform teaching and learning. GVSU joined the K-12 #GOOPEN initiative in January last year.

Further, there has been activity across the state for several years, and one recent example is the #MIOERSummit, which brought together faculty across the state with the goal of improving student success through the use and adoption of OER. At GVSU, students have saved over $480,000 in textbook costs, with 3000+ course sections each semester that require no paper textbook.

9 – Evaluating Instructional & Learning Innovations

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Gathering data to inform decision making enables measurement and supports continuous quality improvement.

The eLearning team has used surveys to gather improvement recommendations for the Foundations of Online and Hybrid Course Design and Development course, Blackboard, and also the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research survey of faculty and students and their attitudes and use of technology in education.

10 – Academic Transformation

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The eLearning team aligns with GVSU’s 2021 Strategic Plan in the following areas that support academic transformation and innovative faculty development and strategic academic transformation:

Institutional outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.

Objective 1.D.2: At least 93% of faculty members regularly use electronic course management tools, such as Blackboard, in their teaching.

Objective 3.D.2: At least 30% of undergraduate courses are offered in innovative approaches and formats, such as hybrid, online and competency-oriented.

Objective 3.D.3: At least 30% of graduate courses are offered in innovative approaches and such as hybrid, online and competency-oriented.

Objective 4.D.1: Effective technologies are integrated into every function and structure across the institution.

As part of the eLearning team’s work toward academic transformation, the latest emerging technologies are a focus of the Atomic Object Technology Showcase. The mission of the showcase is to provide faculty, staff, and students with an immersive and engaging environment to: interact, discover, learn, and share how innovative emerging technologies can enhance teaching and improve student learning at GVSU. With over 40 emerging technology exhibits that include virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D printing and makerspace, the showcase is an outstanding and very unique example of education, technology, and innovation.

See also: “EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative ‘2018 Key Issues’ Meet the Initiatives in eLearning at GVSU”

 

Top 8 Posts from 2018

At GVSU, the eLearning and Emerging Technologies team is here to support faculty pursuing innovation in teaching and learning. Our team is dedicated to supporting faculty, contributing to teaching excellence, and enhancing student success through:

  • exemplary instructional design
  • effective application and integration of instructional technologies
  • interactive digital media development
  • administration and enhancement of the university’s enterprise learning management system (Blackboard)
  • deployment of innovative emerging technologies

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Reflecting back on 2018, we would like to recognize and celebrate the work of faculty at GVSU in their efforts to advance education through the application of technology in teaching.

Here are the top 8 posts from the eLearning blog in the year 2018:

1 – 7 Things you didn’t know that Blackboard can do!

2 – GVSU selects Blackboard Ally to Support Inclusive Education

3 – First ever hackGVSU ‘Hackathon’ brings Innovative Ideas to Enhance Blackboard at GVSU

4 – Applying the Blackboard LMS to TPACK

5 – Teaching with the Lightboard at GVSU

6 – EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative “2018 Key Issues” meet the Initiatives in eLearning at GVSU

7– eLearning Team celebrates receiving the 2018 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Professional Development

8 – GVSU selects Panopto to Increase Accessibility and Enhance Teaching with Video

GVSU’s Technology Showcase and eLearning team at the Intersection of the EDUCAUSE NMC Horizon Report

nmcreportIt’s here! The 2018 NMC Horizon Report! Thankfully EDUCAUSE came to the rescue to help complete NMC’s work after the New Media Consortium declared bankruptcy.  Always an outstanding trend report which identifies and describes the areas in highered that bring challenges and opportunities in educational technology – all with the focus on the impact on teaching and learning.

QUESTION > So where does GVSU fit into this report? What are the key areas that align with projects or initiatives that are occurring here at the university? This post will attempt to provide links to various activities and work happening that focuses on the current trends, challenges, and developments in this report.

According to the report, here are the key areas trends, challenges, and developments:

Key TRENDS Accelerating Higher Education Technology Adoption

Short Term—Driving technology adoption in Higher Education for the next one to two years

  • Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
  • Redesigning Learning Spaces

Mid-Term—Driving technology adoption in Higher Education for the next three to five years

  • Proliferation of Open Educational Resources
  • The Rise of New Forms of Interdisciplinary Studies

Long-Term—Driving technology adoption in Higher Education for five or more years

  • Advancing Cultures of Innovation
  • Cross-Institution and Cross-Sector Collaboration

Significant CHALLENGES Impeding Higher Education Technology Adoption

Solvable—Those that we understand and know how to solve

  • Authentic Learning Experiences
  • Improving Digital Literacy

Difficult—Those that we understand but for which solutions are elusive

  • Adapting Organizational Designs to the Future of Work
  • Advancing Digital Equity

Wicked—Those that are complex to even define, much less address

  • Economic and Political Pressures
  • Rethinking the Roles of Educators

Important DEVELOPMENTS in Technology for Higher Education

Time to Adoption: One Year or Less

  • Analytics Technologies
  • Makerspaces

Time to Adoption: Two to Three years

  • Adaptive Learning Technologies
  • Artificial Intelligence

Time to Adoption: Four to Five years

  • Mixed Reality
  • Robotics

GVSU’s Technology Showcase and eLearning team at the Intersection of the EDUCAUSE NMC Horizon Report

Atomic Object Technology Showcase – Emerging Technology and Makerspace

Established as a hub of high-tech experiences in the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons, the showcase has seen over 60,000 visitors since being open in August of 2013. The average visitor count is almost 2,000 per month.

The showcase intersects with the Horizon Report in the areas of:

  • TRENDS – Redesigning Learning Spaces, Advancing Cultures of Innovation
  • CHALLENGES – Improving Digital Literacy
  • DEVELOPMENTS – Makerspaces, Artificial Intelligence, Mixed Reality, Robotics

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In the past 5 years, the showcase has been a beacon of emerging tech on campus, with the first accessible 3D printing, first pair of Google Glasses, first Oculus DK2 virtual reality headset, and the first true augmented reality device, the Microsoft HoloLens, that has been available at the university. A destination spot for campus tours, class visits, and the public at large, the showcase has been a place of “come and see”! Here is a list of highlights from the showcase over the year.

In the next 5 years, our vision for the Atomic Object Technology Showcase is transitioning from “come and see” to “go and do“.

By “go and do” we intend to dig deeper into the curriculum and to better connect students and learning – faculty and teaching to the technology. Integrating the technology more deliberately is key. In fact, the Digital Studio in eLearning and Emerging Technologies has begun work to develop 360 video, augmented reality, and virtual reality experiences. Here are a few examples of the Digital Studios past projects.

COMPUTER GENERATED MODELS

A Computer Generated 3D Molecule in Grand Valley's Technology Showcase

The Digital Studio along with the Atomic Object Technology Showcase created computer generated 3D models to be displayed in a Microsoft HoloLens with the Biomedical Sciences department to better understand molecules and compounds.

360 DEGREE FARM TOUR

360 Farm Tour

Working with Cheryl Kaleka from the College of Education the Digital Studio created a 360 degree tour of Fellinlove Farms which aims to create a therapeutic environment for children with special needs.

AUGMENTED REALITY VISUAL FIELD CUT

Stereoscopic view of Grand Valley's Allendale Campus

With the help of Occupational Therapy assistant professor Carla Slabaugh, The Digital Studio created an augmented reality app. When used with a phone and an augmented reality headset, students can see what a patient with a left visual field cut would experience.

eLearning and Emerging Technologies Team – Monitoring Trends, Advancing Innovation, Rethinking Roles of Educators

Established in August of 2014, the eLearning and Emerging Technologies team in Information Technology has been on mission and dedicated to:

…supporting faculty, contributing to teaching excellence, and enhancing student success through: exemplary instructional design, effective application and integration of instructional technologies, interactive digital media development, administration and enhancement of the university’s enterprise learning management system (Blackboard), and the deployment of innovative emerging technologies.

The eLearning team’s mission intersects with the Horizon Report in the areas of:

  • TRENDS – Redesigning Learning Spaces, Proliferation of Open Educational Resources, Advancing Cultures of Innovation
  • CHALLENGES – Improving Digital Literacy, Advancing Digital Equity, Rethinking the Roles of Educators

Our team has been centered on executing the following strategies:

  • Leverage exemplary instructional design and instructional technologies to: create pedagogically sound and learner centered instruction, improve and ensure course quality, enhance faculty effectiveness, and to increase student success and retention.
  • Accelerate the evaluation, implementation, and application of educational technologies by coordinating resources, assisting, equipping, and empowering faculty and students.
  • Partner with faculty, staff, and students, to showcase, advocate, and increase awareness of the effective application of innovative instructional technologies through sharing best practices.
  • Develop interactive digital media courseware and resources to enhance teaching and improve student learning.
  • Advance the capabilities and adoption of the university’s enterprise course management system (Blackboard) to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of content delivery, assessment, and communication to support innovative teaching and learner engagement.
  • Build institutional capacity to: integrate and implement technologies into teaching and learning practices, generate economies of scale, and increase their deployment across the institution.
  • Investigate, acquire, test, prototype, pilot, research, and evaluate cutting-edge emerging technologies that have the potential to transform education, enhance teaching, and improve student learning.
  • Survey, collect data, analyze, and evaluate the effectiveness of instructional technologies, services, and support.

2018 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Professional Development

The eLearning team at GVSU was recently recognized by Blackboard by receiving the 2018 Catalyst Award for Professional Development. In short, the team was recognized for their creative suite of innovative professional development support and resources at Grand Valley State University. 

“The eLearning team’s focus is centered on innovation in new pedagogies and the creative use of technologies at the intersection of teaching and learning. By leveraging Blackboard, the eLearning team provides high quality professional development through empowering faculty and students in the creation of the next generation of education.”

Active Learning and Technology Enhanced Classrooms

Through direct consultation with faculty, eLearning assists and helps to establish and accelerate conversations around active learning and redesigning learning spaces. Currently, GVSU has established a variety of student-centered classroom environments.

Active learning classrooms provide a unique faculty and student experience as the spaces include flexible and movable furniture and technology to support: 1) a student-centered design, 2) enhanced collaboration, 3) increased faculty/student engagement, and 4) improved interaction through dynamic group work and classroom communication.

The university has dedicated 12 spaces for active learning, a variety of informal learning spaces, group study rooms, and digital media classrooms as well. Here is a list of GVSU’s Technology Enhanced and Active Learning Classrooms.

Open Educational Resources

GVSU is seeing also a proliferation of open educational resources with increases in adoption and use by faculty at the university.

eLearning and Emerging Technologies provides faculty with support to:

  • Incorporate OER to make courses more flexible and effective
  • Explore learning object repositories and open textbook materials to discover effective OER
  • Learn tools and technologies for creating customized instructional materials with OER
  • Leverage OER in teaching by applying quality instructional design
  • Integrate OER into Blackboard courses, assignments, and assessments

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$480,000+ 
Estimated student savings from OER use by faculty in Fall 2017 and Winter 2018

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3,000+
The number of course sections each semester which require no paper textbook.

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$135
The difference between the cost of a new hardcover OpenStax Chemistry OER textbook used in CHM 115/116 and the cost of a used copy of the formerly-used textbook.

 

Rethinking Education

Finally, on the topic of rethinking the roles of educators, the eLearning team’s slogan is: “supporting faculty pursuing innovation in teaching and learning”. As technology has impacted every aspect of our culture, so to has it shaped the classroom, teaching, and learning. Through a unique intersection of instructional design, emerging technology, digital media development, learning management system enhancement, and advances in teaching with technology, the eLearning team supports the rethinking of education.

Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium

From a support and services perspective, eLearning provides consultations and coaching, on demand support, seminars and workshops, faculty learning communities, and the “Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium“. This support and the events therein provide opportunities for the university to rethink education through the lens of technological advancement that supports student success.

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Distance Education

In addition, the university continues to provide flexible learning options that meet students’ needs through online and hybrid courses. The eLearning team supports this strategic initiative by assisting faculty as they learn, prepare, and teach distance education courses at GVSU.

Here are a few stats about distance education at GVSU:

  • Winter 2018 Enrollment
    • Online and hybrid enrollment expanded this year by 17% (from 2016) to include over 5,318 enrollments in online and hybrid classes at GVSU.
    • Enrollment in online and hybrid courses has grown by 78% since 2013.
    • In addition, 17% of all students at the university are enrolled in at least 1 online or hybrid class.
    • Online/hybrid courses were taught by 173 faculty in 177 unique courses, representing 12% of the classes at the university.
  • Summer 2018 Enrollment
    • Overall enrollment for summer was up 4%
    • 42% of all enrollment was online and hybrid in the summer (almost 4,000 students in total enrollment)
    • 10% increase in online/hybrid enrollment between last summer and this summer
    • 231 online/hybrid course sections

As we look further into the future, GVSU is focused on advancing education in a variety of ways. Specifically for the eLearning and Emerging Technologies team, we align most directly under the following 2021 Strategic Outcomes:

GVSU 2016-2021 Strategic Outcomes

Strategic Priority Area 1: Actively engage learners at all levels.

Institutional outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.

 Objective 1.D.2: At least 93% of faculty members regularly use electronic course management tools, such as Blackboard, in their teaching. Baseline: 89% of faculty indicated either daily or weekly use of Blackboard in their teaching according to a GVSU faculty survey conducted winter 2016.

Objective 2.E.1: At least 75% of faculty and 75% of staff participate in professional development to expand, enhance or extend their competencies and capabilities within the context of the responsibilities of their positions. Baseline for faculty will be determined via Digital Measures in summer 2015. Baseline for Fall 2014 for staff is 50-55%.

Objective 3.D.2: At least 30% of undergraduate courses are offered in innovative approaches and formats, such as hybrid, online and competency-oriented. Baseline for undergraduate courses for Fall 2014 is 6%.

Objective 3.D.3: At least 30% of graduate courses are offered in innovative approaches and such as hybrid, online and competency-oriented. Baseline for graduate courses for Fall 2014 is 25%.

Objective 4.D.1: Effective technologies are integrated into every function and structure across the institution. Baseline: In 2013, IT implementation was above the median on 24 of 49 indicators across 7 functional domains.

National Education Technology Plan @ GVSU

nationaltechplanRecently, the 2016 Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education National Education Technology Plan was revealed by the Office of Educational Technology, United States Department of Education.

The purpose of this plan is to set a vision and a plan for how technology can enable learning from K12 to higher education. The goal is to create a call to action and to offer recommendations for teachers, administrators, and professionals.

“Engaging and Empowering Learning Through Technology“

This 106 page report is broken down into the following sections:

  • Section 1: Learning – Engaging and Empower Learning through Technology
  • Section 2: Teaching – Teaching with Technology
  • Section 3: Leadership – Creating a Culture and Conditions for Innovation and Change
  • Section 4: Assessment – Measuring for Learning
  • Section 5: Infrastructure – Enabling Access and Effective Use

The key recommendations in the NETP, and those that resonate with our work in eLearning and Emerging Technologies include the following:

Section 1: Learning

We need to work to be creative and to build/design instruction that includes resources that take advantage of the flexibility and power of technology.  Leveraging technology can open up great flexibility and access to learning beyond the classroom walls.  Universal design, personalized learning, adaptive learning, and the use of learning objects or open educational resources are valuable in this work.  Our Digital Studio and Instructional Designers in IDeL support this work.

In addition, GVSU’s Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons and Atomic Object Technology Showcase provides informal and serendipitous learning opportunities through unique spaces that include active learning classrooms like the Steelcase media:scape LearnLab.

Section 2: Teaching

Coming along side faculty and equipping them with skills to leverage technology in creating instruction and learning activities for students is another focus of the eLearning and Emerging Technologies group.  We offer many seminars and individual consultations facilitated by instructional designers, instructional technologies, and digital media experts.

In addition as the university works to extend online and hybrid learning opportunities through the 2021 strategic plan, our team works in collaboration with faculty to make best use of enterprise applications such as Blackboard and emerging online technologies to support teaching and learning through the Atomic Object Technology Showcase.

Section 3: Leadership

Clear strategic planning through the eLearning and Emerging Technologies vision and mission provides institutional commitment and alignment for the advancement of educational technologies along with online and hybrid courses through the GVSU 2021 strategic plan.

Accelerating the topic of educational technology is also important.  These  conversations and connections are facilitated through events such as the Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, Teaching Circles facilitated by IDeL and supported by the FTLC provide opportunity to share best practices.

“Rather than viewing technology as an add-on component to support learning, leaders should take stock of current systems and processes across learning systems and identify those that can be augmented or replaced by existing technologies.”

Section 4: Assessment

Key to teaching and to learning is the aspect of assessment.  Learning analytics, formative and summative assessment strategies, dashboards, badges, goals, and enterprise surveys provide feedback about student learning.  Many of these capabilities can be executed through tools and capabilities in Blackboard, including the following: enterprise surveys, goals, badging, online assignments/assessments, journals, ePortfolios, and performance dashboards such as the Retention Center.

The eLearning and Emerging Technologies team, especially the IDeL group of instructional designers and the Digital Studio can assist and support faculty in the creation of effective learning activities such as: simulations, educational games, interactive video, and learning objects can engage students while gathering student performance against objectives.

Section 5: Infrastructure

“Only when learners have the tools necessary to complete these activities are they able to realize the potential of education technologies fully.”

In order to provide a foundation for student success, a reliable baseline of technology creates the backbone from which learning can occur through technologically infused activities.

GVSU’s technology enhanced classrooms, pervasive Wifi network, enterprise applications such as (Blackboard, Ensemble, TechSmith Relay, etc.) help to ensure all learners have access to the needed technologies that support the next generation of education.

“The timing has never been better for using technology to enable and improve learning at all levels, in all places, and for people of all backgrounds. From the modernization of E-rate to the proliferation and adoption of openly licensed educational resources, the key pieces necessary to realize best the transformations made possible by technology in education are in place.“

The eLearning and Emerging Technologies team is on mission to support the 2021 GVSU Strategic plan, along with the initiatives and recommendations set forth by the 2016 Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education National Education Technology Plan.

ECAR Study of Students and Technology @ GVSU

EDUCAUSE has recently released the 2015 “ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology” that provides insight into students and their use of technology in education.  This research has been ongoing since 2004 with 970,000 students from 161 institutions participating in this year’s survey.

This was the first year for GVSU to participate in this research study. In fact, there were 50,274 respondents from 11 countries and 43 states that participated in the 2015 ECAR survey.

The following is a summary of the key study areas with the resulting key findings:

  • Technology Experiences – More than ever, students are using technology and are generally positive in reporting their experiences. Technology has had a moderate influence in the students’ active involvement in classes.
  • Technology Ownership and the Campus Environment – More students than ever own devices that are web enabled.
  • Mobile Devices and Student Learning – While mobile devices carry a high level of interest, the use of these in education is low.
  • Technology Resources and Tools – There is evidence that technologies are not integrated for their full potential in education.
  • Analytics and Data Privacy – The majority of students see the institutional use of data as important in tracking their academic progress.
  • New Models for Education – MOOCs and competency-based education haven’t yet impacted undergraduates while:

“The majority of students say they learn best with a blend of online and face-to-face work.”

Here are a few highlights from the report, along with GVSU’s results that include benchmarks.

FACULTY USE OF TECHNOLOGY

For comparison, at GVSU, the results included the following:

USE OF LMS and COLLABORATION TOOLS

The follow graphs highlight the use of the Blackboard (LMS) and Collaboration Tools (eg. Blackboard Collaborate, etc.).

When students were surveyed as part of the ECAR study, 94% indicated that Blackboard was used in at least one of their courses with 54% reporting that all of their classes used an LMS.

BbUse

UseBbWish

When faculty at GVSU were asked in the ECAR study about their use of the LMS, they reported the following:

BbUsebyFaculty

When faculty were asked how often they typically use Blackboard, they indicated the following:BbOftenUse

Over 81% of faculty surveyed in the ECAR study at GVSU indicated the Blackboard was a very useful tool to enhance their teaching.BbValue.jpg

Similarly, when faculty were asked if the LMS is a very useful tool to enhance student learning, more than 74% agreed.

UseBbStudentLearning.jpg

Also asked in the study, was the use of online collaboration tools in courses.  Here are the results from the study:

UseCollab.jpg

UseCollabWish.jpg

MOBILE

In addition to the use of the LMS and online collaboration tools, the importance of mobile access to campus resources was highlighted in the report.  Most notable was the importance of checking grades, content, and accessing the LMS (eg. Blackboard).

EXPECTATIONS AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Importance of using technology and expectations for use by students was another highlight.  The top 4 included: search tools, LMS use (eg. Blackboard), online collaboration tools, and the use of laptops during class.

EXPERIENCE TAKING ONLINE COURSES

Finally, students were asked if they have taken a completely online class in the past year, and if they have ever taken and online course before.  The results are revealed in the charts below:

Related to these data above, GVSU currently offers a wide array of courses and degree programs in the online and hybrid format.  There are approximately 150 courses and just over 3,500 total student enrollments in distance education courses as of the Fall semester 2015.  In fact, this represents a 91% increase in enrollment since 2011 with 12% of students at GVSU taking at least 1 online/hybrid course.  In addition, over 500 faculty have been certified to teach online/hybrid courses through the Foundations course that is offered through IDeL and the FTLC. Finally, online and hybrid learning connects to GVSU’s 2021 Strategic Plan in objectives 3.D.2 and 3.D.3.

What are your thoughts about these results and the opportunities that are provided by leveraging technology in teaching and learning?

EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues and eLearning @ GVSU

Each year, EDUCAUSE releases the “Top 10 IT Issues and Strategic Technologies” report that will be released in January 2016.

The top 10 IT issues of 2016 are:

Reviewing the issues list from EDUCAUSE, the following areas are key in our mission and vision in our eLearning and Emerging Technologies group at GVSU:

#2 – Optimizing Educational Technology

#3 – Student Success Technologies

#10 – E-Learning and Online Education

Specifically, our mission is squarely targeted in the aforementioned areas for supporting faculty and students in traditional instruction as well as advancing our work as a university in online and hybrid classes.

Our eLearning and Emerging Technologies Mission Statement:

“eLearning and Emerging Technologies is dedicated to supporting faculty, contributing to teaching excellence, and enhancing student success through: exemplary instructional design, effective application and integration of instructional technologies, interactive digital media development, administration and enhancement of the university’s enterprise course management system (Blackboard), and the deployment of new innovative emerging technologies.”

Additionally, we are aligning our work to the GVSU 2021 Strategic Plan in the following areas:

Strategic Priority Area 1: Actively engage learners at all levels.

Institutional outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.

Objective 1.D.2: At least 20% of faculty members use state-of-the-art instructional methods and technologies in their teaching. Baseline: Education Center for Analysis and Research preliminary data is being collected for 2014-15, available June 2015.

Strategic Priority Area 2: Further develop exceptional personnel.

Institutional outcome E: Grand Valley strategically allocates its fiscal, human, and other institutional resources.

Objective 2.E.1: At least 75% of faculty and 75% of staff participate in professional development to expand, enhance or extend their competencies and capabilities within the context of the responsibilities of their positions. Baseline for faculty will be determined via Digital Measures in summer 2015. Baseline for Fall 2014 for staff is 50-55%.

Strategic Priority 3: Ensure the alignment of institutional structures and functions.

Institutional outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.

Objective 3.D.2: At least 30% of undergraduate courses are offered in innovative approaches and formats, such as hybrid, online and competency-oriented. Baseline for undergraduate courses for Fall 2014 is 6%.

Objective 3.D.3: At least 30% of graduate courses are offered in innovative approaches and such as hybrid, online and competency-oriented. Baseline for graduate courses for Fall 2014 is 25%.

Strategic Priority 4: Enhance the institution’s image and reputation.

Institutional outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies

Objective 4.D.1:Effective technologies are integrated into every function and structure across the institution. Baseline: In 2013, IT implementation was above the median on 24 of 49 indicators across 7 functional domains.

As we look into the future, we are excited by the potential and looking forward to supporting faculty in the delivery of the next generation of teaching and learning!

eLearning @GVSU Targets Assisting Faculty to Support Student Success

In a recent report by the Campus Computing Project, and highlighted by University Business in an article entitled: “Campus Computing Project takes pulse of higher ed IT” the following areas are being reported as campus IT priorities in the next 2 to 3 years:

Closer to home, #1 #3 #5 are what-we-do here in eLearning and Emerging Technologies @GVSU!  Our staff of instructional designers, technologists, digital media specialists, and system analysts are on mission to assist faculty in supporting student success, using technology as a lever.

Helping faculty adopt instructional technology is a top IT priority in higher ed.

Mentioned also in this report are:

  • OER – Open Education Resources
  • Adaptive Learning

Read the full article here. 

What do you think the top priorities for campus IT are? Should be?