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North Shore Community College's Technology Across the Curriculum newsletter, Issue #25
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The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
I
2016
AWARDS TO 29 FACULTY MEMBERS IN DECEMBER 2015 In 2015 the Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC)
committee received more applications than ever before, and we
funded a record 29 projects. Our budget, however, prevented
us from funding a number of worthy projects. We were able to
fund all of the technology integration projects, but the online
and hybrid course development projects are expensive per
contractual requirements, and so those were the ones that we
were forced to limit.
(continued on p. 2)
CONTENTSTAC Projects 2
Blackboard Learn 12
TLO 14
NSCC Literary Websites 16
CreditsThe Edge is a publication of Technology Across the Curriculum. The editor is
Terri Whitney, professor of English and faculty coordinator of TAC. Layout is by
Ejyo Katagiri from the marketing department. Photography is by Kurt Eddy of
Media Services. Contributors to this issue are Andrea Milligan, Lance Eaton,
and TAC award recipients.
Far left: Maolis Gardens Rock Temple, Maolis
Road, Nahant; Rocks Along Maolis Road with
Little Nahant in Background; photography by Kurt
Eddy for the Poetry of Places website created as
a T.A.C. project by Carl Carlsen (one of the NSCC
projects featured in the upcoming computer kiosk
exhibit at the Lynn Museum)
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
PAGE 2
DEBORAH BEDELL, Department of Natural Sciences
I am developing a hybrid version of
Introduction to Microbiology, a course
which involves the study of viruses,
bacteria, protozoans, and the lower
fungi with special emphasis on their
environmental and medical implica-
tions. This course is a requirement for
many of the allied health programs.
These health programs require tight
scheduling demands as the students
need to have time for their clinical
requirements off campus. With a hybrid
course, the students can work at their
own pace, spending more time on the
areas that are more challenging for
them. Our diverse student population
has many work and family commit-
ments, and a hybrid course will allow
more flexibility and time learning
the lecture content. Moreover, the
hybrid design will allow the students
to use the online environment without
losing the hands-on aspects of the lab
portion of the course.
YVONNE BEIRNE, Adjunct, Early Childhood Education Program
I have been teaching Administration
and Supervision of Early Childhood
Programs (ECE 206) for five years.
Students in this class are usually eager
to upgrade their state certification
level for work advancement. The
hybrid version of the course which
I am developing will cover a broad
range of topics, and students will need
to manage themselves and their time
within the constraints of a 15-week
semester. They will compile resources
and networks to further assist them
in their future or current
administrative role.
Most participants work full time while
attending school as well as managing
families and multiple jobs. My goal
for creating this hybrid course is to
enable participants to understand
the role of an administrator through
online work, activities, discussions,
field work and a minimum of
face-to-face classes.
TAC PROJECTS: COMMENTS BY AWARD RECIPIENTS
We submitted all applications for
online and hybrid course development
that were approved by the committee
to the academic deans and asked them
to make the final determination based
on the needs in their divisions. With
the expectation that we will continue
to see a high number of applications
to develop online and hybrid courses,
we hope the administration will increase
the funding, but the current level of
staffing in Instructional Technology
and Design also limits the possibility
of increasing the numbers of approved
projects, so we hope that the adminis-
tration will address that problem
as well.
The Edge received replies from all
of the current award recipients who
were invited to comment on their
plans for these projects. Those com-
ments appear in the lead story along
with photographs of the recipients.
Also in this issue, Andrea Milligan,
Director of Instructional Technology
and Design, and Lance Eaton, Coor-
dinator of Instructional Design, have
contributed two articles, one on the
Teaching and Learning Online TAC
training program for faculty devel-
oping online and hybrid courses, and
another entitled “Blackboard Learn
Tool Spotlight.” That article describes
two features on Blackboard Learn that
may be new to faculty; SafeAssign, a
tool to help prevent plagiarism, and
Rubrics, an assessment tool. Finally,
Terri Whitney, TAC Coordinator and
editor of The Edge, has written an article
about the upcoming installment of
a NSCC Literary Websites kiosk at
the Lynn Museum which will feature
three literary websites developed at
NSCC, two with TAC grants.
29 FACULTY MEMBERS (cont. from p. 1)
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 3
TAC PROJECTS: COMMENTS BY AWARD RECIPIENTS
“One of the fastest growing
careers in business today is
social media marketing. In
response to the demand, NSCC
business department launched
the Social Media Marketing
Strategy [online] course.”— Dianne
McDermott Cerasuolo
Dept. of Business
JOHN BOSCO, Department of Business
I developed an updated version of the
hybrid course Financial Accounting
(ACC108). This updated course
incorporates the use of Connect
which is the McGraw-Hill online
learning management system. Also,
Connect is fully integrated into
Blackboard, so students access all
course assignments in Connect
through Blackboard. In addition,
student scores on assignments are
automatically downloaded into
Blackboard for use in the Grade
Center. The course is divided into
15 weekly modules. Each module
requires the students to review
interactive presentations, complete
a quiz, and complete a homework
assignment. The use of a textbook
is required.
DIANNE MCDERMOTT CERASUOLO, Department of Business
Social Media Goes Social
One of the fastest growing careers
in business today is social media
marketing. In response to the
demand, the NSCC business
department launched the Social
Media Marketing Strategy course
in the fall of 2015. This course
helps students develop actionable
critical thinking skills as well as the
strategic and hands-on experience
required for today’s social media
marketing careers.
Launched as an on campus ‘flipped’
class, the course will be available
this fall online. It only makes sense
that this course be offered online
as students who intend to pursue
marketing careers must be familiar
with independent research, analysis,
and application of theories to
practical situations. New for the
fall, students who complete the
course will also be credentialed as
“Hootsuite Certified.” NSCC is on
the forefront of offering this level
of advanced course.
NATHAN CHIO, Department of History, Government, and Economics
With my TAC grant this semester I’ll
be working on putting together an
online section of my World History 1
course. I hope to use this opportunity
to create an online class that takes
full advantage of the wealth of online
historical content, virtual museum
exhibitions, and primary historical
resources to make an online educational
experience for students that ideally
will surpass the in-class version in
significant ways.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 4
“Offering the Medical Terminology course online
will provide flexibility for the first time health
student. Introducing this course in a convenient
option is a good choice, not to mention that much
of the medical world uses a variety of technology
similar to the learning management platforms of
online learning.” — PatDemersadjunct, Department of Office Administration
STEVE CHISHOLM, Department of Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
The Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
Department is excited to begin offering
its second online course beginning
this summer. The course, Prevention
of Substance Abuse (DRG106), includes
an overview of substance abuse
prevention methods, substance abuse
prevention research, and a focus on
prevention within school systems
and businesses. It is expected to run
annually and will fulfill open elective
requirements for students at large.
LARRY DAVIS, Department of History, Government, and Economics
I’m looking forward to creating World
History 2 online. I plan to use narrated
lectures in my course. These lectures
are PowerPoint-based and include my
voice narrating each slide. I have used
similar lectures in my other online
courses, and the response from students
has been overwhelmingly positive. I
also plan to require students to use the
JSTOR and Ebrary databases as part
of a “Controversies in World History”
project. They will choose scholarly
articles and books and then will learn
how to review these works. My course
will be an Open Educational Resources
(OER) course, whereby all assigned
readings will be free to access online.
The majority of my courses are OER,
which expose students to quality
material online without the cost of a
hefty textbook.
PAT DEMERS, adjunct, Department of Office Administration
Medical Terminology is often a “gateway
course” for students interested in the
Health Professions. Medical terminology
introduces the student to the specific
language, medical specialties and
the basics for communicating in
the healthcare arena.
Offering the Medical Terminology
course online will provide flexibility
for the first time, health student. In
particular, those interested in health
science may be working, raising
families and seeking an opportunity
to determine if a rigorous health
career is the right option. Introducing
this course in a convenient option is
a good choice, not to mention that
much of the medical world uses a
variety of technology similar to the
learning management platforms of
online learning.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 5
PAT DUBE, Department of Mathematics
WALTER STONE, Department of Mathematics
Walter Stone and Patricia Dube are
developing Intermediate Algebra
(MAT 094) in a hybrid format. This
course is intended for students en-
tering the STEM pathway who need
developmental instruction in math-
ematics before entering the college
level mathematics courses which
prepare students to take calculus.
The desired outcome of offering
this course in a hybrid format is to
increase student success and course
accessibility by embedding face-to-
face support from a faculty member
within the context of online content.
Offering the course in this way ad-
dresses the second strategic priority
of Goal 2 of the Master Academic
Plan. While the present face-to-face
and online offerings of this course
focus on helping students build on
their written algebra skills, a hybrid
course can provide an opportunity for
deeper concept development through
activities, peer instruction, and other
learning experiences that are not easy
to accomplish within the constraints
of a traditional 70-minute class or in
an online-only environment.
Under this grant, online and face-
to-face course material will be
developed so that students will be
able to complete the course objectives
for MAT 094 and have the opportunity
to complete the course objectives
for MAT 151. This can help students
shorten the path to the college level
math needed for their program by one
semester if they place into MAT 094.
Since students will be able to accel-
erate their learning, we will plan
differentiated learning activities for
groups of students, depending on
their progress through the course,
for each face-to-face meeting.
We plan to adopt the textbook used
for MAT 151 and 152 since it has the
material covered in MAT 094 in its
early chapters. Students will not
have to purchase an additional
textbook for these courses, and
they will become acclimated to the
online homework portal and the
style of text. Blackboard will be used
to organize and present online and
in-class learning activities.
If the course meeting time is chosen
appropriately, this course can be a
good candidate for dual enrollment of
high school students. The materials
developed can also be useful for
teaching this course under the Early
College program.
IRENE FERNANDEZ, Department of Cultural Arts
I’ve been busy searching for high-
quality Open Educational Resources
(OER) and developing activities to
make them part of my lessons in
Intermediate Spanish 2. During this
process, I’ve found educational
materials that can be integrated into
my project. By taking advantage of the
educational technologies the school
already has in place, I will adapt these
materials in new formats and means
of distribution. It is my hope students
will benefit from these low-cost
educational materials that will be
specific to what they need to learn
during a one-level course semester.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 6
DR. MARGARET FIGGINS-HILL, Women in Transition Program
I am developing an online section of
The Human Service Worker course.
This course is required in several
of the human service programs so
many students need to take it. Cur-
rently, it is only offered in a class-
room format (F2F). This course delivery
method is not always convenient for
students who work, have school aged
children, or lack transportation. Sev-
eral students have asked me if there
would ever be an online option for this
course, and I believe that it is time to
offer such an option for those students.
The Human Service Worker (HUS 101)
course description states that it
“[p]rovides the instruments to explore
and evaluate personal values, motives,
feelings, needs, attitudes, interests and
personality traits especially as they
pertain to awarenesses which will help
a Human Services worker; and explores
personal and societal prejudices,
stereotyping behaviors, and biases.”
Although the delivery of the course
would vary, the goals and objectives of
the course would not differ significantly
from the current face-to-face model.
I am confident that this Human Service
Worker course can be taught, with
success, online. It is true that, for some
people, this may not necessarily be their
optimal method of course learning.
But it can be an option, a good one,
for others who need to take this course
and want to take it online. I firmly
believe people should have options,
and this is an option not yet offered for
this course at NSCC. I look forward to
developing and teaching this course
online.
ANNE JEROME, Occupational Therapy Assistant Program
SUSAN LIZOTTE, adjunct, Occupational Therapy Assistant Program
I am using my TAC grant to convert
the Orientation to Occupational
Therapy course to a hybrid format. I
am doing this with Susan Lizotte, an
adjunct professor in my department.
The course will be a 50-50 hybrid.
We plan to use online time to intro-
duce students to the history, philos-
ophy and principles of Occupational
Therapy via PowerPoint, videos and
Screencasts. During face-to-face
class meetings students will engage
in simulation exercises designed
to develop the interpersonal skills
needed to be effective health care
professionals.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
“This project will not confront any copyright
problems and will bring a low-cost learning
opportunity to students. At the same time, it will also
provide a wider variety of learning activities for the
class because all learning materials will be readily
accessible and available online.”— Young Bae Kim
Department of Natural Sciences
PAGE 7
BETTY KELLY, Tourism and Hospitality Program
I proposed a hybrid version of
The Introduction to Tourism and
Hospitality course because offering
more hybrid courses within the TGD
program will increase flexibility for
student scheduling, give students
more choices, and the students in
the TGD program still will continue
to benefit from direct interaction
with the professor and at the same
time use other instructional methods.
The objective of the Introduction
to Tourism and Hospitality hybrid
course is to move some of the current
readings, research, and case studies
using the publisher’s technology
called My Hospitality Lab into the
online hybrid format. This will allow
for more class time for industry-
based lectures and scenarios.
Currently I use my knowledge of
the industry to supplement material
which is not in the text and not easily
transferred to online methodology at
this time. Therefore, the classroom
sessions will be devoted to an increase
of sharing and analysis of industry
knowledge, instructor’s “homemade
cases” and quizzes and/or projects.
YOUNG BAE KIM, Department of Natural Sciences
The NSCC biotechnology program has
been offering only one section of General
Biology 1 (BIO 105) each year, usually
in the fall. Because of the limited
offering, and also because the course
was designed for science majors, it
was rather challenging for an instruc-
tor to find a relevant and adequate
textbook for a reasonable price.
I have been eager to generate cus-
tom-made course material, but
even if I generate slides and hand-
outs, there have always been some
copyright issues because the course
material relied heavily on figures and
videos from publishers. This was the
biggest stumbling block for me in
generating my own course materials,
even with different textbooks.
My project, therefore, aims to integrate
readily available Open Education Re-
source (OER) materials and multimedia
resources into the class, making use of
online sites and learning tools such as
prezi or screen-o-matic. This project
will not confront any copyright prob-
lems and will bring a low-cost learning
opportunity to students who register
for the course. At the same time, it will
also provide a wider variety of learning
activities for the class because all learning
materials will be readily accessible and
available online.
This project will also provide the
course instructor, the college, and
the department with a fail-proof
teaching option even in the case of
class cancellation due to sickness of
the instructor, college internet issues,
instructor changes and, above all,
snow days. In any situation, students
could study at their own pace at their
own place. Moreover, considering that
the NSCC BIO 101 course is an easier
version of BIO 105, this material could
also be used for the BIO 101 course with
minor modifications.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 8
JOE MANSELL, Radiological Technology Program
The Radiologic Technology program
is excited to announce a new course
called Radiographic Pathology. This
hybrid course will educate the Rad
Tech student in identifying pathology
within the images they produce.
It will also teach the technical
considerations that need to be
understood before imaging a patient
with a particular pathology. Pathology
associated with the respiratory,
skeletal, gastrointestinal and other
body systems will be discussed. This
new hybrid course will blend online
learning that includes x-ray images
with the learned pathology as well
as class time where students will
discuss scenarios and be able to
practice their skills in a lab setting.
This course will be available in
summer session II of 2016.
CARLOS MARIN, Department of Behavioral Sciences
My project, developing Open
Educational Sources (OER) for
a Race, Gender and Social Class
course, aims to replace the required
textbook by a set of open source
materials (writing, audio, visual
and interactive) to lower costs for
students and engage them in an
active and fun learning experience.
MARY BETH NELSON, Department of Business
I am developing Intermediate
Accounting, which is a graduation
requirement in both the accounting
degree and accounting certificate
programs, as an online course. This
offering is driven by student demand.
The prerequisite courses, Basic
Accounting 1 and Basic Accounting 2,
are both available online.
I am also developing Taxation, which
is also a graduation requirement
in both the accounting degree and
accounting certificate programs,
as an online course. This offering,
too, is driven by student demand.
The prerequisite course, Basic
Accounting 1, is available online.
Students who feel comfortable with
distance learning and prefer the
convenience of online course will
have the opportunity to enroll in
these courses. When both Interme-
diate Accounting 1 and Taxation are
available online, students will have
the opportunity to complete the
entire the 27-credit accounting
certificate online.
“[The new Radiographic
Pathology] hybrid course will
educate the Rad Tech student
in identifying pathology within
the images they produce.”— Joe MansellRadiological Technology
Program
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 9
ANNE O’SHEA, Department of Mathematics
Since returning last spring from
my sabbatical, I have been teaching
Calculus 1 and Precalculus 2 in a
flipped format. This model, as I had
hoped, has allowed more time for
in-depth class discussion and student
collaboration. I was awarded a TAC
grant to explore Learning Catalytics,
an extremely robust type of “clicker”
or “dip-sticking” tool where instructors
are no longer limited to asking students
multiple choice questions. I was ex-
tremely impressed with the flexibility
in the types of questions that can be
designed using the software and with
the level of student engagement that
it supports. Since smart devices are
used, students can submit an answer in
the form of a diagram or even a graph,
which is extremely useful in a math
course as well as many other courses
at the college.
I think many instructors have become
discouraged by the increased student
use of smart phones for non-educational
purposes during class. I find it very
exciting to take students’ enthusiasm
for technology and put it to a better
use. The immediate feedback to
students is invaluable and can lead
to further discussion and debate
when a group of answers is displayed
simultaneously. Since Learning
Catalytics can be used asynchronously,
I hope to eventually incorporate the
software into my online course.
DANIELLE SANTOS, Department of Communication Skills
I have decided to find Open
Educational Resources for my
English Composition I course.
Recently, I have switched textbooks
from a basic reader to a more
source-based instruction, but in so
doing I lost all of the great essays I
used to use in class, so I want to find
ways of bringing those in through
alternative means. Additionally,
due to the high costs of textbooks
for students, I would ideally like to
find enough resources to eventually
substitute for a textbook altogether.
ALEXA SINGER, Aviation Science
Program
The Aviation Department is adding
hybrid classes to the curriculum in both
semesters starting in the fall semester
of 2016. The Law and Safety class will
be converted into this format to allow
the students the ability to complete
research and assignments in the online
environment, while still allowing for
the opportunity for the traditional
classroom setting. This type of learning
is so valuable for the aviation students
as it allows them the flexibility they
need to schedule and complete flight
hours and requirements. New England
weather can be very challenging for a
flight student, and the hybrid format is
a fantastic way to aid them in achieving
their goals. They will participate in the
online portion of the course through
various methods such as discussion
boards, journals, and assignments.
They will still have the valuable classroom
time they need to connect via group
projects and to see a host of
aviation professionals and speakers
that are a part of the course. The
department is very excited to provide
this upgrade to the program.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
JANIS SOFERR, Department of English
Thanks to a TAC grant, I am currently
creating an online World Literature I
course. The course will use primary
literature texts, secondary literary
criticism and historical background
sources, videos and, hopefully, maps,
art inspired by ancient, medieval
and Renaissance literature, and a
bit of music as well. The course will
have seven modules starting with
Gilgamesh and ending with Hamlet. It
will be writing intensive with weekly
discussion board posts and bi-weekly
reflective essays.
My primary goal is to create a warm,
helpful and lively learning community
in which students can openly explore
the great themes of world literature.
A possible goal is to eventually move
away from expensive literature
anthologies by using online primary
sources and Open Educational Resources
(OER) for secondary sources.
Though I’m starting from scratch, the
Teaching and Learning Online (TLO)
course with its emphasis on best
practices, the Blackboard open labs,
and the gallery of online courses have
been of great help. Many thanks to
the more than competent and always
patient Academic Technology staff.
TAD SUITOR, adjunct, Cultural Arts Department
I received a TAC grant to implement
Open Educational Resources (OER) in
my class, Television: The Big Picture
(MDA108). My goal is to eliminate
the need for the textbook and to
get students to subscribe to a video
streaming service instead. Commer-
cial streaming services are cheaply
available, but the challenge will be
finding one with a greater amount
of television that is relevant to class
themes. My biggest anticipated chal-
lenge is finding high-quality articles
and videos that relate to class themes,
and that historicize class topics while
also being contemporary and timely,
as students are often unfamiliar with
television more than 5-10 years old.
FRANK TWISS, adjunct, Department of Fire Protection and Safety Program
My TAC project involves the creation
of an online course entitled “Fun-
damentals of Fire Prevention.” This
important course centers around the
critical importance of fire prevention
and the responsibility of every fire-
fighter to invest in a commitment to
reduce firefighter and civilian deaths
and injuries. As firefighters, we must
make an investment in ourselves, our
department, and our community to
establish a level of fire prevention
effort that meets the needs of our
city/ town. The class is structured
around the Fire and Emergency
Services Higher Education (FESHE)
Model Curriculum and focuses on
many aspects of fire prevention, code
enforcement, and public fire and life
safety education.
PAGE 10
LYNN WERMERS, Department of Computer and Information Sciences My TAC grant was to create a hybrid
section of the CPS 100, Information
Technology and Its Applications,
course. Having taught CPS 100 both
online and on-campus, I realized that
some students would be well-served
with the flexibility a hybrid section
provides. With help from the Academic
Technology Department, the CPS 100
hybrid course was designed to meet
one day each week on campus with
the remainder of the coursework
completed online. Two hybrid sections
were offered this spring, providing an
additional option for students taking
this course.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
RYAN VAUTOUR, adjunct, Department of English
The goal of my TAC grant project
is to present my students with
options that meet their academic
needs without busting their budgets
in today’s ever-evolving world.
Anthologies—even the best of
them—are generally cumbersome,
formulaic, and, perhaps worst of all,
expensive! Therefore, I’m determined
to implement a more affordable,
portable, and succinct means of
disseminating information to
my classes.
PAGE 11
I propose to achieve this goal by sourc-
ing the necessary materials for my
Ancient World Literature course from
Open Educational Resources (OER).
By compiling the most accessible and
authoritative available versions of only
the material included on my syllabus,
my students will be equipped with a
sleek and condensed anthology made
available digitally, via Blackboard, and
in print, via Amazon.com. The practical
benefits of this OER approach are
manifold: First and foremost, my
students will save real money. Second,
those who prefer to use tablets will
now have the opportunity to do so.
Third, either one’s tablet, or the
streamlined print version of this an-
thology, will no doubt be less burden-
some to bring to class (and thus, less
apt to be “left at home”). And finally,
having all the course material available
online for download before the semes-
ter even begins leaves no excuses for
add/drop week unpreparedness! I want
my students engaged and learning
from class one.
MARIA VAZQUEZ, Department of Behavioral Sciences
I am very excited to be working with
the Instructional Technology and
Design Team and the North Shore
Community College Library on the
development of an online Introductory
Psychology course that uses Open
Educational Resources (OER). These
are educational resources that have a
Creative Commons License and can
be shared with others for free. I am
hoping to create an amazing learning
experience for those who venture into
the world of psychology, whether it be
in the classroom (where I will also use
OER) or online. I am also very pleased
with the significant reduction in the
cost of textbooks that this project will
generate for my students.
TERRI WHITNEY, Department of English
My TAC grant is to create Open
Educational Resources (OER) for my
online Short Story class next fall.
Because so many of the works I assign
in this class are out of copyright, I
thought that this class might be the
one I teach that is best suited to using
OER. I knew that I would face difficulty
with the more contemporary stories,
but Lance Eaton and Christine
Goodchild have been very helpful in
coming up with solutions that I hope
will work. My goal is, of course, to
save money for students, but in the
process I want to make sure not to
undermine the academic integrity
of the class by relying on inferior
translations, for example. I have
nearly completed the new syllabus
and am optimistic that the OER
approach will work. Fingers crossed.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 12
W
SAFEASSIGNSafeAssign is one of those new tools.
Blackboard Learn defines SafeAssign as “a
tool used to prevent plagiarism and to
create opportunities to help students
identify how to properly attribute sources
rather than paraphrase. SafeAssign is
effective as both a deterrent and an
educational tool.” SafeAssign is a light-
weight version of the popular plagiarism
checker known as TurnItIn. It does not
have all of TurnItIn’s features but does
produce originality reports that identify
where content may have been strongly
influenced by or taken word-for-word
from other sources on the Internet or at
least one online database. It is far from
perfect, but it can be a useful tool for
both faculty and students.
For students, SafeAssign can help
identify areas that they need to work
on around understanding the difference
between quoting and paraphrasing as
well as where they may have forgotten or
misunderstood the expectations about
citing and quoting. For faculty, SafeAssign
can save time in trying to determine
if a paper is using original content or
material from other sources. It can also
help faculty quickly see if and how much
a student has drawn upon the course
content or other resources which can
vary in importance depending on the
assignment.
Currently, SafeAssign works with any
Word and PDF documents that students
submit through the Assignment feature.
Though SafeAssign cannot currently be
used with discussions, journal entries,
or blog posts, faculty can always copy
and paste content to submit through the
DirectSubmit option.
When the college moved to Blackboard Learn,
we ended up with a few new features that many faculty may
not be familiar with but might be interested in trying:
SafeAssign, an anti-plagiarism feature, and rubrics,
the interactive grading tool.
BLACKBOARD LEARN TOOL
SPOTLIGHTby Andrea Milligan and Lance Eaton
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 13
TO MANUALLY SUBMIT CONTENT TO SAFEASSIGN:1. In the course Control Panel,
select Course Tools and then click
SafeAssign
2. Click DirectSubmit.
3. Click Submit Paper
(over to the right).
4. Select Upload File or
Copy/Paste Document.
a. Browse for the file if you have
the Word or PDF document or
enter a *Paper Title and paste
content under *Paper Text.
5. Click Submit.
6. Wait a couple of minutes and then
refresh the DirectSubmit page.
7. Click the green checkmark across
from the paper title to view the
originality report.
You can learn more about using
SafeAssign in Blackboard Learn at
http://en-us.help.blackboard.com/
Learn/9.1_2014_04/Instructor/100_As-
signments/025_Use_SafeAssign
RUBRICSAnother great tool in Blackboard Learn
is the interactive grading rubrics.
Rubrics are an assessment tool that
can be a “useful and effective way for
faculty to convey assignment criteria
to students as well as provide feedback
to students on their submitted work.”
Rubrics provide clear and substantive
evaluation criteria with achievement
levels for an assignment by “dividing
the assigned work into parts and pro-
viding clear descriptions of the char-
acteristics of the work associated with
each part, at varying skill levels.”
Since rubrics can be made visible
to students before submitting an
assignment, they can help students
understand the assignment require-
ments and the expected level of work
necessary to reach a performance
standard or attain the desired grade.
Faculty can use rubrics to help them
grade student work more consistently
and objectively as well as provide
detailed feedback and explain grade
rationale. Through this feedback,
rubrics can also help provide a clear
explanation of areas where students
excel or need to work on.
Rubrics can be associated with a variety
of gradable items in Blackboard Learn
— discussion forums; assignments;
journals, blogs, and wikis; essay and
short answer test questions — as well
as a column in the Grade Center. The
rubric tool in Blackboard Learn provides
faculty with an easy-to-use point and
click interface to grade from. Faculty
can even provide feedback at the specific
criteria level. Since all criteria are
associated with point values, the grade
calculations are done automatically
by the rubric and the final grade is
immediately stored in the Grade
Center. Rubrics can be created, edited,
and managed from the Course Tools
area of the Control Panel.
TO CREATE A RUBRIC:1. In the course Control Panel,
select Course Tools and then
click Rubrics.
2. Click Create Rubric.
3. On the Create Rubric page, set up
the rubric.
a. Enter a name for the rubric and
give it a description (optional).
b. Select rubric type
(percentage or points).
c. Add, edit and rearrange the
criteria (rows) and levels of
achievement (columns).
d. Add specific criteria descriptions
or competencies.
e. Adjust weights to each
row or column.
4. Click Submit.
Once a rubric has been created, it
will be listed on the Rubrics page.
The rubric will then need to be linked
to an actual assignment, discussion
forum, etc.
TO LINK A RUBRIC:1. Go to the course Content Area
where the item to link a rubric to is.
2. Click the chevron to the right of the
item’s title and select Edit.
3. In the Grading section, enter
the number of points possible.
Click Add Rubric and then
Select Rubric.
4. On the Select Rubrics window,
check off the rubric you want to use
with the item. Click Submit.
5. The rubric will now appear in the
Associated Rubrics section.
6. Set the Show Rubric to Students
option. The default is No.
A recommended option is Yes
(with rubric scores).
7. Click Submit.
You can learn more about using
Rubrics in Blackboard Learn at
http://help.blackboard.com/en-us/
Learn/9.1_2014_04/Instructor/120_
Grade_Center/020_Grading/010_Ru-
brics.
Have questions? Want to learn more?
Please contact Instructional Technology
and Design at itd@northshore.edu.
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
T
Participation in TLO provides faculty
with a dedicated opportunity to:
• Reflect upon their teaching
practice that can impact even
face-to-face courses.
• Learn about NSCC’s expectations
for online and hybrid courses.
• Hear from colleagues and share
ideas, resources, and pedagogical
strategies.
• Actively start working on the devel-
opment of their online or hybrid
course and receive feedback from
peers.
• Be exposed to the most recent
trends in online and hybrid
pedagogy and instructional
technologies.
• Gain insight, ideas, and feedback
from experienced and knowledge-
able instructional design profes-
sionals.
• Further connect with the NSCC
community.
We are continually revising TLO to
update resources, incorporate recent
examples, implement current strate-
gies, and integrate new technologies.
Currently, we are embarking on a
project to add short videos from veteran
online and hybrid faculty on how
they have implemented different best
practices and strategies into their own
courses as well as provide tips and sug-
gestions to new faculty members just
starting on the path to teaching and
learning online. To get a sense of what
we are trying to accomplish, here is Dr.
Kara Kaufman’s short video discussing
an assessment in her course:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-
wAOCzm88cY.
TEACHING AND LEARNING ONLINE (TLO)by Andrea Milligan and Lance Eaton
The first phase for faculty who wish to design
and develop an online or hybrid course at North Shore
Community College is participation in a six week online
Teaching and Learning Online (TLO) professional devel-
opment course. TLO is designed to encourage faculty to
reflect on their current teaching practices and learn
instructional design best practices and strategies that will
allow them to successfully translate their teaching style and
course elements to the online or hybrid environment.
PAGE 14
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
FEEDBACKFeedback from faculty who have
participated in TLO (both as new to
online teaching and those who have
taught online before at other institu-
tions) has been very positive:
• “ My attitude about how I will teach
the course has changed. I had
gotten in a bit of a rut with the
online course I teach, and am
now considering ways to allow for
more interaction, flexibility, and
room for tangents.”
• “ I’m familiar with online learning
both as an instructor and as a
student. However, I haven’t taken
an online course as a student in
several years, so the experience
has reminded me of what it was
like from a student’s perspective.
One of the things that I was
reminded of was how important
prompt feedback was in ensur-
ing that I felt ‘supported.’ Andrea
and Lance always provided very
prompt feedback and addressed
questions right away.”
• “ . . . all of it was refreshing and
certainly has made me reflect on
my teaching styles and how much
room for improvement there is
in all my courses. I have already
re-written some assignments as a
result of this course experience.”
• “ Finally, I do think that this course
will change my F2F teaching. I
will incorporate more technolo-
gy in my F2F classes and will be
spending lots of time to refresh
my existing PPT presentations to
include video clips, as one example.
Thank you all for this experience!”
• “ This also was my first online class,
and it really made me think of
how I can improve my F2F class-
room with this wide array of tech-
nology that we were introduced to
in this class.”
• “ Personally, this course helped
me to reflect upon the different
aspects of teaching, including
student-to-student interaction,
faculty-student interaction, etc.
It also gave me the opportunity to
interact with other teachers and
learn from their work. In general,
I enjoyed the time I spent in work-
ing for this course, as it broad-
ened my perspective and allowed
me to learn both as a teacher and
as a student.”
• “ I think the deepest learning that I
participated in was not confined
to the online/hybrid format, but
can be applied to a F2F course as
well. It was a joy and an eye open-
er to be in the student position
rather than the faculty. It was fun
to observe my thought processes
around completing assignments,
due dates, and giving and
receiving feedback.”
At this time, TLO is offered twice a year,
once in January-February and again
in May-June. The winter session is
primarily reserved for faculty who have
received a TAC grant while the summer
session is generally open to all
interested faculty.
PAGE 15
“Finally, I do think that this
course will change my F2F
teaching.”
“[This course] helped me to
reflect upon the different aspects
of teaching, including student-
to-student interaction, faculty-
student interaction, etc. ”
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016
T
PAGE 16
NSCC LITERARY WEBSITES KIOSK IN THE LYNN MUSEUMby Terri Whitney
The Lynn Museum and NSCC are in the final stages
of arranging for the installation of a computer kiosk at
the museum which will feature three literary websites
developed at NSCC:
Poetry of Places in Essex County
John Greenleaf Whittier: Essex County’s Famous Son
Hawthorne in Salem
Lynn Museum, 590 Washington St., Lynn, MA
The EDGE: 25th edition Spring 2016 PAGE 17
The Poetry of Places in Essex County
website was developed by Carl Carlsen
(Professor Emeritus, Department
of English) and Julie Riley (former
Instructional Technology Specialist
at NSCC);
The John Greenleaf Whittier: Essex County’s
Famous Son website was developed
by Sue Herman (Professor Emerita,
Department of English) and Julie Riley
(former Instructional Technology
Specialist at NSCC);
The Hawthorne in Salem website was
developed with a grant from the Na-
tional Endowment for the Humanities
by Terri Whitney in collaboration with
the Peabody Essex Museum, the House
of the Seven Gables, and the Salem
Maritime National Historic Site as well
as with the help of scholars and
professors around the country (including
Joseph Modugno, Department of
English at NSCC). Sandy Carriker
(Professor Emerita and former Dean of
Academic Technology) served as co-di-
rector of the project; web design was by
outside consultant, David Masher; and
site programming and other technical
help were provided by faculty, staff,
and former students at NSCC.
The Director of the Lynn Museum,
Drew Russo, says that he is excited
about the project, especially as it
conforms to the museum’s mission of
providing cultural information related
to Essex County, and all three of these
literary sites focus on writers from
Essex County.
NSCC has supplied the equipment for
the kiosk, and the Hawthorne in Salem
programmers will copy the three sites
to the local machine. The computer
will not be connected to the Internet
and will run in kiosk mode so that the
browser cannot be closed. This should
reduce the risk of technical problems.
We anticipate having the exhibit
installed by the end of April or early
May, though we are still working with
the NSCC administration on signage.
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