University Educational Technologies Steering CommitteeMinutes
Date:
Thursday, February 2, 2017, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Attendees:
Daniel Facchinetti, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
Steven Fletcher, Academic IT
Haleh Ghaemolsabahi, Academic IT
Mitchell Green, Philosophy Department
Sarira Motaref, Civil Engineering Department
Karen Skudlarek, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), Educational Technologies
Hengameh Vosough, Academic IT, Learning Management System
Manuela Wagner, Literature, Cultures and Languages
Michael Young, Neag School of Education, Educational Technology
Desmond Mccaffery, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), eCampus
Lauren DiGrazia, Registrar
Peter Diplock, Assistant Vice Provost CETL
Penny Portuguez, UITS Admin Assistant
Welcome
Welcome to our new member, Daniel Facchinetti, HuskyCT Faculty Development.
Approval of Minutes
Haleh G. moves that the committee approve the meeting minutes from December 2016. The committee approves the minutes.
Kaltura Review and Update
Steven Fletcher and Karen Skudlarek review the testing they have done with Kaltura. The question: can it replace Media Site?
Kaltura ties into HuskyCT very well. Kaltura is compatible with Lightboard, iMovies, and CaptureSpace (an app that is installed on one’s computer).CaptureSpace is software for editing videos prior to uploading to Kaltura. CaptureSpace captures audio, video from your camera, and items on your computer. The committee is encouraged to test Kaltura and Capture Space by visiting the website: kaltura.uconn.edu. Tutorials are available for both Kaltura and CaptureSpace.
The statistics of use since October 28, 2016 are:
1647 plays on Kaltura
135 hours of content viewed
5 minute average view time
300 discrete videos have been opened
500 media entries
Steven and Karen are pleased with the use of Kaltura so far, but there has been little feedback from users. Students seem hesitant to make their own videos. Students also had a difficult time following the written instructions provided to them.
The experience with Kaltura has been better than what they had from Media Site. Quizzes are easy to integrate into the videos. Quiz questions can be placed at any place in the video. There is not an option for redirected playback (the ability to send students to the correct place in the video when they get a question wrong).
Gradebook integration is a recent release. Kaltura offers instant grading and recording for each assignment. This works only for multiple choice questions. Open-ended questions are not available, but Kaltura is working on it.
A vendor review for price is in process.
A support plan is needed if Kaltura is implemented. This includes help desk support for students and help desk support for faculty. Kaltura may offer this, but we are not sure today.
The next step is to encourage more people to use Kaltura. Karen S. and Steven F. would like more testing. Manuela Wagner has some uses for it and has courses that may benefit from it.Mitch notes that Kalturacould be used to have Ph.D.’s send DRAFTS of their dissertation defense and/or comprehensive exam defenses.
A suggestion is made that we reach out to the users that we know today. There are 147 users, and we could ask these specific users about their experiences. We can also identify the students in the courses that are using Kaltura and reach out to them.
The group would like more statistics on individual use. For example, when a user watches a video, what percentage of the video is viewed? What is the average # of minutes a video is viewed? Statistics like this could encourage more faculty and students to use this software.
BlackBoard 24/7 support
We need to make a final decision regarding Tier 1 and Tier 2 service from Blackboard. Can we provide excellent student support and faculty support using CETL student workers? If so, we can eliminate Tier 2 service.
According to BB Support Statistics, we find that faculty are not using the 24/7 support. Most calls are coming during regular business hours. There is some to little usage after 5 pm. There are almost no calls from 12, midnight to 8am. There are almost no calls during the fall semester. Should we continue to provide BB 24/7?
DanielFaccinetti thinks that CETL can handle the support role for faculty. Student workers can be on the schedule more during the beginning and end of semester. Training will get the student workers to the best of our ability. Currently, the student workers are comparable if not better than Blackboard support.
Peoplesoft Registration and a Syllabus Link
Can we link syllabus to the people soft registration system?
No, due to accreditation requirements, the Registrar’s office cannot be the repository for syllabi. Deans and Chairs offices are the repository of syllabi. By contrast, the PeopleSoft system is a system of record of courses. There are retention guidelines for what is in PeopleSoft. One can find course descriptions in PeopleSoft.
Beyond accreditation requirements, the Registrar thinks it would difficult to maintain updated syllabi. The Registrar’s office would not know if a syllabus is current, and there is no self-service portal for faculty. An alternative is to provide syllabi on HuskyCT.Lauren D. suggests the Courses and Curriculum page.
WePresent
Steve offers to let faculty test and/or use WePresent in their classroomwhich will allow them to present wirelessly from any apple, windows or android device.
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere is an alternative to the iClicker.
Peter Diplock asks if UCONN can have an informational site that compares Poll Everywhere to the iClicker? A site like this could gather feedback from faculty. We could also provide data to faculty to help them make decisions about software. We could task someone, such as Karen Skudlarek or Steve Fletcher to write the narrative around the technology; a narrative that precisely explains what the software does.
In order to collect use data, faculty need to allow installation of our client manager, SCCM. If the client is not installed, we will be unable to collect data. Today, SCCMis not installed on most faculty devices.
Karen Skudlarek – Center for Students with Disabilities
Deaf and hearing-impaired students should send accommodation requests to CETL.
Web Conferencing
CMR (Conference Meeting Room) upgrades have been successful so far. The upgrade includes a CodeEx to be connected to each classroom monitor. CodeEx devices are approximately $2,500 each.
To use a CMR, one secures a conference room or a class with AV system. Students can use all devices. One can create a permanent virtual conference space. The basic system requirements are a standard computer and web cam. CMR are good for small groups. There is no “Raise Hand” feature. Peter D. suggests that we create a light board video and link it in Daily Digest. This will publicize the new service.
Large Course Re-Design Project - CETL
This project includes multiple-choice assessment, and the use of testing centers. The group is hoping for a Beta test this spring. We need to test bandwidth and the use of multiple devices by students in large lecture halls. The test will need a sample class that is large with students that are willing to use their own devices
We need to find out how many incoming freshman have their own devices. Michelle Willilams may have this data. If students do not have their own wireless devices, we may need to offer loaners for the beta test.
Laurel Hall’s large lecture halls are our most recent wireless upgrade. We should choose a lecture hall in Laurel Hall.