DIGITAL LEARNING DAY

Submitted by:  Maragret Cussen

Announcing…

DIGITAL LEARNING DAY

Wednesday 1 February 2012

The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education led by Governor Bob Wise, is pleased to announce the first ever Digital Learning Day campaign. This national campaign is designed to celebrate innovative teachers and highlight new teaching practices that make learning more personalized and engaging for students as well as encouraging exploration of how digital learning can provide all students with the opportunities they deserve - to build the skills needed to succeed in college, career, and life. To learn more, go to

http://www.digitallearningday.org/ 

Locally, the DE@COM committee will be hosting a potluck luncheon Tuesday 7 February 2012 in T-1432 during college hour. Come share your online instructional experiences and teaching tips with your colleagues while noshing on delicious home-made foods! Marilyn Larsen will demo her recently acquired SmartPen. If you wish to attend and bring a dish to share or demonstrate your favorite software or product, please contact Margaret Cussen at ext. 8476 or mcussen@com.edu .

After I Go Home

 Submitted by:  Janet Wortman

Did you ever wonder what happens in your office after you leave for the day? On occasion I have come to work and found my office lights turned on when I know I had turned them off.  There have been other times when furniture had been moved ever so slightly, which I assumed was the result of our great custodial staff vacuuming the carpet.  I also know that in a large building like the LRC we are sometimes visited by cute little mice.

BUT I never knew that every night after I leave work a party is being held in my office and I am not invited!

I see you!

Before You Accuse, Peruse!

Submitted by: Roger Stallings

Humanities Department Faculty

For those of you that use Safe Assign to check for plagiarism or other academic honesty issues, beware!  I had a situation occur during the fall 2011 semester.  I submitted a student paper and the Safe Assign report found the student’s work to be 93% plagiarized.  I am glad that I did some investigation before accusing the student of academic dishonesty.

I could not figure out why a paper that had such specific sentences as, “I attended the College of the Mainland production of The 39 Steps on September 16, 2011,” would come back reported as 100% plagiarized.  I asked Margaret Cussen to help me track down the source of the plagiarism.  What she discovered was that the student posted her own paper in Yahoo asking readers to help her by reviewing for grammar/punctuation errors.  I have no issue with that as an instructor.  Safe Assign, however, picked up on the internet posting and determined that the submitted paper was plagiarized since it found the article in Yahoo.  So the student was reported for plagiarizing her own work.  

This situation gave me pause to think.  If I came so close to accusing a student, other instructors might find themselves facing a similar situation.  Beware!

What's That Noise?

Submitted by:  Chris Boyd

Have you ever found yourself looking for a quiet place to make an audio recording for a class? Do you already have audio recordings you’d like to edit for time or content? Well now you can put away that “magic” lamp you’ve polished to a shine but still hasn’t granted a single wish and look no longer as Instructional Technology has the solution!

Whether you need to create and upload audio files for your Blackboard course, edit existing audio files, or simply require a quiet soundproofed room to better hear some of your audio files, the Instructional Technology sound room will provide for all of your needs.

But wait, there’s more! With three video decks, two television monitors, and a plethora of other audio equipment and conversion software, this room is your one stop media center. In addition, the Instructional Technology staff will be close at hand to assist you with any projects you might be working on.

For more information on the Instructional Technology sound room, or if you would like to see this room in person, feel free to stop by Instructional Technology any time. Our offices are located behind the circulation desk of the library in the Learning Resource Center, or you can call us at 409-933-8445.