The Learning Pursuit

Checking to See if Your Students Are READI...

2009-10-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

The screen shot to the left shows the login screen for the READI administrative tool and acts as a live link to the site. This tool can be used to search for a particular student or group of students who has taken the READI assessment at TSTC Marshall. The READI assessment measures various skill sets both in learning and in technology readiness.

To see a report on any of the students who have taken the assessment, perform the following steps:

1) Log into the following web site, at http://admin.readi.info/ using the information provided to you in the last email.

2) Click "Test Search and Export"

3) Type in search criteria, and click "Search Assessments" to locate your desired student.

Contact me if you have any concerns or questions.

Thank you,

Bryan M

Are Our Students READI...?

2008-08-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

As many of you who have some form of online component in your class know, at times students sign up for an online or hybrid course and then realize, "Uh-oh...I don't feel very prepared...," then other actions sometimes follow - dropping/not passing, etc. So, if you would join me in taking a look at a readiness assessment, perhaps we could engage in dialogue about the usefulness of it. The assessment is entitled, READI (Readiness for Education at a Distance Indicator). Currently, VCT (Virtual College of Texas) is paying for this service and has made it available for its members. Without giving you a biased opinion, I would like you to take the test and provide me with some feedback. I've taken it as well, but will wait for you to do so, before I give my own perspective.
The assessment is located at the link below:
http://marshalltstc.readi.info/

Thank you,

Bryan M

June 26th - Teaching With Technology

2008-06-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Once again, welcome to the blog. As you now know, Cathy Russell with Lonestar College CyFair, will be with us this Thursday at TSTC Marshall. Please note the brief overview of the training:

Instructional Design in a Hybrid Environment, a Perkins sponsored professional development activity for technical faculty, will be offering an opportunity to learn teaching and instructional design techniques! This extensive workshop will teach you instructional techniques in a hybrid setting and give you time to apply what you have learned in an interactive and fun environment. This workshop will be conducted using face to face instruction, real-time online meetings, and a work at your own pace online portion. Some of the things you will learn during this workshop are how to: teach students with different learning styles, incorporate active learning, and design a more effective assessment. There is no charge.

Thank you,
Bryan M

Date Change! - June 26th

2008-05-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Please note the following revised:
A representative from Lonestar CyFair will be coming to our campus to provide a day-long workshop on Thursday, 26 June with an online resources follow-up. The training is geared toward faculty who teach content in the technical areas. However, both academic, developmental and technical faculty will have the opportunity to benefit from the training. Kathy Russell will be the main presenter for the day and currently serves as Technical Trainer at the CyFair location of the Lonestar College System near Houston. More details to follow, so keep an "eye-out" on the blog... A big "Thank you" to Dr. Jeanne Wesley for enabling us to collaborate with Lonestar College.

Thank you,
Bryan M

DL - "Learning from Our Worst Practices"

2008-04-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Date: May 12th
Location: 430 South (ITV)
Time: 9-11 AM
Presenter: Myk Garn, Executive Director, Kentucky Virtual Campus

Note the following excerpt from Dr. Mickey Slimp, Executive Director, Northeast Texas Consortium of Colleges and Universities (NETnet):

If you've never made a mistake, this session is not for you. However, if you are tired of the "Best Practices" sessions where it sounds like everything went right, come meet with folks who will share everything that can go wrong - with fearless self assessment, laughter, and an occasional tear... Rest assured that your staff and faculty will leave the session confident that others have made bigger mistakes than they have and lived to tell about it. And, now, you can learn from them. Myk Garn directs the Kentucky Virtual Campus which provides online learning services to Kentucky's higher education institutions and state agencies. With over twenty years of distance learning, also including positions in Texas and Georgia, Dr. Garn will be presenting at Tyler
Junior College on Monday, May 12th from 9-11 am. TJC has generously offered to connect the live presentation via interactive video to any Northeast Texas Consortium site that would like to participate.

Thanks again to Ken Craver and Gay Howard and to TJC for making this
program available to others in the region!
- Mickey

As you can see, we will be participating through interactive television (ITV). We have room for around 12 people, and you're certainly wecome to join us.

Thank you,
Bryan M

Are Our Students READI...?

2008-04-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

The assessment is located at the link below:

http://marshalltstc.readi.info/

Thank you,
Bryan M

A Big "Thank You" to Vanessa Davis, Coordinator of Learner Support Services

2008-04-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

We just want to express our thanks to Vanessa (one of our own) for conducting last week three sessions of training entitled, "Learning Disabled Students and ADA Law." I've heard nothing but positive comments on the sessions from our faculty and look forward to continuing a dialogue on this topic throughout the future with you, as well as receiving your feedback on the session.

Thank you,
Bryan M

Copyright Law and the TEACH Act

2008-04-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Library personnel and I had the opportunity to participate in an ITC professional development audioconference entitled, "Complying with the TEACH Act andCopyright Issues in Distance Education" in March, with presenter Fritz Dolak, copyright and intellectual property manager for the University Copyright Center at Ball State University. The audio portion was recorded as well. He has made available his presentation, which you can access at the TSTC Library page at:

http://www.marshall.tstc.edu/welcome/library.shtml

or on the bookshelf at:

http://www.marshall.tstc.edu/intranet/ProfessionalDevelopment.shtml

Contact me or Venesia Adams if you would like to access the 1-hour audio session that goes with the slide presentation available until May 12. Due to this issue's importance, plans are being considered as well to hold a training session during the Fall term.

Thank you,
Bryan M

Learning Styles Academy

2008-04-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

During the Galveston trip, I met Jeanni Pruitt with Northeast Texas Community College in Mt. Pleasant, whose institution is offering a two-day academy on Learning Styles, and it is geered toward faculty in technical areas. The tuition is free (paid for by Carl Perkins grant funds) but registration is required. So, let me know if you want to go and we'll be sure transportation is made available (see link below).

To register:
http://www.learningstylesacademy.org/#workshoplist

Thank you,
Bryan M

No PD for Faculty During the Month of May

2008-04-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

I want to inform you that May will be "You" time or "Me" time, whichever is correctly stated, and that no professional development will be scheduled on our campus per se during the month of May. However, there will be a session held at Northeast Texas Community College (see above) for those of you interested in honing your expertise in Learning Styles. Otherwise, enjoy your "May" break.

Thank you,
Bryan M

University of Houston Study: Hybrid Courses More Effective for Students

2008-04-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

A study from the University of Houston shows performance by an increase in a letter grade for hybrid courses. See following article:
http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=60481