What Would Help You Learn
Please do not panic. Most questions just require 1 click. The questions with areas to type are optional for those who want to write.
Before you
respond to the survey questions, you will need to look at the examples that are:
- Sometimes in the course itself
- Sometimes in a link in this webpage
When you finish
looking, click on the survey right below this link. The question and possible
answers in each box are the same questions as in the survey. Example: the 1st
box with Question 1 is the 1st question in the Survey right below
this link.
To see the example
so you can answer Question 1
If it is not already open, click on History
& All Assignments on the left menu (often called the Course Menu).
This is an older
way of showing what Distance Education calls a “pathway” course. A “pathway”
course means that if you work on the “path” you find aids to help you at each
step. This looks homely and it is not fancy, but you can see all content and in
the order you use it.
Personal note: if my understanding of the Blackboard
data and of my watching students’ work is correct, those of you who had the
most trouble are clicking on Blackboard’s global navigation in the upper-right
hand corner of the screen. Example: you are clicking on an exam, but you did
not realize there was a study guide for it or learning quizzes that could let
you not only pre-earn points before the test but also pre-learn 30% of the
questions. This is—as corny as it sounds—my attempt to let students know there
is an easier “path” to a good grade. You cannot succeed with clicking to the
exam or the writing in a “pathway” course, a) in a course where the History
Department requires 25% of your grade comes from writing with primaries, or b)
in a course where WCJC requires our department to give practical experience in
critical thinking. In other words, for 3 reasons in this course just clicking
will not work. I cannot change a) and b)--and I believe the rules are right—but
this is my attempt to help all of
you be OK if I can.
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1. When you
come in for the first time, you will see Read Me First as Distance Education
requires. Two days after the course opens, the course will open with what you
see at History & All Assignments.
a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Suggestions
about History & All Assignments in Question 2
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2. Please write any suggestions you have about History & All
Assignments: |
We currently use Blackboard’s Module Tool (
) for many things—including Getting Started.
I cannot be sure but I think part of some of your problems with Getting Started
was the Module Tool.
Here is what I did. I took Getting Started and made it with a
Folder Tool (
). To
me, the Folder Tool lets me:-
- Read easier (I need this because I have dyslexia
and other non-fun stuff.)
- And see what is there easier (I need this because
frequently I have to work in a hurry—probably like lots of you—and
research says this kind of order and stacking of labels for things can
reduce errors.)
Although the Folder Tool helps me, what matters is, does the
Folder Tool help you? You are the only
ones who can tell me that.
Please click on Getting Started with module icon (the original way) and then click
on Getting Started with the folder icon (my proposed way).
Try clicking inside both.
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3. Does having Getting Started rebuilt with the Folder Tool help you more than its being done in a module? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Suggestions
about Getting Started in Question 4
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4. Please write any suggestions you have about Getting Started: |
To examine
a few Modules in the Lessons for Unit 1 so you can answer Question 5
Please click on a few Modules in Unit 1 and think about whether you would
like those things done with Blackboard’s Folder Tool. If the survey results
show that you want this, I will ask permission to do it.
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5. Would having the modules (those with the book icon) in Unit 1
(and all of the other Units) rebuilt with the Folder Tool help you? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Suggestions
about What Is in a Unit in Question 6
|
6. Please write any suggestions you have about what needs to be added
in Units or removed from Units: |
To see the example
so you can answer Question 7
Getting Started includes a Course Orientation
link. Click on the Course Orientation link below and then on page 5.
https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/DJlK9qm6pLefoh/html
It shows the screen with callouts (AKA explanations that point to
specific places) of the Course Menu. If the survey shows you think the Course
Menu helps, then I would redo the picture on page 5. I’d also probably add an
equivalent picture with callouts for a Unit—since all 3 are organized exactly
the same and perhaps an equivalent picture with callouts for a Learning Quizzes
folder.
You can see how each Unit always looks by clicking on Unit 1 or
reading this list:
- An Overview and Checklist for Success, with the
checklist repeating what is due for the Unit and its points
- A Study Guide so you know what is on the test
- Assignment: the folder with all Unit Learning Quizzes
- Lessons 1, 2, 3, and sometimes 4– instructor
content equivalent to a textbook and sometimes with maps and optional
primaries
- Assignment: Unit Learning Discussion
- An alert that says the exam will open below on
the dates and hours in the course schedule
- Assignment once the date and hour occurs: Unit Exam
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7. Is there anything else you need in the Course Orientation?
Type it here. |
To see the example so you can answer Question 8
Look at Course Orientation and skim over the pages.
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8. Mark any titles of pages that you think do not need to be in
Course Orientation. a. Welcome! c. About History As
an Investigation into Real Life Events d. How History Will
TURN UP IN REAL LIFE e. Will keep but corrected to match whatever happens with this survey. General Layout
of the Course f. Course
Communications (Also covered in the syllabus on the 2nd page) g. Online and
Off-Campus Office Hours (Also covered in the syllabus on the 1st
page) h. Email/Telephone
(Also covered in the syllabus on the 1st page) i. Discussion
Forums for Communications with Everyone in the Class j. Guidelines for
Communications with Everyone in the Class k. Grading and How
Long It Takes (Also covered on page 2 of the syllabus) l. Success in the
Online Environment |
To see the example
so you can answer Question 9
I propose to add the number of points for each assignment in the
Course Schedule in a right column. That way you have a reminder of things you
just cannot skip doing like the 240 points for the 3-parts for the Writing
Assignment. This puts in 1 place:
- The date and hour something opens and is due
- Its points
I’ve temporarily made the column for the points light blue so you could tell where it will
be. To see it, click here.
http://www.cjbibus.com/HIST_1302-161_Online_Fall_2017_CRN_11598_SURVEY.pdf
If you want to see the original Course Schedule, it is on the
Course menu on the left.
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9. Does it help to have in the Course schedule not only the
dates available and due, but also the points that assignments are worth? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
If this does help you, then the Course Plan you submit would be
the Course Schedule with an additional column for you to X that you are going
to do it.
To see the Example
so you can answer Question 10
This explanation might be clearer than
the question below.
|
10. This is a proposed
change in how self-tests and full-tests and the incentive works. Was this way: self-test at .01 each: full-test at 1
each. (Incentive: if done by the Recommended Date, 1 point.) Proposed
way: self-test at 1
each; full-test at .01. (Incentive: if you missed questions but you retook
the full test for full points by the Recommended Date, # of points you missed
in the self-test Example: self-test @ 10 points. You only got 4
right. You take the full test until you have 10 points. I enter 6 in the
incentive. Would the
proposed way help you? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
To see the Example
so you can answer Question 11
I have thought of a way to put the recommended date for the
incentive in Question 6 in the Course Schedule. That way all due dates are in
one place. To make it fit the Course Schedule format that we have, it will
probably require 2 abbreviations in the Course Schedule.
- LQ for Learning Quizzes
- EQ for Evidence Quiz
Click here and look for the yellow sections to see how it would look:
http://www.cjbibus.com/HIST_1302-161_Online_Fall_2017_CRN_11598_SURVEY.pdf
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11. Would it
help to have the Recommended Date for the incentive to be in the Course
Schedule as shown in the example—even if I had to use the 2 abbreviations to
make that much information fit? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Question 12
about shorter quiz names
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12. I may be able to rename the quizzes so their names are
shorter. Would that help? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Question 13
about having 2 maps in 1 quiz and why
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13. I could not
do this one and the next until next summer when I rebuild the maps to be ADA
compliant, but the answers would help. I could make
fewer brief map quizzes of 2 or 3 questions if I could have more than 1 map
in a quiz. Example: 1 quiz with a map from North America
for 4 questions and a map for the Caribbean for 2 more. (I should be able to
put the map in each question so it is easier to see without scrolling up.) Would 2 maps in
1 Learning Quiz be OK? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Question 14
about how many questions in a quiz is comfortable for your brain
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14. I could not
do this one and the prior one until next summer when I rebuild the maps to be
ADA compliant, but the answers would help. What is the number of questions in a quiz that is most
comfortable for your brain? a. 5 questions per quiz b. 10 per quiz c. 15 per quiz d. 20 per quiz e. 25 per quiz |
Question 15
about having a gap between posting your papers and starting the peer review and
why
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15. With the 3-Part Writing Assignment, close the Discussion for
about 5 days between students submitting their papers and the beginning of
the peer review. Why? In bad times for me, it can take up to 3 days to
compare students’ papers with the sources and to scan them. If things go
slow, that would still give students at least 2 days to see my feedback and
ask questions before they do a peer review. My experience is that for freshmen, writing about history where
citation is checked by a prof is the first
time they have ever written about something real. This gap would give: - Me time to be sure I could get them graded - Students time to think and ask questions about evidence
requirements. Would this gap between submitting papers and beginning peer
review help? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Question 16
about whether prof’s feedback on peer reviews in progress helps or not?
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16. My policy in the past had been not to reply to peer reviews
because it is public. If I see a student who is not reviewing on evidence but
just on grammar and style, I am considering replying with the Subject line
Supportive feedback from your prof. The statement would be: If I am reading correctly, you are not reviewing on evidence
(issues covered in the F grade and D grade columns of the rubric for the
paper). Per the rubric for the Peer Review, your maximum grade out of 50
points for this peer review will be 1.1 or 15.1. Email me in Blackboard
Messages at Connie Bibus (Instructor) and I will gladly delete it for you so
you can start fresh. Would that reply on my part help? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |
Question 17,
an opportunity for any other suggestions you
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17. Please write any other suggestions you have. I thank you all
for helping me try to help others. |
Question 18,
one of the questions I ask my on-campus students
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18. I gave you feedback on how well you read the sources for
your written work. Some of you seemed to realize things about how college is
different from high school (and how college prepares for work and your
future). If you did
realize things about your work, mark ALL
the ones that apply to you. a. Need for
reliable sources b. No
plagiarism c. No changes
to another’s words without showing the changes d. Need for
factual accuracy e. No
assumptions about the author believing what you believe f. Need to know
where you found facts |
Question 19,
one of the questions I ask my on-campus students
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19. Some said
you saw what you were doing after
you used the marked rubric to compare
your work with the sources and completed the form (the one worth 50
points) identifying what habits you need to improve. Was that true
for you? a. Not at all b. Maybe a bit c. Not sure d. Some e. A lot |