Distance Education Newsletter

Happy New Year! This time of year provides an excellent opportunity to reflect and to try out new ideas.

• What are you ready to let go of in 2022?
• What do you want more of in 2022?
• What's your motto--or focus word--for 2022?
• What if you tried something new every month of 2022--what would you try?

Why not embrace the possibilities?

Laulima was upgraded to Sakai v. 20 on December 26th. This version has brought minor changes and bug fixes. Please see the Laulima v20 Upgrade Features documentation for faculty and register for an upcoming systemwide webinar Laulima v20 Upgrades & Tips which will be held on January 14, 2022 at 10 am.

UHOIC also offers Laulima v20 Upgrade Features document for students.

Did you notice the new announcement in Laulima?

“In response to a request from CCAO, we will start auto-publishing (making sites visible and accessible to students) Laulima courses the Wednesday before the general start of each semester. Spring 2022 courses will be published on January 5, 2022 at 3:00pm HST. Note that instructors can publish or unpublish courses manually at any time. Fall 2021 courses will be unpublished closer to the start of the Spring 2022 semester. (12/26/21)”

Thanks to HEERF, we are continuing to implement the Faculty Senate-approved DE Class Coaching system.

Trained peer coaches are working with DE instructors to ensure that those DE instructors have the support they need to create and facilitate effective online learning spaces that meet federal and ACCJC requirements.

This semester, the focus is on classes that went online during COVID and that will remain online moving forward.

If your class is slated for coaching this semester, you will receive notification shortly, and will have the opportunity to choose which rubric you'd like to work with. The BaRe (Basic Requirements) Rubric focuses tightly on the 5 federal and ACCJC requirements. The CoRe (Collaborative Reflective) Rubric offers an opportunity for a rich, collaborative conversation about course design and facilitation.

Want more information? Check out this DE Class Coaching website. If you have questions, please direct them to Leigh (ldooley@hawaii.edu).

Did you see the announcement in the Bulletin? Here's how the Testing Center will be operating in Spring 2022. Note that the Center will no longer be serving fully-online classes.

The Testing Center is pleased to offer the following in-person testing services beginning Spring 2022. Testing is by appointment only.

• Placement testing – ACCUPLACER and Foreign Languages
• Make-up testing – for students who missed an exam due to illness, family obligations, etc.
• Accommodations testing – for students who need extended time or other accommodations
• Academic testing for Kapi’olani CC hybrid classes
• Academic testing for Kapi’olani CC face-to-face classes using internet-based tests only
• Academic testing for Kapi’olani CC students enrolled at other UH campuses.
• ATI TEAS

For Spring 2022, testing services will NOT be available for any Kapi’olani CC course designated as Distance Education (DCO/DE).

For more information, please visit the Testing Center website at: https://guides.library.kapiolani.hawaii.edu/testing. If you have any questions, please contact Sunny Pai at sunyeen@hawaii.edu.

If you aren’t already using the Kapi‘olani CC Syllabus Template, now’s a great time to adopt it! The syllabus template is not only ADA compliant, but it also links out to 3 webpages with up-to-date information on Student Responsibilities, College Policies, and How to Get Help.

Do you use Laulima Forums or Discussions and Private Messages? Tests and Quizzes or Assignments, Tests and Quizzes? Emails or Announcements? All of the above? We all use Laulima differently and that might confuse students. One of the best things we can do individually in our classes is to create how-to/navigation videos specifically tailor-made for our course to help students understand the tools we use and how to navigate our site. Show (and tell) your students how to get to certain tools, what they are used for and where to find them. The bonus is that how-to/navigation videos created by you can increase instructor presence. Easy platforms to create these videos include Loom and Screencast O'Matic. Don’t forget that extra step in uploading your videos to YouTube and editing the closed captions for accuracy.

Our DE Class Coaching efforts have been collegial, collaborative, and constructive thanks to our amazing class coaches and coachees. Everyone involved in the process has also been learning so much by asking hard questions and sharing the answers. Every month, we plan to highlight two Q&As from our Peer Coaches’ FAQ archives as we believe that some of the information will be helpful for anyone teaching online. This month’s questions and answers are:

• Do we care about copyright for images? Yes. Please ensure that there is proper attribution unless the image is public domain, purchased, or created by the instructor.

• The email tool in Laulima allows for students to see their classmates' email addresses. Is this okay or does it violate FERPA? What about sections that have been combined to one and students seeing emails from folks in the same course but other sections? As long as the students are in the same class (CRN), then seeing each others' email addresses is fine. According to FERPA, a student cannot remain anonymous in the classroom. That pretty much translates to having their email shared because they often need to communicate that way. However, if students are in different sections, seeing other students' email is not allowed. Doing so would violate FERPA. Sharing is only okay if the class is truly cross listed in Banner (UH Data Governance). RECOMMENDATION: If you combine multiple sections in Laulima, do not use the Laulima Email tool as it would violate FERPA.

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is a requirement for our DE classes, and it’s an essential part of the federal DOE’s definition of what makes a class or program “Distance Education” (as opposed to “Correspondence Education”). Recent federal negotiated rulemaking sessions have revised the federal definition of RSI, and accrediting agencies (including ACCJC) are coming out with revised regulations to take this newly-revised definition of RSI into account. ACCJC’s revised DE regulations are set to take effect in July of 2022.

In preparation, Kapi‘olani CC has drafted an institutional definition of RSI in alignment with the federal definition. This RSI definition passed the Faculty Senate on April 5 and was approved by the administration on April 12. The best part is that including plenty of RSI in your online class will not only help the class meet ACCJC requirements, but will also help engage your students and enrich the class.

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is a requirement for Distance Education (DE) classes at Kapi‘olani Community College. In meeting this requirement, instructors are responsible for interacting with students on a predictable and regular basis. They monitor students’ academic engagement and success, and proactively engage in substantive interactions with the students. These interactions occur in at least two of the following ways:

• Providing direct instruction (ie. instructor-created videos, slide presentations, or other instructional materials or meeting with the class synchronously online)

• Providing feedback on assignments (preferably individualized)

• Providing information and/or responding to questions

• Facilitating group discussions (including discussions that utilize Web 2.0 tools such as Padlet, FlipGrid, collaborative creation tools, etc.)

• Engaging in one or more of the following instructional activities:

• Sending announcements, reminders or nudges to students

• Holding synchronous group or individual conferences

• Assigning and facilitating peer feedback

• Assigning and facilitating group projects

• Assigning and facilitating student-led instruction (student presentations, student-led discussions, etc.)

• Sharing individualized course performance, progress, and/or early alert reports with students.

If you have questions or comments about this definition, or about RSI, we’d love to hear them! Contact Leigh at ldooley@hawaii.edu.

Our award-winning Teaching Online Prep Program (TOPP) will return in 2022 in three modules and will be facilitated by your faculty colleagues who are experienced online teachers:

1. Tech Basics - March 4-18, 2022 (Spring Break)

2. Course Planning - May 23 to June 3, 2022

3. Building an Online Classroom - June 6 to July 1, 2022

If you need to sharpen your basic technology skills or design & build an SLO-aligned and engaging online learning space for your students using Laulima and Web 2.0 tools, please join us for one or more TOPP modules! Be on the lookout for announcements regarding registrations in the coming months.

The UHCC OER Textbook Incentive Program's Spring 2022 registrations continue now through January 7, 2022 (or as seats are available) for the following professional development trainings:

• Open Textbook Library Textbook Reviewer (Jan 28)

• OER 101 - Synchronous Online Workshop Series (Feb 4-18)

Or, learn at your own pace: The OER 101 training also has an asynchronous option with a registration deadline of March 31, 2022 and final completion date of April 30, 2022.

For more information, please contact Sunny Pai at sunyeen@hawaii.edu.

Currently, Kapi‘olani CC has a subscription with Go2Knowledge, which offers Kap‘olani CC faculty and staff free access to dozens of Innovative Educators webinars, both live and on demand (pre-recorded). Many of them are quite good! Here's a sampling to pique your interest:

Upcoming live webinars:

• Managing Conflict among Co-Workers: Resolution Strategies for Face-to-Face, Remote & Hybrid Work Environments (Thursday 1/20, 8:00 - 9:00 am HST)

• How to Better Serve Underrepresented Populations: A Strength-based Approach (Thursday 1/20, 10:00 - 11:00 am HST)

  How to Remove Completion Barriers for Non-Traditional Students (Tuesday 1/25, 10:00 - 11:30 am HST)
  

Recently-added on demand webinars:

• Rubric Building Blocks: Designing Adaptable Rubrics Based on Learning Objectives

  (60 min)

• Universal Design: A Framework for Creating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Initiatives (90 min)

And many, many more. Sign up at Kapi‘olani CC's G2K account page and browse through the offerings.

Want to get Zoom updates automatically? You can now turn on automatic updates right in the Zoom client. Here’s how:

1. In Settings, under General, select the ‘Automatically keep my Zoom up to date’ checkbox to enable automatic updates.
2. You will be prompted to enter admin credentials (for your computer) to give automatic updates permission to run, but it will only be required when enabling this setting.
3. Once a new version of Zoom is available and you’re not in a Zoom Meeting, you will be prompted to update. If you’re in a meeting, you will be prompted with the update immediately after it ends.
4. You may also express a preference for how frequently to receive updates. The ‘Slow’ option, selected by default, provides less frequent updates and focuses on maximizing stability. The ‘Fast’ option allows you to adopt the latest features and updates as soon as they become available. When critical security updates are involved, updates will go to everyone.

Kapiʻolani Community College is among the “25 Best Online Colleges and Degrees for Moms,” according to College Values Online (CVO), an organization with a mission to help students select the best college for them.

CVO ranked Kapiʻolani CC No. 17. There were 936 public community colleges registered by the American Association of Community Colleges in the U.S. in 2021.

Kapiʻolani CC’s Student Parents Program (SPP) was identified as a catalyst for student success among single moms. SPP provides services to all students with families on campus as long as the student is parenting a minor under the age of 18. Student parents can receive career and personal counseling, community referrals and resources, opportunities to attend workshops, presentations and more. SPP also extends assistance to grandparents who have custody of or are guardians to a student’s child.

Student Kyu Hyun Park, a single mom, said affordable tuition and other factors helped her to choose Kapiʻolani CC. SPP found her other scholarships that allowed financial relief, and taking online classes allowed her to be more available for her daughter.

“Kapiʻolani has a caring culture where everyone is friendly, and each student’s success is important to faculty,” Park said.

Park appreciated having a Laulima Intranet account which allowed her to communicate openly with faculty and fellow students. Not having to worry about parking was an asset.

Cathy Wehrman, director of SPP, said, “We just want to make sure that people can connect with us and come to us for different kinds of support they might need. Our job is to provide resources, support and guidance, but it’s ultimately the student who’s going to make their own best decision.”

Park said her primary responsibility is to her daughter, Leilani, and that she needs to prepare herself for her own independence and a job with a solid future. She said she is grateful for SPP and Wehrman’s guidance.

With a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and associate’s degrees in hospitality operations management and liberal arts, plus fluency in three languages, Park’s success will be as impressive as her self-confidence gained through meeting all the challenges as a single mom navigating her way through college.

For more information about the student parent support services at Kapiʻolani CC, email sppkcc@hawaii.edu or visit SPP online.

This article originally appeared in UH News and is republished with the permission of Louise Yamamoto.

• Free Resources to Help with Remote Learning in 2022 (article, Campus Technology)

A list of free software and services to augment online and blended instruction. Recommended: Canva, Loom, OpenDyslexic, OpenStax, and Panopto Express.

• 6 Basic Design Principles (Instagram, Freepik)

Balance, contrast, emphasis, unity, hierarchy, proportion & scale - a quick overview of basic visual design principles by the pros at Freepik.

• 2022 Color of the Year (article, Creative Market)
  

Pantone’s color of the year is here! #6667AB or “Veri Peri” -- bold periwinkle with a red/violet undertone -- is forecasted to be the color trend for 2022.

• DE Newsletter - December 2021
• DE Newsletter - November 2021
• DE Newsletter - October 2021
• DE Newsletter - September 2021
• DE Newsletter - August 2021
• DE Newsletter - July 2021
• DE Newsletter - June 2021
• DE Newsletter - May 2021
• DE Newsletter - April 2021
• DE Newsletter - March 2021
• DE Newsletter - February 2021