Overview
This post provides a guide to implementing the eCampus Accessibility Checklist, including disabilities and common barriers, accessibility frameworks, rationale for accessibility standards, and resources for implementation.
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Specifications Grading: A Method to Improve Student Performance
Overview
Are you looking to increase student motivation and the quality of their academic work? If yes, consider specifications grading. According to Linda B. Nilson, Ph.D., the traditional higher education grading method is broken and specifications grading offers a solution with benefits for both students and faculty. Nilson published her seminal work, Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students and Saving Faculty Time, in 2015. Since then, faculty have adopted her method, including some at UConn.
Continue readingAn Overview of VoiceThread
Overview
VoiceThread is an asynchronous discussion and presentation tool that is integrated into HuskyCT (Blackboard). A VoiceThread is a collaborative multimedia slide-based presentation that can include materials such as PowerPoint slides, images, documents, videos, audio files, and other audio-visual content. Users can engage with the content and each other using video-, audio-, and text-based interactions. Online instructors can leverage VoiceThread to create asynchronous discussions, deliver interactive lectures, or facilitate group projects. Its flexibility supports diverse learning styles and encourages participation, making it an ideal tool for building community in online courses.
Continue readingAn Overview of Perusall
Overview
Perusall is a free “social annotation” tool that helps students engage with course material in class groups. When integrated with HuskyCT, instructors can create reading or viewing assignments in which students create & share their own annotations and respond to each other’s comments and questions. Perusall informs instructors of the concepts that generate the most student questions & discussion, and Perusall can assist instructors score assignments quickly and efficiently. Perusall also reminds students of incomplete assignments, prompting higher rates of completion and preparedness.
Continue readingSyllabus Template for Online Courses
Overview
eCampus offers a syllabus template for instructors teaching online, which meets accessibility requirements for online courses. This article describes how to download and use the template to create your syllabus.
Continue readingWriting Effective Multiple Choice Questions
Overview
This article provides guidelines for constructing multiple choice assessment questions. While multiple choice questions can be used to measure a number of different learning outcomes, the validity of these assessments is greatly influenced by how well the questions are constructed. Use this guide to write multiple choice questions for both lower and higher level learning outcomes.
Continue readingHow Rubrics Help Faculty and Students
Overview
This article explains rubrics, types of rubrics, outlines how rubrics may benefit both faculty and students, and provides a few HuskyCT example rubrics.
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