eFaculty Blog

(Submitted by Debra Malschick)

Some of my projects are required to be completed with paint.  I
have had several instances where students are submitting digital files
that are manipulated to appear as if they were painted.

Has any one else experienced any similar situations regarding
studio work?

Unfortunately I feel like the police when a student submits a
technically excellent file and I need to make sure it is not digitally
manipulated.

We are going to do our online prospective student information chats once a month during the fall 2009 term.

Transfer Student Chats will be on Wednesdays and eLearning Chats on Fridays from 12 noon until 3 pm ET.

These events this past year have helped us spread the word about the quality of our online programs. They have allowed us to demonstrate the rich educational environment of our online classes. And they have provided us a means to showcase our wonderful faculty.

To join the meeting click on this link:
http://scadconnect.scad.edu/admissionelearning/

eLearning Chats for Fall 2009 (Fridays)
September 25th
October 23rd
November 20th
December 11th

Transfer Student Chats (Wednesdays)
September 23rd
October 21st
November 18th
December 9th

eLearning Council

Schedule:
•    Fall Term – October 2, 2009
•    Winter Term – January 29, 2010
•    Spring Term – April 9, 2010

9:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.
eLearning Council meets in Savannah, Arnold Hall, Room 107, and via a Connect Session.
Please email for the meeting URL.

Times and Location will not change.

(Thanks Stan and Tom!)

1. Go into your Gradebook
2. Above the grades you can see all of your graded items in blue
3. Click on the blue Discussions, Units 1-5
4. On the Item Options page click Item Grade List
5. Then find the student you would like to comment on
6. Click Modify Comments on the right side of the grade
7. This will open the Modify Comment window.
8. Type your comments and click Submit

(Thanks Tom!)

Step 1: Sign up

1. Go to your online course and click Communication at the bottom of the left-hand navigation menu.
2. Click Pronto to go to the Pronto sign-up page. Set up a Pronto account using your ID number and e-mail address, both of which should already be entered into the corresponding fields. Do NOT change your ID or e-mail address. If you do, Pronto won’t work correctly.
3. Confirm your e-mail address; create a password (the same one you use for MySCAD is recommended); select a security question and its answer; and check the box that indicates that you agree to the terms. Click Submit.

Step 2: Download and install

1. Activate your account from the e-mail message Pronto sends you. You must do this within two days of receiving it.
2. Your ID and e-mail address will be listed at the bottom, along with a list of your courses. Select the checkboxes next to your courses (if they’re not already checked), but leave Virtual Lecture Hall blank.
3. Download Pronto from the top of the page.
4. After downloading, click the Pronto icon and follow the instructions to install.

Read the rest of this entry »

Contribution from Dr. Anne Swartz, Art History

Immediately. As soon as it is apparent that the student has issues expressing him/her in written form, send them onto the Writing Center with specific guidelines on what kinds of help is needed. It is imperative that students have confidence expressing themselves verbally.

I give students specific reasons why it is important to write well—to communicate one’s ideas, to clarify one’s approach to a subject, and to participate in the course as expected. If a student has a consistent problem, such as poor spelling, I insist that they learn to use the spell-check tools. If a student uses the spell-checking tools but uses them incorrectly (they get homonyms or they unintentionally get the wrong word), then I point out that their writing is not reflecting their full attention.

It is a fallacy for a student to say that he/she may choose to defer writing well because he/she is an artist and won’t need to write well in the career. On the few occasions when I have had this kind of comment, I simply point out that we are a text-based society and that devoting time now to learning to write well will benefit the student professionally, socially (think of social networking where a person writes and must write well or risk having people not understand the point being made or worse), and personally.

Contribution from Dr. Anne Swartz, Art History

In the initial e-mail I send the students (I send a welcome note with very general course information followed by another note I call the initial e-mail—for clarity—which contains course-related information that is more specific in nature), I mention that I will make modifications to the course in posts on the discussion board. I also explain that these modifications will supersede anything in the course. It is mostly effective in getting the students to accord with my wishes. However, I restrict the changes I make to the core course to an absolute minimum. Students frequently don’t catch the changes, so I must remind them. Utilize e-mail, discussion board postings, and announcements.

In essence, I have learned to teach the core course and have focused on minimal changes. It works out fine because I direct students on the discussion board to specific things I want them to do. That way, there is less confusion. But it isn’t a perfect system (such a system does not exist) and it is worthwhile for faculty to embrace the core course. It has passed departmental and college review, so it has merit.

I emphasize in detail my expectations about assignments where I want something different that the course author defined, but I definitely keep it focused on only the most important points. It is similar to the challenge one feels when one disagrees with the textbook author. There is only so much value in pointing out all the points of divergence before students get confused, irritated, or disenchanted.

Contribution from Dr. Anne Swartz, Art History

When a student asks me to read preliminary material again and again, I encourage students to focus on any comments I give them on initial material they submit. If the student explains that he/she has tweaked the material a little, then I reiterate that I want the student needs to return to my initial comments. The main problem is that students presume that a draft is complete and take issue with any constructive criticism.

I have experimented with different policies about drafts. I created a policy in which I simply tell the students they may submit an outline or a single paragraph for me to review, but that’s all the material I read prior to the submission of the final version of the assignment.

By limiting the information I’ll review, I give the students feedback. However, it is feedback within a context. I provide extensive commentary on anything I am given in terms of these outlines or single paragraphs, making the comments very specific and useful.

In this approach, I focus on action verbs and comments that will facilitate the student’s understanding of any recommendations by giving examples, instructions, or offers for additional help. Encouraging students to focus on writing in a structured manner, focus on developing a clear perspective, and focus on creating a smooth progression of ideas are all useful tools.

I encourage students to give me short examples or snippets and then they are able to take my comments and utilize them. This approach has worked in every case, whereas it almost never worked with drafts in significantly improving the student work.

Contribution from Dr. Anne Swartz, Art History

I send students an e-mail at the beginning of the term and then a follow-up e-mail with detailed information. In the second note, I mention students need to participate regularly and avoid one word responses. If a student persists, then I e-mail the student and mention that one word responses need to be avoided in favor of longer responses where the student qualifies his/her response and provides an example.

By asking students to discuss specific artworks in their replies, this request automatically increases the response length. I got such lengthy replies, the students were overwhelmed and I had to back off from this request as a requirement. However, I definitely remind short responders to utilize this technique as a way to promote longer replies. I also discourage students from colloquialisms and abbreviations, reminding them that the discussion boards are course-related and require a certain formality.

If a student persists after a reminder and some guidance, then I start pointing out that short answers will result in a lower grade because the student is not interacting as necessary. I try and be gentle, but give constructive support. The interesting thing about this problem is that it usually doesn’t apply to non-native English speakers but students who are not engaged in the course material for whatever reason.

How do I get the student to write more effective e-mails and send them less frequently while still getting the desired attention?

Contribution from Dr. Anne Swartz, Art History

Initially, I answer all e-mails exactly the same; that is, as in-depth as warranted by the question or statement. It rapidly becomes obvious when you have an attention-seeker in your midst. You’ll know because your fingers will be exhausted simply by the exercise of answering said student’s e-mails. So, I gauge the student’s needs and respond accordingly. Here are the kinds of students who engage in this behavior:

1. Students interested in learning more than the course offers: I had a student who was very sophisticated. She wanted to connect the course material to her background in philosophy. At first, I felt irritated by her regular e-mails requesting more information on how such and such related to an idea/reading/event she knew because the e-mails were so numerous. I thought she was getting off-track, like the kind of student who raises his/her hand in class to explain some piece of knowledge they have but goes on and on and on without relating the commentary to the class discussion. But, I offered her some additional readings and she became excited by this material, asking for more. She then offered me some interesting readings and an engaging dialogue began.

2. Student who wants attention because they don’t want to take the course: I had a student who resisted taking a course, required for the student’s area of study. The student would write me endless e-mails about how brilliant he was and how simple the course material was. I told the student to formulate his comments into specific questions. The student couldn’t come up with specific questions, other than details about the assignments, but continued to express concern. So, I tried to give him some encouragement to stay on task, gave him feedback on some kinds of things he was asking, and generally helped him figure out how to remain focused on the course. His e-mails went from several a day to one a day to once a week within about one unit (or one week of the term).

3. Student who is nervous about eLearning: Encourage the student to participate often. The only way to gain confidence is to participate. Give the student some parameters for participation (number of times). I have had several students with this situation. If the student continues to e-mail, then remind the student that they need to participate more before writing you again. Some students in this situation will continue to e-mail frequently, but I have noticed that the e-mails become more pointed in asking specific questions so the student may succeed in the course.