News and Events.Articles.• Makingyourcourseanaward

winner

• ToolsforImprovingStudentEng-agement

• ePortfolios

• EdTechonaFridayMorning

Workshops.• ePortfoliosandMobileLearning

• BlackboardandRichMediaTools

• StrategiesfortheFlippedClassroom ...and more!

O�ce of Educational Technology O�ce of Academic A�airs

• AreYouReadywinsBlackboardCatalystAward

• TheNewCUNYLogin

• CelebrationofInnovation

Fall 2017, Issue 13

InnovationsInnovFall 2017

YO U C A N G E T N AT I O N A L

R E CO G N I T I O N

FO R YO U R CO U R S E !

“A r e Yo u Re a d y ” C o u r s e w i n s

B l a c k b o a r d a wa r d

Save the Date:

Celebration of Innovation!

Thursday, Dec 11, 2017 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Food, Drink and Prizes! Location to be announced

Focus On TECHNOLOGY

Hands-On TECH

WORKSHOPS

Blackboard Essentials Sep 7 - 3:30pm

Sep 27 - 3:30pm

Blackboard Advanced Aug 30 - 11:00am Aug 31 - 3:30pm

Blackboard Grade Center Sep 7 - 11:00am Sep 13 - 3:30pm Oct 12 - 3:30pm

ePortfolios Sep 14 - 3:30pm

Assessment Tools Sep 28 - 11:30am

Lecture Capture Sep 25 - 11:00pm

Web Tools 2.0 Oct 12 - 11:00am Oct 19 - 11:00am

Editor-in-Chief - George Rosa Executive Editor, Consultant - Carlos GuevaraContributors - David Dos Santos, Iber Poma, Wilfredo Rodríguez, George Rosa, Julie Trachman, Helen Keier

EdTech is pleased to present the workshop cal-endar for the Fall 2015 semester. For this semester the trainings have been revamped to encourage conversations focused on faculty issues within the classroom. Included in the discussions will be how di�erent technologies are able to solve these issues and bring about meaningful solu-tions. There will also be one-to-one meetings to demonstrate the Technical aspects of the tech-nologies. All EdTech workshops To �nd out exact times of the workshops, and to register, go to: http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/edtech/for-facul-ty/workshops/ InnovationsInnov

Focus On Technology workshops cover a variety of topics and they are focused on solving faculty is-sues in the classrooms. How to use a speci�c technology from the technical point of view is not discussed on these conversations. After the discussions take place, faculty can make an appoint-ment or stop by the C-556 and and speak more deeply with one of the specialist on how to imple-ment certain technology to help them solve a particular issue.

Designing An Experience Through Project-Based Learning

Oct 14 - 2:00pm

Don’t Be Shy, Be Bright Nov 2 - 3:30pm

Universal Design Nov 9 -3:30pm

Blackboard Collaborate - What Is it?

Nov 16 - 11:00am

page 2

by George Rosa

This June, Blackboard Inc. awardedHostos EdTech its Catalyst Award in

thecategoryof“OptimizingStudentEn-gagement” for the creation and imple-mentationofthe“AreYouReady”course.Carlos Guevara, David Dos Santos andtheauthorarescheduledtoreceivetheaward at this year’s BlackboardWorldconferenceinNewOrleans.Ashasbeencovered inother issuesof thisnewslet-ter,the“AreYouReady”courseisanon-line course on Hostos Blackboard thatevaluatesstudentpreparedness foron-linecoursework,andcoverstopicssuchas working in an online environment,Blackboard, Netiquette, where to getsupport and on-campus services. Al-

thoughintendedforstudentswhoplanto take an online course, the course isactually open to anyone in the HostoscommunitywhoisregisteredintheCU-NYfirst or CUNY Portal. Please contactEdTech if you are interested in havingyourstudentstakethecourseorwouldliketotakethecourseyourself.

TheBlackboardCatalystAwards,accord-ing to Blackboard “honor those whopushtheboundariesoftheireducation-alprogramsandtechnologyinordertodeliverinnovativeandeffectivelearningexperiences.” Blackboard intends for itsawards to focus on educators and ad-ministratorswhoare“passionateaboutusingtechnologyineducationandcol-laboratingonbestpractices”.There areseveral Catalyst Awards: for LeadingChange, for Community Engagement,forTeachingandLearning, for InclusiveEducation, for Professional Develop-ment, forStudentSuccess, forOptimiz-ing Student Experience, which is theawardwonbyHostosEdTech.

Youdon’t need tobe aBlackboard ad-ministrator or EdTech“techie” to win aBlackboardaward.AnyBlackboardusercanbenominatedforoneoftheawards.

fromyearsofonlineteachingexperienceand attending EdTech and CTL work-shopsandevents.Insteadofarubric,re-viewofcoursescreated inthe Initiativefollowguidelines,orchecklists, thatarestrongly influencedbytheQualityMat-tersRubricStandardandCSUChicoRu-bricsforOnlineInstruction.Goalssetbythevariousrubricsavailablefordesign-ingonlinecoursesareprettysimilar,andfollowingoneindesigningacoursewillmatchupwellwithothers.

Inthelongrun,academicfreedomisre-spected at EdTech in the developmentof online courses, and the structure ofanonlinecourseshouldbea reflectionofthecoursesyllabusaswellasthewaytheinstructorfeelsmosteffectiveatcov-

eringcourse content,both in-class andonline.Buttherubricsgiveagoodmea-sureofwhat’sbeenacceptedbyconsen-susofhowaneffectiveonlinecourse isbuilt.Andifyouwanttoberecognizedas teaching a Catalyst or Exemplarycourse,thengofor it!WeatEdTechareheretohelp.

Blackboard Catalyst Awardhttps://community.blackboard.com/groups/catalystawards

Exemplary Course Programhttp://www.blackboard.com/consult-ing-training/training-technical-services/exemplary-course-program.aspx

Exemplary Course Rubrichttp://www.blackboard.com/resources/catalyst-awards/bb_exemplary_course_rubric_apr2017.pdf

The Catalyst awards are an extensionofBlackboard’sExemplaryCoursePro-gram(ECP),whosemissionistoexploreandpromotebestpracticesthatleadtosuperior courses.Theprogramcentersaround the ECP Rubric, available un-deraCreativeCommonslicense,whichcoversfourmainareas–CourseDesign,Interaction and Collaboration, Assess-mentandLearnerSupport.

An important part of the ExemplaryCourse Program is course design pro-fessionaldevelopmentthroughanon-line community, with the opportunityto learn from and networkwith otherinstructors and course designers. This

communityoffersaccesstoExemplaryCourse tours posted by communitymembers,coursedesigntipsbyawardwinninginstructorsanddesigners,andopportunities for sharing resources,volunteering to peer review, and net-working.Theprogramrecognizesthreecategories of course review, based onthe ECP Rubric – Self-Review throughtheECPRubric,PeerReviewfrompeervolunteers, and Achievement Review,where an ECP expert evaluates yourcourse. Success in the AchievementReviewleadstothecoursegainingex-emplarystatusandwinningtheExem-plary Course Award. The award is on-goingandyoucansubmityourcourseto thereviewprocessatanytime.Thebenefits of winning the ExemplaryCourse Award aremainly professionalrecognitionwithintheonlineteaching/learningcommunityandpromotionbyBlackboardon itswebsite andat con-ferences.

EdTech’s Online Course Initiative Pro-gram, designed to transition facultynewtoonlineteachingisnotbasedontheECPRubric.Theapproach taken isone of mentoring by an experiencedpractitionerofhybridorasynchronousteaching,sharingbestpracticesgained

M ak ing your course an

Award Winner!

page 3

Electronic portfolios or ePortfolioshave become an indispensable tool

tofacilitatestudentlearningandassess-ment.AnePortfolioisanelectronicmul-timediacollectionofevidenceasdigitalartifacts that illustrate one’s learningjourneyovertime.Portfoliosmayrepre-sentalearningjourneyinacourse,aca-demic program, or professional career.ePortfolios aredescended from the tra-ditionalpaperandfolderportfolioscom-

moninhighereducationwritingcoursesandteachereducationcourses.Notsur-prisingly,thesetypesofcoursesbecametheearlyadoptersof theePortfolioandhavelongmodelledsomebestpracticesforusingtheePortfoliotothefullestex-tent. ePortfoliosareavaluableasset inanyacademiccoursefromcomposition-alwritingtomathematics.

ePortfolios take on many differentshapesandformsandshouldbethoughtof as a dynamic never ending process.Evenupongraduationorcompletionofacourseithasnotreacheditsendpoint.Itsimplyreachesatransformativestagefrom a learning tool to a professionaltool. ThereareseveralbestpracticestokeepinmindwhenimplementingePort-foliosinyourcourse.

Re�ective ArtifactsThe initial challenge is to properlychoose relevant reflectiveartifacts fromyour course or program. A classic ex-ampleofthisisa“firstdraft”ofaresearchpaper or journal entry. The ePortfoliowillthendocumentthelearningprocess

of a second and final draft. The digitalnatureoftheePortfoliointroducesnewmodalitiesofcommunicationthroughthepossibilityofmultimediaartifacts.

For example, a traditional written as-signmentcouldstartasavideoblogorvlog.Inadditiontothetraditionalteach-er reflection, ePortfolios add a genuinelayerofauthenticaudiencethroughpeerreaders. Theportfolioauthorshouldbeencouraged to share with other stu-dents, teachers, friends, and academiccommunitywhile keeping inmind thatthe portfolio will eventually be viewedbyemployersandotheronaprofession-albasis.

Curriculum ConnectionsThe flexible structure and non-linearpossibilities for viewing an ePortfolioaimtoencouragestudentstoviewtheirlearninginthesameway. Forexample,students can demonstrate learningoutcomesby linking toearlier artifacts

by David Dos Santos

from the current course or even previ-ouscoursesanddiscussingselfreflectedchangesandimprovements.Thelearnerwilldevelopanevidencesupportedpro-fileofaccomplishment. Anexampleofthiscouldbethedevelopmentofa les-sonplan in a teachereducation coursethroughseveralsemesters.

Lifelong LearningUltimately,studentswilladapttheireP-ortfolios forusebeyondtheiracademic

careers and use their showcased workas examples of lifelong learning. Thisisoftenthecasewithartistsanddigitaldesigners.TheePortfoliocanbeusedtoshowcase their talent along with theirtechnicalcompetencyinwaysthatare-sumeandjobapplicationcannot.In addition to pedagogical challenges,there are often technical challengesto implementing an ePortfolio in yourcourse. Anyone who is familiar withsocialmedia shouldfind it tobe a softlearning curve. The Office of Educa-tional Technology offers various onlinedocumentation and weekly ePortfolioworkshopsforstudents.Alongwithourpre-built ePortfolio platform fromDigi-cation, you should have ePortfolios upandrunninginnotime!

EPortfolios

ThelinktoEPortfoliosisfoundintheHostoswebsite’sLogindropdownlist

TheyoucanlogintotheEPortfoliodirectoryusingyourHostosnetworkUsernameandPassword,thesamethatyouusetoac-cessemails

page 4

Student Engagement is a very popu-lar concept in Higher Education. It

referstotheamountandqualityoftimestudents spendwith thecontentwhichextends beyond the classroom. It alsoinvolves the relationship between fac-ulty and students, students with otherstudents, the community involvement

andtheuniversityorcollegesasawhole.Themore exposure students havewiththecontenttheyaretryingtolearn,theytendtogetmoreinquisitive,curiousandinterested. Therefore, they will have abetter learning experience. Technol-

ogyplaysanimportantroleinthisarenasince there aremany tools available topromote engagement. This article fo-cusesontechnologytoolsthatfacilitatestudentengagement.

Many faculty use and are familiar withBlackboard, CUNY’s Learning Manage-

ment System (LMS). Blackboard pro-videsdifferenttoolstoengagestudents;one of them is Discussion boards orthreaded discussions: facilitate engage-mentbycreatingacommunityoflearn-ing rather than individual submissionof assignments. This facilitates criticalthinkingduetofactthatstudentscanin-teractwithandrespondstoothersques-tions/answers.

Another Blackboard powerful engage-ment tools is the Journal. This allowsa private communication channel be-tween each student and the facultymember.Studentsmayexpressanycon-cernaboutthecourseoritmayserveto

Socrativeareverygoodappsatengag-ingstudents.Bothallowfacultytocreatepollquestionspreparedaheadoftimeoron-the-flyandstudentsprovidetheiran-swersusingmobiledevicesorfromwebbrowsers.Instructorshavetheabilityto

share the responseswith their studentsif theywant todoso. One feature thatPollEverywherehasthatSocrativedoesnotisthatstudentscansubmittheirre-sponsesbytextmessagesiftheyprefer.As described above, Poll EverywhereandSocrativeareexcellentappswhenitcomestostudents’engagement.

In short,engagedstudents showabet-terunderstandingofthelearnedcontentand they have better performance andachievementsintheiracademiclifethanthosewho do not. Technology plays acritical role inthisarenaduetothefactthat therearemany toolsavailable thatmake the process easier and smoother.Blackboard tools, NearPod, Poll Every-whereandSocrativeareextremelyuse-fulatprovidingthemeantoengagestu-dents.

Sources:• http://edglossary.org/student-en-

gagement/• http://NearPod.com• http://Socrative.com• http://polleverywhere.com• http://www2.cuny.edu/about/ad-

ministration/offices/cis/core-func-tions/cuny-blackboard/user-guides/faculty/

reportclassprogress.BlackboardWikiisyetanotherexcellentengagementtoolssinceitisusedtoaskstudentstogener-atearepositoryofknowledgeorcoursereview concepts that can be used as afinal review. Blackboard also providesanother tools that foster engagement,blogs.Asstatedhere,blackboardoffersmanyengagementtoolsthatfacultycantailortoexposestudentstocoursecon-tentandalignthemtocourseobjectives.Anothergreatappto immersestudentsin active learning is NearPod. It allowsinstructors to deliver class content in avery dynamicwaywhere they can lockthe device students are using to inter-actwith thematerial. Additionally, thisapphasveryusefulfeatureslikesendingstudentstospecificwebsites,theability

tocreatepreandpostquizzesandpollsaspartofthecontentsothatfacultycanhave an understanding about whetherstudents grasp the concept or not. In-structorsareabletodesign

engaging activities for their studentswhere they are asked to draw, type,matching,takeapictureorcreatevideos

for their responses. NearPod containsallneededelementstofullyengagestu-dents.

Engaging students is very importantin order for them to succeed in theircoursesand in theiracademic life. Andthe followingtwoapps thatwillbedis-cussedjustdothat.PollEverywhereand

by Wilfredo Rodriguez

Engagement

Student

page 5

InAY2016-2017,theHostosCTLandEdTechareascombinedforcestoof-

ferworkshopseriesdevotedtohelp-ingus faculty learnmoreabouthowBlackboard and other educationaltechnologies can enhance our inter-actionswithstudents.Iattendedtwoof these series conveniently set forFridaymornings. One serieswasor-ganizedbyGeorgeRosaandthesec-ondbyDavidDosSantos,bothoftheEdTecharea. Oneoftheseries’goals

wastoshowussomeofthe“bellsandwhistles” of Blackboard (Bb) that arehidinginplainsight.Mostfacultyareaware that we can post announce-mentsaswellassyllabiandotherdoc-umentsonBbandmanyuseBbforitsgrade center. Faculty, however,maynot be aware of Bb’s ability to serveasaplatformfordiscussionboardsorblogsandlikelynotawareoftherela-tively new add-on feature, Panopto,whichcanbeusedforlecturecapturebut also provide audio explanationsinconjunctionwithPowerPointslidesas an auxiliary to classroom instruc-tion. Presentations, some given byfaculty, demonstrating these Bb fea-turesandothertech-basedstrategies,wereincorporated.Ihadanopportu-nitytodescribehowIincorporatedaBb-basedbloginmywritingintensivemicrobiologycourse.Amongtheoth-erfacultypresentationswere:theuseofiPADsinthelabsetting,theuseofdiscussion boards and two differentwayse-portfolioscanbeused.

Obviously,oneintentoftheseworkshopswas to instill inus the senseofbeingacommunityof learners. How-ever, many of these tools that weredisplayedtous in theworkshops Iat-tendedweredesignedtofosterasenseof community among the studentsthemselvesanddependingonthetooland the nature of the prompt used,facilitate the ability of the studentsto communicate in ameaningfulwayand/or collaborate with one anotherinside and outside of the classroom.Noneof these toolsnecessitatebeingutilized inhybridor fullyonlineclass-es; however, with our students beingcommutersandoftenhavingworkandhomelifeconstraints,theirinteractionswithfellowclassmatesisoftenlimitedto class time. Therefore, having toolslikethese,itcanmakeiteasierforthe

studentstoshareideaswitheachotheranddependingonthetoolevenallowforcollaborativegroupprojects(Ihopenext year one of the tools discussedwillbewikis!). Byhavingvenuessuchasthese,itmightalsogivefacultysomeideasastohowwecansetupcollabor-ative projects ourselves to potentiallydopedagogicalresearch.

Asa“caveat,”thesesessionsdidaskustodoacertainamountofBlackboard-based homework. However, in real-ity,mostofusdidnotactuallydothehomework until we got to the nextsession.Thetoneofthesesessionswere convivial and the structurewasadequately“loose”tobeabletoallowforustobacktracktodothisminimal homework and then con-tinue on building on what we did the previous session(s). I look forward to attending what I can of next year’s offerings.

EdTech on a Friday Morning

by Julie Trachman

News and Notes

The New CUNY Login for Blackboard StartingJuly3,2017,CUNYCISbeganthe long-awaited move towards thesingle sign-on to the CUNY Onlineenvironment by implementing theCUNY Login for Blackboard. Now, in-steadofloggingintoBlackboardusingthe CUNY Portal Usename and Pass-word, you login using your CUNYfirstusername and password. The formatof the username is (if your CUNYfirstusernameisjohn.smith22,asanexam-ple) john.smith22@login.cuny.edu.WhenyoutrytoconnecttoBlackboardthrough any Blackboard link, such ason the Hostos main webpage or theCUNYwebpage,thelinktakesyoutoa“landingpage”thatwillhavetheloginfields for Blackboard and eventuallyotherCUNYapplicationsthatarebeingmigratedoutoftheCUNYPortal,suchasDegreeWorks.Theusernamefieldisalreadyprepopulatedwiththe@login.cuny.eduportionoftheusername,soallyouwillneedtodoisinsertyourCU-NYfirstusernamebeforeit.This change fromCUNYPortal toCU-NYfirst as the login ID for Blackboardalso means that your Username inBlackboard (not tobe confusedwiththe CUNY login discussed above) isyour CUNYfirst Employee ID, not the21-digit UUID from the CUNY portalLDAP.ThiswillmakeitmucheasierforBbadminsand faculty todoserachesforBlackboardusers,andmakeiteasi-erforfacultytoenrollfaculty,guestob-serversandstudentsintheircourses.For more info visit the CUNY LoginFAQs:

http://www2.cuny.edu/about/ad-ministration/o�ces/cis/cuny-login-faq#cuny_login_guest

page 6

News and Notes

Carlos Guevara, George Rosa and David Dos Santos accept theBlackboardCatalystAwardfromWilliamBallhaus,Chairman,ChiefExecutiveOfficer,andPresidentofBlackboard,Inc..

AllthewinnersoftheBlackboardCatalystawardsarecalledtothestageattheBbWorldconferenceinNewOrleans,LA.andpresent-edbyWilliamBallhausandKatieBlot,ChiefStategyOfficer,Black-board,Inc..

Hostos EdTech was recognized byBlackboard, Inc. for the develop-

ment of the “Are You Ready” onlinelearning readiness course. Black-board’s Catalyst Award for OptimizingStudent Experience, described as anaward that “honors those institutionswhose educational and administrativeinnovations have markedly improvedthe total learner experience” was pre-sented toCarlosGuevara, theDirectorofEdTech,GeorgeRosa,SeniorInstruc-tionalDesignerandHostosBlackboardAdministrator, and David Dos Santos,Instructional Designer byWilliam Ball-haus,Chairman,ChiefExecutiveOfficer,and President of Blackboard, Inc..Theawardwaspresentesatafestiverecep-tionsponsoredbyBlackboardfortheirCatalyst and Exemplary Course Awardwinners during the BbWorld Confer-ence in New Orleans on Wednesday,July26,2017.Thiswasfollowedonthefollowingdaywithapresentationoftheawardwinnersatthegeneralreceptionof the BbWorld conference. This wasespeciallyanhonorfortheawardwin-nerssincethereceptionalsoincludedakeynoteaddressbyMaeJemison,firstblackfemaleastronautandleadinged-ucationinnovatorandbusinesswoman.

EdTechisproudofitsrolebringingna-tionalrecognitiontoHostosasaleaderineducationinnovation.

EdTech Accepts Blackboard’s Catalyst Award at the BbWorld Conference, New Orleans, LA.

page 7

C559

718 319-7915

Monday - Friday

9:00am to 5:00pm

edtech@hostos.cuny.edu

Wilfredo Rodríguez Coordinator of EdTech wrodriguez@hostos.cuny.edu

Carlos Guevara, Director of EdTech cguevara@hostos.cuny.edu

Zsoreign Sanchez Instructional Design Assistant zsanchez@hostos.cuny.edu

Iber Poma Coordinator of Student Services ipoma@hostos.cuny.edu

http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/edtech

Faculty Learning Commons (FLC) Staff

WHO WE ARE

David Dos Santos Instructional Designer dsantos@hostos.cuny.edu

George Rosa Senior Instructional Design Specialist grosa@hostos.cuny.edu

Allied HealthSandra Castellanos Petal Leu Wais See

Education Elys Vasquez-Iscan

Language and CognitionKarin Lundberg Mildred Rabry

Business Linda Ridley

Mathematics Tanvir Prince

CounselingLizette ColónBarbara Rivera

Accesibility Resource Center Raymond Pérez

BSS Amy Ramson Kate Wolfe

Humanities Catherine Lewis Cannon

Natural Sciences Debasish Roy

Wellness Fabian Wander

http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/ edtech/about-edtech/

Educational Technology Leadership Council (ETLC)

Chairperson, EdTech Leadership Councilclyons@hostos.cuny.eduhttp://www.hostos.cuny.edu/etlc

Kate Lyons

EnglishJason Buchanan

LibraryKate LyonsLisa Tappeiner

http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/etlc

TheBronxCUNYEdTechShowcase,heldannuallyinlateAprilorMay,promotesandhighlightstheinnovativeusesoftechnologythathavethepoten-tialtoreachnewlevelsofstudentengagementleadingtoimprovedperformance.

ThethreeBronxCityUniversityofNewYork(CUNY)col-leges(Lehman,BronxCC,andHostosCC)seethiseventas a great opportunity for networking, collaborating,sharingtechnicalinformation,andbuildinguponeffec-tivepracticeswithinourCUNYCommunity.

InDecember2014,theBronxEdTechShowcasewashonoredatthe13thAnnualCUNYITCon-ferencewiththeCUNYExcellenceinCollaborationAward.

2018 BRONX EDTECH SHOWCASEat Hostos Community College! April 27, 2018 Watch for agenda, list of speakers and invitation to present

Save the date: Celebration of

Innovation! Thursday,

December 11, 2017

12:00pm - 2:00pm Food, Drink and Prizes!

Location to be announced

An event to have FUN with technology celebrate faculty success and meet other innovators on campus.Delicious food, great conversation and GIFTS await you!

RSVP NOW.http://commons.hostos.cuny.edu/edtech/for-faculty/work-shops/

Celebration

of Innovation!

Thursday, May 11, 2017

TheSpring2017CelebrationofInnovationwasoneofthebiggestandbestever.Alargegatheringoffacultyandadmnistratorscametoseeandhearpresentationsonthelatestteaching/learninginnovations,congratu-latefacultyforparticipationinEdTechinitiativesandinnovation accomplishments, and try out the latesttechnologies.A specialmoment during the event camewhenDr.LoretoPorteoftheMathematicsDepartment,whore-tiredattheendofthesemester,washonoredforherworkasthefirstDirectorofInstructionalTechnology,andestablishingwhatistodaytheOfficeofEducation-alTechnology.Theoriginalmembers,CarlosGuevara,ElkinUrrea(nowatLehmanCollege),GeorgeRosaandIberPomajoinedherforthecelebration.