By: Carlos Crespo, Executive Director, COBIMET, Inc.
Abstract
This research article will discuss a collaboration strategy used between eight postsecondary institutions in Puerto Rico which are part of the library consortia COBIMET. COBIMET is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with its members to improve virtual library services and information skills in the digital era. The development of collaboration strategies for information sharing through interlibrary loans (ILL) services have become an important service to reduce the gap of information needed by researchers or scholars. These institutions implemented an automated online interlibrary loan system that was integrated to their electronic resources discovery system. The aim of this collaborative agreement was to reduce request time and to provide access to more information resources in a cost-effective manner. The article will present the rationale on implementing an automated ILL Request Process and project experiences.
Resumen: Este artículo describe el proceso de traducción y validación del cuestionario “Student Expectations of Online Learning Survey” (SEOLS), así como su administración a todo el estudiantado sub-graduado (ie. pregrado) matriculado totalmente en línea en la Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ponce (UIPR-Ponce). Esta investigación cuantitativa-descriptiva fue realizada durante el semestre de primavera de 2017 y contó con una muestra aleatoria de 225 participantes, que completaron el cuestionario SEOLS en línea. Los hallazgos revelan que el estudiantado en línea tiene un alto dominio de la tecnología y del manejo del sistema o la plataforma educativa que se utiliza para la entrega o “course delivery”. Además, tiene altas expectativas sobre todo lo relacionado con la navegación en los cursos en línea y el profesorado que ofrecen estos cursos. Las dimensiones relacionadas con el contenido de los cursos y la interacción social en los cursos en línea recibieron las puntuaciones más bajas. Se concluye que, para esta población universitaria, SEOLS es un instrumento válido y confiable. Además, que los alumnos totalmente a distancia poseen niveles de expectativas variadas para cada una de las dimensiones descritas en SEOLS. Los resultados de esta investigación pueden ser de utilidad en el diseño y revisión de cursos, así como en la capacitación del profesorado que ofrece cursos en línea.
Palabras clave: educación en línea, formación a distancia, aprendizaje en línea.
Abstract: This article describes the process of translation and validation of the “Student Expectations of Online Learning Survey” questionnaire (SEOLS), as well as its administration to all fully online undergraduate students at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus (UIPR-Ponce). This quantitative-descriptive research was conducted during the spring semester of 2017 with a random sample of 225 participants, who completed online SEOLS questionnaire. The findings reveal that the online student body has a high mastery of the technology and the management of the system or platform used for the course delivery. In addition, it has high expectations about everything related to navigation in the online courses and teaching staff offered by these courses. The dimensions related to the content of the courses and the social interaction in the online courses received the lowest scores. In conclusion, for this university population, SEOLS is a valid and reliable instrument. In addition, that distance education students have varied levels of expectations for each of the dimensions described in SEOLS. The results of this research can be useful in the design and review of courses, as well as in the training of teachers who offer online courses.
The correct use of units of measure is a critical and fundamental skill that is often taken for granted. The fact that units are taught in high school leads to the expectation that university freshmen master these skills. Unfortunately, faculty often observe that students struggle with units. Although the literature is limited on the nature and extent of students’ struggles with units, it is shown that all of it, without exception, points to a pervasive problem in STEM programs. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the evolution in the performance of N=21 senior mechanical engineering students enrolled during the Fall 2019 semester in a 3-credit-hour, required course that prepares them for the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam. Students were given a unit-conversion quiz at the beginning each class session. It was corrected on the spot, with a score of either 1 or 0, followed by a discussion of the quiz. A score of 1 required a perfect solution. The performance on each quiz guided the decision on the content of future quizzes. The results show that 15 quizzes were required to get 100% of the students to push through their difficulties and achieve expertise. The paper includes the content of the quizzes, the solutions, the aggregated results for each quiz, and the nature of the mistakes. It also includes an algorithm to conduct unit conversions and a visualization scheme to use tables of unit conversions and tables of metric prefixes that were developed during the project. These greatly assisted students in overcoming their difficulties. The experiment was repeated the following semester (Spring 2020, N=27) to test the effectiveness of an algorithm and visualization scheme developed by the author during the Fall 2019 semester. The time to achieve expertise was reduced to one third (5 quizzes vs 15 for the original group), thus confirming its merit. Part of the discussion section focuses on the benefit of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement, of which this paper is an example, and its use in the ABET-required processes of outcomes assessment and continuous improvement. The paper also includes suggestions for further research.
By: Prof. Rob McAlear,
Assistant Professor, English Department, Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY)
Abstract
This article shares the design considerations, implications, and data analysis of an MLA citation online module created using Softchalk e-learning software. Based on research on how to best meet the needs of the diverse, multilingual, and English language learner students at the author’s college, key to the module’s design was using a “flipped” approach, ease of use for students as well as faculty, multiple types of review activities, and a positive rhetorical frame of participation in a scholarly community. Statistical analysis of data collected showed the module to be effective, especially for students who knew little about MLA citation to begin with and implies that such modules may help to close gaps in student knowledge created by cultural and linguistic bias.
Introduction
In the digital age, information literacy has become crucial to both academic and workplace success (Rockman, 2003). Information literacy has been found to be positively correlated with behaviors associated with academic success such as problem solving, collaboration, and thinking critically (Gratch-Lindauer, 2007), and information literacy instruction is correlated with higher student retention and GPA (Blake et al., 2017). Moreover, research has also shown that even though information literacy can look quite different in the workplace than the classroom, employers value employees with information literacy skills (Conley & Gil, 2011; Sokoloff, 2012). In fact, information literacy is such a vital skill for students’ academic and workplace success that some researchers have called it a “new liberal art” (Shapiro & Hughes, 1996).
Author Note: Sherese Mitchell, Ed.D is associate professor in Education Department at Hostos Community College, The City University of New York. She has no known conflict of interest to disclose. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sherese Mitchell, Ed.D. at smitchell@hostos.cuny.edu
The Evolution of Lesson Plans in a Hybrid Course: Flipping the Classroom and Engaging Students Through iPads and YouTube Videos
Abstract
Instruction must include rigorous engagement in an online course. The increased popularity and use of social media tools have compelled instructors to incorporate them into instruction and learning. Due to many students using these tools, and, more specifically, YouTube, to interact and communicate with their friends, it can be an efficient way to unite students and instructors in higher education. This paper describes the design and implementation of lesson plans utilizing ipads, YouTube and peer discussions. Ultimately it is up to the professor to gauge, monitor and adjust instruction accordingly for the benefit of the students. Students can benefit from the strategy by having support throughout the process.
Ronette A. Shaw, MSN, FNP, R.N. (First Author) Assistant Professor
Nursing Program, Allied Health Department
Hostos Community College of the City University of New York
Ronette Shaw is an Assistant Professor at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY). As a member of the Allied Health department she is a faculty in the nursing department and appointed liaison to the Office of Educational Technology. Educational background includes an MSN from the College of New Rochelle where she also obtained her current license as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Currently she is teaching in the licensed practical nursing (LPN) program at Hostos Community College and enjoys introducing variations to learning into the classroom setting and capture the interest of learners. As a member of Educational Technology, the opportunity to include new and innovative technology in the classroom has been infused into her teaching instruction to meet the needs of the diverse student population as they prepare to enter into professional practice.
Assistant Professor of English
Queensborough Community College
City University of New York
Robin R. Ford (Ph.D. New York University) is an Assistant Professor of English at Queensborough Community College, City University of New York. A queer, black, woman, whose scholarship is both academic and personal, her focuses include the use of graphic genre works to teach critical literacy, intersectionality of race, gender and sexuality, social justice, and critical interrogation of the spaces we occupy. She has presented scholarship on race and space, popular culture, and the creation of identity through literacy at AERA, PAMLA and CCCC conferences. She has been published in Salon.com, the Kenyon Review, The Conversant, and appeared on NPR’s “On Point, with Tom Ashbrook.” Her work can be found on www.robinrford.wordpress.com.
Associate Professor, Department of English
Queensborough Community College-CUNY
Beth Counihan is an Associate Professor and the Co-Deputy Chair of the Department of English at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York. While in an administrative position at Lehman College, she worked on the HETS Virtual Plaza FIPSE grant. She has been teaching at Queensborough since Fall 2001 and her interests include High Impact Practices, reading theory and pedagogy, and nature across the curriculum. Her work has been published in English Education, Community College Humanities Review and the collection What is College Reading?
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Bronx Community College of the City University of New York
Wolf holds a PhD in Developmental Biology from the University of Chicago. In my more than 10 years of teaching at the community college level, I have instructed numerous sections of Anatomy and Physiology, as well as Microbiology, for Allied Health majors. I also have extensive experience conducting pedagogical research, including studies on the use of active learning in the classroom, the use of the flipped model, on effective methods for teaching evolution in a General Biology classroom, and on framing a General Biology course using the threshold concepts model.
Contact information: Email:Alexander.Wolf@bcc.cuny.edu Address: Bronx Community College of the City University of New York
2155 University Avenue, Bronx, New York, 10453
Lecturer
Department of Biological Sciences
Bronx Community College of the City University of New York
Carlos Liachovitzky is a faculty mentor in the Online Course Development program at the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology at Bronx Community College of The City University of New York. He teaches face-to-face and blended courses in the Department of Biology, and coordinates Anatomy and Physiology, an Allied Health professions gateway course. Carlos has been following the Open Educational Resources movement for a while, and has published an OER Anatomy and Physiology Preparatory textbook (https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bx_oers/1/). He received his Master’s degrees from Stony Brook University and Fordham University, and his Licenciatura from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Contact information: Email:Carlos.Liachovitzky@bcc.cuny.edu Address: Bronx Community College of the City University of New York
2155 University Avenue, Bronx, New York, 10453
With nearly three decades of experience in academic leadership Dr. Harvey- Smith is a learning-centered educator with extensive experience in leadership, strategic planning, enrollment management, government and corporate partnerships, and student achievement. Dr. Harvey-Smith earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland; Master of Science degree from The Johns Hopkins University; Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University, and a Certificate of Completion from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education Seminars for Presidential Leadership. Her presidential peers elected her to the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges, and she served on the Association’s Executive Board.
Contact information: Address: Pittsburg Technical College 1111 Mckee Road, Oakdale, PA 15071 Phone:(412) 809-5100
Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
David A. Ortiz, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief operating officer for HACU, previously served as the executive director for policy analysis and information at HACU. Before joining HACU, he oversaw a 2.5 million-dollar Title V federal grant at the University of the Incarnate Word, and has served in various faculty and administrative roles at Indiana University, Baylor University, Oklahoma State University, and Concordia University. His research and work on Hispanic higher education has been recognized by the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics, Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators, National Orientation Directors Association, National College Learning Center Association, National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, and the Association of Fraternity Advisors. Ortiz has served as the vice president of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators, executive council member of ACPA/College Student Educators International, national executive deputy of Chi Alpha Epsilon Honor Society, and national president of Omega Delta Phi, Fraternity, Inc. He earned his doctorate from Indiana University Bloomington and has a master’s and bachelor’s from Texas A&M University, College Station.
Director for PK-Initiatives
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
Jeanette Morales is the director for PK-12 initiatives for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. She joined HACU in August 2006. In this position, she works with school districts to better serve their Hispanic populations and help increase the number of Hispanics in post-secondary education. Among the programs she coordinates are professional development programs for high school counselors and university tours for middle and high students. She serves as a liaison to help bridge the gap between school districts and institutions of higher education. Morales has more than 25 years’ experience working with first-generation, minority students. Her prior experience includes working at the Center for Health Policy Development. She helped launch the Upward Bound Math & Science program at University of Texas at San Antonio working with students from South Texas. At Communities in Schools of San Antonio, she worked with Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search programs assisting middle and high school students from rural communities develop their skills for post-secondary success. She created a grade specific curriculum to help students navigate their way through the college admission and financial aid processes. Morales was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She earned a bachelor’s from St. Mary’s University and a master’s from the University of Texas at San Antonio where she is currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.
Dr. Elizabeth Díaz Rodriguez has had the privilege of teaching, mentoring students and teachers, and participating in community-based education in Puerto Rico. She has served as schoolteacher for elementary through high school for 30 years. Her areas of expertise include curriculum development, distance education, science teaching and education. With over 17 years of experience in higher education Mrs. Díaz currently teaches face to face, online and hybrid courses at the Ana G. Méndez University of Puerto Rico. In addition, has certifications in Distance learning, Construction of Virtual Environments, Microsoft Educator, Cybercrime, Designer modules and IRB, RCR, HIPS. She achieved her Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching in Biology Education from the Rio Piedras University Campus, of the University of Puerto Rico, a Master Degree in Science Education from the Cambridge College and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching. She has been editor of the educational journal Conectate AHORA and has written some articles.
Noelia Rodriguez holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Science of General Elementary Education, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of Phoenix and actually is a candidate student of a Doctorate Degree in Philosophy in Leadership of Education at Keiser University. Noelia Rodriguez has worked as a Customer Service Supervisor in NeoDeck Corp. in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She also has served as a Case Management Counselor at Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville, Virginia and she is currently working as an Elementary Dual Language Teacher in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
