This Friday, at 11:00 a.m. – Noon, I am changing our normal monthly Digital Learning Webinar agenda, usually focused on innovation, to a focus on the impact of our online response to the Coronavirus. Here is the Zoom url,https://mcnc.zoom.us/j/943706306 and phone number, (646) 558-8656, ID943 706 306.
I have invited a few members of the critical communities across the university (Faculty Development Centers, Faculty Assembly, Distance Learning Directors, Faculty Fellows) to be on the webinar and provide their perspective on:
Adjusting\coping to moving online so quickly
Identification of any major issues that have been observed (impediments)
What might we do to make the rest of this semester a little better for faculty and students
What do we need to start thinking about to prepare for Summer and Fall semesters
If you have other questions you would like the panel to address, please email them to me (jimp@northcarolina.edu) prior to this Friday’s webinar or, enter them into the chat during the webinar.
Our panelists include:
Eli Collins-Brown, Ed.D.
Director, Coulter Faculty Commons
Western Carolina University
Timothy J. Ives, Pharm.D., M.P.H., FCCP, CPP
Professor, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Vice Chair, Faculty Assembly
Heather McCullough, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
UNC Charlotte
Anne Ogg, Ed.S.
Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching and Learning, UNC Asheville
Ellen Pearson, Ph.D.
Professor of History, UNC Asheville
System Office Faculty Fellow
Katherine Saul, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NCSU
System Office Faculty Fellow
Bethany V. Smith, M.S.
Associate Director, Instructional Technology Training
Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA), NCSU
Benjamin Powell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Appalachian State University
System Office Faculty Fellow
Tom Van Gilder, M.S.
Director of Learning Technology Services, Center for Academic Excellence
Appalachian State University
Wanda White, Ed.D.
Director, Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction
Winston- Salem State University
Jeremy Dickerson, Ed.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Distance Education and E-Learning
Associate Professor of Educational Technology
UNC Wilmington
I look forward to this important discussion on Friday at 11:00 a.m. and I hope you will be a part of it.
This resource is intended to provide assistance to faculty who need to move their classes online quickly.It is designed to support the use of technology that allows faculty to hold classes when circumstances prevent them from physically meeting with students.
We have tried to strike the right balance between providing the bare essentials to avoid overwhelming those who are new to online teaching and providing enough detail to help them ramp up to online teaching quickly and efficiently.
We will try to be responsive to additional requests from the university community. The current document and updated versions can be found below in native Word format for easy use and remix as well as PDF. To view this document on the web, select the “Preview” button for the PDF version.Please feel free to distribute this document widely.
If you or your institution would like to see something added to this resource, or if you would like to contribute information to it, please contact me.
For the past several weeks, teams from across the UNC System have quickly mobilized and come together to contribute to “Moving to Alternative Instructional Formats.” Without them, this resource could not have been created. The end of this document offers special recognition and thanks to the people who went above and beyond to make this happen, including, the Faculty Assembly, the Faculty and Academic Development Center Directors, Distance Education Directors, and the Digital Learning Community.
Following up on my presentation to the CAOs, and a note to this group back in December, we are moving forward with the potential of one or more of our universities participating in the Project Lagro “Private Preview (AKA mature beta) with Microsoft and LinkedIn.
I have arranged for them to visit on Thursday, January 30 here at the System Office.The purpose of this meeting will be to provide an in depth overview of the application they are developing and to understand its value to our universities and to understand our responsibilities in the project if we choose to participate.
In addition, here is a video that that contains screen shots that illustrate the design and use of the program.
While several of our universities have already expressed significant interest in being involved in this project, I wanted to make sure all of our universities were informed of this opportunity.
Please contact me (jimp@northcarolina.edu) if you would like to attend this meeting with Microsoft and LinkedIn to discuss Project Lagro on Thursday, January 30 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. as it is my invitation only.
A successful collaboration between Academic Affairs and IT, driven by Dr. Rollinda Thomas, CTO Eric Ellis and Faculty Fellow Dr. Ben Powell, resulted in a System-Wide agreement with EMSI. EMSI is a labor market analysis tool used by many of our universities to forecast demand for new degree programs. The team was able to create a licensing agreement that allows all of our universities to purchase this service at $4,500 rather than the almost $15,000. Across the ten initial instances of its use, this saves the System $100,000 annually.
Here is the specific information from Dr. Rollinda Thomas that you need to take advantage of this program:
Our team members at the UNC System Office negotiated a system-wide contract with Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI) to provide access to their Analyst software. The product provides labor market data related to academic programs. This is helpful if an institution wants to determine labor market demand for their programs. The data supports evidence-based program planning and development. If institutions are proposing a new academic program to the Board of Governors, EMSI’s data provides a consistent source for evidence of societal demand. Information about Analyst is attached.
In the past, access to Analyst software for a single user at an institution would cost $15,000 per year. Given the new system-wide contract, the price would be $4,500 per user, per year for three years, if we have 10 or more total users across the system. If we have 1-9 total users across the system, the price will be $5,000 per user, per year for three years.
Please contact me if you are interested in participating in the three-year agreement. I’ve attached documents for your signature as Provost, including the system-wide agreement, an order form for access to EMSI’s Analyst software, and a Letter of Commitment (LOC) form. Please note that the Letter of Commitment can be signed by a Provost instead of an Information Technology (IT) representative. This is often the case if the site license will be used by your Academic Affairs Office instead of IT. We understand additional time may be needed for you to review the documents beyond the due date on the LOC.
We hope this will provide a much-needed service and considerable cost savings to our institutions.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (910) 303-2763 or e-mail rathomas@northcarolina.edu.
Interesting way the Wall Street Journal is trying to get their paid and proprietary content into our classrooms. It is an inspiredway to get faculty and students to become subscribers. In the past, they would simply offer limited-time free subscriptions or subscriptions at a reduced education rate. In this scenario, they are providing faculty with tools and advice to leverage WSJ Content. They have a seminar series for faculty, critical thinking resources and how to guides. While primarily seen as a tool for business schools, they appear to be going broader with a seminar on “How Non-Business Majors can use the Journal.”
This is precisely how for-profit organizations need to engage with higher education….understand our needs, understand how their products authenticallyfit into our work flows and provide resources to make integration as easy as possible (and of course at an education rate). Note: I have no relationship, or ownership, in the WSJ or related companies.
As part of the work of Faculty Fellow Ben Powell (working on licensing and shared services), we will be exploring this opportunity.
A successful collaboration between Academic Affairs and IT, driven by Dr. Rollinda Thomas, CTO Eric Ellis and Faculty Fellow Dr. Ben Powell, resulted in a System-Wide agreement with EMSI. EMSI is a labor market analysis tool used by many of our universities to forecast demand for new degree programs. The team was able to create a licensing agreement that allows all of our universities to purchase this service at $4,500 rather than the almost $15,000. Across the ten initial instances of its use, this saves the System $100,000 annually.