Distance and Distributed Learning Committee
Meeting Minutes
September 18, 2008 10am – 3:00pm
I. Call to order
Kim Blosser called to order the regular meeting of the DDLC at 10:00am on September 18, 2008 at PVCC in
II. Roll call
Kim Blosser conducted a roll call with some attending at PVCC and others connected through Adobe Connect meeting. The following members attended in person: Kim Blosser, David Carter-Tod, Jaime Shetrone, Derek Cooper, Jennifer Lerner, Adam Bryant (for Linda Claussen), Jan Klingberg, Marian Macbeth, Ashley Leslie, Colleen Bishop, Joan Osborne, Bill Hightower, Mike Williams, Ramona Coveny, Diane Tucker.
Special Guests attending in person: Donna Jovanovich, Marcia Harrington, and CJ Bracken.
Members attending via Adobe Connect: Susan Beasley, Ken Fairbanks, Leslie Smith, Bill Dey, Charles Boling, Susan Kennedy, Sheila Hobbs, Mark Nelson, Paul Weitzel.
Action Item 1-6
Election of 2008-09 DDLC Chairperson:
Kim Blosser was elected chairperson.
Election of 2008-09 DDLC NoteTaker:
Ramona Coveny was elected notetaker.
Election of 2008-09 DDLC Site Administrator:
Joan Osborne was elected site administrator.
Approval of Minutes:
Kim Blosser reviewed the minutes from the last meeting. The minutes were approved with one minor change.
Review/Approval of dates for DDLC meetings for 2008-09:
November 13, 2008 (eMeeting and phone conference) 9:00-11:30am
February 5, 2009 (eMeeting and phone conference)
* a request was made to have an in-person meeting (with phone conference). We will address this after the extent of the budget cut is known.
April 2, 2009 (New Horizons conference)
Chair’s suggested changes to term of membership/election process:
Kim will send items for considerations before the next meeting as to changes in the term of electoral officers and the election process.
III. Open Items
a) Action Item 7: Full committee review and approval of Best Practices for eLearning document
The Best Practices for eLearning document will be a dynamic document. It was noted that the section Online Delivery Standards (pg 8) could include content about secure login and best practices for design and integrity for students and faculty. The discussion about section Placement Testing and Advising clarified Compass testing being available at each VCCS institution. Students who take the Compass testing at a college will abide by the requirements of that institution even though they are enrolled at another VCCS institution (i.e. cost for Compass testing).
The motion was made to submit the Best Practices for eLearning document to the next ASAC meeting. The motion was approved by the committee.
b) Discussion Item 1: Focus on Student Success (Bill Hightower, Donna Jovanovich, Marcia Harrington)
Bill Hightower presented information from the system office. The VCCS Policy Manual sections 5 and 6 are being reviewed for student success. Some of the items mentioned in these sections were distance learning course peer review and academic advising online with a possible target for developmental and distance learning. Donna Jovanovich and Marcia Harrington presented on student success and told the committee that would receive corrected assessment data previously provided. The Chancellor’s Retreat document is available online.
c) Discussion Item 2: Blackboard
David Carter-Tod reported that the upgrade to Blackboard is on track with a proposed date for the upgrade of December 20 (which has since been changed to January 2, 2009 after the ASAC meeting). The BB8 test server Explore will be upgraded with the latest patches as soon as possible. MAESTRO (a video/audio software used at NOVA for foreign language) has a building block available for Blackboard. The order for installing BB building blocks will be reviewed at the next meeting. A sub-group may be formed to evaluate SIS and Blackboard integration so that students will be removed from Blackboard as they are in SIS when the student changes or drops a class. The SSL restriction cannot be removed until more colleges test and validate.
d) Information Item 1: Update on 2008-09 CEED Grant process
A new third track has been added to the CEED Grant process. The third track will target developmental, adult education, CTE, student advisement, and workforce development. The awards can be multi-year awards from $100,000 to $50,000. An institution can be a lead in two projects and additionally be non-lead participants in two projects. The RFPs are due in October and the awards are announced in November 2008.
e) Information Item 2: Deployment of Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) for every VCCS distance learning courses.
SREB has been given the information for all VCCS distance learning courses so they will be automatically updated from the SIS to the SREB website. Students who find a distance learning course on the SREB site will enroll through the offering college.
f) Information Item 3: Google Apps
Google Apps has been deployed successfully for faculty and student use. David Carter-Tod informed the committee that there is a free trial available for Google Video in a six-month pilot. Continued use of Google Video with 3GB of storage is $10 yearly.
A sub-group will be created to prepare Google Apps training materials which will posted on the VCCS Google Apps site.
g) Information Item 4: Availability of Course Content – Get Ready for A&P
A purchasing agreement with Pearson Publishing will allow VCCS faculty to have access to course content in A&P through a Blackboard course module called Get Ready for A&P. While the target audience is Allied Health, there are other content modules within the course that may be used outside of this curriculum. There are lessons, activities, practice, and assessments on Study Skills areas, developmental reading, and math that may be useful to many students. Have your Blackboard administrator contact Inez Farrell to use the content.
h) Information Item 5: TOP (Teaching Online Program), VFLA, and the life cycle of a CEED
This 3-credit graduate class (EDU 295) had impressive enrollments for the first offerings. More classes will be offered during Fall semester. The SO is working towards obtaining graduate credit for this class through VPI and/or ODU. Another successful CEED grant is VFLA (Virtual Foreign Language Group at NOVA), a collaborative effort using WIMBA.
i) Information Item 6: Security of Publisher Websites
The committee discussed possible issues with publisher websites where the course supporting materials are housed on the publishers’ website and not through Blackboard. The committee recommended that the concerns about grades and FERPA be taken to either the ASAC educational technology subcommittee or the Technology Council meeting on September 30.
j) Information Item 7: Wimba Classroom pilot project
LFCC asked if there were any colleges interested in partnering with them in the Wimba Classroom pilot project as they wish to continue it for another year.
IV. New business
There was no new business.
V. Adjournment
Kim Blosser adjourned the meeting at 3:00 pm on September 18, 2008.
Minutes submitted by: Ramona Coveny
Minutes approved by:
