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Projects

UW-Milwaukee RN to BSN OER Project

By Jessica O'Neel
November 1, 2021

November 1, 2021

Introduction

Starting in June of 2021, UW Milwaukee College of Nursing RN to BSN Flex program began a year-long OER Grant Workshop Series. OER stands for “open educational resources”, which means that subject matter experts develop content and materials or lists of content and materials for learners to retrieve and use at no expense. Through this workshop, the team learned how to recruit team members and structure content into textbook or handbook resources.

The Flex nursing team decided to focus on the transition from study to practice. Once a nurse has obtained their bachelor’s, what new opportunities do they have? How does the nurse leverage the new degree within their profession and practice? The team is still in the early phases of development, but so far, they have created a handbook consisting of five chapters about the transition to practice for RN-to-BSN nurses. After creating a detailed outline, they focused on content development for each chapter. The team has also learned about various interactive technologies which could be implemented. Ryan Anderson is lending his expertise in the area of instructional design.


Interview

Team member Nicole Marie Simonson was kind enough to provide an insider’s perspective on the project.

Can you speak a little more to the motivation behind this project, or was reducing student costs the primary motive?

[Nicole] ​The motivation behind this project was addressing a topic that is not readily available to students and targets this specific student population. Traditional undergrads get a transition-to-practice course for becoming bachelor’s prepared nurses, but what does that transition to practice look like in Flex? We wanted to explore this further and inform our students about the differences in nursing when transitioning from ADN to BSN. As for cost, students would not have the cost associated with purchasing a textbook.


What learning benefits will this resource provide to students? For example, do you think this handbook is more representative of real-world workplace challenges compared to an existing textbook?

[Nicole] ​​We are unaware of a current text that addresses RN-to-BSN students and their transition to practice. This resource expands far beyond what the transition to practice is for the new nurse. They will learn about the asset of having their BSN and how to leverage the degree within their practice. They will explore additional opportunities that will open as a result of being BSN-prepared. The handbook will allow them to take what they have learned within the program and apply it to real-world situations.


What challenges have you had finding, evaluating, and selecting OERs for the handbook? How have you worked through them?  ​

[Nicole] ​One challenge was selecting a topic with few existing OERs. We did have challenges in finding supporting research and literature on this topic. We found broader topics that were applicable, but little research exists about this topic specifically.


What has been the most exciting/fulfilling part of working on this project? ​

[Nicole] ​Exciting aspects are working with fellow team members— learning about their expertise and knowledge on the topic. Also, learning about how the transition to practice for RN to BSN looks different from what it would for a new nurse or nurse transitioning into a graduate degree with a more formal role. It is exciting to be part of something bigger than oneself and to work with others with similar passions and interests. The Rebus OER workshops have provided us with tools and resources that help support our success with creating our OER.


Can you share any advice or tips for faculty who want to implement OERs into their course, even if it is not to this same level? ​

[Nicole] ​Create a plan, identify your key team members. You will have additional team members along the way, but a core group is helpful as you move along. Set a timeline and goals for moving forward and a means to hold one another accountable. It is great to have team members who have varying levels of experience and perspective to add.

All of us at UW Extended Campus are excited to follow the progress of this project!

Faculty Spotlight: Terry McGovern Interview

By Eric Peloza
December 2, 2019

December 2, 2019

In recent years, High-Impact Practices (HIPs) have gained popularity in online education, and it’s easy to see why. Strategies from HIPs encourage student engagement and motivation by going beyond the typical assignment types of essays and multiple-choice quizzes to foster authentic assessments such as portfolios, internships, capstones, and project-based learning. The UW–Parkside Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) focuses on project-based learning and is a great example of how HIPs can be used in Competency-Based Education (CBE) to great success.

I sat down with Terry McGovern, DBA, DM, who facilitates several BSBA projects, which includes the BSBA Capstone. We discussed how High-Impact Practices are used in the BSBA program, his insight a faculty member, and personal experiences he had with students. If you are unfamiliar with the BSBA project-based learning, just consider projects as courses. If you want more detail, you can learn more in Eileen Horn’s blog post Developing and Working in Project-based CBE!

The BSBA program aligns with HIPs by focusing on the value of projects, real-world situations, and high levels of feedback. These assignments are authentic and complex, and Terry finds a lot of value in “hands-on activities that reflect what students would see in the working world.” They can approach and work though tasks or problems in a natural manner and work together, all while receiving feedback on multiple occasions instead of only receiving it once which is common in the traditional education model.

The Value of Feedback and Reflection

In competency-based education, students can improve their assignments after they receive feedback and then resubmit it. This also strengthens the connection between students and faculty because they interact with the faculty multiple times through feedback. Terry finds this aspect of working in CBE very meaningful because “the faculty member doesn’t just walk away from it after one grade; I can work with student until they demonstrate mastery.” Another benefit of this model is that students may feel less intimidated by an assignment, especially if they are having trouble with it. Terry said that “if someone turns in a project and it needs a lot of work, choose not to overwhelm them and do it piece meal. I can say, ‘Let’s work on this, and then let’s focus on this next,’ which reduces the chances of students feeling overwhelmed.” Because assignments are broken into smaller pieces, it gives students the ability to gain confidence throughout the process of obtaining mastery.

As a faculty member, CBE assessment exchange is much more meaningful. The faculty member doesn’t just walk away from it after one grade; you work with the student until they demonstrate mastery.

Because there are so many opportunities to work with students in such a close manner, Terry does recognize the time commitment it can take. With multiple iterations of feedback, faculty need to spend more time on review and grading. That said, Terry doesn’t see this as a larger time commitment, saying that “faculty member’s time allocation is set up to allow them to work much more with students on submissions.” This is also offset because a faculty spends less time on the traditional aspects of education such as lectures because of the self-paced model and the utilization of open educational resources.

The multi-step feedback also process ensures that students are on the correct track and that the capstone project is properly framed. Another key element of HIPs that is used in the capstone project is built-in reflection points where students are given time to consider where they are in the project and what they have learned. Terry said that this helps students think strategically on what they’ve seen before, what a company has tried in the past, and what the company’s best ideas were and why. This reflection time is especially important because it gives students the time to make deeper connections and really identify areas of need in their current situation.

Connecting Education to the Real World

In addition to the standard project load, the BSBA Capstone project allows students to display the accumulation of skills mastered within the program. Terry said that the BSBA Capstone is both flexible and strategic because students have the opportunity to examine a case study from a primary industry or even start an initiative at their current work place! Because of this, most students apply their capstone project directly to their workplace. This motivates students because they can examine an issue at their workplace that they may not otherwise have time for and gives them the ability to show how they can critically assess an issue. Terry encourages students to “take the approach that they are consultant to their company by identifying a problem and tackling it as a consultant would. They can apply different models, research elsewhere in industry for best practices, present options for course of action, and recommend an action.” Students can show what they have learned, along with the value they bring to their workplace. As with previous projects and assignments, the capstone involves a multi-step process. Terry works with students through a series of drafts and feedback to produce a “consulting” report.

Students can take the approach that they are a consultant to their company by identifying a problem and tackling it as a consultant would.

Terry found that the projects used in the BSBA program do a wonderful job of gaining student engagement and fostering motivation because students are able to see a clear connection between their assignments and the working world. One success story Terry gave was when one of his students told him how helpful the BSBA program was during interviews. Because of BSBA, they were able to refer to the projects they completed in an interview as well as talk about important topics like strategic thinking, project management, and resource allocation. In addition to the program as a whole, the capstone is especially powerful tool. Terry spoke of a student who he recently worked with on their capstone project. Through this project, “the student was able to identify, real, large dollar savings for his company, which is the type of initiative that could get someone promoted.” These are great examples of how relevant high-impact projects are because students can demonstrate their mastery of a concept by recalling examples from their studies in the BSBA program.

What are some ways you can incorporate High-Impact Practices into your courses and projects to engage your students and help them grow in their careers?

Faculty Symposium: Feedback, Discussions, Revisions, and Introduction Videos, Oh My!

By Kristin Kowal
August 13, 2019

August 13, 2019

UW Extended Campus held its third annual faculty symposium this year in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 3 and 4. The instructional design and multimedia teams had a blast presenting our breakout sessions. While we can’t re-create the warm, fuzzy feeling of mingling and sharing ideas with our faculty in a blog post, we can at least share our presentation materials.

Connections and Reflections: Feedback in Canvas

Session Overview

A group activity during the Connections and Reflections breakout

Instructional Designers Stephen Beers and Eric Peloza chose this topic because it was focused on tools in Canvas, and it was timely and relevant because many of our faculty are just getting started in Canvas; Stephen and Eric also chose the topic because they wanted to highlight how important and influential faculty are in the student experience.

It was great to hear faculty share their feedback and knowledge of Canvas and its tools. For example, one faculty member mentioned how they used the mute feature, which many faculty found beneficial. Overall it was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the unique questions and topics that came out of each session. —Eric Peloza, Instructional Designer

 

Main Takeaways

I asked Eric Peloza about his main takeaways of the presentation. He highlighted four:

  1. Yes, feedback does matter. Our teams hear about the wonderful job our faculty do with feedback and how much students value feedback.
  2. The frequency and timing of feedback matters. This is a challenge for faculty and the good news is that Canvas has tools that faculty can leverage. Course level reports (course analytics) and announcements are great ways to reach or review the class as a whole. Templated feedback is another great way to help faculty. Using rubrics or automatic feedback in Canvas is a great way to improve the immediacy of feedback.
  3. Feedback is improved when it is specific. Canvas gives faculty options across all of assignment types in Canvas. This includes general feedback by way of text, video, or file upload, along with using specialized tools such as DocViewer in Canvas.
  4. Sometimes, questions work better than statements. This is best best leveraged in discussions. Interrogative questions can open up or keep discussion going among students. Again, Canvas can be leveraged here in facilitating feedback. Another great feature is that faculty can view all of a student’s submissions at once.

Download the Presentation Materials

You can download the Connections and Reflections: Feedback in Canvas Presentation here.

Part Deux: Discussion on the Rocks? Add a Twist of Fresh Alternatives!

Faculty connecting over how they use discussions in their courses in this group activity

Session Overview

My fellow instructional designer Laurie Berry and I presented on ways to add a little “zest” to online discussions by varying the discussion format. We reviewed the two most popular strategies that we presented at the symposium last year (you can get a full explanation of these strategies in my blog post “Five New Twists for Online Discussions”). Then, we presented three new “twists” faculty used in their course during the spring semester. There may have been some light dancing as well.

[The faculty] seemed interested in trying at least one, if not more, of the presented twist ideas. They also liked the format/layout of the presentation where it showed the traditional question and seeing how the twist can transform the question into something new without too much effort. I think they also liked seeing their colleagues’ testimonials of student engagement as well as tips and tricks for success. —Laurie Berry, Instructional Designer

Main Takeaways

Laurie summarized the key points of the presentation:

Providing the same type of discussion throughout the course multiple times can become repetitive and boring to students and faculty. Adding a twist to at least one discussion provides unique ways to get students to interact with course content and to engage with each other. Also, don’t be afraid to try something new or different with a discussion board activity.

Download the Presentation Materials

You can download the Part Deux: Discussion on the Rocks? Add a Twist of Fresh Alternatives Presentation here.

Extreme Course Makeovers

Ryan Martinez and Kristin Pierick lead a group activity in their Extreme Makeovers session.

Instructional designers Ryan Martinez and Kristine Pierick presented on a topic that nearly all instructors will encounter: how to prioritize course revision tasks. Ryan and Kristine used the metaphor of renovating a house and examples of how to pick specific projects to fit your time and budget to bring this presentation to life.

We had several faculty members express their own difficulties when revising their courses. We also shared several examples from faculty that were in the audience, so they were also able to elaborate more on our points, which was very helpful. All in all, it was also a good session because faculty were very willing to walk through some of their troubles and to also help some of the faculty who have not done a revision yet navigate some of their potential issues. —Ryan Martinez, Instructional Designer

Main Takeaways

Ryan summarized the main takeaways:

The main takeaways from our presentation are for faculty to be considerate of their time and resources when they are ready to revise a course, and reconcile what they can actually do in the time frame versus what they would like to do.

Download the Presentation Materials

You can download the Extreme Course Makeovers Presentation here.

Meet the Instructor: Building a Social Connection

Nick Meyer explains why “Meet the Instructor” videos are important.

Nick Meyer and Bryan Bortz from the media services team presented on how “Meet the Instructor” videos can build a social presence in your course. They demystified the process of working with media services to create a “Meet the Instructor” video. This session was recommended for faculty who are new to online learning and/or developing a course in the next one to two years.

Main Takeaways

The main objectives of the presentation were that faculty will:

  • Gain an understanding of the purpose and importance of “Meet the Instructor” Videos.
  • Acquire knowledge of the planning process.
  • Obtain tips and tricks for generating ideas for “Meet the Instructor” videos.
  • Gain an understanding of the filming process.

Download the Presentation Materials

You can download the Meet the Instructor: Building a Social Connection Presentation here.

You can view Nick and Bryan’s highlight reel of introduction videos here.

For even more examples of what the media services team can do, view their Faculty Showcase here.

Future Topics

Do you have an idea for a future topic that you want to see us present (or to present yourself)? Comment on this post or email me at kristin.kowal@uwex.edu!

Learner-Generated Instruction and CBE Micro-Credentials

By Justin Mason
December 18, 2017

December 18, 2017

Comic. Three men under the banner “A public service message from the Society for the Preservation of Normal Looking Higher Education.” The man on right says, “Friends, please consider these two questions. 1) Are learners capable of creating quality instructional content? 2) Would a university ever validate learner-generated content by associating it with a credential?”

“In other words, if a student passes a course that contains learner-made content in its curriculum, should the student learn a university backed credential? The answer, of course, if NO!!! I mean, in what topsy-turvy universe does learner equal teacher? This spells one thing: TROUBLE!!” The man in the middle says, “It also spells mutiny.” The man on the left says, “Students aren’t qualified to teach. Their work contains inaccuracies and lacks substance. This has all been documented before. Now someone in the competency-based micro-credentialing world wants to rehash the idea of learner-generated, or worse, wiki-generated, instructional content and pretend it’s something new.” The man in the middle says, “Please, we thought of that and didn’t do it years ago!”
The man on the left says, “Frankly, it’s naïve to think that instructional content made on a wiki, whether by learners or interested professionals, could lead to any of the following… Curriculum that is up to date, transparent, and validated, a student experience improved by user testing, a way for industry to directly voice its needs, lower development costs (leading to more affordable credentials), or empowered learners.” The man in the middle says, “This is open-source constructivist nonsense at its worst—some real ds106-level malfeasance!” The man on the right sighs and says, “No one understands you when you talk like that.”

Call to Action

At the University of Wisconsin–Extension CEOEL, we are trying something new: a pilot course that uses learner and user-generated instructional content. The experimental pilot will be offered through our competency-based micro-credentialing platform the University Learning Store. You, along with students and other interested professionals, can help us build the course!

The subject of the course is Human Resource Management: Creating a Training Plan. An unfinished draft of the course is available for editing now on Wikiversity (a sibling of Wikipedia). We sincerely hope you will take a look and contribute.

https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Create_a_training_and_development_plan

Why Are We Doing This?

There are several reasons we believe learner- and user-generated content is worth investigating in the context of micro-credentialing. First and foremost, we want to offer learners affordable credentials that employers value. Instructional content that is user-generated yet also validated by experts might be a way to offer learners high-quality university-backed credentials at a price they can afford.

A second reason has to do with giving industries and employers a voice in the education of potential future employees.

Third, wouldn’t it be great if there was a sustainable way for higher education to create OERs (open educational resources)?  Learner- and user-generated wiki content could do that!

What Is the University Learning Store?

A first in nonprofit higher education, the University Learning Store offers a practical and affordable way for learners to earn credentials that hold real value in today’s job market.

The University Learning Store is a partnership among a prestigious group of universities to create a new kind of credential. ULS credentials…

  • Are competency-based and verified by employers
  • Use authentic assessments to prove learner proficiency
  • Can be completed in just days or weeks
  • Contain competency summaries that tell employers exactly what you know and can do

 

* For instance:
Keen, A. (2007). The Cult of the Amateur: How today’s Internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Developing and Working in Project-based CBE

By Eileen Horn
November 20, 2017

November 20, 2017

We are now deep into Fall as leaves and temperatures continue to drop. The excitement of back-to-school season has now given way to mid-terms and the routines of mid-semester academic work for students and faculty. But what if you’re working in a self-paced, competency-based education (CBE) program? There’s nothing routine about CBE, whether you’re a student or faculty member. Competency-based education is a big change for everyone, from administrators to students. As we approach the one-year mark since launching the Flexible Option business administration degree, I wanted to check in with the academic director and faculty developer, Suresh Chalasani, to talk about the Flex faculty perspective. I asked Suresh to reflect on his experience, focusing on a few questions about how he approached the CBE change as a faculty member.

What was your approach to designing projects for the business administration degree?Flex Business IS305 Database Design and Development Description that says "This project gives you the opportunity, via a realistic business scenario, to develop and demonstrate your ability to build information systems that can be used for decision making. You will use database software to build database tables, create queries, and define reports for the ultimate goal of helping businesses to make crucial decisions."

In a traditional course, I used to select a textbook, and assessments were designed to align with the textbook materials. In the Flex model, assessment design is completely centered around competencies. Assessments are designed to measure students’ performance on competencies. As faculty we were all striving to create assessments that are authentic in the sense that they measure students’ performance in a practical scenario—a scenario they are more likely to encounter in a work setting.

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