Category: Tips

ADL Journey, Capstone, ePortfolios, Tips

eP Tip

The Advisor That Cares

Dr. Harapnuik never ceases to amaze me with his natural ability to mentor and influence. In our final class call last night, he covered something so helpful to me that I want to blog about it here, hoping to leave breadcrumbs for you (and my future self, too).

My first assignment had Canva/embedded issues when Dr. Harapnuik viewed my WordPress page in Firefox. I tested the embedding with incognito mode and two browsers without issue, but the screencast feed-forward did not lie. I turned that Canva presentation into a painfully silent and awkward YouTube video just to correct the issue. I will need to re-visit that for a solution that fits my creative intentions a little better or at least add some background music.

For my second assignment, I took this into consideration. While embedding the Canva I created (feeling oh so proud of it, too), I included a prominent title link to the Canva creation itself. While viewing my feed-forward video, I was devastated to see that the Canva image did not show at all, and while Dr. H was following links to linked projects, I noticed the same glaring issue on my Advising 101 course page.

But here’s where the ah-ha moment kicked in for me. Dr. Harapnuik explained that while media tools like these are lovely, as portfolio curators, we should be mindful of our users’ experience. People are busy.

For example, Dr. Harapnuik explained he typically has 20-30 tabs open in his browser window. If our portfolio takes the user to Canva and then the links from Canva each spawn a new browser tab, the user will likely get frustrated and navigate to a different site.

Now, this is something I can relate to!! I typically do this across 5-6 browser windows, too (my poor computer might be looking forward to my graduation more than anything). Don’t even get my husband started on how many I have open at any given time on my cell phone, too. We all have our systems, and I’m considering what Dr. H has mentioned several times (EverNote).

I was finally able to see Dr. H’s point, and with a few tweaks and changes, I now have a presentation that allows the dynamic image I created to be viewed while the links I embedded in it open in the same browser window.

Before/After

Swipe right and left for the before/after.

  • Please note that the Canva instance has multiple tabs, which is not even all of the available linked content.
  • The alternative has one browser without breaking the users’ ability to use the back button.
    • There is no forced Canva, no opening of multiple tabs, and no frustrated viewer moving on and missing your message. I like to add these as linked options in case someone prefers the alternative viewing option.

New skills I’ve picked up in this final course thus far:

  • I’ve learned how to insert spacers in my pages/posts.

Modifications I’ve made to my portfolio in this final course thus far:

  • I’ve changed themes so that I can modify text size/font
    • I am still experiencing some limitations in background color options/contrast, but this is a good step in the right direction.
    • The editing lift is heavy. Adjusting header sizes, color contrasts, and converting all of my embedded Canva content into PDF or alternative formats is turning my synthesis into a perfectionist’s nightmare.
ADL Program, Advising, Collective, ePortfolios, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Community, Online Learning, Tips

Mind Blown!

The Advisor That Cares

My goodness gracious, my two main collaborators this semester just blew my mind with their statements about how helpful they find Google Slides. I always found them overwhelmingly blank because I am spoiled by the templates found in Canva.

I have never really used Google Slides because every time I open it, the blank starting page overwhelms me, and I find myself abandoning the attempt for places I can start with a designed template I can modify and use as a starting place. Maybe I am just missing out on a feature I have not yet found. Do you all import templates from other sources or design from scratch? [Off to do some searches after catching up on recent discussion posts]

I asked them a question about utilizing Canva with Google slides in a discussion post but our conversations are asynchronous so I head off to my trust research database YouTube.

While these results aren’t what I had in mind when I posed the question, my mind is blown by all of the opportunities to interact with advisees these Google Slides

Okay, okay… I realized I left you hanging there and didn’t point out any research to the original question: There are templates that you can use with Google Slides. Exciting times and opportunities ahead!

ADL Program, Advising, It's all about the learning, Online Learning, Professional Learning, Publication, Research, Tips

Always timely, EDUCAUSE

The Advisor That Cares

While written with IT Leaders in mind, innovative educators and support staff can benefit from these 10 Calls to Action for the Future of Technology in Higher Ed.

  • #1 – Collaboration
    • “Regular, reliable, and repeatable interactions with customers can also lead to greater customer satisfaction, productivity, and efficiency, along with a deeper appreciation of humans working together” (Gonick, 2023).
    • “A key question arises: how can their organizations be prepared to make necessary pivots to solve systemic challenges? Doing so starts with a theory of change—one with a vision and a strategy to engage people and to develop agile organizational capacity. The tools and technology will follow” (Gonick, 2023).
      • This point immediately makes me consider the ADL program’s Influencer and 4DX change strategies.
  • # 2 – Belonging
    • “Belonging is an outcome that’s hard to measure, but we know when people stay engaged, it’s because they feel they’re somewhere worthwhile—and that they’re someone worthwhile. Belonging is an ethical expression of solidarity and in opposition to the dominant experience of alienation” (Gonick, 2023).
      • This is a crucial component of my innovation and an excellent spot to highlight how creating a learning environment that supports the advising relationship could help students and employees gain this sense of belonging and significance.
  • #3 – Learning at Scale and AI
    • “The best of AI in the higher education setting lies in its potential to revolutionize how learners access and engage with educational resources, offering personalized experiences at scale” (Gonick, 2023).
    • “AI has the power to transform how colleges and universities provide services, support vulnerable populations, improve STEM education, and much more” (Gonick, 2023).
      • Incorporating AI into the innovation to advising would make for real-time student support anytime a student faces a situation, has a question, or expresses a challenge. This opportunity poses many future possibilities for the advising relationship.
  • #4 – Analytics of Support
    • “Data helps us understand how to provide better support to students and learners; being able to provide just the right interventions at just the right moments can be the difference between someone dropping out and feeling they have the resources needed to continue and thrive” (Gonick, 2023).
    • The future of advising could potentially include “… using real-time analytics and smart technology to identify patterns in students’ learning and providing personalized recommendations for support and intervention” (Gonick, 2023).
      • Isn’t proactive advising with on-time intrusive intervention a goal for forming a robust and trusted advising relationship? Shouldn’t helping students obtain the tools they need to be successful and to excel in their chose degree program a big piece part of our goals in higher education?
  • #5 – Identity Management
    • “… using digital resources to ensure a seamless learning journey—such as by using extended reality and adaptive technologies to enhance learning strategies. This approach has the potential to transform academia and equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving landscape (Gonick, 2023).
  • #6 – 10 coming soon (I fell down a rabbit hole of research again when I need to be writing.)
    • “Narrative-based learning is very different from the industrial models that have guided instruction at scale for nearly a century. We will need to get better at understanding how to construct compelling narratives that invite learners to chart their own learning journeys” (Gonick, 2023).

Reference

Gonick, L. (2023, August 29). 10 calls to action for the future of technology in higher ed. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2023/8/10-calls-to-action-for-the-future-of-technology-in-higher-ed?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=er_content_alert_newsletter&utm_content=9-06-23&utm_term=_&m_i=uxOFDaW%2BUx81Tdgqy3EtRPi%2B9T04jmwuyU5EK1X_ilZ0JLfk3kCH9WgfIrKaaoiaQz2dWaXjVjUlZl0oy2FW3egvsGqMHieuup&M_BT=88967532832

ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Focus on the learning, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Innovation Plan, Instructional Design, It's all about the learning, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Online Learning, Outcomes, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Research, Tips

Ready, Set, Usability Test

The Advisor That Cares

Well, here I go again. Preparing to do something I have never dreamed of doing before. I am about to embark upon my first experience with usability testing. Finding tasks that would give me a user experience in interacting with my course has been challenging. The hardest part has been avoiding biased language and providing too many instructions.

Usability Test Script

Usability Test Resource

My Usability Testing Notes and Observations Log is the last step in my prep work development process.

Ready, set, it is usability testing time!

ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Focus on the learning, Goals, Growth Mindset, Innovation Plan, Instructional Design, It's all about the learning, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Online Learning, Outcomes, Personal, Professional, Research, Tips

Outcomes and Action

The Advisor That Cares

Reflecting upon this first course, I know there is too much content to cover.

Would a longer duration or a multi-course approach work best?

What I envision is a 15-week course that is broken up into three five-week classes. I hope shorter courses will be less overwhelming to learners. This approach would allow me to narrow in on each course’s focus.

  • The first course would introduce the learner to what an advisor is, does, and when to contact their advisor. This introduction to advising includes a ton of information about policies, procedures, impacts, and considerations which serve as an onboard to the university.
  • The second five-week course would hit right around the time learners face their first big exams, questions about the fit of their major selection, and whether this college experience is going how they imagined it would. This five-week course could focus on resources available and referral procedures, reinforcing the advising relationship as a central hub for connecting across campus. This course could also utilize growth and learner’s mindset information to empower learners to actively drive their educational experience instead of accepting the role of a passive participant. This five-week course also includes social and academic connections throughout campus life, from student government association, leadership conferences, greek life, intermural sports, and so much more. These three focus areas could drive home the learning outcome for a healthy and holistic student support system and experience.
  • The final five-week course would revisit the learning outcomes covered in the first two five-week courses and add the technology that learners will use to monitor their degree progress, explore other majors of interest, and ensure they are taking the classes they need at the pace and timeframe recommended by their department for timely graduation. This course will empower the learners to prepare a four-year plan of study and a one-year registration plan and allow them to verify that every class they register to take moves them closer to 100% completion.

Completing a cumulative final exam with a minimum score and advisor review may serve as a mandatory advising pass for the following semester by demonstrating their learning through formative and summative assessments for the entire 15-week term.

  • Measurement would require learners to prepare a registration plan with course reference numbers for the next academic year, a narrative statement about their major and career interests, an itemization of the services and social opportunities utilized and explored, if not used, a narrative account about the other ways students found support.
  • Multiple choice/short answer assessments of university policy, procedures, and implications (financial aid, time to degree, etc.) allow the measurement of information transfer topics important to students throughout their college experience.

Students with questions or advisors with concerns would allow for more meaningful and enriching advisor-advisee interactions.

Developing Learning Outcomes

  • What are the essential things students must know to be able to succeed in the course?
  • What are the essential things students must be able to do to succeed in the course?
  • What knowledge or skills do students bring to the course that the course will build on?
  • What knowledge or skills will be new to students in the course?
  • What other areas of knowledge are connected to the work of the course?

Active Verbs for Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

A New Culture of Learning, Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, Collective, ePortfolios, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Growth Mindset Plan, Humor, Influencer, Innovation Plan, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Community, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Tips, Why

Picturing the Finish Line

The Advisor That Cares

Somebody pinch me. I must be dreaming!

I have spent hours and hours watching Learner’s Mindset Discussions. Never would I ever have dreamed I would be in one! What a dream come true to sit and visit with two inspirational educators.

LMD EP47

ADL Program, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Humor, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Research, Tips

Paraphrasing – Pros in Prose

The Advisor That Cares

Calling all paraphrasing pros!

First, I am looking for all of your tips and techniques for effective review of literature (literally, how you take notes while reviewing it).

  • Do you take notes as you go, one article at a time?
  • Do you make notes across multiple articles based on themes/topics? Do you create a page of notes on multiple articles under those different headings?
  • Do you write a summary as you review the piece of literature?
  • Do you record quotes that strike you throughout the review process or highlight those of particular relevance or interest?

Second, what is your method for synthesizing the information without stating someone else’s idea as your own?

  • Paranoid of plagiarism, my papers turn into direct quotes galore.
    • How do you paraphrase an article?
    • Do you summarize each section of the literature?
    • Do you summarize the overall point of the literature?
    • How do you review the article with your research topic in mind yet avoid biased material selections?

No, really. I want your tips and input.

I am desperate to improve in these areas.

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, Growth Mindset, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Tips

AR – Back to Basics

The Advisor That Cares

So I feel like I’m playing a bit of a game… two steps forward, one step back in my new Adventures in Action Research. You see, I thought I had developed my action research topic/question and identified my research method, but I can’t help but ask myself, do I even care. The more I think about the original problem that drove me to my innovation, the more I feel like I need to refine and finesse what I’m interested in finding out.

So in my typical fashion. I’m going back to basics. My basics. As you might remember, if you’ve read any of these prior ramblings, finding additional sources online always helps me process the information I have been reading and studying.

As I review different sources, I find different nuggets that help me understand the task at hand. I am really trying to put in the maximum amount of time, effort, and due diligence into this initial planning stage so that once I prepare my Action Research Outline, I will be well on my way to the foundation for my Action Plan.

The Short Version:

John Spencer. (2017, January 11). What is action research? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov3F3pdhNkk

While I was still searching for Learner’s Mindset Discussions on the topic, I came across a lovely video series on action research. This is a really nice overview of the Action Research process.

The Long Version:

Conexiones: The Learning Sciences Platform. (2019, September 24). Action research: How to conduct action research, by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWaVbxGMeVI

I hope it helps as you wrap your mind around this new adventure too.