PIVOT Courses Associated with Improved SEEQs and Tool Use Faculty training to support empirically driven course design potentially represents one of the most scalable options available for improving student outcomes at an institution. One strategy to assess effectiveness related to institutionally supported training has been to consider Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) surveys in courses taught by faculty who participated in the training program. For this reason, the UMBC Report Exchange (REX) team has recently released the SEEQs and Other Course Metrics By Training report for the campus community to look further into these data on their own. For those who are unfamiliar with the data warehouse and would like to learn more, please consult this FAQ article to learn how to gain access.

There are two simultaneous advantages of effective training: 1) the better courses are designed, the greater the likelihood unit-level objectives align back to course-level goals and ultimately to institutional functional competencies, and therefore we would expect improved outcomes of various measures, and  2) the better enterprise tools are leveraged through intentional design, the more meaningful the signal – metadata – from activity within a course, and in turn, the more precise predictive modeling might be to inform behavioral nudging.

Similar to prior explorations, this current analysis shows PIVOT courses in terms of average SEEQs and student behaviors in courses as “signal” (i.e., tool interactions). Notably, this trend held when looking at individual instructors’ pre/post training. Overall, there is a statistically-significant SEEQ gain for courses instructed by a PIVOT participant (.09; p<.001), as illustrated above in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Mean Distribution of Bb Course SEEQs, by Term and PIVOT Participation
Fall 2020 non-PIVOT = 4.35; Fall 2020 PIVOT = 4.41; Fall 2020 difference-in-difference = 0.06; Spring 2021 non-PIVOT = 4.37; Spring 2021 PIVOT = 4.47; Spring 2021 difference-in-difference = 0.11; Overall non-PIVOT = 4.35; Overall PIVOT = 4.44; Overall difference-in-difference = 0.09

The difference in averages is even more pronounced when looking at the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 terms separately, where we see an initial gain of approximately .06 in the Fall, followed by an even greater increase to .11 by the Spring. One way to interpret this increase is the faculty who participated in training began applying new techniques learned through PIVOT in the Fall and then were able to more fully apply these approaches as they honed their pedagogy in the Spring term.

Other treatments, including the Alternate Delivery Program (ADP), which informed PIVOT, as well as ongoing programming in the form of one-time training and webinars, do not appear to have the same positive, measurable impact on SEEQs. Including SEEQs in a model with PIVOT, ADP, and myUMBC training event data shows no significant relationship with SEEQs and either ADP or myUMBC-documented training. In other words, for non-PIVOT trainings, there’s not a similar discernable lift.

PIVOT and ADP courses, on the other hand, tend to also have higher DFW rates (an uncontrolled mean difference of 2% and 2.2%, respectively). However, analysis to address the role of course design using propensity score matching indicates the relationship between training and DFWs is not statistically significant and therefore the increased prevalence of this negative outcome appears to be a function of course design rather than training (i.e., how tools are used, rather than the actual treatment).

Although the methodologies do not control for instructor-level effects, like how one teaches or interacts with students, since both PIVOT and non-PIVOT trained faculty were exposed equally to the pandemic discontinuity – i.e., as a natural experiment there was simultaneous disruption – subsequent mean SEEQ differences are accurate measurements of treatment effects. In other words, maybe the training helped, or maybe PIVOT instructors, on average, contemporaneously and inexplicably earned higher mean SEEQ values due to another yet-to-be-determined variable. However, in the notable absence of such a separate, identifiable catalyst, the mean differences are attributable to the training and the relationship appears causal. Moving forward, DoIT plans to continue investigating PIVOT’s potential impacts on students' learning and engagement as well as faculty satisfaction and course design.

~ by Tom Penniston
]]> Faculty training to support empirically driven course design potentially represents one of the most scalable options available for improving student outcomes at an institution. One strategy to... https://doit.umbc.edu/post/111257/ https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/111257/guest@my.umbc.edu/f231dcdb04a97568b0cb18cb5a25bde0/api/pixel analytics online-learning penniston pivot seeq su2021 training Instructional Technology https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/xxlarge.jpg?1627309785 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/xlarge.jpg?1627309785 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/large.jpg?1627309785 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/medium.jpg?1627309785 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/small.jpg?1627309785 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/xsmall.jpg?1627309785 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/111/257/1975e98dceaf38deee4cda7b0e2de977/xxsmall.jpg?1627309785 6 0 true Thu, 19 Aug 2021 15:58:34 -0400 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 16:47:27 -0400 Panopto Upgrades and Downtime 6/26 Downtime & IE discontinued; 7/16 recorder upgrade Cloud Downtime
On Saturday, June 26, Panopto Cloud customers will be upgraded to the latest cloud release. The vendor anticipates up to 4 hours of downtime, with a target start time of 9:00 PM EDT. See the cloud upgrade FAQ article for more information. There will be numerous platform enhancements, including an improved sharing experience, designed to be more intuitive and to use a modernized look and feel.

End of IE Support
Also effective June 26th, Panopto will no longer support Internet Explorer 11 (IE11). This means the company will no longer fix any issues users experience while using Panopto on IE11.

Mandatory Client Upgrade
On Friday, July 16, we will require Panopto for Windows & Remote Recorders to be upgraded to version 9.0.2 or above and Panopto for Mac to version 10.1.0 or above. The upgrade will be applied to your Panopto site at 8:00 pm EDT/5:00 pm PDT.

For more information on the mandatory upgrade, please refer to this article on the Panopto support site.

Please submit an RT ticket should you have any questions or concerns that remain unaddressed by this existing documentation.

Instructional Technology Team ]]> Cloud Downtime On Saturday, June 26, Panopto Cloud customers will be upgraded to the latest cloud release. The vendor anticipates up to 4 hours of downtime, with a target start time of 9:00 PM... https://doit.umbc.edu/ https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/102140/guest@my.umbc.edu/94e8c048815e1d922e7a29b1afc37b31/api/pixel downtime itnm panopto su2021 upgrade Instructional Technology https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/xxlarge.jpg?1623331063 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/xlarge.jpg?1623331063 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/large.jpg?1623331063 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/medium.jpg?1623331063 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/small.jpg?1623331063 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/xsmall.jpg?1623331063 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/140/982d61011efdf0e12000c06c8888b510/xxsmall.jpg?1623331063 0 0 true Fri, 11 Jun 2021 09:30:53 -0400 Event Reminder: WebExing Your Class! Our Feature a Teacher & Tool Series continues Tuesday, 06/08
Don't forget to register and mark your calendars for this coming Tuesday, June 8th, at 12:00 PM to hear Professor Jamie Gurganus discuss her use of WebEx for some really exceptional instructional approaches, including synchronous teaching, labs, and peer learning. She will discuss her experience using  this platform, along with tips, tricks, and thoughts for faculty considering adopting WebEx for their own instruction moving forward.

Stick around after the session if you'd like to participate in a deep dive from 1:00 - 1:30 PM!
]]> Don't forget to register and mark your calendars for this coming Tuesday, June 8th, at 12:00 PM to hear Professor Jamie Gurganus discuss her use of WebEx for some really exceptional instructional... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/events/93565 https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/102066/guest@my.umbc.edu/efa43706a0c547e82d6f97d399176dd2/api/pixel feature-a-teacher itnm su2021 webex Instructional Technology https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/xxlarge.jpg?1622820677 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/xlarge.jpg?1622820677 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/large.jpg?1622820677 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/medium.jpg?1622820677 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/small.jpg?1622820677 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/xsmall.jpg?1622820677 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/102/066/f951fd61b9b061f666d280064023697b/xxsmall.jpg?1622820677 2 0 true Fri, 04 Jun 2021 11:42:15 -0400 Fri, 04 Jun 2021 11:43:04 -0400 Three PIVOT Resources to Prepare for Summer Online Teaching

The Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching (PIVOT) program is designed to support faculty as they prepare for the virtual classroom. For faculty who will be teaching this summer, the instructional technology team would like to share several resources to support online course development and instruction.

  1. Choose from our PIVOT Solo lessons to refresh or enhance your online teaching preparation. Five key topics cover course organization, active learning, community building, assessment, and supporting students. 
  2. Explore our Panopto folder for a wide variety of recorded webinars on various instructional technologies available at UMBC.
  3. Attend a PIVOT Office Hours session to ask questions about strategies, effective practices, and available tools. Sessions include:

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

 ]]> The Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching (PIVOT) program is designed to support faculty as they prepare for the virtual classroom. For faculty who will be teaching this summer, the... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/posts/100989 https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/100989/guest@my.umbc.edu/1ae30c425d908eb836c55b39f45cb349/api/pixel online-learning pivot su2021 Instructional Technology https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/xxlarge.jpg?1618599329 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/xlarge.jpg?1618599329 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/large.jpg?1618599329 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/medium.jpg?1618599329 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/small.jpg?1618599329 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/xsmall.jpg?1618599329 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/989/c232b706f1f4c989b207ae2f750ce352/xxsmall.jpg?1618599329 4 0 true Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:11:31 -0400 Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:11:40 -0400 SU2021 Courses Created in Blackboard on April 27, 2021

Blackboard course shells for SU2021 were created on April 27, 2021.

The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in SU2021 courses to allow faculty adoption with anupdated support schedule of Ultra (see prior announcement). The Ultra Course Preview tool allows faculty to convert an existing Original course and see what it looks like in Ultra. 

Ally, an accessibility tool, is also enabled in all new course shells as of SU2019 Ally automatically scans uploaded and created course content, then performs a series of steps to make that content more accessible. Please review the Ally FAQs for more information about the accessibility indicators on course content and alternative formats.

Check out these 3 PIVOT resources to prepare for summer online teaching.

About Course Creation

Bb shells for SU2021 are available for all courses (designated as lecture, lab, field or discussion) listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), provided that there is an instructor of record listed. As new course sections and/or instructors are added to the SOC by Department Scheduling Coordinators, corresponding Bb shells are automatically generated overnight. 

Instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course will find those enrollments merged into one Bb course shell. These sections may be split upon request by an RT ticket, which we recommend submitting at least one week before the semester starts, if not as soon as courses are created in Blackboard.

Student enrollment in Bb mirrors the official registration in SA and updates hourly. However, courses are not accessible to students by default until the instructor of record makes them available.

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

]]> Blackboard course shells for SU2021 were created on April 27, 2021. The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in SU2021 courses to allow faculty adoption with anupdated support schedule... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/bbannouncements/posts/101311 https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/101311/guest@my.umbc.edu/53052e905493555ebb3ab8e08305d5df/api/pixel blackboard course-creation su2021 summer ultra-course-preview Blackboard Announcements https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/bbannouncements https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/xsmall.png?1437137819 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/original.png?1437137819 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/xxlarge.png?1437137819 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/xlarge.png?1437137819 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/large.png?1437137819 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/medium.png?1437137819 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/small.png?1437137819 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/xsmall.png?1437137819 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/319/f6b35e5217428f5021e113525a55e6f4/xxsmall.png?1437137819 Blackboard Announcements https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/xxlarge.jpg?1619618638 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/xlarge.jpg?1619618638 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/large.jpg?1619618638 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/medium.jpg?1619618638 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/small.jpg?1619618638 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/xsmall.jpg?1619618638 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/101/311/5e0492bd7b072c58f867a8981cd03380/xxsmall.jpg?1619618638 1 0 true Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:11:28 -0400 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:17:59 -0400 Using WebEx for Live Instruction and Collaborative Learning One Instructor’s Use Case and Lessons Learned It’s a cliche at this point for one to state that this past year has presented many complexities for all of us to adapt to. Not the least daunting of these adversities has been connecting meaningfully with peers and colleagues over web-conferencing platforms. This difficulty has spurred a myriad of responses and tool adoptions, particularly within a domain with which we are all now intimately familiar – online learning. Of notable concern for faculty and students throughout this period of uncertainty and innovation has been the need to connect and interact synchronously. What are the best tools and practices to facilitate learning?

UMBC has been particularly well positioned throughout this time, supporting both Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and WebEx as synchronous platforms. But with this wealth of opportunity, one is at times left wondering what platform to adopt and for what use cases. The response to these concerns require some nuance: It depends on what one is attempting to undertake and how much time one is willing to spend preparing their learning spaces to promote learner interactions.

Professor Jamie Gurganus, the undergraduate program coordinator and a faculty member in the UMBC’s Mechanical Engineering Department, Director for the Center for Integrated Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), as well as Associate Director of Engineering Education Initiatives at COEIT, has been using WebEx as her platform of choice for teaching her mechanical engineering students, or “Mechies.” She’s developed an exceptionally well thought out approach to incorporate live instruction, lab participation, and peer-to-peer group learning.

For Professor Gurganus, a primary concern has been in facilitating the same types of design and collaborative learning experiences she’s been able to provide through face-to-face instruction, particularly for supporting group work. How can one best scaffold undergraduate students in large classroom settings to engage in discussions with their peers and coordinate on long term design projects? She has found using the WebEx spaces, although time consuming to configure, conducive to facilitating the kinds of interactions students need to be successful in the courses she teaches, from brainstorming and critical problem solving, to developing product prototypes for customers with special needs.

Her adaptation and model of WebEx for lecturing and collaborative learning appears both thoughtfully designed to be comfortable and inviting while simultaneously strikingly commonsensical. Students enter her sessions to the sound of music and respond to icebreaker questions such as “Would you rather fight with  Marvel or DC heroes and why?” Her lectures, with both her forward facing camera and slidedeck presented, are recorded. Attendance is taken by Teaching Fellows (Undergraduate Teaching Assistant) based on breakout group participation or by using Qwickly Attendance. There’s an ongoing, searchable record of all communications and documents shared, and perhaps best of all, the breakout rooms are always available for students, during or between classes, and for instructor drop-in.

Professor Gurganus has some really great ideas about how to use WebEx to support students’ needs, and will be sharing this story, along with tips, tricks, and thoughts for faculty considering adopting this platform for their own instruction moving forward. Please register and join us Tuesday, June 8th, at 12:00 PM to learn more.

~ By Tom Penniston
]]> It’s a cliche at this point for one to state that this past year has presented many complexities for all of us to adapt to. Not the least daunting of these adversities has been connecting... https://doit.umbc.edu/news/?id=100957 https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/100957/guest@my.umbc.edu/99315a6a6a9f88431b0969b81262e52a/api/pixel itnm penniston su2021 training webex Instructional Technology https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/xxlarge.jpg?1618521386 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/xlarge.jpg?1618521386 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/large.jpg?1618521386 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/medium.jpg?1618521386 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/small.jpg?1618521386 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/xsmall.jpg?1618521386 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/100/957/ae3cdb014c11af30e2f5ba6da87b8ccf/xxsmall.jpg?1618521386 Dr. Jamie Gurganus 12 0 true Mon, 19 Apr 2021 11:07:14 -0400 Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:10:43 -0400