April 2015 COSS FCAT Bulletin

The College of Social Sciences Faculty Consultant for Academic Technology Canvas site is specifically designed to serve the needs of the COSS faculty and programs. Visit https://sjsu.instructure.com/courses/1077576 for guides, tips, strategies and tutorials on using Canvas and integrating technology into your classes.

FCAT Ted M. Coopman <ted.coopman@sjsu.edu> in Communication Studies is available for one-on-one or group consultations and workshops in-person, via Skype, or through email.

Remember - Canvas Feature Updates
Canvas features are constantly updated and improvements and fixes pushed out to users. You can check recent updates by checking the Canvas Release Notes page: http://tickets.instructure.com/forums/337224-product-release-notes - for a quick video overview of the latest updates visit http://vimeo.com/117854653

News for April

Join the COSS Innovators Team

The College of Social Sciences is forming a faculty learning community dedicated to discussing and developing the innovative use of technology and pedagogy in traditional, hybrid, and online environments. Share your expertise and passion with like-mined peers. Sound interesting? Contact FCAT Ted M. Coopman <ted.coopman@sjsu.edu>

Economist Special Report on the Global State of Higher Education

The March 28 edition has a detailed analysis of the state of higher ed, the full report can be accessed here: http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21646985-american-model-higher-education-spreading-it-good-producing-excellence?zid=316&ah=2f6fb672faf113fdd3b11cd1b1bf8a77 Links to an external site.

I have converted several of the more relevant sections into pdfs:

America: A flagging model | The Economist.pdf Download America: A flagging model | The Economist.pdf

Technology: Not classy enough | The Economist.pdf Download Technology: Not classy enough | The Economist.pdf

Policy options: Having it all | The Economist.pdf Download Policy options: Having it all | The Economist.pdf

A few interesting/disturbing excerpts:

Reduced funding levels for public education are influenced by increased government health care costs of an aging population combined with increased labor costs in comparison to other fields due to the introduction of technology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol%27s_cost_disease Links to an external site.)
Employers are less interested in grades, instead using perceived elite schools entrance selection process as a proxy for excellence combined with extra curricular activities - both of which disadvantage SJSU students
1/3 of US student loan debt is in default
The pay-scale bonus of about 15% for college grads or non-graduates is mostly due to falling wages for the latter
In 1995 America had the highest graduation rate in the OECD. Now it lags behind seven other countries

Featured Features

Students can Predict Grades via "What-if"
http://guides.instructure.com/m/4212/l/55065-how-do-i-check-my-what-if-grades

At this point in the term, students should be taking a hard look at the their status in the class while there is still time to do something about it. Reduce your stress and workload by directing students to this feature. A student can view her/his grades based on What-If scores so that he/she knows how grades will be affected by upcoming or resubmitted assignments.

Consider Adding an Automated Peer Review before Students Submit Major Papers

Last minute or poorly conceived "rough draft" papers are both frustrating and time consuming to grade. Consider putting some space between you that first draft and the paper you grade by inserting an automated peer review using Canvas.

I have found that a peer review process eliminates many basic errors and missing elements. Already have your point distribution set? No problem. Simply make it a requirement before you accept the instructor submission.

Automated peer review is easy to use. You just set it and let it run, it automatically assigns reviews (I suggest 2 per student minimum) to students who submit papers. Create a rubric in Speedgrader for students to fill out.

Check out: https://guides.instructure.com/m/4152/l/54249-how-do-i-create-a-peer-review-assignment on how to set it up.

Provide some basic training for students on how to conduct a review and use the peer review function using this workshop page: https://sjsu.instructure.com/courses/1077576/pages/peer-review-proofing-and-editing-workshop?module_item_id=7196236

Want some help setting it up? Just let me know!

Get your Tech on

It is not to early to start thinking about how you can make life easier my using select features in Canvas for your classes. Invite me into your department for a workshop or contact me for some one-on-one help in integrating technology into your instructional design.