Committee on eLearning Meeting Minutes for November 12, 2020

Minutes

The Academic Senate Committee on eLearning met on November 12, 2020 at 3:00PM via Zoom (Online)

Committee Members in Attendance:

In Attendance: Randelle Sasa (2022), Susan Lago (2022), Punita Bhansali (2023), Eugene Desepoli III (2021), Merlinda Drini Prelvukaj (2023), Sebastian Murolo (2023), Lakersha Smith (2021), Zhou Zhou (2022), Denis Bejar (IT Academic Applications Director)

Not present: Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols (2021), Zivah Perel Katz (Steering Committee Designee), Sandra Palmer (President's Designee)

Business:

The meeting was called to order at 3:03 PM

I. Minutes of October 14, 2020 meeting – approved by unanimous vote.

II. Open Issues

Discussion of previous meeting minutes: For the eLearning Brown Bag on 10/28, the initial plan was that we would present on Pear Deck and proctoring software, but CUNY policy changed. They are encouraging alternate assessments.

III. Old Business

3.1

Policies and Standards for eLearning at QCC – Edits of the Google Docs if was discussed:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1in0N4WMxQslit1nn0_mQmtJvIboCY46T/edit

According to the comments on the Google doc, there was some discussion of whether or not the student evaluation should evaluate only the instructor or if it should assess the course as well. The forms we have now for F2F and PNT only focus on the instructor. Kiesha said that the current forms currently evaluate both the instructor and the course. Denis said that if these questions are confusing to us, they might be confusing to students as well. He said that promptness might be difficult to evaluate in an asynchronous course. Susan said that first-year students might have difficulty navigating Blackboard, which might have little to do with how the course is set up, but more with the inexperience of the student. Denis said all courses are structured differently and so evaluating the question of whether the instructor uses class time efficiently might be hard to evaluate in an asynchronous course. Denis said we should have some kind handbook to provide direction. He said that the questions should be worded in such a way that the form could be used for both synchronous and asynchronous courses. Kiesha said it would be good to look at the handbook Denis referred to. Randelle said that we aren't doing online student evaluations this semester, but Denis said he thinks that they are happening this semester. Punita suggested we add an N/A on the evaluation scale. Randelle said we should change “course” to “instructor.” Randelle asked if we should table the form for now and the committee decide to wait a week for more input from members. Denis posted the following links for other colleges' evaluation forms:

3.2 Call for participation in activities of the Office of Educational Technology:

Review of Blackboard orientation course: Denis asked if any committee members would be interested in piloting the course over the winter. For the Intro to Bb course for Faculty, OET has added a lot of content and a third module. The last module hasn't been tested yet so Denis asked for volunteers to take the last part of the course.
Review of guidelines for conducting virtual faculty teaching observations: OET put together a document a few weeks ago and are now in the process of manually adding and removing observers from courses. They have to make sure that the process aligns with PSC guidelines. He said most of the CUNY colleges are doing the same. Denis said that this committee could think about how online observations should be conducted. This could be added to the eLearning Guidelines. He said there should a timeline. Each department should include a set of guidelines for the observers. Susan said that in the case of asynchronous courses, the whole course could potentially be available to the observer. Denis said there could be a form that the instructor should fill out that tells the observer what to focus on. We need to make things like interaction with students clear between synchronous and asynchronous courses. Keisha said that such guidelines could let both observers and instructors guidance. OET can instructors can help set up a course tour for observers who might want to see the course in addition to the synchronous session, but he's not sure they are aligned with PSC and OAA guidelines. Denis said he recommends student access instead of guest access.
Randelle asked how the Bb course differs from eLearning Readiness course. Denis said that CUNY offers the eLearning Readiness course, but the Bb course would focus on how to use the LMS.

IV. Other Business: Denis said that there will be Tech Fee meetings. Randelle said we are supposed to have a seat in that meeting.

Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 3:27 by Randelle Sasa.

Next Meeting: December 10, 2020 (Thursday) at 3:53pm via Zoom

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Lago
Committee on eLearning, Secretary

Minutes typed on November 12, 2020

Committee Links

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QPAC: Performing Arts Center

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QCC Art Gallery

The QCC Art Gallery of the City University of New York is a vital educational and cultural resource for Queensborough Community College, the Borough of Queens and the surrounding communities.