Teaching and Learning at Vol State

Welcome to August 2022!  As I write, convocation is less than two weeks away. Classes start in less than three weeks on August 22. Many of you are creating new learning resources, assignments, and assessments. Some of you are preparing to teach courses you've never taught before or are preparing to teach a familiar course in a new way. Certainly, our work lives are quickening to the increasing rhythms of the academic year as Fall Semester approaches. When it comes to your eLearn sections, hit the "Don't Panic" button if you find yourself feeling a little stressed. Help is at your fingertips. The Department of Distributed Education will help you solve any technical problems you have with eLearn or help you brainstorm creative ways to improve your online classes (well, the brainstorming may need to wait until beginning-of-semester chores are done). The best way to request eLearn support during this busy season is to email:           elearn@volstate.edu You can call us a

I’m lucky. My job as an instructional designer gives me a bird’s eye view of how VSCC faculty turn their diverse teaching philosophies into high quality, high impact learning opportunities on eLearn. Many of our faculty tie classroom learning to work-based learning . Mel Matthews, Sleep Diagnostics, provides students with opportunities to conduct clinical work at locations throughout Tennessee. In Veterinary Technology, Dr. Hope Wright and D.J. Smith lead students through the program by employing a cohort model, creating learning communities of students who grow together. Recently awarded a grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents, Dr. Jeremy Shipley and Dr. Matthew Williams-Wyant are writing a “ technology-enhanced learning “ textbook for PHIL 1030. They’ll host their textbook on Perusall , a technology that promotes peer-to-peer learning and accountability in completing coursework by turning homework into a social experience. HIPs All of these great learning opportunities—wo

Affordable educational resources for students take various forms. Faculty may link to library subscription resources or refer students to credible websites. Free is good, but copyright restrictions and licensing may limit their use. Using open access journals and books prevents the door from being closed in the future. Or for a wide-open door with no lock, consider open educational resources (OER). The concept of open is not new. The public domain , works that are not protected by intellectual property laws and are free to use without permission, is a familiar source to many.  Works enter the public domain in a variety of ways. A public domain work may initially come with a public domain license or it may be based on the age of the work. Open access (OA) is a publishing model for scholarly communications that removes financial, legal, and technical barriers to accessing research articles. According to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition  (SPARC) “open access i