JANUARY 2007

Happy New Year! We're off to a great start, as you can see in our chart. As of today, we have 3,294 enrollments in 130 sections, with more than 300 still on a wait list. In addition, there are 6,000 using a Blackboard CourseCompanion and 643 students in mixed-mode courses. UM-Flint policy states you may drop from online courses any student who does not login within the first five calendar days of the semester; this policy helps other students get courses they need in a timely fashion.

If you'd like to add an online course this spring, get ready now. Enroll in our the February 5 instructor-led Intensive Course Development; the prerequisite is the self-paced Faculty Intro to Online Teaching, as well as Blackboard Basics if you haven't used this learning management system before. Contact Deb White to enroll.

BLACKBOARD TIPS:

• All online faculty now have access to the Content System; you'll see a tab at the top of the Blackboard screen.

• If you have files used in more than one course, let us show you how to streamline your work. Sign up for Using the Content System, below.
• Remember, we've dropped the drop box. You'll want to use the assignment feature instead. See the help guide for instructions or sign up for the workshop, below.
• The individual file limit is now 3MB. If you have larger audio files, contact Nick Gaspar and he'll load them to our streaming server and send you the link to include in your course. This will ensure students can access these files, regardless of their Internet connection, for audio files over the 3MB limit.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Creating simulations and interactive lessons: Mark your calendar for a special two-day workshop May 7 and 8. This is the stuff that will win you Golden Apples for a high level of student engagement in your course content. You'll learn from experienced instructional designers how to achieve specific learning objectives using such software as Flash, Raptivity or other authoring tools. This workshop will be open to faculty from all colleges, but space will be limited. Reserve your spot by clicking on the links below. All workshops listed below are free to UM-Flint faculty.

BEST PRACTICES:

• What is Pause and Post? It's a method for improving the frequency and quality of discussion board posts method. Learn more at http://sloan-c.org/effective/details1.asp?SS_ID=118 .
• You can also check the Effective Practices database on the Sloan Consortium Web site. http://sloan-c.org/effective/index.asp