Are You Ready? A Cross-Campus Approach to a Unified Student Online Readiness

Presenter:

Carlos Guevara, Director of EdTech & CTL, Hostos Community College
Kate Lyons, Assistant Professor in the Library and Liaison to EdTech, Hostos Community College
Mark Lennerton, Director of Center For Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Bronx Community College
Albert Robinson, Assistant Director of Center For Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Bronx Community College
Steve Castellano, Blackboard Technology Specialist, Office of Undergraduate Studies & Online Education, Lehman College
Helen Keier, Blackboard Administrator, John Jay College

Abstract:

After researching multiple approaches to preparing students for online learning, the EdTech Office at Hostos Community College opted to leverage the environment that all students will use for online learning: Blackboard. The EdTech Office developed an online course in Blackboard that explains to students the basics of their new learning environment, how to find help during their online courses, and discusses the time-management skills they will need to succeed. Students enrolled in online courses have been completing this tutorial for almost two years at Hostos, and the course is now in the process of rolling out to other CUNY campuses. More information is available online at: https://commons.hostos.cuny.edu/online/students/are-you-ready/. The presenters will demonstrate the Are you Ready? Student Online Readiness Assessment Course and present initial findings gathered from the students who completed the course. Since the initial pilot in Fall 2015, over 600 students successfully completed the Are You Ready? online course. The presenters will also discuss their experience collaborating on the project, widening the scope to include multiple CUNY campuses (Bronx Community College, Lehman College and John Jay College).