In response to an increased usage of both the course management system Blackboard and the subsequent development of courses in online modalities, the Office of Educational Technology (EdTech) has developed the “Are You Ready?” course. The course, which resides in Blackboard, is designed to better prepare students in both...
I have created courses in the hybrid or fully online mode since the College began its first initiative in instructional technology more than 15 years ago. I am a strong proponent of instructional technology because of its abundant benefits for student engagement and learning. But I have also found...
Digital Storytelling works as an effective strategy for learning in the arts, sciences, humanities and social sciences. It adds a level of reflection that asks students to become aware of what they have learned, what they know, and what they think they know. Through effective digital storytelling projects, students...
It’s been many years since Hostos had a site license for Turnitin, the premiere online plagiarism-checking application, giving faculty free access to its services, and many faculty have been urgently waiting for it’s return. Instructors could always purchase their own account, at their own expense But at long last,...
Last semester’s Blackboard outtages has increased talk among Blackboard users, Bb campus administrators and even among senior administrators at CUNY CIS and CUNY educational technology leaders about the possibility of changing CUNY’s relationship with Blackboard as its main Learning Management System (LMS). CUNY’s Blackboard contract ends next year, and...
At Hostos Community College there has been an emergence of courses offered in both the hybrid (partially online) and asynchronous (fully online) modalities. Online learning offers students the flexibility of self-paced learning on their own time, in many instances from the comfort of their own home. Synchronous courses (face-to-face),...
In December 2015 the Office of Educational Technology with the EdTech Leadership Council emailed all faculty a link to a survey about their experiences teaching with technology. 114 faculty members responded to the survey. The respondents’ represented the following departments: Language & Cognition (6 respondents- 5%) Library (6 respondents-...
For years EdTech has provided support for faculty who use video recording of their lessons, specifically what is known as “lecture capture”, in their teaching. Two platforms have been used for this: Tegrity and Camtasia, each with its advantages and disadvantages. This year a new, powerful, easy-to-use and easily...
Have you published an article that you would love to share with a wider audience? Are you an artist who would like to share images of your work with other artists and academics? Are you looking for archival materials? Are you wondering what scholarship your CUNY colleagues are producing?...
Last Fall semester the EdTech office hosted a very well-attended Brown Bag discussion about allowing students to use devices, like cell phones and tablets, in the classroom. Some faculty members debated that they were mere distractions, adding nothing to learning and taking students’ attention away from the class. Others...