Guelph University 2008 Update

From OUCEL Wiki

Elearning Activities - University of Guelph Summer 2008

The following is a rough idea of some of Guelph's current elearning initiatives, activities and concerns of the past year:

Guelph will consolidate its learning management systems, migrating On-campus Blackboard augmented courses to Desire2Learn, the system currently used by Open Learning (DE and Continuing Ed). Migration underway with plans to go live in Fall 2009.

We are promoting closer alliance within Teaching Support Services, between our learning technologists and our educational developers through Course reDesign Institute and numerous workshops and focus groups.

With the AVPA, we are putting together an Educational Technology Resource Network, a working group to identify and tackle cross-campus educational technology issues and initiatives.

We have gone through some important personnel changes including a new Manager, Courseware Services -- Kyle Mackie and a new Manager, Learning Technology and Courseware Innovation -- Richard Gorrie.

Through the Numeracy and Quantitative Reasoning Initiative, a interdisciplinary, cooperative cross-campus venture, we have assembled a repository of learning objects.

We are promoting, supporting and exploring Adobe Presentation/Connect as a supported multimedia presentation software application.

We are now promoting and officially supporting the iClicker in-class polling system.

We have developed a number of Coldfusion database apps --PEER, a tool that simulates the peer review publication process, curriculum mapping software, a workshop registration system and various calendaring tools for LMS integration.

Have pilot tested ForScene online video editing software.

We are exploring blended approaches with a number of courses.

Increasingly we are promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning and encouraging instructors and staff to explore research possibilities alongside their elearning activities.