The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a 20-part video series covering a variety of topics on digital access in education, including how people with disabilities use technology, applicable federal regulations, and identifying and remediating barriers to access. OCR partnered with the ADA National Network to produce the videos for the purposes of providing basic information on and instructions to many different digital accessibility concepts, such as fundamental manual testing techniques, use of color, logical reading order, meaningful video captions, and others. The videos are designed for a wide range of audiences, including school webmasters, parents and students with disabilities, and educational app developers and other IT vendors. 

The videos are available on ADA National Network’s OCR Video Series page. All videos are open-captioned. For questions or comments regarding the video series, contact the Office of Civil Rights at OCR@ed.gov.  

Ensuring Learning through Peer Connections:

“Peer Educator Power”

Fall 2021
Fridays 3 PM – 4 PM

Dear Colleague and Fellow Wayfinder,
We invite you to join us for Peer Educator Power each Friday from 3 PM to 4 PM to learn more about how colleges across the state are leveraging the power of peer educators to support student success. Stay from 4 PM to 4:30 PM for more practice and discussion time.
See our September schedule and register below. For the full Fall schedule, visit our website.
We look forward to seeing you in the network!

Register

September 3

Easy Zoom Intro Videos for SI & Embedded Tutors

Crystal Kiekel, Los Angeles Pierce College, 3CSN
If you have a Zoom account, then you can shoot an introductory video in six easy steps. Then share your video with students, faculty, or entire classes. This workshop is designed for peer education professionals (tutors, mentors, coaches, SI leaders, and peer educator faculty and staff), but all are welcome!

September 10

Peer Educator Power, Pt I: Openers and Ice Breakers for Peer Educators

Crystal Kiekel, Lindsey Lazo, Cameron Brenner Chanchian, Los Angeles Pierce College, 3CSN

The first five minutes of a peer educator’s session are the most important for setting tone and direction. Come learn about and share openers and icebreakers that establish a highly supportive and highly structured learning environment. This workshop is designed for peer education professionals (tutors, mentors, coaches, SI leaders, and peer educator faculty and staff), but all are welcome!

September 17

Peer Educator Power, Pt II – Setting Norms, Expectations

Crystal Kiekel, Lindsey Lazo, Cameron Brenner Chanchian, Los Angeles Pierce College, 3CSN

Articulating community agreements or “norms” is an important part of setting the tone, establishing expectations, and managing the session in peer led learning. Come learn about different ways to set community agreements between peer educators and students. This workshop is designed for peer education professionals (tutors, mentors, coaches, SI leaders, and peer educator faculty and staff), but all are welcome!

September 24

Peer Educator Power, Pt III- Text Set Activity: Collaborative Engagement

Crystal Kiekel, Lindsey Lazo, Cameron Brenner Chanchian, Los Angeles Pierce College, 3CSN

Learn about and engage in a routine called a “text set,” and discuss strategies for encouraging collaborative learning in peer led learning. This workshop is designed for peer education professionals (tutors, mentors, coaches, SI leaders, and peer educator faculty and staff), but all are welcome!

To register for one or more of the sessions, please click on the “Register” button above. At the time of your registration you will select the sessions you plan to attend.

Looking for more professional learning opportunities? Check out the 3CSN website.

Questions? Email us at ask@3csn.org

Hello!

As you are well aware, the fall season is rapidly approaching and for many of you that means the start of a new academic year. As we move into one of the busiest times of the year, we wanted to share a few resources, updates, and some best practices to help you and your team be successful.


Canvas Resources

Here are a few of our favorite back to school resources:

• Canvas Status Page
• Instructure Community 
• Canvas Guides
• Start and end-of-year checklist 
• Course evaluation checklist
• Mobile course evaluation checklist 
• Instructure Live

Canvas Support

We wanted to let you know that we recently refreshed our Support Terms. Of particular note is the retirement of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and the introduction of “Targeted Initial Response”. You can read more about these changes and the why in the blog post here. 

Remember, anytime something isn’t working as expected, Canvas Support is the best place to start! Please be sure to use this Escalation Framework when you submit a ticket for best results. For those of you with Tier One Support, we also recommend using Chat throughout the Fall as we often see longer wait times with phone calls during these busier months.

Panda Pros

Our inaugural Panda Pros program has arrived! We now offer educators 1:1 coaching on Instructure tools (like Canvas, MasteryConnect, Pathways, and Outcomes Assessment) from our Panda Pros throughout the Fall. Our Panda Pros team is made up of our instructional design, training and adoption consulting teams at Instructure. These 25-minute coaching sessions are available for FREE to all of your instructors and should help balance “how do I?” questions with the ongoing technical needs you may have. For more details, check out this blog post, and to sign up, click here.

As always, thank you for your partnership and for everything you do to help support teaching and learning!

Summer LACCD DE Training Courses

Hello Faculty! Our summer DE training courses are now available for registration in the Vision Resource Center (VRC), and there are a number of new, exciting courses! Please see the details and links below.Introduction to Teaching with Canvas

This is the first course that is required to be DE-certified in the LACCD. This class focuses on how to use the Canvas tools to create accessible content.

• June 7 – July 2: Register and see details in the VRC
• July 5 – 30: Register and see details in the VRC
• August 2 – 27: Register and see details in the VRC

Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning

This is the second course that is required to be DE-certified in the LACCD. This class focuses on online teaching policies and best practices and online course design. 

• June 7 – July 2: Register and see details in the VRC  
• July 5 – 30: Register and see details in the VRC
• Aug 2 – 27: Register and see details in the VRC

Humanizing Online Learning

In this class, participants will be immersed in a supportive online learning community as they develop humanized practices for your online course that will lay an inclusive foundation for community-building and collaboration. Participants will also learn about creating videos for online courses.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Teaching with Canvas (ITC) and Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning (IOTL).

• June 14 – July 9: Register and see details in the VRC
• July 12 – August 6: Register and see details in the VRC

Equity and Culturally Responsive Online Teaching

Participants in this course apply principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning (CRTL) to their online course. In a collaborative peer-to-peer learning environment, participants analyze their core teaching values, interrogate their online teaching practices, and leave the course with an equity-minded syllabus and an action plan to continue to advance equity in their course and institution.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Teaching with Canvas (ITC) and Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning (IOTL).

• June 28 – July 23: Register and see details in the VRC
• July 26 – August 20: Register and see details in the VRC

Advanced Equity in Online Teaching 

This course will allow participants to analyze  the historical links between education,  social justice, and equity through various theoretical frameworks. Participants will learn how to question and deconstruct teaching models and classroom policies through an equitable lens. By the end of the course, participants will design teaching practices that are culturally responsive and empower students as life-long learners.

Prerequisite: Completion of Equity and Culturally Responsive Online Teaching

• July 26 – August 20: Register and see details in the VRC

Advanced Teaching with Canvas

This class covers more advanced features of using Canvas to support teaching or to teach fully online.  It covers the creation of groups and collaborative activities using Office 365 cloud applications, plus peer review assessments. Participants will learn to do some basic HTML coding in Canvas pages to create tabs and embed videos. It also covers advanced course and grade book settings including export and import grade functions. The course helps user to master advanced module settings and plagiarism detection tools.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Teaching with Canvas (ITC) and Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning (IOTL).

• July 5 – 30: Register and see details in the VRC
• August 2 – 27: Register and see details in the VRC

Introduction to Synchronous Teaching in Zoom

This course is based on the @ONE course called Introduction to Live Online Teaching and Learning. Please note this course does not count towards being DE-certified in the LACCD.

By the completion of this 2-week course, you will demonstrate your ability to schedule, conduct, archive, and share a live session. You will also develop inclusive community norms and a lesson plan for a live session that uses effective instructional skills to support the diverse needs of community college students. You will achieve these goals by asynchronously engaging with content and completing assignments in Canvas, as well as attending synchronous sessions in Zoom that scaffold your learning.

Attendance at four 60-minute live sessions is required in addition to course assignments. The dates of these sessions are listed on the registration page.

• June 14 – 28: Register and see details in the VRC
  • Requires attendance at four live Zoom sessions: Tuesdays 3-4 pm and Fridays 9-10 am
• July 12 – 26: Register and see details in the VRC
  • Requires attendance at four live Zoom sessions: Mondays 3-4 pm and Thursdays 3-4 pm
• August 2 – 16: Register and see details in the VRC
  • Requires attendance at four live Zoom sessions: Mondays 3-4 pm and Thursdays 3-4 pm

Dear 3CSN Community,

We hope you are doing well. See below for this week’s offerings. Please share with colleagues. We look forward to seeing you in the sessions!

In community,

The 3CSN Team

Equity in Action: Praxis Sessions

Towards a Transformative Syllabus
Tuesday, May 11th, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Join Merari Weber and José Lopez Mercedes (Santa Ana College) for this praxis session in which we will explore ways to improve our first class interaction with our students to make a higher impact on student success and development.

Please bring a sample of one of your syllabi (course overview/introduction) that you give to your students to this hands-on workshop. If you don’t have one, we will be providing a sample to use. However, to get the most out of this workshop, it is best if you bring something you use in your class now.

Register

Text Talk: Approaches to Reading and Discussion
Wednesday, May 12th, 2 PM – 3 PM

Looking for ways to enrich text-based reading and discussions online? Join 3CSN coordinators Sarah Sullivan (Mission College) and Nicole Bryant Lescher (College of the Redwoods) for an hour of text-centeredengagement with readings selected to support educators and students alike.

Register

Prepping for Gradingpalooza? Join us!

Canvas 102: Feedback Features
Thursday, May 13th, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Join 3CSN Coordinator Nicole Bryant Lescher (College of the Redwoods) for this Learn & Practice session focused on Canvas feedback features.

Register

Guided Pathways Spotlight

Shasta College
Friday, May 14th, 11 AM to 12 PM

Wondering how other community colleges across the state are approaching Guided Pathways? You’ve come to the right place!

Join us for this spotlight session featuring Shasta College leaders Jen McCandless (Math instructor and GP Faculty Lead), Kate Mahar (Dean of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives), Kari Aranbul (Allied heath Instructor and GP team member), and Sunny Green (regional GP Coordinator).

Register

Learning Assistance Hour

The “Think aloud and Paired Problem Solving” technique (TAPPS) for Peer Educators
Friday, May 14th, 3 PM – 4 PM

Join Crystal Kiekel (3CSN, LA Pierce College) and Valeria Carrillo (tutor, LA Pierce College) to learn and practice one technique for putting the students in charge of their own learning and problem solving. This workshop is designed for peer educators (tutors, mentors, coaches, and SI leaders), but all are welcome!
For a deeper dive, participants are also invited to stay for an optional discussion session from 4:00 to 4:30 to continue exploring these tools and their application. 

For more detailed information about the sessions, visit our website.

Register

How do you help find and locate OER? In this webinar, we will look at three different ways to search and find OER: through a LibGuide, through a library catalog, and through a designated campus OER website. You’ll come away with different examples and inspiration for improving search and discoverability on your own campus.

Watch the LibGuides, Discovery Tools, and Websites: How to Make OER Discoverable Webinar Recording

June 21-23, 2021 | Virtual Event
Empowering the Online Teaching Community

Conference Registration

Registration: $150

Registration includes keynotes, breakout sessions, networking events – all activities on June 22-23, 2021!

Be sure to take a look at the conference sessions and descriptions!

Pre-conference workshops are offered on June 21, 2021 at an additional cost of $50 each. Space is very limited – please plan early!

Register Now!

Pre-conference Workshop Highlight

Learn Canvas Basics while Creating Accessible Canvas Pages 

Are you new to online teaching and don’t know where to start? In this pre-conference workshop, CVC will showcase their “Getting Started in Canvas” and “Creating Accessible Canvas Content” 5-Day Challenge courses.

This will be a fun and interactive way to start your journey to an accessible and well organized Canvas course for your students!

Learn More

Keynote

We are pleased and excited to announce that California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley will be presenting the keynote address at OTC’21! Join us for his general session “Equity-Minded Teaching Online” on Tuesday, June 22 for a fabulous kick off to the conference!

There isn’t yet a single tool that can identify and correct all accessibility issues in course content (darn it!). To do the job right requires a multi-tool approach. In addition to Ally, currently sponsored by the CCCCO, colleges now have available a couple of great accessibility tools: PopeTech and UDOIT (both free!).

We’re offering a webinar (plus an encore at OTC) so you can see all three tools in action. We’ll talk about pros and cons of each and give you a quick demo.

“Canvas and Your Accessibility Toolbox”

Zoom: Friday, June 4. 3-4pm (Register now)

or

OTC: Wednesday, June 23, 2-2:50pm

If you’re not able to attend either, read on for a very abbreviated summary. (This info can also be found on the Accessibility tab of the Local POCR Resource Center.)

PopeTech is based on the WAVE tool (my fav, as you may know!) but has the added advantage of being integrated right into the Canvas rich content editor. It makes it super simple for instructors to identify formatting issues and fix them on the spot.

PopeTech is being offered as a simple integration to all our colleges for free through the CCC Accessibility Center.

Request PopeTech. (Don’t be thrown off when you see “Accessibility Guide” as the page title. That’s the tool’s official name.)

– – – – –

UDOIT was created by the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) at the University of Central Florida and will scan a course, generate a report, and provide resources on how to address common accessibility issues.

The big distinction here is you get a course-level report (much like Ally) so you know exactly which pages need attention.

It’s available both as a free open-source option or a premium, cloud-based version. The free version requires hosting, either on your college server or using Heroku, a free cloud-based server option. The premium version includes hosting, enhanced support and better analytics.

You may want to contact your IT department to let them know you’d like them to explore and enable tools beyond the Canvas accessibility checker and Ally.

Please feel free to share this message with your faculty as well.

Warmly,
   ~Helen

Dear 3CSN Community,

We hope you are doing well. See below for this week’s offerings. Please share with colleagues. We look forward to seeing you in the sessions!

In community,

The 3CSN Team

Equity in Action: Praxis Sessions

How Do We Support Equity in STEM?
Tuesday, May 4, 10 AM – 11 AM

It has been well established that women and people of color face unique challenges persisting in STEM fields and programs of study. What can we do to change this dynamic? 

Join Nika Hogan (3CSN) and Richard Abdelkerim (Math, Pasadena City College) for a discussion about the challenges and rewards of efforts to create more active, equitable classrooms, and to learn more about 3CSN’s STEM Learning Community opportunity, offered in collaboration with the CSU Institute for Teaching and Learning.

Register

Mindfulness for Educators

Restorative Yoga
Wednesday, May 5th, 2 PM to 3 PM

Join Rosabeth Dorfhuber (Faculty, Dept. of Physical Education, Dance & Athletics, Yoga, Stretch & Relaxation, Santa Barbara City College) as she guides us in a restorative yoga session.  Restorative Yoga helps put the body into a deep state of relaxation which eases physical discomfort by helping to bring a sense of calm and peace. 

The poses are held with the support of a variety of props. See the registration link for more detailed information.

Register

Virtual Community Hour for Classified Professionals
Wednesday, May 5th, 3 PM to 4 PM

Join 3CSN Classified Professionals Betina Vallin and Estela Miranda for this space specifically designed to support classified professionals as we navigate this virtual work environment together.

Register

Virtual Community Hour for ePortfolio Practitioners
Wednesday, May 5th, 3 PM to 4 PM

Join 3CSN coordinators Kelan Koning and Diana Bonilla Hein as well as Trang Abeid (Cosumnes River College), and students to share how things are going with your ePortfolio-based course and think through ideas as we approach the final weeks of the semester and plan for the Fall. Interested in learning more about ePortfolios? Feel free to join and engage at whatever level feels best to you.

Register

Canvas 102: Student-Centered Design Sessions – Syllabus
Thursday, 5/6, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Join Josh Miller (3CSN BSILI 2019 Alum, Communications Department Chair and Peer Online Course Reviewer, LA Valley College) for this Learn & Practice session focused on creating a student-centered syllabus.

Register

Learning Assistance Hour

Tutoring Spaces and Students’ Fear of Judgment: West Los Angeles College & Pasadena City College Spotlight
Friday, May 7, 3 PM – 4 PM

Join Chase Selby (West Los Angeles College) and Giselle Miralles (Pasadena City College) for this presentation that will address the issue of judgement within the tutoring space and institution in general and ask how learning assistance providers can make tutoring a judgement-free zone. This workshop is designed for peer educators (tutors, mentors, coaches, and SI leaders), but all are welcome!

For an extended conversation, participants are also invited to stay for an optional discussion session from 4:00 to 4:30 to continue exploring the questions (and solutions) raised during the presentation and their application in learning assistance/tutoring centers.

For more detailed information about the sessions, visit our website.

Register