The eLearning Team continues to assist faculty through the QM course development process for online courses. For an overview of the course development process, visit our Development Process of Distance Education Courses page.
QM Courses Certified
The following two courses have been QM certified since the last DEITC meeting in March of 2023.
The QM Higher Education Rubric, Seventh Edition will be released on July 5th. In order to prepare, QM will be providing a Rubric Update session. All faculty teaching online, course developers and peer reviewers will need to complete this update. QM will be offering it as a free, self-paced, standalone session. Registration begins on May 5th and the session will be available starting June 5th. The Rubric Update will be free for about a six month period. The session will be at a cost of $55 for those that enroll after Jan. 5th All faculty trained on QM must complete it before January 5, 2024 to keep up with the latest rubric.
Faculty will receive notifications via email directly from QM with details on how to complete the Rubric Update and any relevant recertification.
All new QM courses being developed after July 2023 will use the QM 7th Edition Rubric to follow the updated standards of quality.
Updates on ChaptGPT and AI Detection Tools
The eLearning staff conducted two face-to-face Artificial Intelligence Detection Tools workshops for faculty as mentioned in the last newsletter. Thirty two faculty members attended in total. The objectives covered included:
- Identify the key features and functions of AI text detectors
- Explore the available sites for AI text detection
- Engage in hands-on activities with ChatGPT and AI text detection tools
- Discuss strategies to minimize instances of plagiarism using AI tools
Faculty discussions included:
- concerns with cheating
- the need for sample syllabus that contain parameters for AI
- eLearning to continue offering AI-focused sessions
More AI sessions are planned for faculty throughout the summer and at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester to serve as a refresher. The sessions will be both in face-to-face and virtual format to make available to our online adjunct faculty.
Top Hat Update
Top Hat continue to be free for students via the grant through December 31, 2023. As a reminder, Top Hat assists with taking attendance quickly and easily through the app, compliments courses and facilitates student engagement. Top Hat has an extensive OER catalog and resources. eLearning and Top Hat would like to make OER a prominent focus on the next phase of implementation.
Top Hat representatives will be on campus during the week of August 14-18 to assist faculty that would like to use it for the Fall 2023 semester. More information to come. eLearning encourages all departments to include Top Hat in their department meeting agendas for that week. If a Top Hat representative is not available the day of the departments meeting, eLearning will do a presentation on Top Hat for the dept. If you would like to use Top Hat during the Summer 2023 semester, contact the eLearning team for more information.
Transition to Ultra Courses
The preparations to transitioning to Ultra Courses is on its way. After meeting with Blackboard/Anthology they confirmed that we are on track with the proposed transition plan presented in last newsletter and below. The eLearning team will continue to send the committee updates throughout the summer on the progress of our migration to Ultra Courses.
Spring 2023
- Initial meeting with Blackboard Transition Team and eLearning
- eLearning Team begins training on Ultra Courses
Summer 2023
- Planning and preparing for the transition: eLearning Team
- Timeline for the transition is finalized
- Begin conversion of QM courses to Ultra: eLearning
Fall 2023
- eLearning continues conversion of all courses
- Faculty training sessions throughout the semester
- Faculty for pilot deployment are recruited
Spring 2024
- Pilot deployment begins
- Feedback from pilot is compiled and analyzed
Summer 2024
- Full deployment of Ultra Courses
- Faculty training sessions continue
- Blackboard Learn Original support ends – August 2024
For information on Ultra Courses View Interface, visit this website from the University of Northern Illinois: https://www.niu.edu/blackboard/ultra/new-features-in-ultra.shtml
Instructional Technology Excellence Award
Reminder: The Distance Education and Instructional Technology Committee (DEITC) is accepting nominations for the 2023 Instructional Technology Excellence Award. DEITC is committed to recognizing faculty who have excelled in integrating technology within their courses. This first Excellence Award was presented in 2004. For a list of past recipients, go to: Distance Education Faculty Awards and Recognition website.
Self-nominations are also welcomed.
The Instructional Technology Excellence Award will be presented with a plaque during the Fall 2023. Reserved parking and a stipend ($500.00) will also be included in the award.
Instructional Technology Excellence Award Nomination Form
Please submit the nomination form as well as supporting documents to Dr. Pat Abrego, Director of Academic Technology, via email at pabrego@tamiu.edu or in person to the Office of Instructional Technology & Distance Education Services located in Killam Library, Room 259. Deadline for nominations is May 31, 2023.
To facilitate the nomination process, a copy of the rubric that will be used to score is linked below:
Instructional Technology Excellence Award Scoring Rubric
Registrar's Office Announcements
- May 1 - Last class day (Long semester)
- May 2nd through 8th - Spring 2023 Final Exams
- May 5 - Last class day and Final Exams (Sub-term II)
- May 12th - Final Grades are due by noon
- May 15 - Maymester and Summer Sub-term I
Student Representation in DEITC
The Student Technology Advisory Council was not able to attend this meeting, but this brought up having student representation in the DEITC. The committee voted and approved having student representation for the upcoming academic year. They voted on having two students to represent both the undergraduate and graduate population. The undergraduate student would be selected by the Student Government Association. The graduate student would have to be an online student since all but one of our graduate programs are fully online and selected by the University Graduate Council Faculty.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be in August 2023. Any items brought up during the summer that need the committee's advice will be held virtually.
Past DEITC Newsletters
You may view past DEITC newsletters here.
