Integrating online “course packages” into your on-campus or online classroom

1. Integrating online “course packages” into your on-campus or online classroom Presented by Tom Braziunas & Carol Howe (adapted from a workshop by Sandy Weber of Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wisconsin at this year’s League for Innovation Conference)

2. What are e-Packs and Course Cartridges? • Publishers produce packages of online course materials in formats compatible with a WebCT or Blackboard website. • Blackboard uses the term “Course Cartridge” while WebCT uses “e-Pack” for the same type of package. • More and more publishers are now making e-Packs available free to your students as long as you are using their textbooks. • If your publisher requires a “student access code” for a particular (media-rich) e-Pack, these codes cost an additional $15-$20 and students purchase them in the bookstore.

3. What is in a typical e-Pack? • Ready-made course content tied to the course textbook such as: • Chapter outlines & summaries • Copies of pertinent diagrams and images • Power point presentations that match the content of the textbook you have adopted • Extra learning modules and website resources to explain content from different angles • Discussion questions related to the topic you are covering in class • Spelling & vocabulary tips

4. e-Packs include interactive tools • Pre-made self-tests, quizzes, flash cards, interactive games and/or exams that: • you can edit and customize to fit your needs • your students can take online and receive instant feedback • you can choose to have automatically graded • you can seamlessly integrate into your other assessment tools, grade book and course structure (whether on-campus or online).

5. What are some benefits of e-Packs?(especially for on-campus courses) • Less “textbook-related prep” for your course: • You can use e-Packs in an on-campus class to project and/or share your customized text materials to the class via a supplemental course website • You can incorporate e-Packs components into power points or other modes of presentation • e-Pack content is typically updated by the publisher when new textbook editions are released.

6. What are some benefits of e-Packs? (especially for online courses) • PRO: Any of the e-Pack materials can be edited, hidden or removed so your online students only see and use what you need them to see and use. • PRO: The e-Pack materials can be seamlessly integrated into your own online course components including content lessons, discussion rooms, assignments and grading. • PRO: The NSCC Distance Learning Office will work with instructors (teaching on-campus, online or hybrid courses) to customize these e-Packs in the ways described above.

7. What are some “downsides” of e-Packs? • CON: You are tied into a specific publisher and will need to redesign your online materials if you change textbooks. • CON: Students may need to pay extra for access. • CON: Be aware that the sales folks can be high-pressured and you are likely to be on their (very) regular “email” list. • CON: Sales folks may present themselves as “working together” with you whereas their primary mission is, of course, selling!

8. An e-Pack integrated into a website addition to an on-campus class: Davene Eyres’ GENERAL PHYSICS (PHY 101) An on-campus class with an interactive website e-Pack materials have been modified, edited and integrated into Davene’s own online resource pages http://lomas.sccd.ctc.edu:9000 An example…

9. How to get started • Finding e-Packs:http://www.webct.com • Click on “WebCT Ready Content” • Click on “Search for ePacks” on top of page • Search by discipline, title, keyword, etc. • OR visit the publisher’s website which usually has detailed e-Pack info (e.g. http://cms.prenhall.com) • Once you’ve determined that an e-Pack is available for your course: • Check it out by clicking on “View Demo” • Determine whether students need to pay an access fee by clicking on “Product Details” • Contact the Distance Learning Office to work on the next steps together

10. An Alternative Approach:Picking a textbook because of its e-Pack(instead of picking an e-Pack because of the textbook) • Why focus on e-Pack features? • You have a choice of several good textbooks so you can weigh their ancillary materials • You want specific online activities or information to play a key role in your course (whether it is online, hybrid, or on-campus) • How to research & compare e-Packs • Visit http://www.webct.com/content • Click on “Instructors” and “Choose the right e-Pack” • Review the nicely explained list of possible key features • eBooks, interactive media, video animations, question databases, critical thinking resources, instructor resources • Use the comparison chart of different specific e-Packs to determine which ones have your specific online tools

11. Steps toward getting an e-Pack • Select the “Adopt Now” link and then select the option to download and install the ePack on our own server. • Complete the form which asks for the email address of your WebCT system administrator (that’s us in the NSCC Distance Learning Office). • Go to the publishers’ website (or contact your textbook rep) for more info and to determine the correct ISBN number for your book order form. • If an access code is needed, this is either bundled with a textbook or sold separately in your college’s bookstore. • Either way, it needs to be included in the book order for your class textbook.

12. Steps toward using an e-Pack • Visit “Getting Started with e-Packs” at http://www.webct.com/quickstart • Click on “Faculty” • Scroll down to “I have just Adopted an e-Pack” • Select the “Getting Started” link • Choose WebCT 4.0 • The information on this webpage will help! We recommend that you start by: • Clicking on “Important steps to ensure successful e-Pack adoption” • Printing & reading the one-page guide (PDF format) • Using the appropriate link to “tune your browser”

13. Customizing your e-Pack(and how to get help doing it) • Become more familiar with WebCT: • Contact the Distance Learning (DL) Office to strategize on the available learning options • Utilize NSCC’s online WebCT handouts at: http://northonline.sccd.ctc.edu/distance • Sign up for a quarterly TLC workshops • Arrange a tutorial with the DL Office • Consult WebCT’s own online support resources • Click on the “Ask Dr C” link and choose the options for “WebCT 4.0” and “faculty” to get advice and answers from WebCT staff and other faculty users • Consult NSCC faculty already using e-Packs

14. Ideas for customizing your e-Pack • Format the style of the publisher material to match the rest of your online web site. • “Reveal” only the text materials that appropriately fit with your teaching. • Use some of the e-Pack’s assessment features, incorporating publisher ideas along with your own test questions. • Especially use the “timed”, “randomly selected” and “calculation” options to make quizzes work as effective and instructive assessment tools in an online environment • Connect online content, lessons and activities to the WebCT discussion room and email systems

15. Contact information • Distance Learning Office • staff: Tom Braziunas, Carol Howe, Joanne Fall • ph # 527-3738 / email distance@sccd.ctc.edu • websitehttp://www.virtualcollege.org • Teaching & Learning Center • staff: Coryl Celene-Martel, Chris Sanders • ph # 527-3776 / email ccelenem@sccd.ctc.edu • website http://northonline.sccd.ctc.edu/tlc • Online WebCT support • ph # 1-877-855-3238/email publisher.support@webct.com • website http://www.webct.com/content (Click “Get Help”) • Specific Publisher websites • Colleagues • e.g. Davene Eyres (email deyres@sccd.ctc.edu) • Sandy Weber (webers@gtc.edu)