ATLE Resources

Additional faculty resources are available on EAGLE in the RVC Faculty Group. All full-time and adjunct faculty have access to it. Log in using your RVC ID and password.

Academic Affairs
 

• Faculty Contract
• Faculty Handbook
   

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance
 

• Universal Design in Higher Education
   

• Departments of Education and Justice Commitment to Accessible Technology for All Students

• Report of the Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities

• Implementing Universal Design for Education in Illinois Webinar Series

• Higher Education Opportunity Act: summarizes the key provisions of the act, which was reauthorized in 2008 and includes several significant actions which impact postsecondary education for students with disabilities.

• 2014 Roadmap to Web Accessibility in Higher Education

• Creating Accessible PowerPoint Presentations

• Accessible PowerPoint Sample Slides

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
 

The FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.

General Teaching Tips
 

• Applying the Science of Learning in Education (free eBook)
  
  This book begins with an overview of educational concepts and terminology, and it's quite accessible without being "dumbed down." In fact, you don't need to read it in any particular order. Scan the table of contents, choose a topic that interests you, and jump right to it. Since it's an eBook, you can use the "find" feature (CTRL+F) to search for words if you're unfamiliar with certain terminology. Each topic gets an overview of the research along with a discussion of how to apply the concept in your classes.
   
• The IDEA Center: Proven Tips on Teaching and Learning
  
  The IDEA Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving teaching and learning. They provide a variety of research-based suggestions that you can apply in your classes.
   
• Education as a Science: Daniel Willingham
  
  Dr. Daniel Willingham is an educational researcher who does a great job of cutting through the fads and seeking out the science behind educational trends. He frequently writes for American Educator, an IFT publication.
   
• Objectives Quick Reference Guide
   
• Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
   
• Creating Rubrics
   
• Problem-Based Learning vs. Project Based Learning
   
• Teaching Science with Case Studies
  
  The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) is to promote the nationwide application of active learning techniques to the teaching of science, with a particular emphasis on case studies and problem-based learning. This page has a peer-reviewed selection of over 500 case studies that are suitable for classroom use. It includes teaching notes to help you develop a lesson based on that case.
   
• Authentic Assessments and Tasks
  
  Papers, articles, speeches, and products that will be seen or used by people outside of the classroom are considered authentic assessments, and research has shown that students tend to perform better when they know that their assignment will be seen by an authentic audience. Whenever possible, let students choose their own projects (within the confines of the assignment objectives, of course) so they can demonstrate their knowledge of a subject by doing an activity that’s personally relevant to themselves.
  
   
• Student and Professor Expectations
   
• Ron Berk's Articles to Help Teachers
   
• On Course: Strategies to Promote Active Learning
  
  On Course offers techniques and activities that encourage students to become more active learners. The On Course website includes hundreds of short articles that describe class activities that we can use with our students.
   
• Social Media Usage Trends Among Higher Education Faculty
   
• Interactive Lectures
   
• Effective Classroom Management Techniques
   
• Tips for Encouraging Student Participation in Classroom Discussions
   
• 11 Strategies for Getting Students to Read What's Assigned
   
• How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (online book)
   
• Teaching Tips (Stanford University)
   
• Faculty Focus
   
• Designing Research Assignments

 

Distance Learning Procedures at Rock Valley College

 

Distance Learning Committee Course Approval Process
 

Rock Valley College strives for academic quality in all its courses, regardless of delivery method. To ensure quality in online courses, the Rock Valley College Distance Learning Committee (DLC) has established the following procedure.

The guiding principles of this procedure include:

• Process should serve a mentoring role for faculty teaching in an online environment
• Process should enhance online teaching and learning with voluntary support
• Process should evaluate by the same means as face to face courses
• Process should provide a central starting point for those new to online learning
   

1. All new online instructors must take “Online Learning: An Overview” offered through ION prior to teaching online.        

When you register for the course, select Rock Valley College as your institution and contact the ATLE office at rvc-atle@rockvalleycollege.edu for the member code. 

Because RVC is a founding member of ION, you will receive the lowest tuition rate for the course. A graduate-level course in distance learning will serve as a substitute for the ION course.

2. The division dean will contact the ATLE office at rvc-atle@rockvalleycollege.edu to obtain a Peer Mentoring Rubric. Alternatively, the instructor can obtain the Peer Mentoring Rubric from the RVC Faculty Group on EAGLE.                                                 

3. The Peer Mentoring Rubric serves as a guide for online instructors. As you build your online course, please be sure the course addresses all items in the rubric. You may contact the ATLE office at rvc-atle@rockvalleycollege.edu for assistance with your online course preparation. You can develop the course in your Sandbox on EAGLE.                                                 

4. When you are ready to present your course to the DLC, contact the Distance Learning Committee (via ATLE office) to schedule a presentation.

5. At least one week prior to the presentation, submit the following to your Division Dean:

• Peer Mentoring Rubric (with a completed header)
• Course Master Syllabus
• Instructor course syllabus
• ION letter/certificate of completion (or equivalent)           

6. The division dean will forward the documents to the Distance Learning Committee via the ATLE office at rvc-atle@rockvalleycollege.edu.

7. The instructor will present the course as scheduled.  The division dean is required to attend the presentation. During this presentation, the Distance Learning Committee will complete a checklist of online elements present in successful online courses.

Note: Instructors have the option to make their online course available for online review by members of the DL committee in lieu of a face-to-face presentation.

8. In the event that the course has not met the criteria, the Distance Learning Committee will send a letter to the division dean with a copy to the instructor explaining what improvements need to be implemented.  The instructor will work with a mentor to correct the issues noted and repeat the presentation process.       

9. When the instructor has successfully completed the requirements, the completed Peer Mentoring Rubric will be signed by the Distance Learning Committee and the division dean.  Copies of the instructor’s packet will be given to the division dean as well as to the curriculum coordinator.  In addition, the instructor will receive a letter of completion.

10. Once an instructor has successfully gone through the presentation process, he/she will no longer be required to present future courses to the Distance Learning Committee.  Future online course review to ensure quality, clarity and consistency will be the responsibility of the ATLE office.      

• Rock Valley College Distance Learning Peer Mentoring Rubric
   
• ION Course - Online Learning: An Overview: To prepare yourself to teach online, you should take the Online Learning: An Overview course through the Illinois Online Network. RVC Is a founding member of ION, so you can take the course at the lower tuition rate.

Distance Learning and Hybrid Courses Tips
 

• Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality: Illinois Online Network Courses
• Curriculum Design of Online and Hybrid Courses
• Walking A Mile In Their Shoes: From Online Student to Online Instructor 
• Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning Meta-Analysis
• 6 Easy Steps to Online Success
• Ten Principles of Effective Online Teaching
• Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Tools: 15 Strategies for Engaging Online Students
• Instructional Strategies for Online Courses: Illinois Online Network
• Illinois Online Network: Tips for Online Success
• Promoting Academic Integrity in Online Education
• Connecting to Collections Care Online Community

                             

Copyright Issues for Faculty
 

• Copyright Basics for Faculty
• The Fair Use Doctrine
• The TEACH Act
• A Fair(y) Use Tale
• Creative Commons

 

Podcasting
 

• Podcasting in Community Colleges
• Podcast Training Handouts
• Podcast Training Video
• Podcasting Training Audio
• iTunes U @ RVC Blog

Tech Tips
 

• Seven Principles of Teaching with Technology
• Teaching with Technology: Tools and Strategies to Improve Student Learning
• Multimedia in Education
• Multimedia to Engage Learners
• Effective PowerPoint
• Multimedia in Education (video)
• Adding Audio and Video to PowerPoint Presentations
• Document Formatting with Word
• Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Rates: Creative Use of Educational Technologies
• 21st Century Pedagogy and Technology
• Creating Web Pages for Traditional, Seated Courses
• Quick Start for StarBoards and Projectors in the JCSM
• StarBoard Level 1 Guide
• StarBoard Level 2 Guide
• Smart Classroom (other than JCSM) Quick Reference

Free Online Textbooks and Other Educational Resources
 

We all know that textbook costs are high. We can help reduce our students' expenses by using free books that are available online.

Here are some links to sites that provide free online textbooks and other resources:

• OpenStax College: Peer reviewed textbooks written by professionals. Free to download and students can order inexpensive print copies.
   
• edX: Free online courses, many of which are open enrollment archives courses. Some of the material is published under a Creative Commons license, which means you can use it - royalty-free - as long as you give credit to the creators. You might find videos, handouts, and assignments that you'd like to use in your classes, online or face-to-face.
   
• Open Culture: Your guide to FREE educational media. Find thousands of free online courses, audio books, eBooks, language lessons, movies & more.
   
• Scitable: Learn Science at Nature
   
• College Open Textbooks
   
• FreeBooks.com
   
• National Humanities Center
   
• Science Books Online
   
• Merlot II: MERLOT is a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community.
   
• Open Educational Resources
   
• Course Content Banks: A list created by Anne Humphrey, a faculty member at McHenry Community College. Professor Humphrey led a webinar about teaching without a textbook and provided this list to participants.