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SELF-ASSESSMENT OF A COURSE OR PROJECT SITE ENTRANT NAME (Last Name, First Name): O’Hare, Daryl COURSE NAME: English 135-Composition I CATEGORY (select one by placing an X next to it)

_____ Traditional Higher Education (including web-enhanced courses) __X_ Fully Online/Hybrid Courses _____ K-12 (primary and secondary education) _____Project Sites & Other Uses of Sakai

DESCRIPTION - Please include goals and expected outcomes, discipline, number of students/participants, length of course or project (length not to exceed 500 words) Composition I is a required, general education course offered by the Department of English at Chadron State College (CSC) in Chadron, Nebraska. In the 2011 fall semester, I taught four sections of a newly designed, fully online eight-week course called Composition I. The course was developed as part of the Kaleidoscope Project (see: http://www.project-kaleidoscope.org), which was a “Wave I” recipient of a Next Generation Learning Challenge Grant (see: http://nextgenlearning.org). In the initial Kaleidoscope pilot, enrollment was limited to a maximum of 15 students per section; however, in the 2012 spring semester, the average enrollment at two different venues (CSC and Armstrong Atlantic State University) is, on average, 25-30 students per section. Goals and Outcomes1 After completing Composition I, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate general reading comprehension proficiency, including the ability to recognize and define key concepts, strategies, and techniques associated with written composition 2. describe and practice critical reading of expository and creative prose 3. review, respond to, and analyze non-text media, including podcasts, screencasts, and web video 4. articulate and evaluate personal writing experiences 5. identify stages in the writing process and adapt the process to meet different writing situations and individual needs

1 One of the distinct challenges presented to Kaleidoscope course developers was finding a way to serve the institution for which the course was initially written as well as the institutions that might adopt the course at a later date. At CSC, for example, the course outcomes inform a more general set of performance criteria that was devised by the CSC English Department. The performance criteria is included in all CSC iterations of the course, but is not included in the Kaleidoscope version of the course. Because the course outcomes are more specific and extensive than the CSC performance criteria, the CSC performance criteria are not included in this application.

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6. perform basic research on a given subject and properly utilize research in a written work 7. identify writing problems and correct for errors in grammar, mechanics, and style 8. work collaboratively with peers to improve upon written assignments 9. leverage and adapt effective pre-writing strategies and techniques 10. leverage and adapt effective drafting strategies and techniques 11. leverage and adapt effective revision strategies and techniques 12. identify, describe, and develop a variety of exposition types, including narrative, descriptive, reflective, and analytical essays.

COURSE/ PROJECT DEVELOPMENT - Please include the guiding principles, learning theory or best practices which informed the development; include detail of any collaborators, consultants and/or technical support received (length not to exceed 500 words)

Prior to 2011, Composition I was taught at CSC on-ground in 16-week sections;

students purchased traditional textbooks that cost approximately $75. In 2011,

Chadron State College teamed with the Kaleidoscope Project to develop an eight-

week course in a fully online format.

The Kaleidoscope Project required that courses be developed:

1) collaboratively; faculty from at least two institutions would work together to

design and test the course;

2) to serve “at risk” students; courses would be designed for students who

participated in transitional or remedial studies;

3) to reduce textbook costs; Open Education Resources (OER) and/or publicly

available materials would be leveraged within the course;

4) in ways that challenge and innovate; online course designs would need to

maintain or exceed student success rates;

5) for reuse and adoption by other institutions; the course would feature an

open Creative Commons license so that others may adopt its use;

additionally, it would be designed in such a way that it could be installed

easily in to any learning management system (LMS), including Sakai CLE.

I worked with Dr. Susan C. Hines—a fellow English professor—on the course. We

divided our labors for a more effective development strategy. My role was

principally that of Subject Matter Expert (SME), content author, and instructor. Dr.

Hines was the course editor and instructional designer. Dr. Hines and I refined the

(above) Kaleidoscope guidelines to create the following best practices:

We agreed the course should have high-quality OER, and if the resources did

not exist, we would create them. Additionally, the content would have to

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engage students from at-risk populations who enrolled in Composition I with

a certain amount of dread or anxiety. To capture their attention, we made a

effort to select from diverse, contemporary materials: textbooks, websites,

videos, podcasts, and still images.

We agreed the course should leverage collaborative writing spaces in order

to address composition from a process-oriented perspective and to include

students in a larger writing community.

We agreed the course should align outcomes with activities and assessments

in ways that are resoundingly clear, both to faculty and to students.

We agreed the course should have a modular design, so it is easy to navigate.

We agreed the course should meet compliance standards for ADA/508, both

to meet accessibility standards but to assure the course addresses a variety

of learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), as well.

We agreed the course should meet or surpass online course design

standards, such as those advocated by Quality Matters (see:

http://www.qmprogram.org).

We agreed the course should have interoperable features and a clear

information architecture, so that it can be used by other institutions who may

operate different LMSs.

After the course was designed, I piloted four eight-week sections.

In October 2011, I demonstrated the course in Sakai CLE at Open Education 2011

Conference in Park City, Utah (see: http://openedconference.org/2011). Dr. Hines,

and I co-presented Composition I: Kaleidoscope Project Notes: Experiences and

Recommendations to the Kaleidoscope Project Steering Committee (see:

http://www.slideshare.net/docsue98/composition-i-kaleidoscope-project-notes).

SELF ASSESSMENT FOR COURSE AND PROJECT SITES (see rubric). For each of the five (5) rubric elements below, please complete the following steps:

1. Based on the rubric descriptions, assess your level of effectiveness by placing an X next to your selection. (Note: It is unlikely, and not expected, that you would rate every area as excellent.)

2. Provide evidence for your self-assessment in the form of a narrative, not to exceed 250 words for each section.

3. If you also marked that this is an area where you have an innovative practice, please provide additional narrative describing the innovation. (Note: It is unlikely, and not expected, that you would have an innovative practice for every section of the rubric. If it is not an area of innovation for your course or project, type the word “NONE” and move to the next

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self-assessment item.

4. If you wish, you can provide up to two (2) screenshots at the end of each self-assessment section that provides an illustration of your evidence. Include the screenshot as an image within this document.

1. Self-assessment of Student Engagement and Community Building _____Not Applicable _____Not Evident _____Somewhat Effective _____Effective __X_ Excellent __X_ Innovative Practice

Evidence of effectiveness in student engagement and community building: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Highlights: Course Writing Community Composition I promotes active learning and community building with multiple engagement opportunities. The most important feature of the course in this respect is the course writing community, which facilitates student-student engagement and instructor-student engagement at every turn. The forums, particularly those geared toward essay revision and grammar reports, provide students with a place for self-reflection/expression and mutual support.

Screenshot 1: Writing Community Process and Workflow (Module 3, Topic 2)

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Innovation if checked above: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Innovation: Interactive Grammar Reports For many students, the discussion of grammar, mechanics, and style is intimidating. While grammar assignments are submitted directly to the instructor via the LMS, these are also shared on the discussion forum, so other students may utilize and promote the grammar reports of their classmates.

Screenshot 2: Grammar Report Example (Module 4, Discussion 3)

As depicted in Screenshot 2, students deal with grammar issues “workshop style.” They create teaching reports after investigating mistakes noted by their instructor on a writing assignment; they then correct their mistakes, and share the results with the entire class. The class then evaluates which report is the most useful. This process helps students see that everyone makes mistakes and that many of us make the same mistakes! The forum provided a means of sharing personal experiences and remedies that make it possible for students to teach one another how to avoid the pitfalls of certain writing errors.

2. Self-assessment of Communication _____Not Applicable _____Not Evident _____Somewhat Effective _____Effective __X_ Excellent __X_ Innovative Practice

Evidence of effectiveness in communication: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Highlight: A Multi-Layered Approach

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To promote instructor–student communications, I provide regular online office hours and am available via email, telephone (voice and text messaging), and chat (both Sakai and Skype). Additionally, I set up a “Questions about the Course” Forum in which students make general inquiries and use the announcements tool to provide class-wide feedback, make group assignments, post deadline reminders, etc. Central to the course is student-student communication. Their regular collaboration leads to an effective writing community. All participants interact in the forums to initiate and respond to assignments, peer reviews, and grammar reports. Peer reviews are conducted in small groups to allow time for meaningful exchange, moral support, and effective critiques. Grammar reports require that students post in forums and access each other’s work. To insure that students meet deadlines for meetings, the course calendar alerts and links students to the assignments. To provide students with timely commentary on all areas of their work, I utilize the forums for public commentary, but leverage the gradebook comment areas for more private and directed feedback. Innovation if checked above: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Innovation: Virtual Presence Badge (Skype)

Screenshot 3: Instructor Information with Virtual Presence Badge (Getting Started)

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In a course that is highly collaborative, it is important to make sure access is easy and technologically current (as many students communicate in a variety of technical modalities). While I used the Sakai communication tools extensively, I embed a Skype virtual presence badge in my courses, so that students can see when I am online and initiate a text or video chat.

3. Self-assessment of Learning Materials & Strategies _____Not Applicable _____Not Evident _____Somewhat Effective _____Effective __X_ Excellent __X_ Innovative Practice

Evidence of effectiveness in learning materials and strategies: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Highlight: Leveraging Social Media Sources One of the challenges of designing this course was to find and use Open Education Resources (OER) or publicly available materials, exclusively. By necessity, I abandoned the idea of a single-text course. No single OER provided adequately for my students, so I searched the WWW for a wide variety of useful media. The course itself became a kind of textbook, featuring topics within modules that provide instruction as well as a context for media/material use. When appropriate content was not available, Dr. Hines and I created our own.

Screenshot 4: Facebook Note as OER (Module 2, Topic 2)

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Innovation if checked above: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Innovation: Guided, Interactive Pre-writing/Note-taking Students enjoyed the OER texts/media in Composition I. They were sufficiently compelling and not unnecessarily long. I made use of TED Talks in several of the course topics and worked with Dr. Hines on ways to spur students to view them critically while taking the kinds of notes that might lead to a well-organized essay. The learning object below (Screenshot 5) is comprised of two embedded videos and two rows of form fields, so that students are guided to take the kinds of notes that would prepare them for a comparative analysis.

Screenshot 5: Guided, Interactive Pre-writing/Note-Taking (Module 2, Topic 1)

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By using OER and publicly available material for this course, students are able to use the course materials online at zero cost. In its first six months (which included the Fall 2011 academic term at CSC), the Kaleidoscope course textbooks costs were reduced by 98.7% The textbook costs of Composition I were reduced by 100%. In general, students responded positively to the ways in which the embedded materials engaged their interests. Of the students completing Kaleidoscope surveys following the fall term, 97% found the course materials to be of equal or higher quality than those used in their other courses (see: Bliss, TJ, John Hilton III, David Wiley, Kim Thanos. The Cost and Quality of Online Open Textbooks: Perceptions of Community College Instructors and Students. Submitted for publication. Contact: TJ Bliss, tb229@byu.edu )

4. Self-assessment of Learning Outcomes & Assessments

_____Not Applicable _____Not Evident _____Somewhat Effective _____Effective __X_ Excellent __X_ Innovative Practice

Evidence of effectiveness in learning outcomes and assessments: (narrative not to exceed 250 words): Highlight: Learning Arc The central goal of Composition I is to improve upon student reading and writing skills. So, one of my goals is to demonstrate a process to my student by which they may succeed. The weekly learning arc illustrated below (Screenshot 6) provides students with a rationale for the methods introduced in the course.

Screenshot 6: Learning Arc (Syllabus)

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Each week, students are required to achieve learning outcomes through the following outcome assessments:

a series of reading quizzes, delivered in each module. Quizzes were intended to reinforce reading knowledge/ability as well as assess reading knowledge/ability

discussions and writing assessments requiring careful textual analysis or peer editing

discussions and writing exercises that require a response to and/or analysis of podcasts, screencasts, and/or web video

discussion forums and writing exercises geared toward attitudes about writing and self-reflection on essays

writing exercises and essay drafts A series of grammar reports, which include error analyses, research on

errors, and articulated remedies A series of secondary-response discussion assignments that require peer

feedback on written content A series of essays, including narrative, descriptive, reflective, and analytical

expression—essays from the course are included in a portfolio

Innovation if checked above: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Innovation: Cross-Referenced Learning Outcomes and Topics Course-level outcomes (CLOs) are clearly articulated in the course syllabus and reinforced by module-level outcomes (MLOs). In an effort to make the outcomes associated with assignments as explicit as possible, assignments are cross-referenced with MLOs and Module Topics (MOTs).

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Screenshot 7: Cross-Referenced Learning Objects and Topics (Module 1, Assignments) A simple hyperlink makes it possible for students to review the Module Topic (MOT) that will help them with a particular assignment—or to review the outcomes they will meet (or exceed) by completing the assignment.

5. Self-assessment of Learner Support _____Not Applicable _____Not Evident _____Somewhat Effective _____Effective __X_ Excellent __X_ Innovative Practice

Evidence of effectiveness in learner support: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Highlight: Context-Sensitive Links Setting up an online course for delivery includes making sure that students have access to a variety of support services. In addition to linking to institutional support services (academic and technical) in my syllabus, I also developed the habit of linking to services in places throughout the course where such support might prove immediately helpful.

Screenshot 8: Link-Backs (Module 1, Introduction)

As the instructor, “learner support” means more to me than pointing students to services. It means being present in forums, presenting solutions to issues as they arise, providing extensive commentary on rough drafts or works-in-progress, and utilizing the comment areas in the gradebook. Building a composition course around writing spaces that allowed for public (forums) and private (assignments)

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commentary made many of the students feel supported as writers—and for some, that was an entirely new experience. I also linked students to services beyond those that the institution offered (to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL), for example), so they could benefit from quality resources 24/7. Innovation if checked above: (narrative not to exceed 250 words) Innovation: ADA Compliance and Interoperability In the first pilot of this course, one of the students who enrolled in my course had not just one, but two disabilities. She was legally blind as well as hard of hearing. In fact, she was referred to the online version of the course because it struck the intuition’s administrators more accessible than the on-ground version. Thus, our decision to make the course ADA compliant was immediately useful. Four months after the initial launch of the course in the Sakai LMS used by CSC, the course would be tested at another institution (as part of the Kaleidoscope requirement). Because the course was designed in a very simple and compliant HTML that adhered to the typical architecture of websites, the course was easily installed into another LMS. Armstrong Atlantic State University, which uses Blackboard Vista, was able to adopt the course easily, and the faculty member who is teaching the course was able to make changes to the content with a simple HTML editor. Beyond compliance and LMS flexibility, designing a full course in HTML makes life a little easier for students, who may not have proprietary applications like MS Word or PowerPoint. In fact, it makes life easier for students who may not have a computer at all, and use, instead, devices such as smartphones, tablets, and e-readers to access their courses.

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Screenshot 9: HTML Code (Module 6, Introduction)