Regular Substantive Interaction: Empire State College

A resource from Empire State College regarding "regular substantive interaction".

The U.S. Department of Education issued Final Rules on Distance Education and Innovation in September 2020, with the rules going into effect on July 1, 2021. The new regulations update the definitions of distance and correspondence education with the intent to provide more clarity on the differences between these two modes of course delivery. The U.S. Department of Education requires that all online courses for which students may use Title IV funds (federal financial aid) include regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors. In short, regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is one of the key elements distinguishing distance education from correspondence education and thus one of the central determinates for students’ ability to use Title IV funds.

Four other critical factors distinguishing distance education from correspondence education are as follows:

• “Distance education should be delivered through an “appropriate” form of online media.
• Distance education must use instructor or instructors that meet accreditor requirements for instruction in the subject matter.
• There should be at least two forms of substantive interaction.
• There must be “scheduled and predictable” opportunities for instructor/student interaction.
• Instructors must be responsive to students’ requests for support” (U.S. Department of Education Issues Final Rules on Distance Education and Innovation | NC-SARA, 2020))

(SUNY Empire State College (n.d.). Background: Definitions of distance education and correspondence courses. Faculty Resources for Online Learning. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.esc.edu/dlis/design-your-course/regular-and-substantive-interaction/#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20regular%20and%20substantive,to%20use%20Title%20IV%20funds.\)

Accessibility Awareness Twitter Feed

Twitter Stream by @PatrickMGarvin related to Accessibility.  Lots of good tips...high frequency.  Newly created July 2022:

Helping you better understand web accessibility for people with disabilities, whether you're a student, teacher, journalist… whomever!

https://twitter.com/A11yAwareness

Cheating on Unproctored Online Exams: Prevalence, Mitigation Measures, and Effects on Exam Performance

Abstract:

As online courses become increasingly common at the college level, an ongoing concern is how to ensure academic integrity in the online environment. One area that has received particular attention is that of preventing cheating during unproctored online exams. In this study, we examine students’ behavior during unproctored exams taken in an online introductory biology course. A feature of the learning management platform used for the course gave us the ability to detect cheating behavior involving students leaving the test page and viewing other material on their computers. This allowed us to determine what proportion of students cheated and examine the efficacy of various measures to mitigate cheating. We also explored the relationship between cheating behavior and exam performance. We found that 70% of students were observed cheating, and most of those who cheated did so on the majority of test questions. Appealing to students’ honesty or requiring them to pledge their honesty were found to be ineffective at curbing cheating. However, when students received a warning that we had technology that could detect cheating, coupled with threats of harsh penalties, cheating behavior dropped to 15% of students. Unexpectedly, we did not find evidence that students’ exam performance changed when their cheating behavior changed, indicating that this common form of cheating might not be as effective as students, or their instructors believe it to be.

Pleasants, J., Pleasants, J.M. & B. Pleasants (2022). Cheating on Unproctored Online Exams: Prevalence, Mitigation Measures, and Effects on Exam Performance. Online Learning Journal. (https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2620). Retrieved: 6/14/2022.

Revisiting Camera Use in Live Remote Teaching: Considerations for Learning and Equity

A thoughtful and equitable approach to webcam use allows students and faculty alike to benefit from the sense of presence that webcams can provide during remote instruction while preserving student privacy.

Turner, P. (2022).  Revisiting Camera Use in Live Remote Teaching: Considerations for Learning and Equity. Educause Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/3/revisiting-camera-use-in-live-remote-teaching-considerations-for-learning-and-equity

Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning

Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning was published by EduCAUSE Review 6 months into the throes of COVID.

It's an interesting article on the various modes of delivery, providing some standard definitions of the different modes, as well as recommendations on implementation.  Very good sources too.

Abstract

As online learning becomes a more common model for higher education courses, institutions and instructors should investigate the benefits of including both synchronous and asynchronous elements in online learning to maximize the benefits of both these environments.

The Horizon Report 2020

The Horizon Report 2020 has been released.  As always there are a number of emerging technologies noted as growing:

• Adaptive Learning
• AI/Machine Learning
• Analytics for Student Success (Things ILCCO talks about)
• Elevation of Instructional Design, Learning Engineering, and UX Design (Things ILCCO Talks about)
• Open Educational Resources (Thins ILCCO talks about)
• XR (AR, VR, MR, Haptic)

Unfortunately, they didn't include the "Fail or Scale" section like they did last year.  The Horizon Reports get a lot of criticism for hyping technology, but then nothing comes of them.  I thought the "Fail or Scale" section last year was a nice way to go back and review in the context of past criticism.

The Landscape of OER Policy and Practice in Texas

In spring 2019, the organization that I lead, the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), commissioned a survey on Open Educational Resource (OER) programs, policies, and practices at colleges and universities in Texas.

Review of Report
Sebesta, J. (2019). The Landscape of OER Policy and Practice in Texas. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from WCET Frontiers: https://wcetfrontiers.org/2019/12/19/the-landscape-of-oer-policy-practice-in-tx/.

Actual Report
DigiTex & Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (2019). Open Educational Resources (OER) in Texas Higher Education, 2019. Retrieved from Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Report Center January 23, 2020: http://reportcenter.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/reports-and-studies-non-fiscal/oer-texas/