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Distance Education – Faculty Information

If you are thinking about developing an online or hybrid course, contact Michael Kilivris about the approval process.  CCC has several resources for supporting instructors who are using Canvas, regardless of the level of your use. Check out the information below and/or contact:

Michael Kilivris, CCC Distance Education Coordinator:         
mkilivris@contracosta.edu
Ext. 44023

Debbie Wilson, CCC Distance Education Trainer:
dwilson@contracosta.edu
Ext. 44995 (Voicemail)

Monica Landeros, CCC Distance Education Trainer: 
mlanderos@contracosta.edu

Resources and Training for Instructors

Are you new to online teaching at CCC? If so, start here!

The following documents include important information about preparing to teach online at CCC:

For Training and Questions about CANVAS (the district’s learning management system):

  • To sign in, go to http://contracosta.instructure.com and sign in with your college user name and password. Every instructor automatically has a Canvas course shell and the students are populated as they register.
  • Contact Debbie Wilson, CCC Distance Education Trainer, to schedule a personalized one-on-one session, either in person or virtually (via phone or ConferZoom). Her email address is dwilson@contracosta.edu.
  • Student Canvas Overview Video (7 minutes informative video that introduces the basics about navigating CANVAS— many instructors include the link in their CANVAS courses as a helpful tutorial for their students.)
  • CANVAS RESOURCES AND 24/7 HELP BY PHONE: Canvas offers very helpful step by step handouts and videos on a wide array of topics for both teachers and students  at their CANVAS GUIDES site. They also have a Community you can participate in if you choose. There are two 24/7 toll-free  phone lines for CCC, the instructor phone is 833-221-7461 and the student phone is  877-930-1126.If you would like to be added to our CCC “Training4Canvas” resource canvas shell, email Michael Kilivris or Debbie Wilson and we can add you. 
  • Check for FLEX workshops under Faculty & Staff/ Professional Development – A variety of CANVAS workshops and drop-in labs are offered for FLEX credit.

Other resources :

  • @ONE training — the @ONE Project makes it easy for California Community College faculty and staff to learn about technology that will enhance student learning and success.  @ONE’s programs provide training and online resources for free – or at a very low cost – thanks to funding from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Telecommunication and Technology Infrastructure Program (TTIP). Explore the @ONE website for desktop webinars (live and archived), as well as multi-week online workshops and an online certification program. 
  • The Online Education Initiative (OEI) is a collaborative effort among California Community Colleges (CCCs) to increase student success and completion by working together to increase access to quality online courses and support services for students. The common course management system that has been selected by the OEI is Canvas. More information may be found at this link. 
  • Curious about Canvas, the OEI common course management system? Interested in trying it out? Click on this link.

Distance Education Committee at CCC

Chair: Michael Kilivris, Distance Education Coordinator — Ext. 44023

Members (2018-19):
Michael Kilivris, Debbie Wilson, Monica Landeros, Jennifer Ounjian, Anthony Gordon, Francis Reyes, Bashir Shah, Dionne Perez, Andrew Kuo, Maritez Apigo, Carlos-Manuel Chavarria, Kristin Lassonde, Karen Ruskowski, Tish Young

Committee Charge:

  1. To assess Distance Learning at CCC and how it fits with Strategic Directions.
  2. To identify the potential for growth and develop an action plan.
  3. To identify and develop instructional resources and recommend policy for faculty and students who are engaged in Distance Learning.
  4. To provide faculty development in Distance Learning.
  5. To advise the college on financial resources needed to improve and increase Distance Education at CCC.

Meetings: 2nd Thursdays of month 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Agendas/ Minutes: to be supplied

Resources and Forms:

CCC Recommended Criteria/ Expectations for Faculty Who Teach Online or Hybrid Courses

Online Course — Supplement to the Course Outline of Record (form now included in Curricunet and must be approved by CIC before the course is taught– contact Michael Kilivris for more information)

SYNOPSIS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AT CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE, INCLUDING PROGRESS IN 2014-15 AS OF JULY 2015

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to use Canvas if I’m teaching a face-to-face class?

Canvas can be a great resource for you and your students. At a minimum, all instructors are encouraged to use Canvas to post content, such as course syllabus, schedule, and handouts. Many instructors, even those teaching face to face, will choose to utilize the Gradebook (so that students can see their grades when posted and keep track of their progress), the News feature (to post announcements and reminders between classes), and the Dropbox (for submitting assignments and using the originality checker).

I’m thinking about developing a hybrid (partially online) or fully online course. How do I start?

Contact Michael Kilivris, CCC DE Coordinator, and she will walk you through the process. You can reach Michael at mkilivris@contracosta.edu or extension 44023 (direct number is 510-215-4023).

What sort of training is available to help me get started?

Debbie Wilson is the CCC Canvas Trainer who works with Michael Kilivris. Debbie and Michael provide a variety of options for training on Canvas and related technology. Most of the training will earn Flex credit. Check the Professional Development page (under Faculty & Staff) for workshops and drop-in labs. Set up a personalized one-on-one training session, either face-to-face or by phone. Also available are short tutorials to get you started and/or answer specific questions. Links to tutorials and other helpful resources are provided on this website under “Resources and Training for Instructors.”

What is the difference between Distance Education and Correspondence Education?

The major difference between the two is that DE includes regular effective instructor-student contact. This interaction is critical in order to be considered distance education. It is important to note that Correspondence Education is not allowed in the district. Canvas includes many options to integrate student-instructor interaction into the online environment, and you will need to describe how you will do this when you write the proposal for your hybrid/ online course. For more information, see the Guide to Evaluating Distance Education and Corresponding Education, published by the ACCJC: http://www.accjc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Guide-to-Evaluating-DE-and-CE_2012.pdf

What are the differences between hybrid and online courses?

A fully online course is 100% online. The state’s definition of an online course is that 51% or more of instruction is online (at CCC we refer to these courses as online/hybrid). The state’s definition of a hybrid is where less than 51% of instruction is online. The district is working on uniform terminology between the three colleges.

I keep hearing about accessibility. What does that mean, and what do I need to do to make my online content accessible?

Anyone must be able to access your online course, including printed and multimedia content. This means that videos posted by the instructor must be captioned, and audio content (podcasts, for example) needs to include a printed transcript. The organization of your pages should also be easy to navigate and understand. If you want to use a video in your course that is not captioned, contact Michael Kilivris for options to get it captioned.

In addition, the Disabled Students’ Program and Services (DSP&S) office and the High Tech Center at CCC is equipped to provide a variety of support and services for students with disabilities, including training on adaptive technologies. You can also make an appointment with Eric Appel (extension 44778) to check the accessibility of your online course. DSP&S is located in the Student Services Center and can be contacted by email or phone: Tel: 510.215.3969
Email: dspsoffice@contracosta.edu

The California Community Colleges Distance Education Accessibility Guidelines 2011 provides helpful information:
Distance Education Accessibility Guidelines 2011 

Links to additional Accessibility Resource Documents are posted on the OEI website: https://ccconlineed.instructure.com/courses/98

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