Faculty Resources
The following information will help you with some of the tools that you use to do your job.
Technology and Teaching
- Blackboard and Distance Learning Training Courses
The Distance Learning Committee offers three courses to help you improve your knowledge and skills with Blackboard and Distance Learning. These three courses are designed to build upon one another and should be taken in chronological order. Collectively, these courses will provide comprehensive instruction on everything from creating assignments to course design. Each course is self-paced and can be completed in under six (6) hours.
- Course 1 | Intro to Blackboard Basics (6 hours | Self-paced)
- ⇒ Utilize communication tools to correspond with students.
⇒ Customize the course menu for easy navigation within your course.
⇒ Create appropriate assessments for student learning utilizing Blackboard tools.
⇒ Organize the Grade Center to maintain efficiency in student progress throughout the course.
⇒ Administer course reports to troubleshoot student performance.
⇒ Identify methods to repurpose course content in other courses.
- Course 2 | Online Course Facilitation (6 hours | Self-paced)
- ⇒ Create expectations for student contributions to the online course.
⇒ Describe how to create an active and participatory learning community.
⇒ Utilize Blackboard tools to teach online.
⇒ Explore strategies to support learning styles of online learners.
⇒ Follow best practices when teaching an online course.
⇒ Explore classroom management and organizational strategies for teaching online.
- Course 3 | Online Course Design (6 hours | Self-paced)
- ⇒ Differentiate between the design of face-to-face and online classes.
⇒ Plan the structure and flow of an online course.
⇒ Choose appropriate online activities to replace face-to-face activities.
⇒ Review a course to ensure quality.
- General Education Outcomes
A general education is the development of a particular mental habit, characterized by open-mindedness, tolerance, critical thinking, perspective, creativity and a sense of values. It ignites the habit of seeking truth and the development of the skills needed to do so. General education provides a broad background that serves as a basis for lifelong learning and for personal, professional and social growth. Edison State's general education component introduces students to courses in a variety of traditional disciplines and to the College's core values. The intended outcome of a general education is for students to be able to do the following:
- ⇒ Demonstrate critical thinking skills in order to understand complex relationships; to evaluate claims of truth, aesthetic value, ethics and morality; and to make appropriate choices and draw defensible conclusions.
⇒ Use written and spoken English effectively in a free exchange of ideas.
⇒ Appreciate the process and structure of mathematics and apply math to the analysis of the physical world.
⇒ Develop a mental habit which is open-minded, tolerant and appreciative of diversity.
⇒ Develop effective interpersonal skills.
⇒ Use information resources and apply basic methods of inquiry from many fields, including scientific method, social and scientific observation, cause-effect analysis and artistic criticism.
- Writing Standards—Since written communication skills are essential for the effective exchange of ideas, writing standards are set by faculty as appropriate for their discipline(s). Faculty criteria may include standards for content, grammar, spelling, format and presentation style(s). Students are encouraged to take English composition courses early in their program of study and to utilize the Learning Resource Center to build and strengthen writing skills.
- SharePoint
SharePoint is a web-based, collaborative platform that integrates with Microsoft Office and is primarily a document management and storage system. A login ID and password are required and can be obtained by contacting the IT Help Desk. Please contact the IT Help Desk by email or by calling 937.778.7957, if you need assistance.
- Teaching 1.0 | Teaching 2.0 | Teaching 3.0
All new instructors must take the following:
Teaching 1.0 (One week | Self-paced)
Receive an overview of subjects covered in detail in subsequent sessions; learn about needs of adult learners; grading adult students' work; classroom management strategies; and applying Edison State policies, including FERPA, academic integrity and grade and attendance reporting, to your courses.
- Any instructor who wants to teach online and web-flex courses must complete the following:
Teaching 2.0 (Two weeks | Facilitated)
Learn about preparing students to use technology; the advantages of using technology in the classroom/online; the various types and usefulness of technology available; the advantages of using Blackboard for assessment and grading; innovative classroom strategies that are non-technical; online course delivery (humanizing the online experience and communicating with students); and providing electronic feedback.
- Any instructor who wants to design online and web-flex courses must complete the following:
Teaching 3.0 (Four weeks | Facilitated)
Quality Matters APPQMR (two of 4-weeks training—if you have previously completed APPQMR—schedule time with your dean to review rubric changes in order bypass this part of training); learn about creating learning objectives and the backwards design; learn to create assignments that align with objectives and accommodates various learning styles; learn the importance of creating and using rubrics in individual and group assignments; learn how to assess student learning in an online environment; complete a final project by creating an online course from start to finish.
- MyESCC
MyESCC is accessible from the Edison State website by clicking on the Resource button at the top of any page. Login ID and password are required and can be obtained by contacting the IT Help Desk. MyESCC is the only method of grade submission and offers easy access to teaching schedules, class rosters, advisees, class section searches and the ability to review your personal profile.
Edison State Community College Textbook Selection Policy
Ohio Revised Code
Sec. 3345.025. The board of trustees of each state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code shall adopt a textbook selection policy for faculty to follow in selecting and assigning textbooks and other instructional materials for use in courses offered by the institution. The policy shall include faculty responsibilities and actions faculty may take in selecting and assigning textbooks and other instructional materials.
In response to the above law, Edison State Community College adopts the following guidelines for faculty to follow in selecting textbooks and other instructional materials for all credit-bearing courses. The goal of this policy is to encourage the use of high-quality instructional materials while maintaining the lowest cost possible for students. Faculty should make every effort to do the following when selecting textbooks and instructional materials for each course:
- Supplant textbooks and instructional materials with open educational resources that are at little or no cost to the student;
- If purchased materials will be used, review and consider books and instructional materials from at least 3 different publishers;
- Consider the reading level of each text;
- Determine if the concepts presented in the subject matter are applicable, current, and of sufficient rigor to match the level of the course;
- Make sure that all supplemental materials/courseware associated with the text (test banks, online exercises, etc.) are valuable and meet the needs of students and the instructor.
- Use courseware and bundled products in all sections of a course in which a student has purchased such materials. This may differ among modes of instructional delivery;
- Ensure that the textbook and course materials are available in various modalities (rented book, digital text, soft cover, loose-leaf, etc.) in order to achieve maximum cost savings for students;
- Communicate with Edison State’s Information Technology Services Office to ensure that all instructional materials are compatible with the College’s technological capabilities;
- Communicate with Edison State’s bookstore before selecting a new textbook in order to confirm availability of various modalities and the lowest cost for each option;
- Avoid adopting textbooks on a 2-year new-edition cycle;
- Choose the textbook/course material option that best serves the students’ educational needs at the lowest cost; and
- Consult with the Dean to confirm that the guidelines for textbook selection have been followed.
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Ohio House Bill 110, Section 733.20
The Ohio General Assembly enacted uncodified law section 733.20 in HB 110 of the 134th session on June 30, 2021. This section states that in furtherance of the State of Ohio’s intent to improve affordability in higher education, the State of Ohio is tasking state institutions of higher education with evaluating textbook affordability initiatives to ensure compliance with Title I, Section 133 of the federal “Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008,” which requires institutions to “disclose required and recommended textbooks not later than the time at which students can first begin to register for a course.”
As a result of enactment of Section 733.20 of HB 110, each state institution of higher education is now required to convene the institution’s faculty senate, or equivalent body, to consider adoption of a formally recognized textbook auto-adoption policy. A textbook auto-adoption policy, if adopted, states that if textbooks and course materials are not selected by the first day of class registration, then the faculty member is deemed to have selected identical materials from the prior semester offering of the course. This applies to the same edition of the textbook, not simply the same title.
In response to the above law, Edison State Community College adopts the following policy regarding textbook selection:
If textbooks and/or course materials are not selected by the first day of class registration, then the faculty member is deemed to have selected identical materials from the prior semester offering of the course. This applies to the same edition of the textbook, not simply the same title.