Pictured (left to right): Kelly Kirkland, Office of Information Technology; Dr. Nicole House, Office of Information Technology; Dr. Timothy Watkins, College of Education and Human Sciences; April Mondy, College of Business and Aviation; Dr. Karen Bell, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Tomeka Harbin, College of Business and Aviation; Dr. Sharon Hamilton, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Conrad Puozaa, College of Business and Aviation; Dr. Charles McAdams, Provost.
Five Delta State University faculty members recently earned Student Engagement Master I status in Screencasting, and one member earned Student Engagement Master II status in Screencasting and Coaching from the Office of Information Technology. OIT presented each faculty member with a pro license for Screencast-o-matic and a certificate of graduation for their hard work and commitment to increasing student engagement with course content.
“Whether for formative feedback or flipped learning, screencasts are proven to increase student engagement and learning,” said Dr. Nicole House, director of instructional technology. “Our goal with this class was to equip our faculty with the pedagogical framework, technical skills and relevant tools to produce screencasts that promote student engagement and academic success.”
OIT’s instructional technology staff facilitated the Engagement Master I in Screencasting class Sept. 12-15. Over the course of four days, participants explored educational applications, multimedia learning theory, ADA compliance and scripting. During the sessions, class members got hands-on with creating screencasts, aligning Canvas outcomes with screencast activities, and integrating the Screencast-o-matic app in Canvas. In addition to the class meetings, participants also completed homework assignments in curriculum alignment and storyboarding.
“The engagement class has helped me think creatively about all the ways faculty can engage their students,” said graduate Dr. Sharon Hamilton, assistant professor of chemistry. “It’s important that we, as faculty, utilize tools that will engage our student learners based on their various learning styles. Often, simply posting an assignment or grade on Canvas doesn’t really help the student make the connections between what they are learning in the classroom and what they see in the course Canvas shell. Screencasting is a great way to help bridge that gap.”
In addition to Hamilton, other faculty members graduating with honors included: Dr. Karen Bell, associate professor of German; Dr. Tomeka Harbin, assistant professor of management; April Mondy, instructor in management; and Dr. Conrad Puozaa, assistant professor of management.
“Participating in the engagement class helped me realize there are so many different ways to engage with students, and it is particularly important to do so on a platform they are familiar with, which is technology,” said Mondy. “I plan to use the information to create engagement activities which will supplement and enhance the content being covered in class.”
Dr. Timothy Watkins, assistant professor in teacher education, was the first Delta State faculty member to earn OIT certification in Screencasting a little more than a year ago. Watkins received his Engagement Master II certification Sept. 14 after completing additional training in advanced editing with Pro Tools, performing Screencast-o-matic integration with Canvas, and developing an innovation plan. Watkins also led the first day of the Master I class with a session in educational applications to complete the level II coaching requirement.
