Planning for the Storm

Preparing for hurricanes is a regular part of life at USFSP, but is your course ready for a storm or other disaster? This workshop will highlight tools available to engage student learning in the event of a campus closure

How Closed Captioning & Interactive Transcripts Impact Student Learning

This study was designed to shed light on the educational value of both closed captioning and interactive transcripts in lecture-based online courses at USFSP. We explored the effectiveness of closed captioning and interactive transcripts with a correlation study that examined the relationships between captioning, interactive transcripts, student demographics, student behaviors, and student comprehension of course material in an applied context. Research Questions 1. How do students use captions and transcripts to support their learning? 2. Do students who use captions and transcripts at a higher level learn more than those who use the tools at a lower level? This question addresses the overall amount that participants learned. 3. Do students who use captions and transcripts at a higher level comprehend the content better than those who use the tools at a lower level? This question addresses the depth of learning along three distinct levels: (1) retention/recall, (2) understanding/comprehension, and (3) transfer/application. Results will be shared

Experiential Learning - Guided video sessions

Experiential learning is learning by doing. Join us for this innovative session on how to use case-based video to enhance learning by modeling, and providing opportunities for practicing learned skills and behaviors. Jenifer Hartman from the College of Education will be sharing her expertise in providing hands-on experiences to students by using video in both face-to-face and online courses

What is Quality Matters?

Quality Matters is national standard to assess the quality of online courses. To achieve your goals for delivering quality online learning, you need everyone to agree on what the expectations are. You need trustworthy standards that foster objective feedback on course design. QM Rubrics and Standards were created to help course developers, teachers, faculty, entire organizations, and — most importantly — students. The General Standards and Specific Review Standards in each Rubric are intended to guide you through the development, evaluation, and improvement of your online and blended courses. Come to this information session to learn about getting your course certified by QM, and accessing the many professional development workshops available by QM to meet your goals

Closed captioning matters: Examining the value of closed captions for all students.

As the number of online course offerings expands and student retention and graduation metrics proliferate, colleges and universities are examining how to maximize student comprehension, meet the needs of a diverse student body, comply with accessibility regulations, and avoid litigation. One area of particular interest is the use of closed captioning in online course materials. The University of South Florida St. Petersburg Distance Learning Accessibility Committee and faculty contributors conducted an initial investigation to determine the benefits of providing captioned media for students with and without disabilities. Reported here are student outcome data from two online courses and the benefits of captioning for students and faculty are explored. In addition, this practice brief includes a discussion about how captioned videos employ principles of universal design to make course content accessible to students in online courses. A section of the article addresses the cost of captioning videos as well as alternate transcription options. The article concludes with the results and recommendations for further research