February 08, 2021 Meeting

Agenda

Taft College Distance Learning and Education Committee

AGENDA

 

Monday February 8, 2021

1:10 pm – 2:00 pm

 

Via Zoom

https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/94395783286

 

Call to Order

 

Public Commentary

 

Action Items

 

  1. Approval of January 15, 2020 Minutes             ACTION

 

 

Old Business

 

New Business

 

 

Discussion Items

 

  1. Updates to Distance Learning Approval Forms        DISCUSSION
  2. Accessibility Considerations/Instructional Strategies                    DISCUSSION

 

Other

 

Adjournment

 

 

 

Next Meeting: March 8, 2021 (12:10 – 1:00 pm)

Minutes

Taft College Distance Learning and Education Committee

 

Minutes for  

Monday, February 8 Meeting

 

Via Zoom

 

Call to Order: A. Bledsoe, 12:08 pm

 

Attendees:    Amar Abbott, Marianne C. Bishop (non-voting), Adam Bledsoe, Geoffrey Dyer, Kelly Kulzer-Reyes, Leslie Minor (non-voting), Jason Page, Robin Polski, Joy Reynolds, Brandy Young

 

Absent:          Chris Flachmann

 

Public Commentary: None

 

Minutes

 

  • January 15, 2021 Minutes submitted by M. Bishop
  • Dyer posted in the Chat to amend the minutes by placing the ACCJC sentence with “The system-wide Distance Education Guidelines included guidance on definitions of courses but have not been approved by the Chancellor’s Office or shared with the system.” The sentence is related to our discussion on the definitions of “online” and “hybrid.”
  • Dyer also mentioned that the last bullet point on page one that referenced ACCJC when we were discussing the definitions should instead refer to DEETAC (Distance Education Technology Advisory Committee). Bishop confirmed that, after she reviewed the minutes she submitted and listened to the recording again, it should be DEETAC.
  • Polski motioned to approve the minutes with Dyer’s corrections. Kulzer-Reyes seconded. Young abstained since she was not at the January meeting.  After roll-call, motion passed.

 

Discussion Items

 

  1. Updates to Distance Learning Approval Forms

 

  • Several suggestions to improve the Emergency form were discussed. Since they will be included in the next draft of the form for the March meeting, only some of the details will be included in these minutes.
  • Bledsoe: Remove “C-ID” at the top of page 1 before the first question since committee has not discussed it during review
  • Kulzer-Reyes: suggested to have it removed for both the Emergency and traditional form.
  • Bledsoe: For question #1, add a note with asterisk and hyperlinks to read: “*If you are seeking ongoing approval for this course to be taught via distance education, please complete the non-emergency Distance Learning Approval Form found under Miscellaneous Forms on the Faculty Resources”
  • Young: For question #3, use the correct hyperlink for IR Accreditation page for Substantive Change (which she provided)
  • Bledsoe: For question #4, alphabetize the items (e.g., Educational materials, field trips, etc.). After listing them, add an option which submitter could check – “ After reviewing the COR, none of the above items is required in this course (no explanation needed).” Minor emphasized to use the singular verb “is” after “none.”
  • Abbott: Add AP 3725 (Information and Communications Technology Accessibility and Acceptable Use) to the form which is more extensive/robust than AP 5145 (Accessibility of Electronic and Information Technology) but still keep AP 5145 there.
  • Bishop: Use “I/we”
  • Bishop: Revise “hyperlink text is meaningful.” Suggested verbiage in Chat from USFCA. Final version from group: Hyperlink has meaningful language. It is important that each link has meaningful text describing the purpose of the link without relying on the surrounding text.
  • Minor: add comma in the Recommendations section after each item
  • Bledsoe: Leave last sentence on last page – “Course Approved or Disapproved” by Curriculum Committee
  • Bledsoe: Our committee will finalize the form at the March meeting. We’ll discuss the changes with other faculty after.

 

  1. Accessibility Considerations/Instructional Strategies

 

  • Bledsoe went over the Accessibility (A11Y) Plan which was drafted over a year ago. Dates need to be updated since COVID-19 happened which halted further discussion.
  • Abbott: Suggested adding AP 3725 to the draft.
  • Bledsoe: A11Y Plan has 3-pronged approach =
    • First: inform faculty what resources are currently available to them on campus and what they are used for. Partner with the Accessibility 508 Committee to get the information out to the faculty.
    • Second: Train faculty. Distance Education department was going to handle the training.
    • Third: Once faculty have been informed and trained on how to make their materials accessible, they have three options which were previously discussed by the committee.
      • First option: go through the OEI process and have course aligned with the CVC-OEI Rubric
      • Second option: faculty engage in quite extensive self-evaluation checklist; they go through the checklist and sign-off that they’ve verified that their course is compliant
      • Third option: on division-by-division basis, shells that were determined to be compliant can be used by instructors for their courses and they add their own information
      • Bledsoe: while working with faculty on the OEI process, they individually mentioned to him they would like to see more training on campus on accessibility. This is one of the reasons why it is important for us to come up with a plan.
      • Bledsoe: On campus, we have the local POCR (Peer Online Course Review) who are composed of Bledsoe, Abbott, Veronica Van Ry and Juana Rangel-Escobedo. They worked on trying to have Taft College become a POCR certified campus. Three of the four reviewers were POCR-trained. They reviewed three independent courses and verified that they were aligned with the CVC-OEI Rubric. OEI disagreed with their assessment so Taft College is now having to start the process all over again.  It has been a “very difficult process.” It seems the rubric can be very subjective.
      • Abbott: Our local POCR was a good team; they worked great together.
      • Bledsoe will send the committee the self-evaluation document at a later date.
      • Abbott: It’s useful to continue with the plan. We have resources now available to us such as professional development.
      • Kulzer-Reyes: It’s good to have a plan but how do we keep track of our data?
      • Bledsoe: We have a document with the current data that shows who’s been trained, where we are in the process, etc. Currently, we have 13 courses that are aligned with the CVC-OEI Rubric. Distance Education will keep track of this data.
      • Reynolds: It would be good to have student workers again. She had them earlier and they were very helpful in making her course materials accessible.
      • Bledsoe: If we’re going through all the hoops to get our courses badged, we now understand what it takes to be compliant. CVC-OEI assumes that when faculty make changes to their courses, they will make sure they continue to be accessible.
      • Abbott: As we try hard to be compliant, hopefully the Office of Civil Rights will provide us some latitude in case a lawsuit happens.
      • Reynolds: Annual training will help. We can correct/fix things in the summer.

 

Adjournment

 

  • Bledsoe moved to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 12:59 pm.

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