It is no secret that in order to be successful, companies must watch for market trends, legislation, and world events to guide their product and service development.  eLearningToolBox is no different.  From the beginning we have researched trends in distance learning and technology initiatives.  Paying close attention to mandates from accrediting bodies and new legislation that governs what schools have to incorporate in their curricula and processes. 

ACCSCT Standards of Accreditation Substantive Standards states that, “The institution must have clear, consistent policies, measures, and procedures to evaluate the performance and needs of faculty members, and to assess faculty effectiveness in distance education programs or courses of study.”  Recently we have launched PostCourse 2.0 which is a tool for efficiently designing, deploying and disseminating the results of faculty and course evaluations.  Through a tiered, role-based process faculty and administrators can immediately see the input from their students.

In addition to accrediting bodies, many states pass legislation that dictates what direction a school must go in planning their future course offerings, technologies, and practices.  Recently in Texas, a new law has been passed that expands on the requirement from ACCSCT in regards to having a documented process of how to collect and evaluate data in regards to elearning.  The law states "Relating to requiring a public institution of higher education to establish uniform standards for publishing cost of attendance information, to conduct student course evaluations of faculty, and to make certain information available on the Internet".  The last part "make certain information is available on the Internet" adds a new layer to the process for Texans.

As PostCourse continues to evolve to meet our clients' needs, we will be considering how we can assist Texans with meeting the demands of the recently passed law that will be effective next Fall.  In the meantime, be aware of your local law makers as they make decisions that will affect the way your school does distance education.

New Laws Drive Product Development

eLearningToolBox Newsletter Summer 2009
The Latest in Distance Learning READI Announces Integration with the eCollege Learning Management System eLearningToolBox.com, the provider of READI, is pleased to announce that it has completed a project through which READI can be integrated into the eCollege learning management system.  Students of schools which are using eCollege can now access READI from within their eCollege course without having to re-authenticate into the READI system.  This single sign on capability reduces the number of user names and passwords that schools and students have to keep track of.  A student can also submit their READI report internally through the communication features of eCollege to their instructor for review.  If students and/or their instructors need to access the student’s report at a later date, they may do so through eCollege. eLearningToolBox.com has several client schools which use eCollege and requested this integration.  The next learning management system which is slated for integration with READI is Blackboard.  If your school is interested in learning more about the integration of READI into your learning management system please contact your Account Manager or support@readi.info.  What's New in the ToolBox? Personalized Online Student Readiness Report Are you interested in knowing how your students compare to the national averages of online student readiness? Recently we launched the 2009 Online Student Readiness Report. It included data collected from over 150,000 students at 272 institutions. We are now offering a personalized report that contains data from your students. For a small fee, you can have access to statistical information to help you understand your students' strengths and weaknesses. This data can provide guidance for future course design and insight about remedial tools that you may want to consider in your planning of the online program. To view a sample of this school specific report or for a price quote, contact your Account Manager. The Most Efficient Way to Find Out What Students Really Think It is coming! PostCourse 2.0 will be available next month! It will feature easy data upload with an integrated wizard, intuitive real-time reporting, tiered role-based administrative access, unlimited surveys and much more! Account Managers are setting up demos in August and Setptember to highlight the new features. Postcourse is a web-based tool that will allow administrators to totally manage all data through an administrative control panel. If you would like to find out about how much you save over your current process, contact an Account Manager today at sales@eLearningToolBox.com. Change is Good New Feature Added to READI READI Administrator, do you have a student test taker login group that needs to be inactivated but not deleted? Often times, schools create new login groups and although they want to keep the data in the old group, they do not want students to accidentally login using the old information. We've added a new feature to READI that allows administrators to choose "inactive" for login groups. This allows administrators to continue to view the data in the group but prevents a student from using the old user/pass combo. To access this feature follow the instructions below. 1. Login to http://admin.readi.info 2. Click on "Manage Account" 3. Click on "Admin & Test Taker Groups" 4. Click on specific test taker group 5. Use drop down box to select "active or inactive" 6. Save and close (Notice the login group is now designated with a red button instead of green) Neat to Know How to export READI data Go to admin.readi.info and login to your account Click on "Test Search and Export" Designate preferred filters Once you reach "Data At a Glance" click "Export Data" For more READI tips, visit our tutorials link at readi.info/tutorials Water Cooler Tips to Increase Website Participation for Students 1. Require it; Making assignments optional will generally result in little if any participation. Even those who are motivated to succeed will generally use extra time on tasks they see as most important which are generally "required activities". Requiring participation, helps motivated students to prioritize and unmotivated students to keep up. 2. Play hide and seek. Hide extra credit activites, special notes for the test, create scavenger hunt clues, make it fun, and reward those who follow through. 3. Make it fun by adding new content weekly like a personal top 10 list, music, or a funny slideshow. Do you Tweet? If you want to learn about what's going on with eLearningToolBox first, follow us on twitter. Blog What do we have to say about things? Check out our blog at eLearningToolBox.com/Blog for weekly updates of our two cents.	In this edition: The Latest in Distance Learning What's New in the ToolBox? Change is Good Neat to Know WaterCooler Free Stuff Coming Soon There is Still Time to Cash in on Our FREE Summer Webinar Series! Are you looking for a way to squeeze in some training this summer before school gets started? You've come to the right place! There is still time to take advantage of our FREE Summer Webinar Series. Don't have time or money to travel to a classroom session? No worries, you are invited to our virtual classroom. To register, just click on the session below. All attendees will be entered into a drawing for $50 cash! Thursday, July 30th, 2:00 pm central Academic Integrity in Online Education Featuring - Lori McNabb, University of Texas System TeleCampus Thursday, August 6th 2:00 pm central Tools for Enhancing eLearning Featuring - Dr. Mac Adkins, CEO eLearningToolBox.com Coming Soon! Fall Webinar Planned in late September forREADI Administrators We have READI data but... "What Do We Do With It Now?" This webinar is designed to help you understand the READI data and how to use it. We will also explore ways to use READI data to assist you in your planning process. Key points of discussion will be: What can I learn about my students from the READI data? How can I use it in developing courses for the future? What resources should we be providing based on our READI scores? Who should be looking at the data? How do my students compare to those at other colleges and universities? FREE READI Training Webinars Do you need some additional training on the administrative features READI has to offer? Check out readi.info/webinars to find the complete schedule and register for the sessions that fit your schedule. Looking for someone to teach your online classes? Are you tired of sorting through the stack of paper resumes? Facultyfinder.com can help. Go to www.FacultyFinder.com for unlimited free searches! Search our database of over 10,000 profiles to find the right person for the job. EXTENDED OFFER! PLACE A JOB AD ON FACULTYFINDER.COM FOR JUST $50! NO DISCOUNT CODE NEEDED

eLearningToolBox Newsletter Summer 2009

Is your travel budget under lock and key?  eLearningToolBox.com presents our FREE Summer Webinar Series providing you with valuable information and no travel involved.  With featured speakers Dr. Michael Theall,  Lori McNabb, and Dr. Mac Adkins, our webinar series will be covering a range of topics in distance learning like faculty/course  evaluation, academic integrity, student perceptions and ways to enhance your distance learning program.  The webinar series will be a strong professional development resource for you. Similar webinars can cost up to $700! We want to help give your training budget a break without missing out on these valuable resources.   Space is limited so sign up today at www.eLearningToolBox.com/webinars!

FREE Summer Webinar Series

What are your plans for the future?  Do you want to run a 10K?  Are you planning to have children?  Would you like to own a home?  We all recognize the importance of making plans for the future.  Usually those plans center around our age, health, what we plan to accomplish, and is based in part on what is currently going on in our life.  Businesses must also map out a plan for the future.  Knowing the right audience, what the market will bring, and how to position themselves positively to capitalize on opportunities are crucial to steady growth.  Unfortunately with poor planning lives and businesses can fall apart.  The same holds true for educational institutions.  It is sufficient to say that most universities, colleges, and secondary schools aren’t “going out of business” in the economic downturn.  Nevertheless, not including the current economic times and the climate of our nation in future planning could result in multiple failed opportunities and ultimately represents bad business practices.

When students are planning for college it is becoming increasingly important to investigate what jobs are available and what fields are emerging prior to enrollment.  With the cost of college tuition, a college degree is quickly approaching one of the largest investments a person will ever make.  People wouldn’t put a large sum of money into a bank or stock without understanding the return on investment.  The same holds true for a college degree.  Especially in the current economic state, it is crucial to use an education as a step in securing a strong future as part of a long term plan.  The students of today are educated consumers looking for a school that meets their needs based on research.

Educational leaders charged with managing change must use their eyes and ears to determine what programs will be necessary to sustain these incoming students.  What jobs are disappearing?  What fields are holding a shortage?  What new jobs will be created based on current government spending and agendas?  Answers to these questions should dictate what a school’s future offerings look like.  In addition, schools must look at evolving technology and determine to integrate it into teaching methods, course delivery, and alternative learning environments.

Now is the time for educators to be proactive in creating new strategic plans to move their educational institutions into the next decade.  We are citizens of a new world filled with green initiatives, cleaner air, more technology choices, and unlimited access to almost everything.  It is up to the education community to investigate all the options and get moving!

At eLearningToolBox.com we provide a set of tools to help educational leaders be strategic and proactive.  FacultyFinder.com can be used to efficiently identify qualified, experienced faculty.  READI is a strong tool for helping students to be successful thus boosting retention rates.  PostCourse.com allows leaders to collect the disseminate useful metrics about course quality.  Let us know if you would like to discuss how your school can use these tools in its strategic plan.

Economic Downturn Part 2 – Program Planning for the Future