Is it the start of the semester already? I feel like we just came back from Spring Break! What a whirlwind few months it has been. I know you have been working hard, much more than you normally do, getting everything ready for an unprecedented but trailblazing year at Austin Peay. If you’re new, welcome! I look forward to working with you. To all our returning faculty and staff, welcome back to another year as a Gov.

Distance Education has been busy this summer, and I first want to thank you for your patience and grace as we work to best support your needs and the needs of the institution as a whole. Customer service and quality effort continue to be a priority for us and we work hard to make sure that despite the many hurdles and unexpected hiccups that arise due to the current environment, you always walk away feeling supported and that we gave you our best work.

I also want to thank my team. Wow. I am so blown away by my staff and while this newsletter is intended to be outward facing, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment here, in this public space, to thank them. To the DE crew- your hard work, late nights, and weekends glued to the computer are noticed. To HR- please ignore the late nights and weekend work comment. This team that I get to work with every day continues to charge through walls, obstacles, and mountains. The never ending to do list somehow gets done. And you’re getting it done despite the many non-work factors that we are all facing together; the giant Pandemic elephant in the room that adds an extra layer for uncertainty and uneasiness. I need you to know that I am extremely grateful that I get to work with you each and every day.

To our faculty and staff, I want you to know that we are here to support you. With our common goal of getting a quality education out to our Gov students and providing a safe and inviting space for them to learn, we are going to rock this upcoming semester because, #GovsLead.

Dr. Tim Oneal (Sr. Instructional Designer) - Murfreesboro, TN

Dr. Anna Carrie Flynt (Sr. Instructional Designer) - Pittsburg, KS

Evan Goodwin (Lab Technician/Support Desk Manager) - Long Valley, NJ

Mike Johnson (Distance Education Analyst) - Clarksville, TN

Loretia Duncan (TN eCampus Coordinator) - Lexington, KY

Crystal Faulkner (Instructional Technology Support Manager) - Clarksville, TN

Shannon Massey-Rives (Administrative Assistant 2) - Clarksville, TN

Amor Moran (Director of Distance Education) - Vancouver, WA

What is that we do here in Distance Education? Our department specializes in digital learning needs of faculty and students. We are a team of professionals focused on customer service and quality output. The DE Circle showcases the key focus areas in our department. We provide Instructional Design services that lead to quality courses, Instructional Technology acquisition, implementation, and support, LMS support, and Special Projects such as TN eCampus, Winter Term, and NC-SARA compliance. We’re happy to collaborate with faculty and staff on ways we can contribute to your student success goals and initiatives.

Our D2L website is a great resource for guides and tutorials.

You can now access the Quick Eval tool in D2L. Quick Eval gives instructors a single location to view all student submissions that are awaiting evaluation. Submissions made to Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions are displayed in a sort-able list and can be selected to take you directly to their assessment page.

For more information on using Quick Eval, please click the following link for a short video overview from D2L: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DEfnHkrvPs

This does not change the way the tool works - only the name has changed. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Distance Education Support Desk at (931) 221-6624 or [email protected].

Distance Education is here to help you with your instructional media needs. Whether that be access to the tools we offer to help you create your own, or coming into our studio space to work with our Senior Instructional Designer, Dr. Tim Oneal, to create one.

To help streamline operations, standby for a new and improved website dedicated to this service. Due to the mission of our department and the role we play on campus, the media we develop will be for online learning instructional content curation and development.

Want to explore VR in the science lab? We're here for you! Want to revamp a learning module with some interactive video? We got you covered.

OLC, WCET, QM, and Educause are great resource for the digital learning landscape. Make an account using your APSU e-mail address and open up a wealth of information!

All students are enrolled in the G4 Pathway course. This will be available to them on their D2L homepage. The purpose of this course is to help students succeed during their college careers.

Check out our new training series on remote testing and alternative assessments.

All of our webinars upcoming and previous recordings can be found on our website.

Quiz Builder – Opt-In: Instructors can opt-in to the new Quiz Builder quiz creation experience. Quiz Builder will become the default as part of D2L’s August 2020 monthly update, so check it out ahead of time by opting in. Quiz Builder was originally going to be the default in July, but D2L pushed this change back to August.

The Department of Distance Education (DE) is committed to the quality of online and hybrid courses offered at Austin Peay State University (APSU) and aims to achieve the following targets:

To work towards these targets, DE is seeking faculty to participate in our course review process. Faculty who complete the course review process will receive compensation and professional development. DE will also select courses to submit to QM for external reviews. These courses will obtain an official QM seal of quality.

Are your digital learning materials accessible?? Use this Quick Guide to find out.