Distance Education Committee

The Laney College Distance Education Committee will serve as the college’s primary recommending body on matters related to distance education – specifically, focusing on supporting excellence in distance education teaching and learning; recommending policies, procedures, and resources to support effective, innovative, and equitable distance education at Laney College; and support consistent and continuous commitment to improving student learning and success in the online environment.

Distance Education & POCR Co-CoordinatorsJudy Wong
jwong@peralta.edu

Laurie Allen-Requa
lallenrequa@peralta.edu

Distance Education Committee C0-Chair
Danitza Lopez
dlopez@peralta.edu

2nd & 4th Tuesdays
1:00pm – 2:30pm via Zoom or in the Tech Center

Vice President of Instruction

Sub-Committee of the Faculty Senate

Responsibilities

Inform and engage the campus community in strategic planning related to distance education
Identify distance education strategic goals and create a college distance education plan to improve online student learning
Ensure that college distance education plan and goals are based on data and analyses
Support Laney College distance education classes to meet federal, state, and accreditation standards
Evaluate the effectiveness of the college’s planning and resource allocation as it impacts Distance Education and make recommendations for changes

Membership

DE Coordinators/ POCR Coordinators	Judy Wong / Laurie Allen-Requa
Co-Chair, Admin	Tarek ElJarrari, Dean of Humanities, Social Sciences & Library
Co-Chair, Faculty	Danitza Lopez
Liberal Arts/Social Sciences Faculty	Felipe Wilson
CTE Faculty	Martin Herzfeld
Library/Student Services Faculty	Reginald Constant
STEM Faculty	Open
Foundation Skills Faculty	Danitza Lopez
Classified Professional	William Jones
Classified Professional	Lewis Thrower
Administrator	Dean Tarek ElJarrari
Administrator	Dean Elizabeth Maher

Student at Large	Open

For Faculty

The best way to ensure that students have excellent learning experiences in distance education classes is to provide training, resources, and support for faculty who teach those classes. This page will provide basic information about Peralta policies, upcoming trainings and resources for learning Canvas. For more extensive information, please visit the Peralta Faculty Resources Website.

Standards and Accountability

At Laney, we are committed to providing quality courses that align with the state standards. Please refer to the documents below that outline our commitment to maintaining high standards.

To be considered eligible to teach online, please consult our district board policy: AP-4105 Distance Education Board Policy
The Peralta Distance Education Checklist was developed by the PCCD DE Committee and is updated on a yearly basis. It was designed to serve as a baseline guide of the parameters for, and best practice in, distance education.
The DE Checklist was informed by the Online Education Initiative OEI Online Course Design Rubric.
Use the Peralta Equity Rubric as a tool to support inclusive teaching online and support equitable outcomes

For New Faculty

If you are just getting started teaching online, the Merritt Faculty handbook (created by long-standing DE Coordinator Alexis Alexander) includes an overview of distance education policies and best practices along with guidelines for teaching online. You can view and download the manual here: DE Manual for Peralta Colleges

You can also make an appointment with your DE Coordinators, Judy Wong at jwong@peralta.edu or Melissa McElvane at mmcelvane@peralta.edu.

General Canvas Training Opportunities

There are several ways to get training in both Canvas, our new learning management system and basic online pedagogy. Below you can find a variety of resources. You can also make one-on-one appointments with DE Coordinators, Judy Wong at jwong@peralta.edu or Melissa McElvane at mmcelvane@peralta.edu

Canvas Webinar Training

Peralta District has purchased one year of subscription webinar training to help faculty learn about Canvas features and enhance their online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. For more information on how this works, visit the Canvas Webinar Training Access Instructions on our district website.

Peralta EDT Classes

EDT 2 (44545) is 6 week online course on how to use Canvas taught by Alexis Alexander. For information on how to obtain your online teaching certificate through Merritt College visit: the Educational Technology Website at Merritt College or contact Alexis at aalexander@peralta.edu

Peralta Distance Education Workshops

Instructional designer Dr. Kevin Kelly has led a series of workshops on course design and Canvas basics. Here, you can access the Peralta Distance Education Workshops Course

For more information on upcoming Canvas trainings, contact DE Coordinators, Judy Wong at jwong@peralta.edu or Melissa McElvane at mmcelvane@peralta.edu

@ONE Courses for Certification

@ONE offers fantastic webinars, instructor-led online training, and self-paced courses about online pedagogy and technology for a very low cost to California Community College faculty and staff. It is also possible to receive professional development units and compensation from the professional development committee for completing their courses. For more information, visit @ONE Online Courses.

Lynda.com

Lynda.com has a course about Canvas for faculty and staff – Learning Canvas 2017

Canvas Resources

More Resources

DE Student Survey Quick Results (326 respondents) for Fall 2022

Modalities students are enrolled in:

155 students were enrolled in multiple modalities but only 72 were 100% face-to-face, 115 were taking a hybrid class, and 294 were taking 100% online (synchronous or asynchronous).
In the future, 93 students plan to take 100% face-to-face classes, 119 plan to take a hybrid class, and 300 plan to take 100% online (synchronous or asynchronous).
Students most often use a full laptop or smart phone for classes.

The top 4 online student services used by students include:

Admission services/enrollment
Bookstore
Counseling
Financial aid

The top 4 benefits of online education to students are:

time saved on commute
increased flexibility scheduling classes
flexibility managing schedule
ability to re-watch class recordings

The top 4 challenges of online education to students are:

Interaction with instructor is not as good (86 students said they had zero weekly communication with their instructors)
Interaction with classmates are not as good.
Personal distractions.
None, I have not experienced any challenges.

Summary	Instruction	Website	Services
Communication	office hours respond to emails explain instructional design	Information accuracy: department information faculty information program information	live assistance respond immediately
Consistency	contact information (i.e. Zoom link) assignment instruction timeline course expectation (i.e. flipped classroom; assignment rubric>	Matching information on the website with the department/online schedule/college catalog
Flexibility	repeat the same tech for students to learn, but allowing students to use the "old" fashion if s/he has tech difficulties
Conflicts	time conflicts: providing lecture records allowing students use "discuss" to participate) quiz time
Learning Styles	students' computer skills DSPS students learning style: lecture; interaction; learning from reading; need visual supports; need information repeatedly
Professional Development	online instructional/course design how to use zoom how to use CANVAS to engage communication, not a place to list links

Distance Education Committee

How Do I Access My Online Course?

Need Canvas Help Now?

For Faculty

DE Student Survey, Fall 2020

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