Marshall Online April 2024 Newsletter: Care and Inclusion Issue

April 19, 2024

Care and Inclusion Issue

Friday, April 19, 2024

Issue. 10

Spotlights:

At Marshall Online, we are committed to enriching the learning experience for online students with strategic initiatives and robust student support and resources. Your contribution plays a crucial role in achieving this vision by directly supporting:

Expanding and enhancing personalized student support services through innovative programs and resources
Establishing an emergency fund to assist students with financial barriers and challenges that impact their ability to persist
Empowering the Online Student Advisory Council, composed of Marshall online students, with opportunities for leadership and personal development
Investing in technology to ensure an engaging learning environment impactful learning experience

Every donation is important in advancing the quality and accessibility of an online education at Marshall University. Together we can create a meaningful and transformative experience for Marshall’s online students. Please donate here and select “Academic Affairs” and “Marshall Online.”

Faculty Liaisons

Explore Care and Inclusion with our Faculty Liaisons

Dr. Laura Stapleton: Discussion Boards Using UDL
Dr. Shannon Miller-Mace: Student Agency: Fostering Inclusion through Choice-Based Learning Assignments
Dr Wendi Benson: Student-Curated Playlists to Increase Students’ Sense of Belonging

Want to be a faculty liaison this fall? Apply here.

Student Workers

Marshall Online Student Worker Spotlights!

In this issue of our newsletter, we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on two more of our student workers. Get to know Michael (left) and Amber (right), learn about them, their roles, accomplishments, and the contributions they make to Marshall Online every day.

Support Student Belongingness!

The Marshall University (MU) Design Center is partnering with faculty to conduct an experimental study examining the impact of video testimonials on attitudes, perceptions, and success of incoming students. Based on past research, students tend to be impacted most by messaging around transitioning to the learning environment, developing a connection to the university and feeling a sense of belonging in college. Past research has used written narratives from students, this study will rely on video testimonials from real MU students, faculty, and staff.

We need your help with video submissions!

Please consider offering extra credit to students for submitting videos. You must provide an alternative extra credit (per IRB) for students who do not want to submit a video. Make the assignment due on 4/24 at 11:59 pm, so a member of our team can send you a list of students who earned extra credit by 4/26.

Please also consider submitting a video about your own experiences with the transition to college and/or student belongingness using the attached Faculty and Staff Video Testimonials Submission instructions.

A randomly selected student who submits a video will receive a pair of Beats headphones!

Marshall Skills Exchange:

Innovation Explorer Microcredential is free for Marshall faculty, staff and students!

Explore Design Thinking Principles through Marshall’s Innovation Explorer Microcredential. In an effort to become the most innovative school trained in design thinking principles, Marshall is encouraging faculty, staff and students to complete the new Innovation Explorer microcredential.

Offered by the iCenter, the Innovation Explorer course is focused on the importance of design thinking and learning the basics of Intuit’s version of design thinking – Design for Delight, an approach to innovating solutions to complex human-centered problems. This course is available free of charge for anyone with an active Marshall email.

Online Student Engagement:

The Marshall Online Student Engagement team recently conducted a survey to gauge our students’ online experience, and we’re thrilled to report that over 100 students participated! The overall feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Here are some key highlights from the survey:

Students shared that Blackboard Ultra is easy to navigate and improves their learning experience.
Most students feel a sense of connection, community, and support here at Marshall University.
Students are interested in attending more online programming and shared topics of interest to them.

We appreciate all the students who took time to share their feedback. Our team looks forward to implementing this valuable feedback as we plan programs, activities and other engagement opportunities for the upcoming semesters.

OSE Team at Women’s Leadership Conference: Breaking Barriers and Scores Academic Festival

Design Center Resources:

Practicing Care in Online Teaching: What do belonging, resilience, growth, agency, and civic thinking have in common? They are all a part of care for self and care for others. We show you the practices that online students understand as care and some ways you can care for yourself along the way.

Care and Wellness document: To help students more easily identify wellness-related resources, the Design Center curated several links into a single document, which instructors can copy into their Start Here folder. The Care and Wellness document organizes Marshall resources under the following categories: Be Well, Explore Resources, Get Involved, and Stay Connected. Find this and other resources by self-enrolling in our Ultra Instructor Resource Center.

Midterm Check-In Survey: As you are developing your summer and fall courses, consider incorporating our customizable survey to check in with students. Email onlinelearning@marshall.edu to request a copy of the survey for your course.

In the Know: Do you know the Marshall Online team? Check out our responses to this icebreaker and consider using this or similar prompts in your own online class.

Using CoPilot: Microsoft CoPilot is an AI-powered productivity tool that can help users find information, create original content, and get things done quickly. CoPilot allows users to select from three response tones to align with their specific needs. If you are seeking strictly fact-based and current output, select the “more precise” tone. Choosing the “balanced” mode would produce the best results for many work-related tasks, like creating presentations or talking points. One of the benefits of using CoPilot is that Marshall holds an Enterprise license with Microsoft. This means that data entered into CoPilot when logged in with your Marshall account is protected and not used to train the LLM.

Ultra noon hours: Drop in any M-F at noon.

Marshall Online Campus Partners:

MU Tutoring Services: Marshall University has partnered with Knack, a peer learning platform specifically for college students. Knack’s platform allows undergraduate students in need of tutoring services to book sessions with verified Marshall peer tutors who have previously aced the exact courses in which they are offering assistance. Tutors are available to work with students online or in-person. Encourage students to create a knack account today to request tutoring support to finish the semester strong!

The Marshall University Writing Center is staffed with graduate and undergraduate students ready to help you at any stage of the writing process. Writing tutors are available to work with students in three different modalities, making it easy for students to access the kind of session that best fits their learning style and availability. They offer face-to-face, synchronous online, and asynchronous e-Tutoring sessions. Encourage students to work with a tutor today!

Upcoming Events for Student, Staff & Faculty:

We invite you to join us for the Marshall Online Graduation Reception on April 26, 2024, from 4:00pm-6:00pm in the John Marshall Room. Please email online@marshall.edu to RSVP. We look forward to seeing you there!

Marshall Online in the World

Marshall Featured in Anthology: Check out Anthology’s case study on Marshall’s strategic move to Ultra.