Teaching, Learning, &

Global Engagement

Weekly News & Updates

August 17, 2023 | Volume 10 | Issue 2

Moodle FAQs

By Gretchen Benton

Where is my Announcements Forum?

If you are missing your announcements forum or if you ever accidentally delete it, you can get it back! While in edit mode, open the block drawer and add the block called Latest News. This will add an announcements forum to your first topic called Announcements. This is a special forum that only allows instructor posts and students are automatically subscribed. Each day your students will get a summary of all Forums they are subscribed to that have new posts. Learn more about posting Announcements.

Where is my Quickmail block?

During one of our recent Moodle updates, the Quickmail block also got updated! Unfortunately this means it disappeared from many courses. You can add it back while in edit mode by opening the block drawer and adding the block called Quickmail. Learn more about adding Moodle blocks to your courses and Dashboard page.

Where are my Zoom Meetings?

The Zoom plugin depreciated over the summer term. However the Zoom LTI Pro tool has been added to Moodle. It has many more helpful features too! Learn more about adding Zoom meetings to your Moodle courses.

I thought VidGrid videos were going away?

VidGrid videos will stop playing soon! We have been given a very small grace period to allow you to finish transitioning to YuJa. It is time to transition completely to this new video tool! Click the YuJa link that was added to your Moodle course template to create an account and get started. Be sure to replace any VidGrid video embeds/links in your courses with new YuJa video links/embeds to avoid disruption this semester.

How do I learn about all the new stuff in Moodle?

I made a webpage for that! Learn about all the Moodle upgrade news and new tools. See all the details about our latest Moodle updates/news.

Upcoming Events

Sign up for Eibhlín's Irish Language & Culture class on Monday/Wednesdays from 12:00-12:50 pm, beginning September 6th. It's free!
Greece: Birthplace of Democracy: Thursday, August 24 from 1:00-1:50 pm; Gee S124, Davie Campus Admin 110, or join the Greece event online

Piedmont Hub News

By Grant Jolliff

I want to invite all Davidson-Davie Community College faculty and staff to our Fall 23 – Spring 24 programming. If you sign up, but cannot attend at that time, you will have the opportunity to view the recording. If you didn’t register for an event and would like to register for a recording, please reach out to me, grant_jolliff@davidsondavie.edu.

The Piedmont Teaching and Learning Hub is excited about the offerings that we have for this academic year. One of the exciting things that we have is a series of sessions (called Demystifying the Course Build Process) that are focused on course design and development, starting with the idea of backwards design and flowing all the way through creating meaningful assessments that encompass assessment of multiple outcomes.

Participants can choose one or more of the sessions, or they can join us for a journey through the topic by participating in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) that will also meet between the sessions to work together on revisions to their courses or assignments and culminating in a showcase where we share the results of our learning.

FLC Information Sheet (Word Document)
FLC Application (Office Form)

Accessibility Quick Tip: Color Contrast

By Kendra Guffey

Color contrast is the relationship between two colors. In terms of accessibility, it is a small change that can make a big impact. We want the color contrast behind the background and foreground to have a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 in order to meet the Level AA WCAG 2.1. WCAG is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

There is a free Colour Contrast Analyzer tool that you can download and use to check your color contrast. Watch the Color Contrast Analyzer How To Video to learn how to check your color contrast.

*This color contrast article is also located in Freshdesk, under the Digital Accessibility section.

First Equity Champions Meeting: Thursday, August 31 from 2-4 pm (virtual)

By Emily Dietrich & Demetria Nickens

Join your colleagues as we work to make DDCC a more inclusive and equitable environment. Sign up for Equity Champions so that you are added to Equity Champions communications. This year we are really focused about getting work done. We hope you join us on Thursday, August 31-- but know that even if you can't make that meeting, we want you to be a part of this work!

International Education for Faculty

By Gloria Johnson

Hello, DDCC Colleagues. Today, the CTL would like to promote some international education opportunities for faculty. UNC World View is currently promoting two global education professional learning opportunities.

Scholar of Global Distinction Grant

Preparing Tomorrow's Global Workforce

The first is a the Scholar of Global Distinction Curriculum Grant. If you have a course you’d like to globalize, this grant is a great opportunity to get support from UNC to do so.

UNC World View is providing $750 grants funded by UNC National Resource Centers and UNC World View donors for community college faculty to create global modules for courses they teach. A module is a self-contained unit that infuses global content, context, and connections into the course. Key elements of a module are global learning outcomes, global learning activities and resources. Based on proposals, UNC World View will connect you with UNC librarians, area studies specialists, National Resource Centers, and appropriate faculty.

Limited grants available! Apply now for the 2023-2024 grants.

Due date: Oct. 23, 2023
Award notifications: within 2 weeks of submission

The second opportunity is the UNC Word View Community College Symposium for Community College Educators. The theme of the symposium this year is Preparing Tomorrow’s Global Workforce.

UNC World View Community College Symposium

November 3, 2023
10 am-4 pm
Chapel Hill
$95

North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, with 800,000+ students enrolled, play an integral role in meeting the needs of our state’s growing global workforce (NC Department of Commerce). The 2023 community college global education symposium will bring community college educators together with business and academic leaders to learn about and explore relevant global issues in different regions of the world.

Do You Have a Story to Share?

We want to promote faculty and staff stories! Here are some ideas:

Student success stories
Active learning ideas
Upcoming events
Globalized courses

Please contact Amy Holmes (amy_holmes@davidsondavie.edu) if you have ideas or referrals for stories.

Teaching, Learning, & Global Engagement is:

Educational Technology

Piedmont Teaching & Learning Hub

Center for Teaching & Learning

International Education

Digital Accessibility & Learning Design

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