To: Margaret Johnson; webCT users group
Subject: Minutes
WebCT Users Group Meeting September 19, 2005
Minutes WebCT Users Group September 19, 2005
CAPTIVATE
Melanie
Kroening showed the group how to use Captivate software to record screen
captures. The student needs a browser to view the files and an internet
connection, but no other software is necessary.
Captivate files are
output as Flash files so they are quite small in size. Audio files can be
created to accompany the screen captures if desired. However, file size will be
larger. A thirty-day free trial version is available from Macromedia at http://www.macromedia.com/software/captivate/?promoid=BINN
.
Motivating On-Campus Students to Read
the Textbook, Practice Problems and Improve Test
Scores
Scott Gustafson teaches economics at both MCC and
SCC. He has begun using chapter quizzes delivered online using WebCT for
his on-campus classes. From a database of 25 to 45 questions, the student is
randomly presented with ten multiple choice questions (the database is from the
publisher's testbank). Students can take the quiz up to three times and their
highest score will be recorded in the gradebook. Since the questions are drawn
at random from the database, most questions will not be the same each time for
each of the three quizzes.
There are several positive results from Scott's
strategy. Exam score averages are up 5 to 10%
over previous semesters. Students feel more in control of their learning because
they can increase their grade by taking the quizzes several times. Those who
take quizzes get higher averages on the exams.
Our next WebCT Users Group meeting
will be on October 24, 2005, from 3 to 4 P.M. Mark your
calendars!
Peg Johnson
Faculty Development
Consultant
Center for Teaching and
Learning
Mesa Community
College
1833 W. Southern
Avenue
Mesa, Arizona
85202
phone: (480)
461-7703
fax: (480)
461-7857