Personal Journal

Becky Costello

HEOC 885: Site Internship

Copyright and Fair Use
Approximate hours: 30

One of the first goals I identified for my internship was regular involvement with the

Colleges Copyright Taskforce. As a member of our course development team (namely at a for-

profit institution), copyright and fair use are topics that come up daily in my role. I set a goal of

creating pre- and post-tests to assess our teams existing knowledge of copyright and fair use,

creating educational materials on the topic, and summarizing my participation in learning

experiences.

The library team embraced my involvement and afforded me the opportunity to be

involved in multiple aspects of their projects. My involvement came at an opportune time, just

as they were developing their Copyright Toolkit for faculty. As background, my original Mentor

suggested attending a few general webinars on copyright and fair use. This gave me the

necessary background to enter the collaboration with the librarians with a frame of reference for

the knowledge we would need to share with faculty.

I spent several hours meeting with members of their team, storyboarding interactive

copyright flowcharts, working with our media production team to create the pieces for their

website, and putting the finishing touches on their faculty resources. I achieved my goal of

creating pre- and post-tests for our instructional designers to gauge their proficiency on the topic,

which was greatly appreciated by the library team. We were able to identify gaps in our training

processes and designed follow-up training for the instructional designers based on the results of

the pre-test. The post-test indicated an improvement in our teams level of understanding.

My work on raising awareness of copyright issues in course development and design was

well-received by all stakeholders. It resulted in a noticeable focus on copyright issues and

helped to build the relationship between our departments, which was noted in feedback from the
library team. For my involvement in this project, I was awarded a Ruby Slippers Award for

going above and beyond the expectations of my role.

Accessibility and Accommodations

Approximate hours: 20

Throughout the program, I have taken a greater interest in accessibility. I attended a

number of webinars, primarily through 3Play Media, regarding multiple aspects of accessibility

such as WCAG 2.0, video player accessibility, requirements for .pdf accessibility, and closed

captioning. I chose this professional development to support my goal of identifying professional

development opportunities for my team. This grew to include the next piece a professional

development session on universal design for learning.

As I completed each session, I kept a running journal of reflections and ideas for

implementation within my role. During the course of the internship, I also joined our

institutions Disability Services Committee, working directly with colleagues in areas such as

regulatory compliance. I have increased my exposure to student accommodations and developed

a greater awareness of the teams that impact accessibility (e.g., LMS Engineering).

One of the specific duties I identified was designing and/or facilitating relevant training

for the course development team related to these areas. In the future, I intend to integrate what I

have learned into more targeted professional development for my team. I have learned how to

discern valuable, free or low-cost, webinars from those that are simply sales pitches for

individual companies. I plan to expose our team to more of these opportunities, as well as

educate them on choosing such development strategically.

Professional Development Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Approximate hours: 30

Designing and/or facilitating relevant training for the course development team emerged

as one of my main areas of focus throughout my experience. As I was exposed to accessibility-

related topics, I began to think creatively about the concept of universal design for learning

(UDL). I had studied UDL extensively in my instructional design program, and saw unlimited

potential for its applications in our course development process.

I researched a number of potential guest speakers and eventually sought out a contact I

had met at a previous conference. I approached him about a potential seminar. He was

unavailable, but recommended his colleague, Doug Lawson. I met with a variety of stakeholders

on our side (compliance, course development, etc.) to verify that we would be able to actually

implement the concepts we learned.

I worked with Doug one-on-one to develop and plan a highly interactive, half-day UDL

workshop hosted at our corporate office. We invited a member of library and learning services

leadership (Jon Mladic) to join us for the day. Upon completion of Dougs presentation, I led a

follow-up afternoon session to guide reflection on the topics we had covered and discuss the

future implications for UDL in our course design.

I was very proud of the quality of this professional development for our team. I found the

planning process with Doug to be highly educational, ranging from creating the agenda to

business-end pieces such as budgeting and completing nondisclosures where necessary. Overall,

it set the bar high for future development opportunities for our team. Since his presentation, we

have continued to focus on topics that are relevant, timely, and easy to implement in our design

processes. Our leadership also acknowledged the importance of having a credible, external

speaker at such events as a change of pace from our internal presentations.

Learning Services Collaboration
Approximate hours: 45

The bulk of my specific learning outcomes and related duties was dedicated to analyzing

and predicting usage of existing library and learning services resources, relating student success

(e.g., programmatic retention) to online resource usage. I also set what I knew would be a very

lofty goal of integrating library and learning services resources in our course development

process.

In my role as manager of a team focused on course improvement, I knew I would be able

to translate this experience into immediate application for our team. The opportunities I received

for this portion of my internship experience far exceeded my expectations. I have included brief

descriptions below. My related artifacts (see Internship Hours spreadsheet for the listing)

provide a much higher level of detail regarding the deliverables for each.

Mentor Application, Onboarding, and Evaluation. I collaborated with learning center

leadership to research existing programs. We created new processes that matched the needs of

the program, all of which are still in place today. The Colleges peer mentor program is unique

in its online format. Our processes from application to evaluation take into account their unique

needs.

Analysis of Peer Leader Resource Usage. I had the opportunity to examine peer leader

resource usage in Medical Terminology, one of our highest-draw and most challenging online

courses. We examined peer leader resource usage and strategized ways to better promote this

resource. We looked at the relationships between resource usage and final exam grades, as well

as final grades for the course. Based on this information, we made recommendations for

revamping weekly course announcements to better promote this resource.

 Resource Use Analysis. We also examined quarter-over-quarter resource use as a whole.

We examined the Spring and Summer reports and discussed tailoring these reports to specific

audiences (e.g., course development) so stakeholders could better use this data to make informed

decisions. I learned to identify resource usage trends and analyze each change. The depth of the

data we explored was extensive and included campus usage, breakdown within specific

programs/courses, analysis of live help, and more.

CRLA IMTPC Application Process. I worked with both learning center leadership and

our compliance team to complete the application for the College Reading and Learning

Associations (CRLA) International Mentor Training Program Certification. We drafted an

extensive application and supporting documentation. The College earned the certification,

making us one of an elite group of only 54 institutions that hold this certification for both tutor

training and mentor training.

Tutor Training Outcomes. We mapped tutor training outcomes from job descriptions to

measurable outcomes. We designed a survey to assess each outcome individually for both new

and graduating tutors to measure growth.

Collaboration between Course Design and Library and Learning Services. Of all of my

internship experiences, this is the one of which I am most proud. I advocated for better

relationships between our teams and more integration among our processes, particularly

regarding course development. It has not been an easy task, but over the last year we have

worked to refine these processes and have built invaluable relationships. The library and

learning services teams are now fully integrated in our course development process from the

kickoff, ensuring many more opportunities to integrate learning resources in our online courses.
Online Course Improvement
Approximate hours: 15

With the goal of assessing our resources for integration in course development, I reached

out to our Hybrid Classroom Manager to discuss potential opportunities within our courses that

include a live classroom component. This component, proven to be highly successful in

engaging our students and instrumental to their success, was not promoted consistently among

faculty. My collaboration with the Hybrid Classroom Manager resulted in the creation of faculty

support pieces for our Online+ live classroom courses.

We storyboarded and created a standard page for every course that includes a live

classroom component, and then created training screencasts for use on calls with academic

deans. The Faculty Guide to Live Classroom Delivery page includes the philosophy behind live

classroom delivery, instructions for delivering synchronous learning sessions, logistical

information and links to the Hybrid Instruction Training Guide, information about posting

follow-up and live classroom recordings, and a repository for live classroom lesson plans

(individual to each course). This created much-needed consistency in the delivery of the live

classroom component, as well as a better experience for our online faculty. As a whole, this

experience was supportive of my desire to create a more learner-centered experience by

improving faculty facilitation of these synchronous sessions. Ultimately, we moved 84 of our

online master courses to this new format.

Online Learning Consortium Accelerate Conference

Approximate hours: 10

As one of the culminating experiences in my internship, I attended the Online Learning

Consortium Accelerate Conference and chose sessions that were relevant to my internship goals.

I explored the following topics: Effective Design Model to Include Learners with Undisclosed
Disabilities in Online Learning; One Step at a Time: Creating Paths for Diverse Learners through

Universal Design for Learning; Analytics What LMS Data is Telling Us About Course Design;

Building Personalized Learning Experiences Through Adaptive Learning Techniques; Where

Access Intersects Achievement: Virtual Integrated Student Support Resources (delivered by

colleagues); Data-Driven Course Design: Using Analytics to Create Personalized and Tailored

Learning Experiences; and The Struggle is Real: Designing for Accessibility.

These sessions, in addition to the others I attended, gave me the opportunity to network

and exchange ideas with others in similar roles. In addition to supporting the learning outcomes

of my work in areas such as accessibility, I was also inspired throughout the week to push the

boundaries in my own work and think creatively about solutions to our existing challenges. If I

had the resources to allocate additional hours to this area, I would think more strategically about

application in my current role, particularly regarding professional development for my team.

What did I learn? How did the internship enrich doctoral and/or career objectives?

My goals were to advance my learning in areas such as copyright and fair use, involvement

with our Copyright Taskforce, video captioning and other accommodations, and integration of library

and learning services within curriculum and course design. I hoped to develop a better holistic

understanding of online student services, which would ultimately improve my instructional design

skills. I underestimated how much the internship experience would impact my role.

Over the course of my internship, I won an award, received a promotion, and was invited to

participate in College-level opportunities such as a green belt project. The content knowledge I

learned was absolutely beneficial. More importantly, I learned how to be more visible in our

organization in a way that is still comfortable for me. I typically fly under the radar. Despite my

extensive collaboration with other departments during my time with our organization, I am not highly

visible.
 I have learned how to better leverage my strengths and advocate for things that are important

to me (e.g., accessibility, access to quality professional development, online resources). I feel more

confident in my interactions with the thought leaders in our organization. As I continue to grow, I

will focus on building this confidence and demonstrating the many ways in which my educational

background has enriched my experience.

What were the most valuable aspects of the internship?

The most valuable aspects of the internship experience were the ability to collaborate with

multiple teams across the organization, as well as positively impact the professional development of

my own team. Throughout the experience, I built relationship not only as an individual, but between

my larger team and others in our institution. I am most proud of the development in the relationship

between course design and library and learning services. I began advocating for better integration of

their team in the course development process at the kick-off of my internship. Today we have a

highly collaborative relationship. Although it is certainly a work in progress, both teams have

benefited greatly from the opportunity to work together to improve student learning.

I also greatly enjoyed the time I spent planning and executing a professional development

session on universal design for learning (UDL). The immediate benefits to my team were apparent,

but I am most proud of the culture it has since helped to create. I chose a topic that was important for

our role, but outside of the norm for something we would typically see as an in-house presentation.

Since then, more of my colleagues have chosen to explore related topics. A manager in our

department recently delivered a presentation on designing effective learning for students on the

autism spectrum. I believe that some of his inspiration in choosing a more personal topic came from

the UDL presentation. I hope to continue to inspire my colleagues to choose passion-driven

professional development that is meaningful both on a personal and professional level.