4. Introduction
Amy Thornton
◦ Project Manager - Learning Enhancement
Center and Eagle Learning Online
Cindy Handley
◦ Assistant Professor & Medical Technologist
Sheri Rawls
◦ Director - Learning Enhancement Center and
Eagle Learning Online
5. Snapshot of USM
Dual campuses
◦ Hattiesburg
◦ Gulf Coast
◦ 6 Colleges
SACS Accredited
Approximately 800 faculty
Approximately 16,000 students across all campuses
Offering online courses since 1998
◦ over 27,000 enrollments in online courses (fall 2011)
◦ 23 graduate hybrid/fully online graduate programs
◦ 8 undergraduate fully online programs
◦ 4 fully online certificates
Blackboard LMS - ConnectYard integrated
6. Why ConnectYard?
We recognize the importance of
socialization in online instruction
Knowledge of important role that social
media plays in students’ lives
Desire to improve communication and
increase participation in online courses
Mission is to enhance learning and the
overall student experience
Campus email is not effective
7. Hurdles Associated with Pilot
Implementation
Marketing
Faculty and Student
Buy-in
◦ Fear that Professors
will have access to FB
pages
◦ Faculty concerned
with added workload
◦ Social Media Policy
8. ConnectYard Pilot Implementation
Faculty/Student Buy-In
◦ Easy to use
◦ Building Block Integration
◦ Bridge to Social Media
Position ConnectYard
◦ Integral part to each course
◦ Stress privacy protection
Encourage Students to Personalize
Notifications
Stress Use to Quantify Class Participation
9. Promotion and Awareness
Feature at Innovation in
Online Learning Luncheons
for faculty
Includein Faculty
Professional Development
Standardtool on Bb Learn
course template
Increaseintra-departmental
use for demonstration and
modeling
Press Release
Campus Rollout
10. Current Use of ConnectYard
Getting Everyone Connected
◦ Faculty to Student
◦ Student to Faculty
◦ Student to Student
Communication within Courses
Student Notifications
11. Planned Uses of ConnectYard
Enhance hybrid courses & supplementals
Communication/interaction tool between
learning teams
Back channeling during course and web
presentations
Intra-department interaction & communication
Campus Notifications
Student Services
◦ Tutoring, Event Notifications, First Year Experience &
Diversity Initiatives
Marketing & Recruitment
13. Student Feedback
"It was convenient to receive notifications regarding the
activity on Blackboard.”
----------
“It allowed me to be better informed of what was
happening within the class with regard to blackboard.”
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Key benefit of ConnectYard, “…to receive instant
notification of any updates or announcements as they
pertained to my class.”
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"IT WAS A GREAT TOOL."