Faculty Support
Resource Documents
Distance Education Faculty Handbook
The Distance Education Faculty Handbook designed to provide information about policies and procedures for Distance Education at Pellissippi State. Among the objectives for this handbook are to articulate the mission and goals of the Distance Education Program and provide technical support, pedagogical support and other resources for faculty teaching distance education courses. This manual is organized as an online document that can easily allow for supplementation and revision as policies and procedures develop and change.
Common Brightspace Experience
In support of the college strategic plan, Distance Ed is beginning a pilot of the Common Brightspace Experience fall 2022.
The Common Brightspace Experience is comprised of several layout and navigation practices intended to reduce the learning curve required of students as they move from course to course within the college. This can be encapsulated into four practices:
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The use of the Pellissippi Course Default homepage.
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The use of the Pellissippi navigation bar.
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In Content, the use of a “Getting Started” module, using the ‘classic’ Content experience rather than the ‘new’ Content experience, and use of one of the recommended organization methods for modules.
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The use of the Grades tool for course grades.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Universal design for learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. This framework is based on three main principles:
Turnitin
Turnitin is a cloud-based solution with capabilities in originality checking and online grading using their Similarity Report and Online Grading tools. Turnitin saves instructors time and facilitates personalized feedback for learners.
Panorama by YuJa
Panorama is an accessibility tool, integrated into D2L, designed to improve the usability and accessibility of course content created and uploaded into D2L, as well as provide students with the opportunity to access and download accessible alternative formats for course files.
Submit Reports to Navigate
Using the default course homepage, faculty will see a widget in the right column with links to submit ad noc notifications for student support to the Navigate team.