Author: David Malpas

Jan 24, 2011

Eliminating Attrition in ADN 219

Taking an online course for the first time may seem daunting. Students may not know what to expect or how much time to allot for the course, or students may simply forget to log in. In the past, this has led to high rates of attrition, a problem that DELTA is working to solve. DELTA… 

Dec 8, 2010

Signs of Success

If you’ve ever been to DELTA’s Venture II office on Centennial Campus, walking off the elevator, you’ve inevitably noticed an illuminated aluminum NC State University “brick” welcoming you to the space. What you might not have noticed is the small sign next to it that reads “Designed by Trent Huffines, Student Designer.” 

Aug 16, 2010

Design Students Leave a Mark

A leader in product safety certification, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has been putting its permanent “UL” mark on electronics since 1894. When choosing designers for their new learning space in Durham, UL University turned to a leader in the design field, NC State University, to put its permanent mark on the space. 

Aug 16, 2010

Vista to Moodle: Everybody’s Doing It

Blackboard.com has discontinued the Vista product line, and come June 2011, this Learning Management System (LMS) will no longer be available at NC State. All courses being taught using Vista need to be migrated to Moodle, and instructors have two options: Migrate their course content manually with the support of workshops and online job aids, or… 

Jun 14, 2010

Instructors Create Coursepages in Just Days at Twelfth Summer Institute

Each summer, DELTA sees an increase in the number of faculty members charged with the task of putting some or all of their course content online. This sometimes daunting request leaves faculty members with a choice: Meander all summer through scattered resources on online teaching tools and methods, or attend DELTA’s one-week Summer Institute on… 

Apr 29, 2010

No More DVDs: Distributing Podcasted Lectures in the Virtual World

Media Distribution Moves to the Virtual World When students signed up for a video-based Distance Education (DE) course in 2003, they had to pay a $50 deposit for a box of 25 VHS tapes containing all of their class lectures for the semester.  In 2010, when students sign up for a video-based DE course, all… 

Apr 9, 2010

Testing Services Experiences Unprecedented Demand

Not many people like to hear the words “more tests.” For students, these words mean more all-nighters, cramped hands, and waiting anxiously for grades. For instructors, these words mean grading even more 50-question, five-page tests filled with barely-legible responses. But for DELTA Testing Services, “more tests” means an exciting opportunity to implement innovative technology to… 

Feb 26, 2010

Engineering a Dynamic Statics Course

When students walk into an engineering course, they expect long lectures and complicated explanations. However, when students enter the 2009 experimental offering of MAE 206: Engineering Statics, they become something more than passive learners: they become managers, reporters, or skeptics. Students are transformed because of Dr. Anna Howard, teaching associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace… 

Feb 12, 2010

Interactive Technology Facilitates Gender and Science Education

Elementary school kids were drawing their best version of Einstein, his hair sticking straight up, wearing a long white lab coat, holding a test tube filled with potent bubbling, green liquid. As the NCSU Distance Education (DE) students collected and showed these drawings, the kids recognized the drawings had one thing in common: the scientists…