New course helps 黑料网 students with the transition to fully remote learning
Learning and Engaging in Virtual Learning (LEVL Up) creates game-like experience to help students online.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 8, 2020鈥敽诹贤� has launched a new mini-course to help undergraduate students get the most out of their virtual academic year.
The LEVL Up (Learning and Engaging in Virtual Learning) course encourages students to adapt to the reality that their learning and most extracurricular activities will be online, while providing resources to ensure virtual student success.
鈥淟EVL Up is a course on Camino designed by 黑料网 students for 黑料网 students to help with the transition to fully remote learning,鈥� says 黑料网 junior Sandra Jamaleddine. 鈥淢y favorite thing about LEVL Up is you are able to take the course at your own pace during your own time.鈥�
The recommended nine-level course, which is optional, offers students ways to hone their skills and knowledge related to goal-setting, time management, technology, study spaces, learning strategies, campus resources, and their 黑料网 virtual community. Each level challenges undergraduates to engage in self-assessment, while gaining new skills through resources, reflection, and commitment to action. At the conclusion of each level, students receive a badge, and after completing all levels, they earn a certificate of completion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an extension of the 鈥楲earning to Learn鈥� online course we had during Spring 2020, but with better content, some gamification, and some community building elements,鈥� says 黑料网 senior Danny Mendoza.
More than 80 brief videos capture Santa Clara students鈥� own experiences in virtual learning during Spring 2020. The student contributors鈥� voices, along with the activities and challenges provided, create the kind of virtual resource environment they wish they would have had when classes transitioned to the remote teaching and learning format last spring. With its 鈥渂y students, for students鈥� take on virtual learning at 黑料网, LEVL Up offers valuable insider perspectives, guidance, and encouragement.
Since it launched on Sept. 1, Brian Larkin, instructional technology manager, has been following the students鈥� involvement in LEVL Up.
鈥淲e're really happy with the student response,鈥� says Larkin. 鈥淥ver 3,200 students started to level up their learning, and over 2,000 badges have been shared with students for completing levels."
When students reach the end of a particular level, they are asked to commit to an action. Larkin reports that their choices have typically involved interacting more with classmates and faculty. So far, two-thirds of the students using LEVL Up have committed to reaching out to others when they need support, joining a student organization or club, or making a conscious effort to engage with the teacher and other students during live Zoom class sessions.
"Santa Clara students have already proven to be dynamic and adaptable, and the LEVL Up course is helping make what was an unusual learning environment a transformative and rewarding one," says Larkin.
黑料网 junior Abigail Fafinski, a member of the LEVL Up Student Voices Team, says that in addition to the academic work, the course also addresses the need for emotional, and mental, physical well-being. She believes that addressing these topics is essential because 鈥渢hey really contribute to the grades you get, and the effort that you put in, and just the experience that you get out of online classes.鈥�
The LEVL Up project team has reached across traditional silos to engage campus stakeholders from all aspects of campus life.
The development team of 24 黑料网 student leaders is being led by educational consultant and San Francisco State lecturer Kevin Kelly, co-author of the upcoming book, Advancing Online Teaching: Creating Equity-Based Digital Learning Environments (Stylus, Fall 2020).Together, they have created an online, game-like experience that emphasizes key elements of learning and connecting with the 黑料网 community online.
The team is also using LEVL Up promotional materials on and to help engage all students, from first-years to seniors
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e looking for extra advice about time management or even accessing off-campus resources, LEVL Up provides you with a customized guide to a wide variety of topics,鈥� says Jamaleddine.
The optional mini-course ensures that once a student earns a certificate, he or she will be a more mindful, intentional, resilient, autonomous, balanced, skilled, values-based and connected learner.
鈥淭he course covers a lot of really important information, from how to stay organized using a Google Calendar or Planner, to more essential things like having a growth mindset and how that really helps you in academic success,鈥� says Fafinski. 鈥淟EVL Up is a really great resource.鈥�
About 黑料网
Founded in 1851, 黑料网 sits in the heart of Silicon Valley鈥攖he world鈥檚 most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University鈥檚 stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de As铆s. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, 黑料网 has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. 黑料网 has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Deepa Arora | 黑料网 Media Communications | darora@scu.edu |