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In order to better understand faculty attitudes and practices regarding usage of library-specific tools and roles in a university learning management system, log data for a period of three semesters was analyzed. Academic departments with highest rates of usage were identified, and faculty users and non-users within those departments were surveyed regarding their perceptions of and experience with the library tools. Librarians who use the tools were also surveyed to compare their perceptions of faculty tool and role use. While faculty survey respondents showed high levels of positive perceptions of librarians, they also exhibited low awareness of the library tools and little understanding of their use. Recommendations for encouraging wider adoption and effective usage are discussed.

Does class size matter? http://www.magnapubs.com/newsletter/distance-education-report/270/Does-Class-Size-Matter-13523-1.html This article originally appeared in Distance Education Report. I've been the director of online education at my institution since 2007. One question I've been asked many times over the years is "What is the optimal number of students to have in an online class?" My usual response is to pretend I didn't hear the question and walk away as quickly as possible. Well, that's not totally true. But as you can imagine, this is not an easy question to answer, as there are many variables that come into play--the topic of the class, the overall course design, the academic rank of students in the class, the experience of the instructor teaching the class, etc. I've had many interesting discussions with students, staff and administrators over the years about enrollments in online courses. When I first started teaching online, my courses would fill almost immediately, sometimes within minutes. Inevitably, students would contact me and request an override for the course - not just one or two students, but dozens upon dozens of students. They were usually surprised when I said no. These frustrated students would often reply with a comment such as, "But it's an online class, so you can take unlimited numbers of students and it won't be any additional work for you." Surprisingly, I've heard this kind of comment from some faculty, staff and administrators as well. I usually view these interactions as opportunities to offer a bit of education about online learning. So I might say, for example, that if I had seven graded assignments in my online course, and 25 students, I would end up grading 175 assignments--with the emphasis on "I." However, if I doubled the number of students in my class and graded seven assignments for 50 students, that would be 350 assignments to grade. There were also 22 quizzes, two exams and multiple

RT @drdavidwicks: Online Ed Skepticism and Self-Sufficiency: Survey of Faculty Views on Technology: https://t.co/oIXKdRean8 #aln14 #edtech Online Ed Skepticism and Self-Sufficiency: Survey of Faculty Views on Technology: https://t.co/oIXKdRean8 #aln14 #edtech - David Wicks (drdavidwicks) http://twitter.com/drdavidwicks/status/527400980934311936

3 ways to support faculty who are using #studentsuccess innovations http://t.co/gya9kJXJKC #edtech #highered #faculty @Blendkit @AlexPickett - NextGenLC (NextGenLC) http://twitter.com/NextGenLC/status/523161304610390016

RT @ryanleighanders: What Online Faculty Can Do to Avoid Burnout - https://t.co/ua8zgl3HeU via @FacultyFocus #online #HigherEducation What Online Faculty Can Do to Avoid Burnout - https://t.co/ua8zgl3HeU via @FacultyFocus #online #HigherEducation - Ryan Anderson (ryanleighanders) http://twitter.com/ryanleighanders/status/952917842428616706

...First-week final exam - One of the more controversial methods of measuring student learning is to have students take the final exam during the first week in class, but don't grade them on it. At the end of the semester give them that same exam again and compare the results. While letting students see their final exam makes some faculty nervous, Nilson says most students won't remember any of the questions, and if they do what's the harm? It will simply help them focus in on what you feel is important for them to know.

Before ... and after learning ...