Carmen Affliliate Program Offers Training, Community, and "Super Powers"
Carmen Affiliates (CA) are a group of designated college and departmental instructional support staff who receive training and increased system access. Anand Khurma, Manager of Educational Technology for the College of Pharmacy, is a shining example of the program.
Khurma plays an active role in course development and Carmen integration for the College of Pharmacy. He jokes that the Pharmacy faculty say he has Carmen "super powers" that allow him to make changes, such as merging course sections or enrolling TAs.
His goal, he says, is to use technology "for what it's good at" to support each course's learning objectives. For example, he has been collaborating with Dr. Pai and her teaching assistants on complex Carmen quizzes for Pharmacy 782, which requires students to demonstrate an understanding of treatment options and their consequences. Using questions with multiple correct answers -- and point deductions for harmful treatment options -- they have created a challenging assessment for students that still allows for automated grading and timely feedback.
In addition to supporting Carmen courses on campus, Khurma works with the Non-Traditional Doctor of Pharmacy (NTPD) program, a series of distance courses taught online via Carmen. To acclimate distance students to Carmen, he developed a training course within Carmen. He has also been working with faculty to record audio and slides of a lecture as the lecture is delivered to the classroom-based section of a course so the distance students can benefit. (See Carmen Examples: Streaming Media for more information on "lecture capture" and streaming media.)
Khurma says his CA access allows him to do more sophisticated things in terms of course organization and management and has given him a better understanding of how Carmen works.
"Going through training and being given the level 3 account (the highest level) has been especially helpful when I'm consulting with instructors on new projects," Khurma says. "The program has really given me perspective on the complexities of Carmen and how to approach large, unique projects using the tools available."
Another benefit of the program has been learning from other Carmen users at quarterly CA meetings.
Khurma says: "You see the whole community of people who support Carmen and hear about their challenges and how they are working with the system. CA created a community with the Carmen team, who let us know they've had problems to resolve too. Building that community made me feel more comfortable. If someone knows a tip or trick about it, they share it."
More about the CA Program
Participation in the CA program requires permission from an appropriate supervisor, such as a department chair or dean. Currently, the CA program includes 76 instructional and technology support staff from departments, colleges, and regional campuses.
There are three levels of CA, and specialized training is required to move through the levels. The specialist level, CA1, gives instructor-level access across the affiliate's unit (college, department, or course). CA2, the manager level, includes access to an administrative tool for merging course sections and creating new courses. The highest level, CA3, allows users to remove users and change user roles, as well as impersonate other users for the purpose of testing and troubleshooting.
To learn more about the CA role and how your college or department can participate, contact carmen@osu.edu.
Article by Robyn Ness