Renton Technical College May 2003
Office of Instructional Improvement Volume 9 No. 9
Here’s What Worked for Me… Student-built database of employers
Varn Ketter reports that his Bank Teller program has built a database of employers to assist with job placement. This helps students identify and learn more about banks, credit unions and other potential employers from their website. In the past job applicants could walk into a branch bank and fill out a paper application, now the industry has electronic application through the website. The student database contains the websites of employers in the area and information related to applications. Varn considers it a “legacy from this class to the next,” which will be revised and improved by subsequent classes. To contact Varn about this idea mailto:
Disabilities Services Project Opportunity for Faculty
Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all. ~ Helen Keller
For all you adventurers out there: here’s an opportunity for you! Sign up to be involved in one of the first pilots funded by the Disability Services Development Plan Grant! The pilots will officially kick off in the Fall, but between then and now, pilot staff will start the planning process and possibly attend some conferences, such as the AHEAD conference in Texas. You will have a chance to try out new technologies in your classroom, have grant staff available to provide administrative and other assistance, travel, learn and earn stipends! If you are interested in finding out new and innovative ways to reach your students, if you are interested helping your peers learn new methods of instruction, if you are ready for a new adventure, please contact Cathy Jenner at 5639 or email: . Some instructors have already “signed up”. We’ll be making the selections in the next few weeks, so don’t delay. Please feel free to contact Cathy for more information on what is involved in being one of the first pilot programs.
The Faculty Room
Barbara Culler developed a Childhood Matters Conference to bring together Early Childhood educators throughout the county at RTC, on Saturday, April 26, 2003. Revenue from the "first annual" conference will be used to establish a scholarship fund for the Early Childhood Education program.
For the last five years, Microsoft has been sponsoring a weeklong training session in the summer to bring IT faculty up to speed on the latest software and best practices in the field. This training session, known as, The Working Connections IT Faculty Development Institute will be held Monday, August 18th through Friday, August 22nd, 2003 at the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, which is physically located on the grounds of Bellevue Community College.
This year they will be presenting six subject tracks to over 140 IT Instructors from all over the state. Tim Culler, from our Computer Science program, has been selected to teach the other Instructors the latest version of Microsoft Office, aka Office 2003, as well as how to program Office Solutions using the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language.
Learnertainment
Lenn Millbower, the president of Offbeat Training is a firm believer the “what we learn with pleasure we never forget. In this article from the American Society for Training and Development website, Lenn talks about techniques for capturing what he calls “distracted learners.” His practical methods for making learning engaging build on what we know about how the brain works. Check it out at http://66.89.55.104/synergy/emailmgmt/moreinfo/moreinfo.cfm?member_id=292276&sponsor_id=377&content_id=3521&b1=221&b2=222&b3=222
Help with pronouncing student names
Cal Poly Pomona is the source of a website which will give you the pronunciation of many of the names on your student roster. If you want to be sensitive and pronounce students’ names correctly this site will really be useful. You can enter databases of many Asian and European countries. If you don’t know the country you can just enter the name and all databases will be searched. Be patient, this website does not load instantly. http://www.csupomona.edu/~faculty_computing/lab/Pronunciations/Pronunciation/index.html
Googling
One of the resources we use a lot in Instructional Improvement is “Googling,” which derives from the verb “to Google” meaning to utilize the Google search engine to find sources related to a specific topic. When an instructor recently asked about training in a specific subject, we went to http://www.google.com, chose an advanced search and entered the identifying phrase for the topic. We then received links to a number of websites that might meet the criteria, and it was just a matter of checking them out to get the information. Had the search presented too many sites, we could have added additional criterion to narrow the search. Google is a great way to have your students research a subject and bring back websites, which you can link, to in the future. There is a great graphic description of the way Google works in this article from Forbes http://www.forbes.com/asap/2002/1007/068chart.html. If you would like assistance on using Google or other search engines contact the TRC or Instructional Improvement.
Same Race, Same Sex, Same Harassment
The liability issues for same-gender or same-race harassment are just the same as for harassment across races and genders. A recent article in Workforce describes the issue in a clear question and answer format that you might want to include in your Human Relations or Job Search courses. They would easily adapt to role-playing or discussion questions. Check out the article at: http://www.workforce.com/section/03/article/23/42/40.html
Web Materials Versus Textbooks
In a recent poll, students preferred courses using web resources over textbooks as a source of information. They felt that the web resources were newer and more engaging in the way that the information was organized. Apparently the students had to do as much or more out of class reading with courses based on web resources. Read more at http://www.collegis.com/pages/58.asp?issue=2003-04
Quotable
"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." ~ Abigail Adams
The mission of the Office of Instructional Improvement is to advance educational strategies, seek to improve the quality of learning environments, and support RTC staff as they prepare a diverse student population for work.