February 2010, Volume 4, Number 4

Black History Month, Groundhog’s Day, and Valentine’s Day occur in the shortest month of the year. This February, we send out a Texas-sized valentine to all, especially to NISOD’s members and partners. We may be short on days, but never short on news. Enjoy this month’s Hook ’Em Up!

The NISOD Staff

• NISOD Excellence Awards Deadlines Are Approaching
• Sign Up for NISOD’s February 18 Webinar
• Become a NISOD Member Today
• Lone Star College System (LSCS) (TX) Opens New Facility
• AMTEC: A Model for Global Competitiveness in Manufacturing
• Atomic Learning Helps Colleges Learn to Engage Students in a Modern Classroom

• Web Study Improves Student Retention
• Tutt & Daggs Finds the Secret to Increasing Student Success
• TLT Group (MD) Improves Teaching and Learning with Technology
• NISOD Publications Corner
• NISOD Conference Corner
• The Learning Edge Blog

NISOD Excellence Awards Deadlines Approaching!

Excellence Awards Recipients: Photos, Statements, and Video Due March 1
We want to know what inspires and motivates you in your work, what strategies help drive your success, and/or what words of wisdom you might pass on to others. In addition, we would like a photo of you working with students. The statements and photos of 2010 Excellence Award recipients will be displayed on our website and on video screens stationed throughout the Convention Center during NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence. Details can be found on our website.

Excellence Awards Booklet Ads
It is not too late to take advantage of the great opportunity to promote your college and Excellence Awards recipients! Complete the Excellence Awards ad reservation form by March 5, to save space in the 2010 NISOD Excellence Awards Booklet.

NISOD Webinar Series

Closing the Gaps between High School and College: College Connection at Austin Community College
This webinar will feature the award-winning College Connection program at the Austin Community College District (TX). College Connection brings college admissions to high school seniors. Join us on February 18.

Become a NISOD Member Today!

Our membership team is seeking the best opportunities for potential NISOD members! Are you a Hook’Em Up reader who is waiting for the perfect time to join NISOD? Become a NISOD member today!

Lone Star College Opens Newest Facility

Lone Star College System (LSCS), the second largest and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas, is moving forward this month with the opening of its newest campus, LSC—University Park.

This 1.2 million square feet of space, located at SH249 and Louetta Road, will include a new university center, the former LSC—Willow Chase Center, Lone Star Corporate College, LSC—Online, and a new high-tech conference center. Classes begin this month for Lone Star students, and the new university center will open later in the spring with multiple university partners.

Lone Star College System consists of five colleges including LSC—CyFair, LSC—Kingwood, LSC—Montgomery, LSC—North Harris, and LSC—Tomball, six centers, LSC—University Park, LSC—University Center @ Montgomery, LSC—University Center @ University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC—Online. With more than 59,000 students in credit classes this fall, LSCS is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area.

AMTEC (Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative): A Model for Global Competitiveness in Manufacturing

The Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) National Center of Excellence in advanced automotive manufacturing and service that is being led by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. AMTEC partners include community colleges representing 12 states and many large global automotive manufacturers and suppliers from the United States, Asia, and Europe. AMTEC challenges community colleges and the automotive manufacturing industry to work together in producing highly skilled technicians and manufacturing engineers to compete in a global economy. AMTEC recognizes the need for specially trained employees who can adapt to increasingly flexible and lean manufacturing lines, fluctuating customer demand, a growing focus on green manufacturing, and increasingly complex technology.

Through the AMTEC collaborative, the following goals are met:

• Auto manufacturing-required workforce competencies are validated and kept current,
• Competency measurement tools and processes are identified and standardized for common and specialty skills,
• Individuals acquire the competencies they need to perform their jobs,
• Participating colleges continuously adapt to changes in auto manufacturing,
• Workforce utilization is maximized by project partners by documenting industry and experiential learning and fully utilizing the workforce development system to ensure access to job openings, and
• More individuals are pursuing career pathways in auto manufacturing.

This is all possible by AMTEC’s modularized curriculum, the availability of multiple entry and exit points, program delivery flexibility, and a shortened learning cycle. The collaborative participation has increased collaboration on a broad scale—between industries, between colleges, and between colleges and industries. Results include a new and revised training curriculum that, according to industry partners, has increased efficiency in their workforce development. AMTEC serves as a unique clearinghouse of information and resource sharing on the latest trends in technology and training. In addition, AMTEC provides a national platform for dialogue and networking within and among colleges and industry stakeholders. The impact has been improved relations with workers’ unions, increased credibility of the partner community colleges, and increased coordination between industry competitors.

One of AMTEC’s original goals was to create a standardized curriculum. It soon became evident that creating one stand-alone national curriculum would not work. DACUM/ Delphi’s were administered to identify knowledge and tasks needed in automotive manufacturing. Regional workshops were held to identify gaps in the curriculum. In addition, it was discovered that validated assessments were needed to identify gaps in skills and knowledge. Open dialogue and collaboration have resulted in creative solutions.

According to the latest survey of evaluation results:

• 50 percent of the industry participants and 85 percent of the college participants in AMTEC activities have revised or added new courses to their education and training programs,
• 88 percent of the industry participants reported that participation in AMTEC has led to greater ties with the community colleges,
• 62 percent of the industry participants reported increased discussions with upper-level management regarding training opportunities, and
• 58 percent of college participants reported more involvement with the auto industry on workforce development issues.

AMTEC is led by an executive committee and senior team members consisting of representatives from community colleges nationwide and leading global automotive manufacturers and suppliers. AMTEC hosts regular academies, workshops, and other activities that are at their sites. Participants in these events experience the distinctive characteristics of each hosting entity and practice productivity-enhancing techniques such as genchi genbutsu (“go and see for yourself,” a site-based approach to problem solving). Industry partners also contribute to planning assessment, curriculum development, and professional development of college faculty and staff.

Learn to Engage Students in a Modern Classroom

The tools and techniques that the best teachers employ change fast enough that colleges of education may struggle to keep up. New hardware, software, and collaboration methods arrive on the learning scene at such a pace that college curricula stay perpetually behind the curve. To engage students in a modern classroom, extracurricular training for new teachers is often necessary.

A Minnesota company, Atomic Learning, has been chosen by students and faculty at hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide for on-demand training in 21st century concepts, social media tools, commonly used software, and assistive technology software and hardware. Atomic Learning offers a continually updated library of very short, easy-to-understand tutorials that teach specific aspects of the most in-demand topics, as well as professional development and assessment resources for educators and workshops covering emergent technology.

Over 50,000 one- to three-minute tutorial videos explain individual software tasks, simplifying problem solving and allowing for highly customized training. Administrators may assign training according to particular needs or through included assessment tools and monitor progress with individual reporting features.

Professional development workshops provide collections of tutorials and supporting documents on topics such as 21st Century Skills Concepts and Podcasting. Technology Integration Projects are customizable pre-built lessons designed to take educators from “How do I do that?” to “How do I apply that?”

Individual students, along with colleges, universities, and entire departments of education have made Atomic Learning an integral part of their professional development programs, a valuable curriculum supplement and an anytime/anywhere software training resource.
To learn how Atomic Learning can work for you and your school, visit the website or call (866) 259-6890.

Engaging Students with Technology is Imperative to Improving Student Retention

A college’s choice of course management system provider could turn the tide in their rates of completion and the success of future generations. A new white paper authored by the President of WebStudy (PA), Gisele Larose, provides a solution for community colleges looking to improve upon student engagement—and student retention rates—by weaving teaching and learning best practices with course management system (CMS) technology. The paper, “Student Retention at Community Colleges: Engaging a New Generation with Technology is Key to America’s Future,” also asserts that student retention rates will play a key role in the future of our nation as we confront the challenges of globalization.

“Though the blame for falling retention rates has many targets, most experts concur that central to the retention problem is a lack of student engagement,” Larose writes in the paper. “When it comes to student engagement, community colleges in particular face a demographic with challenges…many students who choose community college face inadequate college preparation, limited support systems, financial disadvantages, hectic work schedules, or learning disabilities.”

Many experts propose, and Larose agrees, that “blended learning”—blending teaching and learning best practices with CMS technology in an interactively meaningful learning environment—will shift student engagement in a powerful way and make learning more independent, useful, and sustainable. But the right CMS technology is a crucial part of the equation.

“To help educators understand how to leverage technology to engage students, colleges should look for CMS vendors that understand the complex needs of higher education institutions in today’s global economy, those that are focused on learning first, organizational growth second,” Larose says. “To be truly effective, CMS must be designed with pedagogy in mind. Then it can meet the needs of community colleges with features and functionality based on a solid understanding of how students, faculty, and administrators operate.”

The paper provides questions that community colleges should carefully consider before integrating technology:

• Is your current CMS welcomed and intuitive, such that campus-wide blended learning will become the norm?
• Does the CMS technology go beyond information storage to enrich the educational experience for students of all levels?
• Does the CMS company provide the kind of service and support the school requires?
• Will the pricing work within budget realities to support this growth?
• Will your blended learning program and your distance learning program give students the just-in-time access, service, individualized direction, and personalization they deserve?

Larose concludes that as technology is embraced by all faculty for blended learning, there is evidence that it can enhance student performance, provide equal opportunity for students of all learning styles, connect all students with the institution, and potentially reduce dropout/withdrawal rates. In other words, welcomed, intuitive technology can engage students and improve retention.

“The United States has been in the top ranking in college completion, and we will do what it takes to rise to the challenge again,” Larose says. “Engaging students with technology is imperative if retention is to be improved in American community colleges, and a college’s choice of CMS provider/technology partner could turn the tide in their rates of completion and the success of future generations.”

Download a copy of “Student Retention at Community Colleges: Engaging a New Generation with Technology is Key to America’s Future.”

Engaged Employees—The Secret To Increasing Student Success

Is your current organizational culture what you want it to be? Is your faculty committed to helping students achieve what they can't achieve on their own? Is your staff consistently removing barriers for students or do they spend the majority of their time erecting barriers that make it difficult to do business with your college?

NISOD Partner Tutt & Daggs (TX) invites you to explore how their passion, experience, and expertise can bring new organizational understanding of the power of engaged employees, and their impact on recruiting, retention, financial growth, and student ownership to any institution. Tutt & Daggs are well regarded as a creative team, whose presentations lead participants through an entertaining and interactive program, designed to challenge their current level of engagement and inspire them to maximize their potential impact on the lives of students.

Partner Michael Daggs offers, "Based on current research, there are three types of employees woven into the fabric of the organization: those that are moving the organization forward (high-performers), those that are stagnant (middle-performers), and those that are destroying the organization (low-performers). Within each team member there is the capacity to be 100% engaged. Allow us to inspire your team to move forward and create a culture built around engagement."  

Testimonials indicate broad appeal and impact: "Kevin and Mike have a unique talent of using their passion and energy to inspire people to take ownership of their culture. Every organization can benefit from their creative and inspiring message" (Tim Lancaster, President & CEO, Hendrick Health  System, recipient of the 2007 Great Workplace Award). NISOD-member colleges are invited to explore the Tutt & Daggs website to learn about opportunities to bring this team to your campus. 

Frugal Innovation

Helping institutions improve teaching and learning with technology has been the mission of the TLT Group (MD) since 1998, when the non-profit was founded. From the beginning, the TLT Group has believed in approaching technology “people first,” helping colleges and universities use and adapt to technology in ways that support teaching and learning, value the time and experience of staff and faculty, and make the most of tight budgets and resources. Now more than ever, money and time are scarce, but people in colleges and universities still need to improve teaching and learning with technology. This is the challenge of Frugal Innovation, and the TLT Group can help your institution meet it.
 
The TLT Group strategy takes advantage of over-abundant, under-utilized, “low-threshold” resources in small steps. The TLT Group will help your institutions identify those small steps; develop ways to share widely, easily, effectively; and make a difference soon.  

This winter and spring, the TLT Group is offering online webcasts and workshops on Frugal Innovation. Join us online and let us help you make the most with what you have. Check out the TLT Group Online Events Calendar for details.

Innovation Abstracts

Innovation Abstracts, NISOD's flagship teaching strategies publication, disseminates practitioner-written descriptions of successful teaching and learning practices and strategies, programs, and initiatives each week of the academic year. The most recent issues include:

• Educational Philosophy and Leadership: Why It Matters
• Math Is, Math Was

Look for more great issues in your email inbox or on our website each Thursday of the academic year.

The fully searchable online archives contain all articles published over the past 30 years. Innovation Abstracts and Celebrations are password-protected for NISOD members only. Members who do not have a password can complete a password request form.

Publish Your Good Ideas in Innovation Abstracts!

Are you an administrator or instructor who has successful practices, innovations, programs, or initiatives that work for you, your college, and your students? Consider sharing them with NISOD readers in an upcoming Innovation Abstracts. Find out how!

NISOD's 32nd annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence is only three months away! More than 2,000 educators and leaders will gather in Austin, Texas, from May 30 to June 2, to share ideas and innovations through numerous professional development opportunities. We look forward to seeing you in Austin this May!

Registration

Registration for the 2010 conference is open.Visit the online registration page to complete your registration today. To take advantage of our early-bird registration discount, please register by April 30. Group discounts are also available.

Lodging

NISOD has made arrangements with several Austin hotels within walking distance of the Convention Center. Special rates will be offered to conference attendees. Visit the conference lodging page for more information.

Sneak Peek

NISOD will host special sessions throughout the conference. To help you plan your visit, here is a sneak peek of Monday’s special sessions.

“The Role of Faculty in the Accreditation Process”
This session will focus on the role of faculty in ensuring that quality is reviewed during the reaffirmation of accreditation process.

“Town Hall Gathering: New Faculty”
This session is designed to dispel the myths of teaching at a community college and highlight teaching strategies that work.

“Doubling the Numbers: Acceleration and Scale”
Senior administrators and faculty will learn about expectations of the new Developmental Education Initiative and gain insights on improving student outcomes in developmental education and accelerate achievement.

“Leadership in the Community College: From Revolution to Evolution”
A quiet revolution has led to a larger focus on accountability, assessment, and data-driven analysis in garnering meaningful outcomes.

“The K-16 Bridge Program”
Currently, 10 community colleges and more than 70,000 students, grades 4-12, are part of this program that combines in-class lessons, career education, and technology to create a college-going culture.

“Terms of Engagement: Surviving and Thriving in Today’s College Classroom”
This interactive session offers educators a dynamic model for understanding student engagement, as well as strategies and techniques for promoting it in the face-to-face and online classroom.

Want Up-to-Date Information?

Join our conference mailing list to receive conference updates or brochures sent directly to you. Also, check our conference website for updated information on schedules, preconference seminars, special sessions, and featured sessions.

This month, the bloggers discuss how K-20 programs are changing the face of education! Be sure to check it out, and post your comments!

Coral M. Noonan-Terry, Editor-in-Chief
Hook’Em Up is published monthly by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, 1 University Station, D5600, Austin, Texas 78712-0378, (512) 471-7545.

© The University of Texas at Austin, 2010, All rights reserved.