Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all of you! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday spending time with family and friends. I also hope you find some time to recharge. It's been a very busy fall - again!

We took this picture on Haig Mountain on Sunday afternoon while we were ski touring. It was a perfect day - crispy cold and clear. And even though the skiing was amazing, the best part was being with our family and friends. This is where I go to re-energize!

Watch for an EET update over the holidays as well. I have one drafted, and I'll post it later in the break so I have some time to think about it, and it's fresh when we all return on January 4th.

In the meantime, thanks for all you do! You really are making a difference!

And a few more skiing pictures, if you're interested . . .

Another - very good - Blended Learning Resource

Thanks, Chris A., for passing this very good article on blended learning on . . .

On September 15 and 16, 2010, the ELI teaching and learning community gathered for an online focus session on blended learning. This white paper is a synthesis of the key ideas, themes, and concepts that emerged from those sessions. This white paper also includes links to supporting focus session materials, recordings, and resources. It represents a harvesting of the key elements that we, as a teaching and learning community, need to keep in mind as we work to refine the blended instructional delivery model in higher education.

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/BlendedLearningAReportontheELI/218492

The article includes a good illustration of blended learning (see page 10).

New AACTI website

AACTI - Alberta Association of Colleges and Technical Institutes has launched a new website: http://www.aacti.ca/home.php

I attended a webinar last week that was facilitated by an "Innovation Facilitator" based out of Olds College. They have set up Communities of Practice (public or private) on a wide variety of topics, but you can also add your own.

and if you join a Community of Practice (or add a new one), you could win an iPad!

The Community of Practice concept is interesting. I'm wondering if we could start one around instructional design - or curriculum development - or media - or ? Anyone interested?

Interesting info re the growth of online education

Here's a link to a blog that includes some interesting discussion and information related to the growth of online education as well as managing online education. It's a good read!

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/digital_tweed

Peer Evaluation for Faculty

Debbie, Sue and Julie have been planning for a change to the Faculty Evaluation process that came into effect this year. Instead of the usual "get the students to fill out an evaluation", the instructors who need to be evaluated are working in triads to give each other feedback on their teaching. All instructors involved in this process have to attend a mandatory 2 hour orientation, so this has kept all three of the curriculum consultants busy!

Academic Council

Sue and Julie (and Debbie before she left for holidays) have been very busy working with programs to complete all the necessary forms to go to Academic Council. Changes that need to be approved at Academic Council include new courses, credit changes, name changes, deleted courses, sequence changes . . . . And the meeting on Wednesday, November 17, was the deadline for all changes for the official LC calendar effective July 1, 2011. It was very busy!

Many of these changes have implications for our course development work, as it means that changes need to be made to the online and print courses prior to September 2011 delivery.

Access License - Copyright

As of December 31 we will no longer have an Access license at Lethbridge College. In the past we have been able to use third party materials (such as PDFs of articles) in our print based materials. Now we will have to apply to each specific publisher for copyright approval. There's a lot more to it than this so check out this website: http://www.lethbridgecollege.net/copyright/. This decision will impact all of us in various ways.

Diana and Mark worked extensively with Leah to develop the copyright website, which has been noticed nationally, by the way. Nice work on this!

What does this mean for EET?
- We're currently reviewing all the printed course manuals, and will be working with people from the programs to identify revisions and alternate materials.
- The instructional designers will be paying close attention to this as subject matter experts and course writers are identifying third party materials.

More on this as it evolves . . .

eLearning Cafe - Repurposing

We met with representatives from NAIT, Keyano, and Olds College (and with NorQuest College this afternoon) to discuss the best way to repurpose the eLearning Cafe website. There has been a lot of interest from the other eCampus institutions, which reinforces the quality of this site!

Mark and Tyler will be developing a "vanilla" version of the site. This means that we will be removing most references to Lethbridge College, changing the URL to a more generic one, and removing the references to the online tutoring, which only applies to Lethbridge College students for now.

Professional Development - Planning

Chris facilitated a discussion on Monday around the development of a PD plan to support the DL Strategy implementation. We have planned a variety of activities already, and this plan should help to pull everything together. More details on this as it progresses . . .

Upcoming Course Development Projects

We have been having conversations and doing some preliminary planning for the following projects. Some have started, while others are still in the preliminary stages:

• Revisions to Police Recruit Training materials. Pam and Erica are the leads on these revisions to the materials that were initially completed last February.
• Transition of the Practical Nursing (PN) program to online and blended delivery. This two year program consists of theory, lab, clinical, and practicum courses. All the theory courses will be developed for online delivery; the labs will be blended; and the clinical and practicum courses will be mostly face-to-face with an Angel presence. Pam has started work on this project and it is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2011.
  
• As part of the PN project, we need to develop 3 biology courses for online / blended delivery.
• I'm attending an meeting with the Engineering program next week to discuss their request to develop several of their first year core courses for online development. This is part of DL Strategy support.
• We've also had a very preliminary discussion around helping the Broadcast Journalism program develop a series of approximately courses in conjunction with the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association (AWNA).
  
• The Early Childhood Program (ECE) has decided to move forward with transitioning their entire two year program from print to online delivery. Ian is meeting with the program soon to plan the development which will likely take 3 to 4 years.
  
• We may be supporting two additional wind turbine projects, but it is very preliminary.

I'll add more as they happen!

How do we know?

Interesting question . . . how do we know? How do we really know if . . . .

• the Read Me First section in our online courses is helpful for students?
  
• that the support we are providing for video conference or Smartboards is the best way?
  
• that the processes we use to do curriculum reviews with programs is working?
  
• that our Angel sessions with faculty are what they need?
  
• the Instructional Skills workshops or Survival Skills session are meeting instructors' needs
  
• that a learning object or activity in an online course helps students learn?

And the list goes on. What evidence could we gather to help us make decisions and to improve the support we provide?

The conference Chris G., Karen O'Dwyer and I attended the past few days in Banff was on the "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning". Here's one definition of this term from the workshop I attended on Wednesday: It "involves the gathering and interpretation of evidence of student learning" (Gale, 2008). The term applies most directly to what instructors are doing in their own classrooms, with a focus on understanding and improving student learning. But we support instructors, so where do we come in?

It's about following through on our curiosity . . . asking critical questions . . . gathering evidence . . . sharing what we have learned. It's also about helping instructors do this. If we have a culture of evidence in EET, it will most certainly come through in the work we do with instructors.

Watch for more presentations on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the next month of so. There's a lot more to it . . .

Next EET Staff Meeting - Focus on Productivity

It's time for another EET staff meeting. It's scheduled for Friday, November 19 at 9 am (location TBA), and the focus is on productivity.

Here's the agenda:

• First 10 minutes - questions comments about EET blog postings. Several more updates will be posted over the next week, and I'll remind you to read them before the meeting.
• Next 50 minutes - sharing practices that will help all of us be more productive. I'll be around asking for volunteers to share strategies that you use. I know that many of you have some good strategies you use on a regular basis. Either way, I'll be around recruiting . . .

If anyone has ideas for future meetings, let me know . . . Each meeting will have a theme that is relevant to everyone.

EET Meetings

As many of you know, through the fall I've been looking at all the meetings with EET and changing things up a bit in some situations. The purpose is to ensure that the meetings are planned, necessary, and purposeful. They also need to be as frequent as necessary with the right people at the table. Meetings suck up a lot of resources, so all of you at all levels should be thinking about the meetings you are involved with and asking yourselves questions like this:

• Is the meeting necessary? Do we need to meet more - or less - or not at all?
• Am I always prepared for meetings?
• Is there a planned agenda?
• What's the purpose for the meeting? Is it possible to provide information in different ways so that meetings may be unnecessary or shorter?
• And here is a link to more info on meetings (thanks Tyler!): http://the99percent.com/tips/5593/measure-meetings-with-action
  

The visual above shows the more structured meetings within EET. I've either asked - or will be asking - the people who chair these meetings to help to develop short terms of reference for each one.

Notes from EET / Chair meeting on October 25

Last week a group of us met with Chairs and Managers from across campus to share information on all the work that EET is involved with. One of my goals this year is to share more relevant and timely information on EET initiatives with the College community. These meetings with the Chairs will occur each semester from now on and are in addition to the Program Updates we are currently sending out each month.

Please take a few moments to skim / read through the notes from our meeting. This will give you a broader picture of EET initiatives than you might see in your day-to-day work. I think it will also provide some context for the additional information we are asking you to provide at all levels (for example, specific hours on projects, progress updates, etc.). This information is critical as we try to balance the requests we receive with our resources for support (including people, equipment, space, and time).

http://tinyurl.com/agenda-chair-meeting

All feedback welcome and very much appreciated! K

Feedback on EET Strengths Workshop - please!

I know this is long overdue but I'm hoping you can still remember and provide feedback about our Strengths Workshop. This information will help us plan for future sessions - related to both Strengths and other topics.

Survey (four questions) on Strengths Workshop

This is a quick survey - only 4 questions. Thanks for taking the time . . . .

And the fire drill . . . .

Yes, there is going to be another fire drill in the next couple of weeks. The fire evacuation plan is posted in the faculty lab and other work areas. Please take a moment to read it early next week.

Couple reminders:

1. Leave the building when the alarm goes off. I know . . . seems obvious but yours truly thought the alarm this week was just the same old noise around here and was the last to leave. Pam was keeping me company :)

2. The meeting area for EET is the courtyard on the south side of the Tech building.

3. Close the doors when you leave.

4. Make sure each room is empty when you leave.

5. We need to count people in the courtyard to ensure everyone is safe, so be aware of your work teams and where everyone is.

Donna and Elio (and me when I'm back) are the contact people if you have questions. Watch for the special vest that we'll be wearing!

Karen is on holidays!

Well, it's finally time for me to go on holidays. We've been planning this trip to the Grand Canyon for almost a year, so it really is time to just go do it. I'll be back on campus on Friday, October 22.

On this trip I won't have any access to email or cell phones. It's actually one of the requirements of this guided trip. They call it 'technology free'.

Have a good couple of weeks!

Karen

eCampus Feedback on eLearning Cafe

Overall, there is huge interest in the site and this only happens when a resource is viewed as excellent. Several other institutions have asked if they can re-purpose the site, in other words, switch out Lethbridge College specific content and put their own institution's information in its place. We're currently talking about a Creative Commons license where they would be able to do this as long as they share any changes back, but this isn't finalized. Lethbridge College would always be given credit for developing the site. This expectation to share / repurpose is part of the funding agreement, and I'm not sure what this will mean for work for us, but it shouldn't be a lot.

I wanted to pass this on. It made me feel very proud to be part of a team that can do this type of quality work. And it was a lot of work! Kudos to the following . . .

Lynda Duval - for her leadership and persistence and dedication to the project
Connie Gross - instructional designer
Rebecca Mercer and Mark Taylor -media specialists
Brenda Quigley - formatter
Rhonda Vuch - writer
Chris Goble - Mgr of Instructional Tech - for guiding the project along . . .

And the other media specialists and formatters and instructional designers who supported this team and the project in various ways along the way.

Job well done!

http://www.lethbridgecollege.net/elearningcafe/

Strenghts EET Inventory

Hopefully we achieved our goals on Friday of developing an awareness of our own strengths in relation to the strengths of the people we work with. There is much to think about as we work with our teams over the next weeks and months.

Here's a link to the inventory if you need it. Please notice the extra pages showing the various teams within EET. It's very interesting to see where the common strengths are, as well as the missing strengths within the various smaller teams.

And please remember to post your strengths in your work space. The hope is that it will help all of us work together if more collaborative and efficient ways.

EET Strengths Inventory

Record Number of DL Registrations this fall!

All your hard work is paying off. This is an all time high for DL registrations - 1134!

Trust Principles - Questions to Ponder

Tracy sent these Trust Principles attached to an email earlier today. I'm posting them here for two main reasons - one to emphasize their importance and relevance to our world in EET, but also for you to ponder these questions:

Do we practice these principles in EET? Are we, as a team, better at some of these principles than others? Do each of us, as individuals, practice these principles in our day-to-day work within EET? If you had to pick one to work on right now, which one would it be?

1. Open and honest communication. Seek first to understand, then to be understood

2. Show loyalty, extend trust and demonstrate respect.

3. Confront reality. Ask tough, thought provoking-questions.

4. Create transparency and clear expectations.

5. Create a “no blame” environment and learn from past experiences. We are risk tolerant and support innovation.

6. Deal proactively with challenges in order to focus on gains, maximize opportunities and create winners.

7. Practice accountability, keep commitments and deliver results.

8. Own and live these principles

Furniture has been ordered!

The furniture for the following areas has been ordered and should be on campus by late October / early November:

• TE3215 - 2 additional ID stations
• TE3203 - 2 reception stations for Donna and Liz
• TE3218 - 2 additional media specialist stations

DL Strategy Recommendations

The recommendations from the DL Strategy were presented to ALT in June and have now been approved. These recommendations were developed in follow up to meetings that Chris and I had with all the programs across campus in the spring. The guiding principles we used are also listed in the document.


We are in the process of determining costs and initiating action on a variety of the projects, including PD initiatives (Blended Course Redesigns and Advanced Angel sessions), online course development, and research.

DL Strategy Recommendations

Covey Presentation on Thursday

Everyone should try to attend the Cover presentation on Thursday from 10 to 12. I have Covey's book titled, The Speed of Trust, if you're interested in skimming through it prior to listening to the presentation.

Strengths Workshop / EET meeting on October 1

We tried to schedule our EET Strengths workshop and (brief) meeting in September, and we're missing it by one day! Please save Friday October 1 from 10 to 1 for this workshop, meeting and lunch. Details to follow!

Board of Governor's Meeting on September 21

As you know, were received an Innovation Award from the League for Innovations. Initially the entire team was invited to the Board of Governor meeting on Tuesday, and I thought that was quite amazing. But then they realized that we have 30 people in EET (yeah!) and have now asked us to send 4 to 6 people instead (darn!).

So we asked for reps from each area, and you will be represented by Chris, Elio, Tyler, Donna, Sue, and Karen at the meeting.

Lethbridge Extra Life Team - October 16th!

Let's get on board and support Mark and his team on their quest to raise money for the Albert Children's Hospital Foundation in Calgary. See Mark's message below . . .

In case you haven't heard, some of your friendly neighborhood media specialists are taking part in a charity marathon named Extra Life on October 16th to raise money for the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation in Calgary. Over the last two years Extra Life has raised more than $300,000 for the Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Cancer Center, and this year Extra Life has opened it's doors for participants to choose which Children's Miracle Network Hospital they would like their donations sent to.

Starting at 8am, on October 16th Jamie, Tyler, Adam, Rebecca, Matt, and Mark (as well as some of our friends) will attempt to play video games for 24 hours straight. Each of us have been asked to find 4 people to donate $1/hour and that money will go directly to the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. If any of you have been to the Alberta Children's Hospital, you know the wonderful things they do for the children in our province.

Please, if you can, help us reach and hopefully exceed our goals. Below is a link to the Lethbridge Extra Life Team page with a list of everyone who is participating. All donations are handled online through credit card or PayPal.

Thank you for you help in this great cause!

The Lethbridge Extra Life Team

https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/team.aspx?id=4E55A1

Welcome Ryan!

Ryan Robinson has joined us as an AV Tech, and started a couple weeks ago. Lucky Ryan - he started in one of the busiest times of the year! Here's an intro from Ryan:

First of all, I'd just like to thank everyone for making me feel very welcome in my first week here! As a Broadcast Journalism Grad of the College (Class of '06), I'm very excited to be working here and to be a part of a great working environment. For those of you who haven't had a chance to meet me yet, there are basically only two things you need to know about me. I'm a huge Edmonton Oilers fan. When Ryan Smyth was traded to the Islanders on February 27, 2007, I didn't eat for two days. The other thing is, I firmly believe that if Lennon or McCartney didn't write it, why would you bother listening to it? Anyway, I'm looking forward to working with each of you and getting to know you better as well!

Ryan Robinson

Welcome Liz!

As you know, Marina will be leaving very soon to start her new adventure in parenting. In preparation for this, we've hired a new course development assistant to take over Marina's duties while she is away. Liz Piquette is working three days this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and the same next week as Marina shows her all the intricacies of her position. Liz will start full time on Monday, September 27.

Marina's last day, if all goes according to plan, is Friday, September 24. We'll sure miss you, Marina!

If you haven't met Liz already, please take a minute to stop by to welcome her to EET!

Work Request Form - Update

Many of us are using the "Work Request Form" and it's working quite well - so please use it, when appropriate. EET Work Request Form.

Here's my initial list of questions you've been asking and we've been discussing:

When would you use the form?

• If you can resolve the problem quickly, do it. If it has an immediate impact on students, submit the work request, but also talk to Lorne or Amber to try to get it resolved quickly?

Why would I use this form?

• Couple reasons: One it is a good way of funneling all the requests to one location where the production team can decide when, who, and how it will be supported. The other reason is it will help us to document all the work we do.

Can I submit it on behalf of an instructor?

• Yes, there is a field that allows you to identify "submitted by" as well as "program contact"

Who reviews what has been submitted?

• The list of projects is reviewed at the production meeting each week. When the lead person is assigned, it is moved to a different page within the google spreadsheet.

How are projects priorized?

• What's the deadline for completion? Does it impact students immediately? Who is available to take the lead and work on the project? Do we have external commitments (ie eCampus)?

Next Centre Meeting on Friday Sept 24

Heads-up - the next CTLI Centre meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 24 starting at lunch time. The plan so far is to have lunch on campus, followed by dragon boating etc. at Henderson Lake in the pm. More info to follow . . .

Just one comment on this one: This Centre meeting is an expectation, rather than an option. Some of you have work related commitments off campus on this day, and others will be providing coverage for the other areas. Otherwise, please plan to attend. If you are unable to go, please let me know.

Ideas for Talbot Fund

Anyone have creative ideas for the Talbot Fund:

Supporting growth and development through partnerships with a diverse range of individuals, service organizations, businesses and LCC employees. This fund will support a broad range of applications as approved by the President including: library resources, professional currency of College staff, general college educational resources, capital equipment and special event funding.

Please pass ideas on to me by Friday, Sept 10!

Work Request Form

Here is a link to an EET Work Request Form. This is a pilot, and we're asking that everyone use this form to document the work requests that are coming into EET. We're trying to funnel all requests to one place so we can work together to decide if and when we could support it, along with who would be involved. We're seeing an increase in requests from instructors and programs and anticipate that these requests will continue and probably increase in frequency.

This form should be used for "project" type requests, and not for day-to-day small requests.

We will be discussing the new requests each week at the production meeting. Let's try it for a while and see what happens!

Space Update - Thanks to Marina and Donna

A huge thank you to Marina and to Donna for helping us find a work station for Chris, our new instructional designer. We've added a second (temporary) work station beside Donna, and Marina is in the process of moving to this new work station. Chris Aitken will be moving into one of the work stations in TE3215 when he starts on Monday.

Both Marina and Donna were helpful throughout the solution seeking process and have been willing to do whatever is necessary to make this work. I appreciate this very much!

We are in the process of applying for funds to purchase two work stations for this area beside the front door, but also for two more work stations in TE3215 to accommodate the instructional designers and Lorne. I'll keep you updated as things progress.

Lightbulb moves again . .. to Diana

Diana is the newest recipient of the lightbulb . . . for showing others how to use Dropbox. This is a great tool for file sharing. See Diana for a demo!

New Instructional Designer starting on Monday

Chris Aitken, our new Instructional Designer, will be starting with EET on Monday (August 23). We'll be introducing Chris to everyone on Monday morning, but if we happen to miss you, he'll be working in TE3213 so please stop by to welcome him to the team.

For the first week or so, Chris will be spending time shadowing the other ID's, as well as media specialists and formatters. It's important that Chris understands the role that everyone takes on the team. He'll be transitioning into his own projects early in September.

Professional Development - Training Plans (AUPE and Excluded staff)

This is relevant for AUPE and Excluded staff. If you are planning to participate in any activities that require funding, you need to submit a Training Plan to me (and then I'll pass it on to HR). The sooner you have these submitted, the better chance you have of receiving funding.

So please think about the goals you have set for this year and about how you will achieve them. Do you need to attend a conference? Take a course (credit or non-credit)? (see below for delivery options). For now we can estimate costs on the forms.

Here's a link to the Training Plan Template:

and the lightbulb moves on . . . . to Stacey!

This week Brenda passed the lightbulb on to Stacey for her leadership in completing the Badlands project. Way to go Stacey!

We'll be saying goodbye to Jason in August

If you haven't talked to him, Jason Arnold has some exciting news. He's going back to school full-time in September to take a Sustainable Engineering program in Ontario. So he'll be moving across the country as well. Wish him well when you get a minute. And congrats, Jason, on making this decision! We'll miss you!

Just so you know, Jason's position will be posted on the website, quite likely today.

General EET Updates - July

I've been working on clearing my desk today as I get ready to go on holidays for a couple of weeks. FYI, I'll be checking email sporadically next week (from August 3 to 6), but will not be checking at all the following week (from August 9-13). I'll be out in the ocean on a kayak searching for whales!

July has been an interesting month. It feels like it's been very productive busy. I haven't had as many meetings, so I've been able to tackle some bigger projects and spend some time thinking through and acting on a variety of things, including processes, workload assignments, meetings, and staffing. We're working towards making sure that everything is working in the best ways possible. Equally as important, though, I've had some time to think about and plan for next year. Thanks to those of you who have joined the conversations about many of these processes and changes. Your input is critical to the right changes happening!

Meetings, meetings, and more meetings! What meetings are necessary? Who needs to be at the table? How often should we meet? What is the purpose of the meeting? Who chairs / facilitates the meeting? These are the questions I've been asking about all the meetings we have in EET. There is a fine balance between too many meetings (inefficient use of time, frustrations . . .) and not enough meetings (possible decrease in communication and engagement . . .). We're planning to try some new things as we move into the fall, so watch for info on this as it evolves.

Orientations for New Staff: We're working on documenting information that will be helpful when new staff join EET. Pam has been working on materials specific to the Instructional designer and writer positions. I'm working on more general information to be included. This information will likely evolve / change forever, but we have to start somewhere.


EET Report for 2009/2010: I've been compiling a report on EET activities for the 09/10 academic year. Several of you submitted portions of this report, and this information has been very helpful. You will alll have access to the report in the next couple of weeks when it is complete.

Fire Evacuation Plans: We'll talk about this at our next EET staff meeting, but in the meantime, please take a moment to read the evacuation plans have been posted around the EET work spaces. I've heard there will be a practice fire drill sometime this fall, so everyone needs to be familiar with the process. I know that I've become almost immune to the noise around here this summer - will probably have a tendency to ignore the alarm when it goes off. Not a good thing!

Completed Projects: A variety of projects have been completed over the summer. Badlands wrapped up last week (with some kudos from Tracy Edwards!), the CUPP courses with a June completion have almost been cleared off the whiteboard in TE3213, and a variety of individual courses are nearing completion.

Juggling Workloads: Try to visualize this! You need to know how much I appreciate your willingness to help each other when deadlines are looming and workloads are heavy. We tried a different method last week with allocating a specific week to Tyler and Rebecca to work on the Wind Turbine project. This may have potential for other projects in the future, but it also has implications for how we manage our individual workloads on a daily basis. Something to think about.

Strengths Workshop: I wish we would have been able to have the planned strengths workshop earlier this summer, but too many people were away. We'll revisit this in September.

Renovations to our Building: Thanks for your patience in working through the noise and mess this summer. I know we are lucky in comparison to the first and second floors, but it's still been somewhat of an inconvenience. It'll be nice to have hot water again (kinda feels like we've been camping!) as well as better air quality. It's work the temporary inconvenience!

Tubing was lots of fun on Wednesday! Watch for other activities in August (hiking day in Waterton, lunch days . . .). This is getting quite long, so I'll add more updates as I think of them.

Updates on Instructional Design positions

We have a new instructional designer starting in EET. Please welcome Chris Aitken when he starts on August 23. He will be working with the ID team on both course development projects and on PD initiatives related to the DL Strategy implementation. You'll learn more about Chris when he starts, but to give you a quick intro, he is an experienced teacher, has developed online courses, and is currently enrolled in the Masters in Ed Tech program at UBC.

Diana will be moving into the second position we had approved, again as part of the DL Strategy. Her workload will continue to focus mainly on the course development projects.

We have a very strong team of instructional designers!

Emerging Technologies in Distance Education

New resource related to DL published by Athabasca in July 2010: Emerging Technologies in Distance Education. It's a complete book and free download.

http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120177

Interns from U of L Masters in Ed Tech program

Heads-up - we are starting conversations with two students from the Masters in Ed Tech program at the U of L in the next week of so. Both students are teachers in the K-12 system and are looking for leadership opportunities related to educational technology.

We'll start by meeting with them to brainstorm possible projects. This is a wonderful opportunity for both the students and for EET. More details as they become available . . ..

Badlands Project - Completed!

Thanks to all of you who helped with the Badlands project: Stacey, Diana, Jamie, Lyle, Tyler, Brenda, and Shirley! And thanks Stacey, for distributing chocolate to the team! Amazing!!

This was another one of those projects that required everyone to pull together to ensure quality and to meet the deadline - and you did it! Your efforts are very much appreciated.

EET Lunch Activities - Friday July 23 and Wednesday August 11

Heather is planning a pot luck lunch this Friday, July 23. If you'd like to join in, just talk to Heather. Another lunch activity is being planned for Wednesday, August 11. More details to follow . . . .!

EET Activities Update - Tubing on Wed, July 28

From Chris, Heather, and Adam: The tubing date of Wed. July 28 has been confirmed.

• Planned meeting time is 4:30pm.
  
• A BBQ will be provided at the end of the trip.
  
• Tubes and life jackets are available.
  
• Water shoes cost $2 for rental.
  
• Closed toed shoes are encouraged (and no thonged sandals are allowed)
• Meet at the Oldman River off the Highway 2 bridge.
  
• We have space booked for 14 people, and more can be added as needed.
  
• Trip length is a couple of hours. 4 hours total (including the BBQ) was mentioned as an average time.

Adam has posted a sign up sheet/form above the sink in the kitchen. This sounds like lots of fun so plan to come - sign up now!!

Strengths Finder Session and Lunch Postponed

The Strengths Finder session and lunch we had scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed to sometime in late September. As it turns out, we have 9 people away tomorrow, which is about a third of our staff. We'll reschedule when everyone is here!

Karen

Karen's holidays / summer work hours

Thought you might want to know my "here and away" days for July and August:

• July - I'm planning to be here all of July, except for Fridays. I've been working long days Monday to Thursday so I can take a flex day on Fridays.
• August - I've booked August 3 to 13 for annual leave - one week of hiking / biking followed by one week of kayaking in Nootka Sound off of Vancouver Island.

All these days are on the EET holiday calendar, but I wanted to make sure you knew.

Staffing Updates - Congratulations to Tim and Brenda

Two staffing updates for you:

1. Tim Dawson is moving from a project position into a full-time continuing AV Technologist position, effective July 1, 2010. Congratulations Tim!

2. Brenda Quigley is moving into the one-year project Formatter position that was added as part of the DL Strategy implementation, also effective July 1, 2010. Congratulations Brenda! Brenda is also the newest recipient of the "Luminary" award because of her new position. She now has the lightbulb sitting proudly on her desk!

Both positions were an open (internal) competition, and it's a good feeling to have experienced and knowledgeable staff already working for EET who can transition very smoothly into these positions.

3. We have hired another formatter on a casual basis to help with the September rush. Sharon will be starting work on Monday and will be working in TE3213. Hopefully this will help the formatters catch up a bit!

We'll be interviewing for the instructional design positions in the next couple of weeks. The competition closes tomorrow (Friday).

Few EET Updates for July

1. Performance Reviews (better word is Performance Conversations :): We are almost finished all the reviews for this year. Thanks to Chris, Elio, and Lorne for your help with these, and to everyone who took the time to complete their self-appraisals and PD plans. Reflecting on last year's goals and thinking through your goals for next year is time well spent as we move into a very busy year of implementing the DL Strategy.

2. DL Strategy: Last week Chris and I attended the Academic Leadership Team (ALT) meeting with Peter Leclaire and the Deans to present our recommendations for what we think we can support over the next three years. We are now waiting for feedback from ALT and will make revisions as necessary. As soon as we think we have a final (or close to final) version, we'll have another information session for all EET staff. For the time being, I have several copies of the recommendations in my office. Because they are in draft form and haven't been approved, I hesitate to send copies around, but you are welcome anytime to stop by and read through them.

3. New projects: We've had more requests for support in the last week or so. They just keep on coming!

• The Youth in Transition program in the English Language Centre is submitting a proposal this week to develop learning objects that would be hosted on a website. Proposal is due this week.
• Today I received an email from the Centre for Advancement in Community Justice. They have received funding to develop a 40 hour training course in the security industry. I don't have much for details yet, but it sounds like mostly formatting and media support.
• Last week Ian received an email from an "official" from Correctional Services Canada who is interested in further discussion on virtual simulations. We are in the process of setting up a meeting in mid-July.
  
• The Welding apprenticeship program has received funding to develop a series of learning objects (digital learning activities, video clips, etc) to be made accessible to welding students. Again, I don't have a lot of information on this yet, but we're meeting next week.
• We've been meeting with the Practical Nursing program to plan delivery in a blended format (online and video conference) to the "Community Campuses" (Fort Macleod, Claresholm, Pincher Creek, and / or Crowsnest Pass) starting in fall 2011.
  

This is exciting and somewhat overwhelming all at one time!

4. New Positions
Several competitions have now closed, including the Formatter and AV Technologist position. We will be scheduling interviews within the next couple of weeks. The Instructional Designer positions close on Friday, July 9.

5. Director Position
I've accepted the Director of EET position effective July 1, 2010. This position is in most ways the same as the Chair position, except for a few things: I leave my faculty position and now have an "excluded" / admin position, and we have a change in some reporting responsibilities. All the curriculum consultants, including Sue, Debbie, Connie, and Julie will now report to me, whereas in the past they reported to Karen O'Dwyer.

6. Summer Plans

• We're planning a Strengths session in July, followed by a BBQ and a Bocce Ball tournament. Watch for more information on this later this week!
• Hike in Waterton - date and hikes to be determined

Position Postings are on LC Website

The ads for the 4 positions in EET are up on the Lethbridge College website, and / or on the board outside of the AV office.

• The two Instructional design positions are one-year project positions (with possibility of extension). The competition closes on July 9.

• The one Formatter one-year project position (with possibility of extension) is being advertised both internally and externally. The position closes on July 2.
  

• The AV Technologist full-time continuing position is being advertised internally only. Position closes on June 30.

Please pass this information on to anyone you think might be interested.

EET Photo

And here we are!

Message re Innovation Award

The League for Innovation recently sent out an email with an announcement about the award we received. Here's what they said, along with the link.

"Innovation is alive and well in the community college! Fifty outstanding community college innovations--ranging from college transition advisors based at high schools and a usage inventory for energy conservation to a fabricated aircraft fuel system simulator and a sustainable urban farm program for students and the community--have been recognized with the League's Innovation of the Year award. These innovations represent capstone achievements and the continuing renewal of the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. Read about these award-winning innovations and find out how your college can participate in the May issue of Innovation Showcase.

Very very cool!

Production Debrief - Thank you and notes!

Thanks to each one of you for helping with the production debrief on Tuesday. These conversations - and your willingness to engage in them - are what helps us both improve and be responsive to all the work coming our way.

Here is a link to the notes that Donna took. I'll add the links to the more specific notes within this document, for your reference, as well. We'll be following up over the next while on the actions that need to happen.

It was a great day!

Production Debrief on Tuesday - Couple things . . .

Here's a reminder about our production debrief scheduled for Tuesday, June 15. We'll start with smaller, unit specific discussions in the morning, followed by a full group debrief in the afternoon.

The purpose of this debrief is to examine and improve our production processes and practices. We have a lot of work coming our way as a result of the DL Strategy implementation, and we need to be as efficient as possible as we go into next year.

Here are the questions that may help get your discussions started:

What's working?
Where are the challenges?
What are potential solutions?
If you had one wish . . .

Plan to come for lunch followed by the full group session in the Sunflower Room starting at 12. The menu will be BBQ beef or pork on a bun, salads . . .

Here's the morning schedule:

Smaller group specific meetings in the morning:
- Formatters from 8:30 to 10 in TE3213
- AV from 8:30 to 9:45 in IB1133 (Elio is on annual leave this week)
- Instructional Designers from 10 to 11:45 in TE3215
- Media Specialists from 10 to 11:45 in TE3213
- Curriculum Development from 3 to ? in Karen's office

Conferences

Several of us have either attended - or will be attending conferences in the next couple of weeks.

• Ian attended the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) in New Brunswick from May 16-19.
  
• Sue attended the ACCC conference in Niagara Falls on June 6-7.
• Karen, Chris, Elio, Tyler and Mark will be attending the Canadian eLearning Conference in Edmonton next week, from June 23-25. Chris is also presenting at this conference.
  
• Diana is attending the ED-MEDIA 2010-World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications in Toronto from June 29 to July 2. She will be a member of a panel presentation with a group of profs and students from Athabasca University. Exciting opportunity for Diana!
  

Watch for updates from all conference attendees when everyone is back in July!

Instructional Designer Community of Practice - Tuesday, June 8

The next Instructional Designer Community of Practice is scheduled for next Tuesday, June 8 from 10 to 11:30. Pam will be initiating the discussion at this session by presenting on "Assessment" in course development projects.

The no-power adventure begins!

Our week long adventure with no-power begins this morning. Here's where everyone who typically works in the Tech building will be based this week:

AV - CB1005
Media Specialists - IB2145
Donna - AN1512
Formatters - IB Breakout Rooms
Instructional Designers - Library and home
Chris - IB2145 and meetings (Cell 403-894-2499)
Karen - Library and meetings and home (Cell 403-393-3962 - phone or text)

And Connie and Marina are both on holidays all week.

Make it a great week!

Save the Day - Tuesday June 15 - for Production Debrief

This message is for everyone involved in production, so the instructional designers, formatters, media specialists, and audio visual staff.

Please save June 15 for our annual production debrief. In the morning each unit will be meeting separately, and then everyone will come together in the afternoon. These are important conversations to have as we finish a busy year with the Angel implementation and move into a year where we'll be implementing the DL Strategy. It's going to be a busy - and somewhat different - year than we've experienced previously.

In the morning
- Media specialists - facilitated by Lorne and Chris (time TBA)
- AV - facilitated by Elio and Chris (time TBA)
- Instructional Design (and Marina) - facilitated by Karen and all ID's (10-12)
- Formatters (and Marina) - facilitated by Karen and Amber (8:30 to 10)

Lunch - together - hopefully a BBQ - more details to come . . .

In the afternoon
- we'll meet together for a couple hours.

More details will follow . . . Thanks everyone!

Thanks for using the EET Holiday Calendar!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is adding their "away" days on the EET holiday calendar. It's very easy to look at the calendar and see who is here and gone on any given day. This will be even more important during the summer when many of us are taking holidays and using flex time. So . . . thank you!

Working during the power outage

As you know, the power in the tech building will be off from May 31 to June 4. Couple general comments:

- Let's look at this as an opportunity, and these opportunities will vary across different areas within EET. It might mean focusing on and completing specific projects that you haven't had time to work on or cleaning up your digital files on your computer . . . I'd encourage everyone to set some goals for the week.

- Some of our staff work at home a couple of days each week, and this is also an option for some of you. We need to ensure, however, that all EET departments are covered on campus this week, so please take turns being home and on campus. Please have these discussions within each area and plan for who will be here and who will be working from home. Either way, please mark your "home" days in the Google holiday calendar so we know where everyone is.

We've talked last week about a variety of options for work during that time, so here's a quick summary:

- The library has some very nice work spaces, so anyone with a laptop can work there.

- The formatters will be moving their desktops to and working in the breakout rooms in the Info Commons in the IB building.

- Instructional Designers will be working at home part of the week and will be in the library the days they are working on campus. Connie is on holidays this week.

- It sounds like Chris, Lorne, and the media specialists will mostly be working in the student lounge on the second floor of the Cousins Building.

- AV staff have work to do in other buildings, such as IB, so their focus will be on campus but in other buildings.

- Donna is moving to an office by Julie and Debbie to focus on Curriculum Reviews.

- We'll post an update in Connections so everyone else on campus knows that the best way to contact any of us this week will be through email (and not phone).

And maybe we'll be able to work outside and enjoy the weather!

If you have questions, please either talk to me or to your coordinator.

Karen

The lightbulb has moved from Mark to . . . . Amber!

Congratulations Amber on receiving the lightbulb award. Here's Mark's explanation:

. . . Amber received a 100% score for her formatting from both the instructor and ID for RSP 153, getting the course ready for eCampus submission. This is a hard feat to accomplish because of how detail oriented eCampus can be. I am (finally) passing the light bulb on to Amber for her accomplishment.

Amber, let's try for one week before it moves again.

EET Positions to be advertised

I thought I should give all of you a heads-up that two positions within EET will be advertised on the Lethbridge College HR site within the next week of so. Karen O'Dwyer has been making some changes to the overall structure of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation with the end goal of making the Centre sustainable, focused, responsive, and manageable. These changes to the Centre structure have resulted in two changes to the structure of EET:

1. EET Director: This position is basically the current EET Chair position, although I have not seen the position description yet. The intent is to make this position an ongoing administrative position. Currently I am in this position as a Chair, which is a term position filled by a faculty member. It is standard practice that when a position changes to a continuing position, it goes to competition. This means I will have to apply for this position when it is advertised.

2. Coodinator, Curriculum Development and Renewal: This position is similar to Sue Huffman's current position. Similar to the director position, this position is currently filled by a faculty member in a term position. Karen O. is changing it to an ongoing out-of-scope position, which means it will also go to competition. More detailed information on these positions will be included in the information posted on the HR site.

Both these changes will help to ensure that EET is sustainable and that the reporting structure is more manageable both within EET and within CTLI. I see both changes as being very positive for EET because they will help to ensure the department can operate effectively and will be around for a long time to come!

Karen O. will likely tell you more about this at the Centre meeting tomorrow. If you have questions or concerns about this, please come talk to me.

League for Innovations award

Our EET picture and description are now posted on the League for Innovations site. Our information is located about halfway through the list, which is quite long.

This is very cool! I'll be passing a card around this week for you to sign and thank Tracy and Peter for nominating us for this award. Congrats to all of you!

http://www.league.org/league/competitions/innovations/display2010.cfm

Change to Reporting Structure in Part of EET

In April we revised the reporting structure within one part of EET. We've talked to everyone who is affected by this change already, so this is an FYI for everyone else.

1. The media specialists all report directly to Lorne now. Lorne's position title has changed to "Media Coordinator".

2. The AV Technologists and Technicians all report directly to Elio, AV Coordinator.

3. Elio and Lorne both report directly to Chris, who reports to me (KH).

These changes were made for a couple reasons: To increase efficiencies within EET, and to have staff reporting to logical supervisors.

If anyone has questions, please come talk to me.

Karen

mediaFRESH 2010 Digital Alberta Awards ceremony

Six of us attended the mediaFRESH 2010 Digital Alberta Awards ceremony on Friday evening in Calgary. We had two submissions make the finals: One was the Hubbard site in the “Best Non-Commercial website” category, and the other was the Distraction quiz in the “Best E-learning Product Course” category.

Although we didn’t win, attending the ceremony gave us a good indication of the level of work and the strength of the competition. Industry was well represented at the celebration and among the finalists, as was SAIT and the U of L, but we were the only post-secondary institution to make the finals in two categories. It truly was an achievement to make the finals!

So congrats not only to the people who worked on these projects, but also to the other staff who have developed other quality end products. This includes courses, learning objects, videos . . . . It is noticed!

Let’s be thinking about nominations for next year!

Karen is going on holidays

HI everyone

I thought I'd confirm the dates I'll be away on holidays in the next couple of weeks just to make sure everyone knows. We're taking advantage of some time to spend with our kids, but also use some RBC points :)

I'm away all next week (Monday, April 12 to Friday, April 16) and will be checking email only sporadically. Then I'm back for a few days and will be leaving Wednesday, April 21 at noon and will be gone Thursday and Friday, April 22 and 23.

It'll be back to work as usual on Monday, April 26.

Karen

And the lightbulb moves again . . . to Mark

This time it's Mark's turn for the lightbulb!

Mark took initiative to volunteer to help out with Digital Alberta events. He is heading a committee to organize these events in Southern Alberta, and because of this, he has been nominated to be on the Board of Directors.

Mark and Laura are also expecting their third baby in November! Way to go, Mark!

Digital Alberta Media Fresh 2010 Finalists

We have just learned that we are finalists in the mediaFRESH 2010 Digital Alberta Awards.

• Best E-learning Product/Course: Distraction Quiz (developed for FAS154)
  
• Best Non-Commercial Web Site: Hubbard Web Site

The winners will be announced at the Awards Gala on April 30 in Calgary. Would anyone like to go to represent EET?



Congrats to everyone who worked on these projects! A nomination in itself is wonderful recognition for the creativity, hard work, and team effort that went into these projects.

To see the complete list of finalists, visit this link: http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=197922&q=198564599&qz=8a2f17

Innovation of the Year Award Nomination

EET has been nominated for the League for Innovations - Innovation of the Year Award! Amazing!!

"The Innovation of the Year Award is designed to recognize League college staff members who have designed and implemented a significant innovation. Each year the League recognizes “Innovations of the Year.” Only one award will be presented to each of the League Alliance member district or college. Each innovation will receive an appropriate certificate."

To see previous recipients, visit the League website:
http://www.league.org/league/competitions/innovations/default.asp

Congrats to all of you on this nomination. It says lots about what a team can do when every team member contributes in some way!

Karen

Flex Time / Summer Schedules

As many of you know, all of you (except faculty) can work flex time through the summer. We'll be talking about this briefly on Friday, but here's a brief summary of how it works:


- It runs from May through August

- We have to make sure we have coverage in all areas.

- The most widely used system means starting at 8 every day and skipping a break. Then you would get every second Friday (or Monday) off.

- We've been asked to not combine days.

- Each area within EET will need to come up with a schedule of everyone who is participating. Then I need to sign and submit it to HR / payroll.

If you have questions, bring them with you on Friday.

Next CTLI Centre Meeting

The spring Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 6. It will be a half day (morning) meeting, most likely on campus, followed by lunch. Details will follow . . .

DL Strategy - Implications for EET

What does the DL Strategy really mean for EET? Overall, we're going to be busy doing a lot of exciting things!

• It escalates many of the things we currently do, in other words it means “more” . . . more course development (DL and classroom); more support for instructors teaching on campus as well as through DL; more PD for blended course redesigns and delivery and effective use of educational technologies; more integrated program / curriculum reviews; more demand for video conferencing, more focus on PLA . . . .

• And this happens in the current world of doing more with pretty much the same level of staffing. This means we will have to be creative and perhaps shuffle some responsibilities around to be more efficient. As we’ve experienced, it’s often a good process to rethink processes and practices with the end goal of being more efficient, as well as better utilizing strengths of everyone in the department. We'll also have to watch workload very carefully and work on priorizing our work both individually on a daily basis and at the department level.
  

• Opportunities for applied research projects

• Opportunities to attend and / or present at provincial, national, and international conferences

• Opportunities to be innovative and to learn!

Watch for more information to be emailed your way soon . . . . Karen

Light bulb moves again . . . . this time to Tim

Heather passed the light bulb on this week to Tim Dawson. The reason - for being brave enough to move into TE3218 with the media specialists! Welcome to this space, Tim. You are now in the penthouse area of the tech building!

Tim, you have one week to pass it on again . . .

Upcoming Threat Assessment Training

Are you interested in attending this Threat Assessment workshop on May 3-4? If so, please let me know as soon as possible. We can send a couple people from EET . . .

Background

High profile college and university shootings in Canada and the United States, as well as terrorist attacks and other high profile violent traumas, have understandably increased anxiety among many students, staff, faculty, parents and others. Without formal procedures in schools and communities to assess high risk and threat making behavior, the likelihood of over-reacting or under-reacting is increased.

In 2000, Lethbridge College and the Canadian Threat Assessment Training Board collaborated in the development of a “Threat Assessment Training (TAT)” program initiative to train multidisciplinary Threat/Risk Assessment Teams. This protocol was developed by J. Kevin Cameron and Deborah Sawyer as part of the Threat Assessment Training program.

The general purpose of a TAT protocol in college and university jurisdictions is to assist in creating and maintaining an environment where students, staff, faculty and others feel safe. The primary purpose of the multidisciplinary TAT protocol is to identify indicators that suggest a person of concern may be moving on a pathway towards violence against him/herself or others and intervene to decrease that risk, prevent injury, and support the individual in receiving the help he or she needs to address the issues contributing to the high-risk behavior.

Details of Training

The two day seminar details are as follows:
Date: May 3rd and 4th 2010
Time: 9:00 AM to Noon and 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Location: IB1101 & IB1102
Lunch will be provided both days.

the lightbulb has moved on . . . from Adam to Heather

Adam has passed the lightbulb on to Heather. Here's why . . .

Cooking stir-fry, making apple crisp, planning taco/waffle parties and greatly contributing to pretty much every party we have!

Way to go Heather!

One new guideline for the lightbulb. You must pass it on to someone within one week.

Has anyone come up with a name for this award? We'll revisit this at the next EET meeting. Something to think about in the meantime.

More feedback on the Hubbard site

Hi Everyone

We submitted the final documentation for the Hubbard site at the end of February. Yanick, the fund administrator from Inukshuk, sent this comment, which I'm passing on to all of you. Many of you worked hard on this site. Excellent work!

"I would also like to congratulate you and your colleagues for the excellence of your work. I have accessed the resource and was quite impressed with what the project team has achieved"

EET Staff Updates

As many of you know, we've had several staffing changes in the last couple weeks. These changes are a result of projects being completed and a need for specific skills for new projects.

1. The Hubbard Digitization project is complete. Matt Smith was assigned specifically to this project, and because it is finished his last day was last Friday, February 26. Matt, along with Pam and Chris, did a wonderful job pulling this project together through the fall.

2. Roma Davidson was also finished last Friday. Roma had been working as an instructional designer, mostly assisting the other ID's by reviewing courses during development and when completed. This was critical work because of the number of courses we sent to eCampus for review in January and February. Roma played a key role in getting these courses ready for the reviews.

3. Stacey Goldstein has joined EET as an Instructional Designer. Stacey has been working since late fall on several projects, including the English for Nursing program; First Nations, Metis, Inuit (FNMI) course development; Badlands Customer Service; along with several on-campus course development projects. Stacey will be working in TE3215 part-time throughout the week.

4. Pamela Perry-Globa is currently taking a short break after completing the Police Recruit Training program at the end of February. Pam's role in this project was a combination of ID and course writer, and she completed an amazing amount of work in 6 months - 7 complete courses! Shirley was a big help with this project too.

It's always good to complete projects, especially when they meet time and quality expectations; however, it can mean changes in staffing needs - sometimes more staff and sometimes less, so it can be good and bad. These situations make our marketing initiatives very important. The more we can communicate the type and quality of work we do, the better it is!!

EET Open House - Wow and Thank you!

To start, thank you - to all of you who helped with the EET Open House on Friday. We had a pretty good turn-out, which I think is quite typical for the open houses on campus. It was very encouraging to see some new faces come to see what we do. In addition to this, though, I think there are many other positives to the day:

• You demonstrated very clearly your pride in your work. I saw this in the week leading up to the open house and while we had visitors. This sends a strong message!

• Everyone contributed in some way . . . designing, delivering, producing, setting up, cutting, cleaning, organizing, filming, taking pictures, baking . . . We accomplished a lot in a short period of time.

• This open house was and will continue to be good marketing for EET that will pay off in many ways. People from across campus were talking about the apples last week and were very appreciative of the visits when you delivered them. This created quite a buzz! It's great to get our name out there!

• We finished a couple projects that have been in the works for a while. The video is amazing - and was a lot of fun to make. Jane Friesen, Dean of HJHS, has asked if she can show it at their next Centre meeting. The visual that Adam finished on Friday morning will be a good way to explain what we do. We'll also make this into bigger posters. We've been on the digital screens and in Connections,updated the website, and we have a good collection of EET staff photos. Lots of good things!

• We also did a thorough clean of our work spaces. It always helps to have deadlines, and the open house helped all of us get some of these jobs done.

• And the apple crisp that Heather made was amazing!!

So thank you! The time, energy, and thought you put into making the open house a success is very much appreciated. Our name is out there!

Karen

Second Life - Let's try it!

Second Life has a new version out (see link below). And yesterday An instructor asked me if we have been trying anything with Second Life. This makes me think it’s time to play with this so we can assist the instructors who want to try it.

Does anyone have a project where Second Life could be used? Something to think about . . .

http://secondlife.com/beta-viewer/

Technology Building Renovations

Some of you have likely seen the posters in the hallway talking about the upcoming renovations to the Technology Building. We met with Rick Oliver, the project manager, this morning, and he provided some information you will need to be aware of:

• The work will start very soon and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. Within the next week or so they will be closing the road on the east side of the Technology building so they can park the big work vans there. The doors at both ends of the Tech building will remain open throughout.

• It mostly affects the spaces on the first and second floors. The third floor was added to this building about 10 years ago, so fewer renos are needed here.

• They are mostly updating piping and duct work, along with some electrical, on this floor. This means that they will need access to our offices and work spaces at various times. They will only move furniture if they have to, and will cover everything when they are working to reduce the amount of dust.

• There may be power outages at various times during the reno, and we will be notified in advance. These power outages may be across campus during the summer. The May 29-30 weekend is a scheduled power outage, and this may overlap into a day before or after the weekend. We may have to be creative during these times. Working in other locations is a possibility for those of us who have laptops. If necessary, we could sign out laptops for those of you who typically work on desktops. And if that doesn't work, well, we'll see what happens and deal with it as it comes. This could have bigger impact on the AV area if filming is in progress, for example, for the China project.

• The elevator will be closed for up to 2 to 3 weeks during the summer.

• At the end of April they will be shutting the boilers off, which means we won't have any heat for May through August. We'll have to discuss our options for staying warm during this time.

• They will be focusing on the classrooms first to ensure students will not be impacted in September when they return to class.

If you have questions or concerns, please stop by for a chat!

Karen

Accessing Information in the Future

Check this out – a possible look at accessing information in the future.

http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Thanks Ian for sending it our way!

Plans for an EET Open House and Promotion

We've started to plan an EET promotion for the Week of March 1 to 5, and an open house on Friday, March 5 (time TBD). The media specialists have really taken the lead on this one. Below you'll find a link to more detailed information, and here's a brief summary:

- Delivering trays of apples with EET promotional material to strategic locations around campus. Darcie and Rebecca have designed the theme using a tree and apples and our Empower, Create, Educate mantra.
- Updating the EET website
- Developing digital posters for the digital screens
- Producing a video, although it might not be completed by the open house on March 5.
- Planning the open house. This will include computers set up showcasing our work, food, etc. All ideas welcome for this one too!
- and yes, this means that we will ALL have to clean up our work stations and the common areas (like the photocopy room). Let's use this as an excuse for spring cleaning, okay, well, winter cleaning :)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVdhQrmOOc6VZGdxNWs4eHpfNzJneDl2Zjhmdw&hl=en

Watch for updates over the next week or so. The more people we get involved with this, the better! If you have other ideas, please voice them!

Thanks everyone for your help.


Karen

Computer literacy - something to think about

Here's another perspective on computer literacy. We use computers so much in EET that sometimes it's hard to imagine that college students may have difficulty with the courses in their programs that require use of computers - even basic use of computers.

The staff in the upgrading program and in the Learning Cafe are seeing an increase in demand for computer literacy support. Just something to think about . . . How does this impact the design of the courses and learning materials we develop?

And the lightbulb goes to . . . . .

Adam, for amazing work on RSP151. Nicely done Adam!! Word on the street is that it was a noisy recognition in TE3218 - and that you turned a few shades of red . . .

Who's next?

EET wins intramurals . . . Wow!

Wow! Congratulations to Lorne, Lyle, Matt, Mark, Tyler, Gavin, and Marina for winning the intramural competition last week. Who knew we had such a bunch of athletes right in our midst!

Here's the blurb from Connections . . .

EET CLAIMS INTRAMURAL BRAGGING RIGHTS
They came into the weeklong competition expecting nothing, just a ragtag bunch of educators with a dream. When Lethbridge College’s staff intramural week wound up Friday, the gang from the Educational Enhancement stood atop the heap, besting teams from Physical Education, Information Technology and Maintenance. Some 40 noon-hour athletes participated in soccer, basketball, badminton, volleyball and floor hockey during the five days.

Week of February 8th . . .

• I'm in Calgary on Monday to meet with the team from Norquest who is working on the English as a Second Language / Nursing bridging course. We will be developing 4 courses (approximately 5 credit) and Norquest will be developing 2 smaller courses. Collaborations like this are always interesting, especially at the start up phase. Our goal with this project is to offer the entire program through eCampus by the end of 2011. Stacey Goldstein is the instructional designer on this project, and she and I will be attending the meeting in Calgary along with Phillip Harttrup, the Director of the English Language Centre.
• The DL Strategy should be rolling out this week with the initial communications from Peter Leclaire's. I'm anxious to get this initiative moving. As I mentioned at the EET meeting, the institution will be moving more towards blended delivery. This has implications for everyone in EET because it involves course / program design and development, curriculum reviews, audio visual production and support, and professional development. The next steps are the implementation and communication plans.
• I'm working on the final documentation for both eCampus course development projects and the Hubbard / Inukshuk project. The Hubbard documentation has to be in to Inukshuk by the end of February.
• Lorne and the media specialists have taken the lead on marketing initiatives. They are planning a blitz for the last week in February, and this will be followed by an open house in EET . . . more on this in the next couple of weeks as we get more people involved.
• We're also in inital conversations with Business Training and Development to start developing customer service materials for staff in the Badlands area of southern Alberta. I'll tell you more as this unfolds.
• eCampus update: We were successful with one of three proposals we submitted for eCampus funding this round - for the FASD program. eCampus received requests for 1.9 million dollars, and they only had $500,000 to allocate. We're happy we received a piece of the pie! We may be supporting Therapeutic Recreation - Gerontology and the Blended Electrician program with internal funds to help them move forward.
• A few people are traveling during reading week. Connie is in Costa Rica for a wedding, Sue is going to Guatemala, and Debbie is planning to go to Vegas.
• Thanks to Heather (and everyone else who helped) for organizing the celebration for Jackie and Isla last week. The waffles were wonderful!
• And Chris and Anne had a beautiful baby girl last week too. Special welcome to Masie Jane Goble. We'll be having another celebration in March for Masie!