January 16, 2015 | SharkAdmin [image 1]The faculty spoke, and NVC listened. “We need different sessions, different times, and more interaction!” Those were some of the common themes among the more than 70 faculty responses to the question, “How can we make faculty development better?” As a result of your feedback and suggestions, you can expect some big changes to the faculty development program this spring. Here are a few highlights: The Breakfast Club This open group meets once a month from 8:00 – 9:00 AM at the Cyber Café. Fellow faculty members will lead lively discussions around hot topics and current events. A great reason to enjoy a cup of Starbucks! Half-Nooners Each month, a provocative and contemporary topic will be up for discussion in a roundtable format with a faculty facilitator. The open group meets monthly from 12:30 – 1:45 PM in the Cypress Cafeteria. Buy or bring your own lunch. Plato’s Academy The original Plato’s Academy (4th c. BC) was a shady spot in which intellectuals gathered informally to share ideas, seek truth, and learn from each other in a social setting. This open group will meet off campus from 4:30 – 6:30 PM monthly at a location to be announced. Adult beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be available. Come after work! Tech Tips & Tricks Faculty along with distance learning and IT staff will introduce various technology tools and skills as well as share their innovative ideas to enhance teaching and learning in all types of classes. Appropriate for novice through advanced technology users. Monthly sessions are scheduled from 12:00 – 1:00 PM in the Open Lab, JH 106G. Additional sessions for new full-time faculty will continue to be offered at 9:00 – 10:15 AM on most Fridays; these sessions are open to all interested faculty, full-time or adjunct. Other sessions of general interest will be held throughout the semester at various times and days. The Cooperative Learning team will offer a full-day Foundations session on Saturday, Jan. 31, with a follow-up half-day session on Saturday, Feb. 21. Both events include meals, and a generous stipend is available for adjunct faculty. On Friday, March 27, plan to attend the Critical Thinking & Cooperative Learning Conference—an 8:00 AM – 1:30 PM event with ideas you can use in your classroom right away. Finally, this year’s TeachTechFest—a full-day on-campus conference—will be held on Saturday, May 2. Now in its third year, this conference has been hailed as a “best ever” event by previous attendees. It will feature a guest speaker, vendors, hands-on training, food, prizes, and a variety of informative and interactive concurrent sessions that connect teachers, learners, and technology. For more information, dates, times, and locations, or to register for any session, please watch your Alamo Colleges email for a weekly Faculty Development message, or log into ACES, Employee tab, and click in the right column to enter Alamo Learn. Type “jazz” in the search box to find all NVC faculty development sessions. Below is a screenshot of what you will see in AlamoLearn. If you have specific questions, if you’d like to share a session topic idea, or if you are interested in facilitating a session, please email [email protected]. Contributed by Laura Lawrence, director of Instructional and Professional Development [image 2]
