eHow learning keep instructors up to date (Second in a series about the Wallace State AVC Center)
CONTACT: Gail Crutchfield, Communications and Marketing, Wallace State Community College, 256.352.8064, gail.crutchfield@wallacestate.edu
HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Each week, some instructors at Wallace State Community College are on the other side of the podium. They are the students in eHow learning classes that provide professional development or updates on technology they use in class every day.
“I think it’s been fairly successful,” said Bruce Tenison, director of eLearning and AVC (Advanced Visualization Center) at Wallace State. “Those who have attended have had good responses.”
Some recent classes included Questions Sets and Pools on how to prevent cheating during online exams; ePortfolios, Tegrity, and how to use online tools.
Sharon Alley of the WSCC Dental Assistant and Dental Hygienist programs, taught a class on how to utilize Tegrity to have students submit video assignments. This was the first class she has instructed, but said she has taken several of the eHow courses to learn about various computer programs and tools.
“They do a great job with the eHow sessions,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot.”
On this day, she was the one teaching, showing how her students created videos as part of their course work. Alley began using the videos, she said, when a course became a hybrid course. Instead of the students being in the classroom giving a demonstration, she allowed them to record informational videos. She encouraged them to be creative and was surprised and delighted with the efforts.
“It’s an alternative to research papers or in-class presentations,” she said.
In the eHow learning class, instructors from math, art, Spanish and English were in attendance.
“In Spanish, you could use it to have your students create an educational translation video, or shoot a video in Spanish and have the class translate it,” Alley said. “You could have the students do a book review in English.”
Ramon Daniel of the WSCC Art Department said he could see using Tegrity for an analysis project in Art Appreciation. “Because some students are better speakers than they are writers,” he said.
The eHow learning classes are scheduled at 2 p.m. every Thursday during the fall and spring, with classes held in the AVC building. The schedule is available elearning.wallacestate.edu.
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Kristen Holmes
Director, Communications & Marketing
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722 256-352-8118 direct
256-352-8314 fax 256-339-2519 cell
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu