Save the Dates - September 29th and 30th

Teaching & Technology:

A summit of professional development, information technology, faculty and eLearning leaders working toward

a better understanding of perspectives and processes for communication and collaboration -

 supporting student success

September 29^th – 30^th

Dumas Bay Centre

Federal Way, WA

This Summit is designed for college TEAMS.

Who should be included in your team?

·         Faculty

·         eLearning Coordinators

·         Professional Development Coordinators

·         Information and Instructional Technology Leaders

For more information please contact  

Noreen Light or Scott Dennis



Community College and Career Training Grant Application Now Available

On January 20, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced the availability of applications under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program. Applications are due on April 21.

The Department of Labor will award $2 billion in grants over the next four years ($500 million per year) to eligible institutions, which include institutions of higher education as defined in Section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002) that offer programs that can be completed in two years or less. These institutions include community and technical colleges, proprietary institutions and postsecondary vocational institutions.

Grants must be used by institutions "to expand and improve their ability to deliver education and career training programs that can be completed in two years or less, are suited for workers who are eligible for training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, and prepare program participants for employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations."

Individual grants will range from $2.5 million to $5 million for single institutions, and $2.5 million to $20 million for consortium applications. Each state is guaranteed to have winners that receive at least $2.5 million each year.

When asked what the program would achieve, Secretary Solis answered, "It's simple. We're looking to help American workers gain the skills and knowledge they need to compete for good jobs. The program also underscores President Obama's commitment to help every American have at least one year of postsecondary education, and it furthers his efforts to ensure that by 2020 the United States -- once again -- has the highest proportion of college graduates in the world."

More details are available on a Conference Call Audio, in the Federal Register, and in the Department of Labor's "Grant Applications 101: A Plain English Guide to ETA Competitive Grants."

In a Tough Economy, New Focus on Job-oriented Certificates

Labor economists and some educators believe career-driven degrees should become an increasingly common choice.  Find out why.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013970538_collegejobs19.html

eLearning Community Online Learning Sessions - Intended audience: Community and Technical College Faculty

This Wednesday the 19^th at 3 PM there will be the first in a series of online sessions in Elluminate, planned for faculty who use or are interested in online learning technologies and associated teaching and learning best practices. The topics will cover use of ANGEL, Elluminate, Tegrity and other core technologies supported by the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges and/or in common use in our system.  These sessions are open to anyone wanting to attend and will be facilitated by eLearning professionals from system colleges and state board, eLearning staff.  The list of topics is determined by the group of presenters and by suggestions to be made by attendees.

Also, beginning this week and continuing for the foreseeable future, there will also now be open office hours in Elluminate, every Wednesday at ten AM.  These sessions, which will be without topic or agenda, are for any staff member or instructor who wants to come ask questions or get help using ANGEL, Elluminate, or Tegrity.  The sessions will be attended by the same eLearning personnel who will make the weekly pres

Participants may log into Elluminate for all sessions and open office hours via this link:

Participant Link:

http://goo.gl/JpmfU

All sessions will be recorded and available via this link:

http://goo.gl/wi2Ab

To view the session schedule, follow this link:

http://goo.gl/cr2R5

If you have suggestions for how to improve the format of these sessions or a suggestion for a future topic, please fill in this form:

http://goo.gl/i6OGF

The session this week will cover getting started with Tegrity lecture capture:

January 19th - 3 PM -- Presentation Topic; Tegrity – Introduction to Classroom Capture, Configuring for Capture, and Getting Started – Scott Dennis, Jerry Lewis and Eric Waterkotte
·         Necessary Equipment and Software
·         Using Multiple Cameras, Microphones
·         Configuring Settings
·         Publishing, Un-publishing Recordings

Please feel free to send any questions to Scott Dennis at sdennis@sbctc.edu .  Also, if you work in eLearning and are interested in helping to create the schedule, make presentations, or otherwise help out, please let Scott know.  His contact information is: 

Scott Dennis

eLearning Professional Development Manager

WA State Board Community & Technical Colleges

sdennis@sbctc.edu

Voice: 360.747.7211

White House Summit on Community Colleges

Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden closes an event highlighting the critical role of community colleges in America.  Click to watch the live opening and closing sessions http://www.whitehouse.gov/LIVE (9:15 and noon).


Also check out the White House Blog, and the White House Summit on Community and Technical Colleges.