Distance Educated

In this episode, Terri Gustafson and Josie Milliken talked to Dr. Christine Harrington, Professor in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy at Morgan State University about the book she recently edited, "Creating Culturally Affirming and Meaningful Assignments: A Practical Resource for Higher Education Faculty".

We discuss how the syllabus can be the anchor of culturally affirming assignments, define culturally affirming assignments, discuss methodology for online courses, and talk about the importance of high-quality feedback.

Christine is the author of numerous books and articles on teaching, learning, and student success and is frequently invited to give plenary presentations at national and local conferences as well as at colleges and universities across the nation.  She was the 2016  recipient of the Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminar award, sponsored by the National Resource Center on for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and McGraw Hill, and the 2016 Excellence in Teaching Award at Middlesex College.

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What is an inclusive syllabus? In this episode Terri Gustafson is joined by four guests from Wake Tech Community College in North Carolina to talk about how the content, tone, and delivery methods can change a syllabus into a meaningful tool and provide equitable access to students in online classes.

Guests:

Chad McKenzie is an Associate Professor in the Information Technology division at Wake Tech and has 17 years of teaching experience within the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). He received his MBA from Campbell University, completed his Healthcare Informatics Graduate Certificate from East Carolina University, and is currently enrolled in the Business Analytics Graduate program at UNC-G. He was awarded the 2021 Instructor of the Year Award and was a Finalist for the North Carolina Community College System 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award. As Organization Administrator for Microsoft testing, he is also a Microsoft Certified Educator, Microsoft Innovative Educator, and Microsoft Office 2019 Expert. Chad’s teaching style focuses on fostering relationships with his students and creating learning environments, both virtual and seated, that are engaging, positive, and personalized.

Emily Holliday began at Wake Tech in 2014 and transitioned to her role as Coordinator of eLearning Support in 2017.  She holds undergraduate degrees in business, marketing, project management, and information systems as well as an MBA and a master’s in technology systems.  She has been teaching online and in the classroom since 2008. Her teaching experience includes courses in computer applications, management information systems, leadership, social media, and business.  She enjoys technology and is always looking for ways to improve the online learning experience. 

Kate Jones is an Associate Professor of Communication at Wake Tech, where she has taught since 2016. Over her twenty-five-year teaching career she has taught at several other institutions, including George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College, and Lansing Community College. In recent years, Kate has enjoyed focusing on the pedagogy of online learning. At Wake Tech, she serves as a mentor for online instructors and has been awarded Master status in Wake Tech's online EPIC program. Kate recently won Anthology's Exemplary Course Program award for her online Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication courses. She most enjoys equipping new and adjunct instructors and cheerleading the efforts of her colleagues. 

Brittany Hochstaetter is a Professor of Communication at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, NC. Since joining the faculty in 2009, she has served in various roles including Administrative Dept. Head, Online Lead, and Adjunct Lead. An innovation enthusiast, she serves as the Southeast Regional Representative on Instructional Technology Council’s Board of Directors and was a founding editor of the NC Community College Journal of Teaching Innovation. She was her college’s Instructor of the Year in 2022, a Finalist for the North Carolina Community College System’s 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award, and a recipient of the AACC Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award in 2023. She is passionate about faculty-forward initiatives, ethical Ed Tech, and student success. 

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David Baime, Senior Vice President of Government Relations with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) joins Terri, Fred, and Josie for an update on the topics of negotiated rule-making, OPM regulations, online student financial aid fraud, and the potential impact of A.I. on college aid and admissions.

On February 15th, the Department of Education released new guidance with rules about any contracted services. In particular, they targeted Online Service Providers (OPMs) and Third Party Service Providers. This announcement has impact throughout higher education and has left many in leadership concerned because it will reach into many areas of institutions. In this episode, Cheryl Dowd, Senior Director of State Authorization Network and WCET Policy Innovations joins Terri Gustafson (Northwestern Michigan College) to discuss the new guidance and what it means for higher education. Key dates and links mentioned in the episode are listed below.

The ITC eLearning Conference took place in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 13 - 15, 2023. One highlight every year is the Grand Debate about a timely and pressing topic in higher education. This year the topic was a hot one: ChatGPT. In this podcast episode we talked with the debaters a week before the conference to hear the key points and stance they have about AI and the new evolution with the release of ChatGPT. 

Our guests were Zhivi Williams, Sr. Instructional Designer at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in North Carolina and Reed Dickson, Program Manager for faculty development at PimaOnline. 

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