Conference presentations, a book prospectus, and grant activities

Conference presentations, a book prospectus, and grant activities highlight the list of department faculty activities during spring semester. Susan Cook was co-presenter of a paper concerning physical well-being at the Western States Communication Association annual conference held in Monterey in February. The presentation was peer-reviewed and ranked for presentation. She also has two papers accepted for presentation this summer. Cook also has submitted a book prospectus to the University Press of Colorado. Clark Germann participated in the Global Time 2011 Conference sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). The conference focused on technology, innovation, media and education.  Bob Amend will be attending the Broadcast Education Association conference in April.  It is affiliated with NAB—the National Association of Broadcasters.  Bob Amend and Peggy O’Neill-Jones are involved with the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.  Bob’s part is to oversee production of four video vignettes that titled, “The Hispanic Experience in Colorado.”  The programs consist of interviews and B-roll footage that explore:  1)  Who we (Hispanics) are, 2) Where we came from and where we lived, 3) What we have experienced and contributed and 4) How we have lived in the past.  Three students, Danny Cook, Jeffree Fuller and Nick Marolda, are working on the project as videographers and editors.

17 students to graduate in May

Seventeen department students will be participating in the May commencement ceremony in May. They are:

Jennifer Abell

Joseph Borghi

Sean Brown

Malonie Burnham

Kristine Castro

Danny Cook

Luisa Davila

Justin Forbis

Jeffree Fuller

Dillon Graham

Connor Leahy

Nicholas Marolda

Nicole McElhose

Amiena Murad

Viola Nathan

Bradley Smith

Renna Sueiman

Department alumni club formed

A techcom department alumni club has been formed to provide networking opportunities for graduates, provide the occasional presentation about professional matters (business, legal, new media advice) and provide a venue for socializing. The club has four officers:  Phil Lucero, Phil Satterley, Tom Hoch and RC Montoya. There will be a minimum of four meetings a year. Contact Department Chair Bob Amend (amendb@mscd.edu) for more information.

Fall semester graduates

Department graduates from fall semester include:

Liz Dusser – Video production

Andie Lister – Technical writing and editing

Lene Munck – Video production

Kathleen Wilson – Corporate communication

Forrest Winter – Video production

Faculty busy during fall semester

Students often ask about the work of faculty outside the classroom. In our department, the faculty are a busy bunch, indeed. Here is a summary of activities during fall semester, 2010:

Bob Amend

He is a member of the search committee for the new CTO/CIO for Academic Affairs.  Along with Chris Jennings, he serves on the Community Action Theater Committee that just received its official charge from Dr. Jordan. The CAT Committee will focus its efforts on the initiation of a nationally prominent facility to be opened by Fall 2012 within the Student Success Building.  Prof. Amend continues to serve on SPARC (Space, Planning and Allocation Resource Committee).  SPARC has responsibility for college-wide planning with regard to allocation and use of space. Prof Amend will be working with Prof. Peggy O’Neill-Jones and three students to produce four video vignettes as part of an LSTA grant (Library Services and Technology Act).  The videos will focus on Hispanic heritage and culture in Colorado and specifically deal with the following topics:  politics, labor, civil rights and industry.

Susan Cook

Dr. Cook is continuing as a faculty assessment associate and works with 13 or 14 programs college-wide to develop program assessment plans. She is also beginning training in the spring to become a court-appointed advocate (CASA) for child abuse victims. She recently presented at three sessions at National Communication Association, including a roundtable discussion concerning meeting research and use of physical and virtual meetings; a panel discussion about managing adjunct faculty; and a session concerning negotiation. She is primary author of a paper about Depression-era song lyrics that is being published in ETC., a journal of the General Semantics Association, and she is continuing research about collaboration in higher education using repertory grid techniques. In her spare time, she reviews grants for the National Science Foundation.

Clark Germann

Dr. Germann is a member of the college-wide Faculty Evaluation Committee and serves on the student evaluation, peer evaluation, and online subcommittees. He also is a member of the SPS Advising and Awards committees. He is revising the department’s basic technical writing course to include examination of research, examination of best practices at other universities, use adaptation of a new textbook. He is helping to develop training of faculty, assisting with development of an online shell, and working on new assessment methods. He is continuing research concerning the impact on students of the college-wide web and email outage last spring. Preliminary results were reported by coauthors at the National Communication Association convention in November.

Chris Jennings

He is a member of the Community Action Theater Committee and serves on the General Studies Task Force. Other activities include the Institutional Review Board, the Diversity committee, Climate Surveys interpretation committee, and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) initiative. He is also a member of Faculty Senate.Prof. Jennings is scheduled to receive the Ed.D. in Instructional Technologies this month from the University of Wyoming’s School of Education. His dissertation is entitled "Educational Virtual Environment Methodologies". He also attended  the Streaming Media West 2010 conference and presented and participated in the panel discussion, "The Future of Video in Education."

Kathy O’Donnell

Prof. O’Donnell attended the Planning and Institutional Improvement Conference sponsored by Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis in October. The track she attended focused on capstone courses, and e-portfolios. She also serves as a member of the SPS Retention, Tenure, and Promotion committee.

Lisa Ortiz

Prof. Ortiz is a continuing and long-time member of the curriculum committee (school and department) and Faculty Senate (Instructional Resources subcommittee). She is also a member of the Web Content Management Committee which will be implementing a content management system for mscd.edu. Also, she is a member of the Second Life steering committee, study abroad committee, and the college online policy committee. Prof. Ortiz attended the Campus Technology Virtual Conference sponsored by the International Society for Technology in Education held in November, and had a 3D painting tray published in Strap Street magazine for December 2010.

Department is implementing digital signage project

The department is currently assisting the dean’s office in a new endeavor:  digital signage.  Through use of specialized software and a plasma screen, the School of Professional Studies is displaying information about important deadlines, noteworthy meetings, student and faculty events, and other information from the school’s departments.  Jeffree Fuller, a department lab tech, will serve as the main content creator. Check out the display located in the hallway in front of WC 133. 

SmartBoard added to classroom

Through a grant coordinated by the SPS Dean’s office, the department received a SmartBoard for use in TE 130B.  This technology allows the professor or instructor to interact with students in a different way.  The SmartBoard is a touch screen that incorporates various software, such as a web browser and PowerPoint.  The boards also permit the instructor to add information, draw, write text, highlight, emphasize and manipulate objects in numerous ways.  For instance, an instructor may show a PowerPoint slide and reveal each bullet point by touching the screen.  In addition, still images and video can easily be inserted into the presentation, while text and objects can easily be added or deleted.  Professor notes created during the lecture can be saved with the file and distributed to students or made available for downloading.