Welcome Back!

Over the summer months, The Reynolds Ripple took a brief break, but we now look forward to another active and exciting academic year.

This upcoming year marks the second year of the implementation of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), and in January, we begin our third and final year of the FIPSE grant which supports the QEP. Our primary focus this year will be upon implementation of the new CDL 001:  Orientation to Learning Online, described in an earlier post, and on the development of Tier Two faculty training modules.

Over the next few days, we will continue to identify more data findings from our implementation of SmarterMeasure (the readiness assessment tool for distance learning) and provide details about the QEP  recommendations for supporting and preparing those faculty who plan to teach online. Further, we will continue to participate in and learn from the conversations taking place on the national and state-wide level about student success and achievement in higher education, in both online and on-campus settings.

Our focus in the QEP remains purposefully in front of us:  within our five-year project, we plan to build and provide resources, learning, and tools to help students succeed online, knowing that these same elements will also impact students in on-campus classrooms. Similarly, our goal is to provide our online instructors with the skills, training, and support that they need to be as successful and as capable as they can be in the virtual classroom.

Over the summer months, many of you have had the opportunity to reflect and research areas of discipline and teaching interests. We hope that you will share those reflections by becoming a contributing writer to The Reynolds Ripple.  We also encourage you to continue to send in your comments and inquiries to rippleeffect@reynolds.edu.

CDL 001: Orientation to Learning Online

As much of the research regarding student success suggests, orientation is a critical piece of student preparation and student success.   The College’s QEP recognizes the importance of student orientation and preparation, and one of the “legs” of the College’s QEP involves student orientation to distance learning.  Beginning with the fall registration period, the QEP Team and the Center for Distance Learning have made major alterations to CDL 001: Orientation to Learning Online. 

As a component of the QEP, the new CDL 001 is designed to give students the experience of online learning and the opportunity to practice all of the skills necessary to be successful in an online class. Students will enroll in a two-week Blackboard module facilitated by trained distance learning instructors. Students will sign up to participate on the Center for Distance Learning’s website.   The module will take between four and six hours to complete.  Students will gain familiarity with how to take quizzes, submit assignments, post to discussion boards and create responses, utilize the gradebook, and use the journal component of Blackboard.  In addition, they will be exposed to important information about what distance learning entails, time management, netiquette, academic honesty, and success resources available at the college. 

The pilot phase of CDL 001 will involve eight sessions of CDL 001 which will take place between July 25 and August 22. Please encourage the students you work with to take advantage of this free program. CDL 001 is especially designed for a student curious about online learning, any student enrolling in distance learning classes for the first time, and any student who has not been previously successful in learning online.   In order to have access to Blackboard, students must have registered for a fall class or have been previously enrolled at a VCCS institution within the last 12 months.

At the conclusion of the pilot phase, additional sections of CDL 001 will be available throughout the academic year to prepare students for successful completion of distance learning classes. 

Questions about CDL 001 should be addressed to the Center for Distance Learning at distance-ed@reynolds.edu or the QEP Team at rippleeffect@reynolds.edu

Encourage Your Students To Use A PAL (Peer Academic Leader)

We are excited to announce a new resource for your students!  Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) are student leaders available to assist new and current JSRCC students using Skype in the evenings when many campus offices have closed.   PALs are available Monday-Thursday from 5:00-10:00 pm during registration periods.  PALs can answer questions about student resources, applying to the college, how to register, general information about holds, and how to navigate through the Student Information System (SIS), JSRCC email account and Blackboard.  PALs are not academic advisers, and so are not able to answer specific questions about the kinds of courses students should be taking.  In addition to Skype, our PALs are blogging.  Check out their blog to learn tips for student success at JSRCC!  We encourage students to pose questions on the blog and search for answers to frequently asked questions.  

Please encourage your students to utilize the PALs by including language about the PALs program in your summer classes, prior to or just as the semester begins, in emails to students, in your Blackboard announcement sections, or in any college resources you might provide students.  Below you will find some sample language.  If you should have any questions about the PALs program, please contact Meg Buchanan Foster (mbfoster@reynolds.edu).

Sample Language:

Do you have questions about registration or general questions about being a student at JSRCC? If so, a helpful resource is available. Chat with a College PAL (Peer Academic Leader) via Skype Monday through Thursday each week from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Visit the JSRCC Center for Distance Learning webpage for a link and easy-to-use instructions for Skype. This service will be available through May 26 and again July 11-August 25.

Teaching Our Future Heroes

In honor of National Community College Month, we are publishing the personal reflections of our faculty.  These reflections focus upon the general topic “This I believe about the mission and value of community colleges today,” and offer thoughts about teaching and learning.

This reflection comes from Dr. Cynthia De Riemer, Professor of Communication Studies.

I teach communication courses, which are either required courses for many of our majors or an elective.  Over my years at JSRCC, I have listened to many student speeches and presentations.  These speeches reveal much about  the goals and aspirations of the student speakers.  As I listen, I have been especially struck by the critical roles our JSRCC students will fulfill in our community.   The following is a representative but not comprehensive list of what I mean:

·         I have taught future firefighters and EMTs who may one day rescue one of us from a burning building or rush us to hospitals for emergency care;

·         I have taught many students seeking careers as nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians and aides who will be on the frontline of administering medical care and treatment.  We will literally trust them with our lives and well being.

·         I have taught future teachers and child care providers who will come to know that a teacher’s influence only stops at eternity.  We will entrust our children’s welfare to these professionals.

·         I have taught police officers and security personnel working in local, state and federal positions.  We will depend on their courage, sound judgment and competency in times of crisis.

·         I have taught those seeking careers as social workers and counselors.  These students will offer assistance to those facing possibly the darkest days of their lives.

My list could go on and on—to the future entrepreneurs who will dream up new businesses and services for our community to the automotive technicians who make our cars run safely and efficiently.  I am reminded daily what a privilege, honor and special responsibility I have in nurturing, guiding and educating our students.  They will give our community so much more than we could ever estimate or predict.

--Cynthia De Riemer

Professor of Communication Studies