A student says thanks!

Mr. Keith McBride, a Business instructor, who teaches both on campus and online recently received this email from one of his online students. All online students are required to come to campus to take one exam. Mr. McBride test both his on campus and online students at the same time. This is what the student had to say after being on campus to take her final:


I came in today and took my accounting final and was surprised. I feel like I got ripped off. If I would have known your classes were so fun to be in I would have taken this course in class. You could tell from the students that were there for your law class that it's great being in your room. So now I think I might have to re-evaluate my classes and see what you have that I can take.


Finding an instructor that is enjoyable at the same time is hard to do. I am so jealous of the students that have had you. But thank you though for putting up with some blonde moments I had. I wish I would have had more time to spend on the class but I did have some serious issues come up the past couple of months that actually kept me from studying like I should. So I apologize for that.

But thank you for being such a great instructor. I did enjoy the class and wouldn't mind taking another one. Hope you enjoy your summer.

Lisa

An Instructors Testimony on Technology

Ms. Loretta Wright is an all time favorite History teacher on our campus. Loretta teaches what we like to call part-time full time. She's retired from high school so she spends lots of time with us here at Northeast Alabama Community College. Loretta is, shall we say "timid toward technology" but she is wading into the water a little at a time. When asked about her use of technology in her classroom this is what she had to say:



"You need to be aware of the fact that I attended the Fred Flintstone School of Technology; therefore, I am very “challenged" when it comes to technology. I have become a little more comfortable using those “machines” over the last few semesters."

 Loretta is getting there. She currently is:

Using the SmartBoard in her classroom to show the History Channel’s Presidents program to introduce each president in her American History classes

Students are required to use the Internet to find summaries of professional book reviews to acquaint themselves with current literature

Internet articles are used in class to emphasize a particular point of history, eg, history.com’s article on the tearing down of the Berlin Wall

Communicates with students through e-mail using NOAH and Blackboard



Now, that wasn't so bad was it Ms. Loretta? If you would like to know more about integrating technology into your face-to-face class please make an appointment for a one-on-one training session in the Technology Learning Center (BE107) or email me at leaj@nacc.edu

The Wimba Way

Wimba is a  virtual classroom environment with robust features that includes audio, video, and content display. Since our Nursing department use this tool to capture their live classes and archives for later viewing and reviewing by the nursing students we felt it important to know what the students think about WIMBA.
Below you will find several comments from the nursing students and why they are glad our Nursing instructors use this tool.

I am so grateful for WIMBA. My learning style is definitely auditory and I do not feel like I would have been successful in my NACC schooling thus far it it weren't for the WIMBA lectures. I honestly do not feel like I could even finish the nursing program without being able to use this VALUABLE learning tool. Thank you so much for the great technology on the NACC campus.
-Katie

I don't have interent access at home so I download the Wimba presentations onto my iPod and carry them with me everywhere I go. As the mother of small children I rely on having the download to carry with me.
-Amber

I use Wimba as a study tool to review the on campus class.
-Sherry

I LOVE WIMBA! I could not have made it through the Nursing program without being able to go back and listen to lectures. It is one of the best tools NACC has to offer! Thanks!
-Jackie

With Wimba we never miss a class due to a weather day.
-Tara

WIMBA IS MY LIFELINE TO STUDYING!
-Selina

Using those Kazillion Tech Tools

A Testimonial from an instructor: Greg

With my classroom Smartboard I am able to give notes and work examples on the specialized computer screen which then projects to the class on the large drop down screen. With Mimiostudio I may write or type notes, draw geometric shapes, use standardized Cartesian and polar graph paper, highlight important formulas and concepts, and save all of these notes for review purposes and display to the class as needed. This is a great time-saver as I may review quickly the topics covered in the previous class without taking valuable class time to write down this information again. Additionally, the Smartboard allows me to project an image of the Texas Instruments TI-84 graphing calculator for the class to follow along as we enter functions and create tables. Using the TI Emulator software, the students are able to see exactly the keystrokes required to complete a specific computation. The Elmo also allows me to place a graph or section from the textbook under the Elmo for projection to the entire class. My students are regularly assigned problems to work and present to the class with an explanation. For particularly lengthy problems, particularly in calculus and differential equations, the students are able to save much class time by displaying their problems from notebook paper under the Elmo for class presentation and discussion. Our textbook provided software, MyMathLab, is another feature I am able to display to my students using the Smartboard. Homework exercises directly from MyMathLab are displayed for the class and used as examples during class notes. Orientations for my online classes, and the first day set up of MyMathLab in computer lab math courses, benefit greatly from having a Smartboard for instructor use. The technology benefits the student and has been a great asset to teaching and learning in my traditional, computer lab, and online classes.

Getting instruction on using the Smartboard and ELMO.



A Kazillion new Tech Ideas

I've just returned from FETC 2012 in Orlando, Florida. This is an Educational Technology Conference that is overwhelming. My head still hurts from information overload. If I attended one session titled 101 free tech tools I must have attended six. No kidding, so many great new tech tools and most FREE. We love FREE. If you would like to have some of these great tech tools please drop by the TLC located in the Business Education Building Room 107 for some one on one tech tips. Once I have time to process the many terabytes of information I will try and put together a list to post here.

Have a good week and enjoy this winter weather. Yea, it was 85 in Orlando. On another note I did see the REAL Spiderman......

The semester is drawing to an end and we have been super busy in the TLC. We enjoyed a party with food and fellowship last week for all the students. This week is finals so everyone is cramming; finishing up that last paper and getting ACCESS submitted. Enjoy the photos and if you haven't been to the center please drop by next semester for a visit and/or some assistance with your technology needs!

Ms. Tammy is one of our faithful students who visits us on Tuesday and Thursday. We love Ms. Tammy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The semester is almost over and Christmas is coming. We will celebrate with food, fun, and fellowship on December 7th beginning at 10:00 AM. Please come to the center and fellowship with us on this day.

If you need assistance finishing up work for the semester please visit one of our tutors during their scheduled work hours:

Amber: M/W/F   9:00-2:30

           Monday:  3:30-6:00

Ben: M/W/F        12:00-4:00

        M/W          5:30-7:00

Daniel: Tu/Th       12:00-7:00