Professional development
The May 2015 eLCC monthly meeting was hosted by Red Rocks Community College at their beautiful campus nestled in the foothills near Golden.Jon Johnson, Director of Instructional Technology and eLearning, and Kai Savi, Instructional Designer, both at Red Rocks, got things started with a professional development session on the use of of universal design concepts when developing course content. The session spurred a lively discussion on the struggles faced at institutions with the acceptance of universal design principles.
Three attendees work at institutions that have, or are working on, an institutional policy for ADA compliance. Others shared that training is being provided to faculty course developers on how to incorporate ADA-friendly universal design concepts. There was unanimous agreement that, although federal mandates and lawsuit threats will ultimately force compliance, that instructional designers should focus training efforts on the learner benefits of universal design rather than compliance mandates.
Jon and Kai then went through several slides on methods for incorporating ADA-friendly electronic course elements. Their PPT will be shared with eLCC members in the near future.
Jon then took attendees on a tour of the multi-purpose building that houses, among other things, the library, IT, cafeteria, and classrooms. Of note were the dedicated classrooms equipped with short throw projectors and adjustable seating that easily accommodates small group collaborations.
Business meeting
Conference update
- Overall a great success
- Some discussion on a possible change in location for 2016 conference
- Bidding process used to determine location
- Thursday luncheon speaker Robbie Melton was a big hit with attendees
- Many institutions are no longer allowed to purchase door prizes
Website
- WordPress corporate site got hacked, causing eLCC site to be down for several days
- eLCC site had to be recreated from scratch by Nate Wadman
- Front page now sequential by date
- Still needs ADA compliance verification
- Will soon incorporate an RSS option
Listserv
- New listserv tool coming this summer
- Paid site, funded by eLCC
- Should be much easier to manage
Professional development day
- October 23rd at Metro State
- May or may not co-sponsor with Metro State
- If not co-sponsoring, eLCC will have a separate event
- eLCC members attend free of charge
- RFP coming this summer
Upcoming eLCC meetings
- June 26: Colorado Mountain College (campus TBD)
- July: virtual meeting hosted by Pikes Peak CC
- August: none
- September: retreat, location TBD (possibly at Penrose House in Colorado Springs)
