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Volume 3, Issue 7   |   ELITE Digest   |   April 2024


Discover what’s in store for you this month in the Office of E-Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Excellence (ELITE) Digest. As a valued member of the MC community, you have access to numerous exciting opportunities, including the annual Love of Teaching Conference and the Universal Design Center Summit. These events are perfect for reflecting, connecting, and growing with your peers.

This month, we’ve added many new opportunities to our Professional Development offerings. These sessions cover a range of topics, such as using ChatGPT to enhance student learning, innovative strategies for online teaching, and creating accessible digital content. These opportunities are designed to keep faculty up-to-date on the latest teaching technologies and techniques.

Looking ahead, mark your calendars for the May Closing Week Professional Development event, scheduled for 10 am – 2 pm on Monday, May 20, 2024. This event promises to be an excellent opportunity for the community to unite, explore new ideas, share best practices, and connect with colleagues. More information about the event will be shared in the coming weeks. Make sure to register in advance to secure your spot. Don’t miss this chance to enhance your professional development and connect with your peers.

Are you ready to win a new T-shirt for Spring? Join our monthly H5P challenge! To enter, you must:

  1. Complete this month’s ELITE Interactive Game (details below); and
  2. Send us a copy of your answers by 5 pm on Friday, April 5, 2024.

Winners will be randomly selected and contacted via email on April 8, 2024. For an extra chance to win, “like” the April ELITE Digest post on the Montgomery Employees Facebook page by 5 pm on April 5, 2024.

Thank you for taking a moment to read this month’s Digest. The ELITE team looks forward to serving your professional development needs.

If you have any questions or feedback about our latest edition of the ELITE Digest, please let us know or contact us through the various ASK ELITE channels.


featured professional development

At-a-Glance – April

The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution4/1/24 2:30 PM4:30 PM

Blackboard Learn Ultra Information Session4/1/24 4:00 PM4:30 PM

ELITE After Dark: Cumulative Quizzes & Practice Tests: Helping Students Retain Knowledge all Semester Long4/1/24 6:00 PM7:00 PM

ELITE After Dark: Microsoft 365 Cloud Storage and Collaboration Using OneDrive and Teams4/2/24 6:00 PM7:00 PM

Microsoft Outlook Essentials Plus (Zoom) 4/3/24 9:00 AM 12:00 PM

Working with Neurodivergent Students: Strategies to Promote Academic Success4/3/24 1:00 PM2:00 PM

Using Hypothesis with Small Groups – Spring 20244/4/24 12:15 PM1:00 PM

YuJa Online Open Lab4/5/24 1:00 PM2:00 PM

First Fridays Book Club: We Want To Do More Than Survive4/5/24 1:30 PM3:00 PM

Chat GPT Basics (ELITE After Dark)4/8/24 7:00 PM8:00 PM

Microsoft PowerPoint Essentials Plus (Zoom)4/9/24 1:00 PM4:00 PM

Germantown English & Reading Dept. Meeting – Mental Health Resources4/9/24 2:00 PM3:30 PM

Blackboard Learn Ultra Information Session4/9/24 3:00 PM3:30 PM

The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution  4/10/24 10:00 AM12:00 PM

Flipping Out Over Flipped Learning4/11/24 10:00 AM11:00 AM

Grading and Feedback for Social Annotation – Spring 20244/11/24 3:15 PM4:00 PM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) – Principles and Practices in Action4/12/24 9:30 AM10:30 AM

The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution  4/12/24 10:00 AM12:00 PM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms4/12/24 10:45 AM11:45 AM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Leveraging EdTech for Inclusive Education4/12/24 10:45 AM11:45 AM

YuJa Online Open Lab4/12/24 11:00 AM12:00 PM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Keynote: Including All Voices: Dismantling Linguistic Bias in Higher Education4/12/24 12:00 PM1:00 PM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Speed Session4/12/24 1:15 PM1:45 PM

Identifying and Integrating Effective Instructional Media Into Your Teaching4/12/24 2:00 PM3:00 PM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Fostering Emotional Intelligence and Social Inclusion in Higher Education4/12/24 2:00 PM3:00 PM

Inclusion by Design Summit Spring 2024: Empowering Students through Inclusive Pedagogies4/12/24 2:00 PM3:00 PM

Becoming Conflict Competent 4/15/24 8:45 AM 12:00 PM MK-122

Equity Week 2024: Opening Presentation4/15/24 12:30 PM3:30 PM

Equity Week 2024: Opening Presentation 4/15/24 12:30 PM 3:30 PM RV – Theatre Arts

Equity Week 2024: Increasing Student Access and Opportunities through Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Partnerships 4/15/24 4:00 PM 5:00 PM SV-416

Using Blackboard Analytics to Support Student Engagement and Instruction – Spring 20244/16/24 10:00 AM11:00 AM

Designing Effective and Engaging Reusable Learning Objects4/16/24 1:00 PM2:00 PM

Equity Week 2024: The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution4/16/24 2:00 PM4:00 PM

Equity Week 2024: Readers Theatre 4/16/24 5:00 PM 6:30 PM TP/SS – Cultural Arts Center

Microsoft Teams Essentials (Zoom)4/17/24 9:00 AM12:00 PM

Equity Week 2024: Safe Zones 4/17/24 9:00 AM 4:30 PM TP/SS – Cultural Arts Center

Equity Week 2024: Multicultural Fair 4/17/24 11:00 AM 2:00 PM TP/SS – Charlene R. Nunley Student Services Center

What’s Your Conflict Style?4/17/24 1:30 PM4:45 PM

Blackboard Learn Ultra Information Session4/17/24 2:00 PM2:30 PM

Equity Week 2024: Excellence in Equity Performance and Student Led Dialogue 4/17/24 4:00 PM 5:00 PM TP/SS – Cultural Arts Center

Equity Week 2024: Affordable College for Maryland Dreamers 4/18/24 9:15 AM 10:45 AM CM-211

Equity Week 2024: Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project Conversation Circle4/18/24 11:00 AM12:30 PM

Using ChatGPT to Differentiate Instruction in the College Classroom4/18/24 1:00 PM2:00 PM

The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution 4/18/24 3:00 PM5:00 PM

Equity Week 2024: Increasing Belonging and Mattering Through Creating Safe Multilingual Spaces: ¡Hablemos Español! 4/18/24 3:00 PM 4:00 PM SV-416

Simple Questions that Lead to Big Changes for Inclusive Curriculum Design4/19/24 12:00 PM1:00 PM

Pedagogical Discussion # 6: Trends in Higher Education: Leveraging AI to Develop More Engaging Learning Experiences4/19/24 2:00 PM3:00 PM

HyFlex Course Design4/19/24 2:00 PM4:00 PM

The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution4/23/24 10:00 AM12:00 PM

Blackboard Learn Ultra Information Session4/23/24 11:00 AM11:30 AM

Microsoft Word Essentials Plus (Zoom)4/23/24 1:00 PM4:00 PM

Organizational Culture and Change 4/24/24 8:45 AM 12:00 PM MK-122

The Journey Towards Becoming an Antiracist Institution4/26/24 11:00 AM1:00 PM

Love of Teaching Half-Day Conference4/27/24 9:15 AM12:30 PM

Management Learning Pathway FY24

Do you want to learn management skills but are not currently a supervisor or manager?  This learning pathway offers you the opportunity to do so.  While many of this year’s classes have occurred, the information below provides you with information about the classes that ELITE Professional Development offers cyclically.  The FY25 schedule will be available later this summer.
Take charge of preparing yourself for upward mobility. Learn more

virtual campus banner

Quality Matters (QM) Matters

Montgomery College (MC) continues to increase the number of Quality Matters (QM) certified courses, signifying that more of our courses are being recognized as high quality online offerings. Learn more

The Quality Assurance Microcredential: Elevating Online Education

In recent years, higher education has undergone a transformative shift with online education becomingly increasingly prevalent. Learn more

The OER Microcredential: Empowering Educators in the World of Open

In today’s higher education landscape, the rising costs of textbooks and instructional materials present significant barriers to student access, success, and completion. Learn more

For more information, please contact Dr. Shinta Hernandez, Dean of the Virtual Campus


multicultural moment

Indigenous Sustainability Practices

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, almost 200 nations have engaged in initiatives that take steps to protect and better the environment; however, Indigenous communities around the globe have engaged in such practices for thousands of years.

Learn More about Multicultural Moment.


teaching tip of the month

Theme: Abstract Conceptualization

Experiential Learning is learning through experience or learning by doing. Kolb’s Cycle of Experiential Learning presents four components: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation (Institute for Experiential Learning, 2024). Each issue of Teaching Tips of the Month for Spring 2024 will focus on one of these components.

Learn More about Teaching Tip of the Month.

teaching technology tip of the month

Google Earth

Enhancing students’ global perspectives has become incredibly easy, thanks to Google Earth!
This innovative platform enables instructors to transport their students on virtual expeditions to any corner of our planet, the moon, distant stars, and even the captivating landscapes of Mars.

Learn more


return to work tip of the month

Do You Notice?

Life keeps us busy.  It is easy to rush from meeting to meeting, only to go home and rush to fulfill family obligations.  Amidst all this, do you notice?  Do you notice your co-worker has a new sweater?  Do you notice that a person in the meeting is pre-occupied?  Do you notice that an employee always brings in treats for the office?

Learn More


highlights from our partners

HRSTM

Benefits: National Employee Benefits Day Presentation

Join the HRSTM Benefits Team for a special presentation on National Employee Benefits Day on April 2 at 12:30 p.m.

We will be providing a high-level overview of benefits and wellness, and each of the team members will talk briefly about their favorite benefit.

Please register, and the Zoom link will be emailed to you.

MC Wellness: Spring into Wellness

Looking to improve your health and wellbeing? Join us for these upcoming wellness activities!

Learn more

Office of Equity and Inclusion

Safe Zone

Safe Zone is an informative and experiential full-day training. It runs for 6.5 hours. Participants will be able to explore their assumptions and understanding of LGBTQ+ people. Core concepts about LGBTQ+ identity development, stereotypes and stigmas, homophobia and heterosexism, the coming out process, respectful vocabulary, common LGBTQI+ student needs and concerns, and resources for continued learning and sharing will be presented. How to be an ally–how to support LGBTQ+ staff and students who may seek your support and how to respond to incidents of discrimination and harassment will be explored through various activities.

If you have taken Safe Zone training before, you are encouraged to enroll in this workshop, which contains newly updated information. Sponsored by MC Pride and Allies, Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Office of E-Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Excellence. Register for Safe Zone workshops

Understanding Belonging and Mattering

Join us April 15 – 19, 2024 for Equity Week! We anticipate another successful week and invite students and employees from the MC community to submit proposals related to the theme, “Understanding Belonging and Mattering.” Learn more.


ELITE H5P Activity

ELITE H5P Activity: April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

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