Volume 2, Issue 4 | ELITE Digest | December 2022
Welcome to the last edition of the ELITE Digest for 2022.
With Thanksgiving behind us, December is an exciting time for MC. December gives us a reason to celebrate and reflect as we approach the winter break and new year between finals and holiday preparations.
ELITE is proud to support last week’s 2022 Faculty Showcase featuring the COVID-Inspired Fellowship. We would like to recognize Professor Serena Gould, Dr. Rashi Jain, Dr. Geetha Kada, and Dr. Brandon Wallace for making the showcase special. All presentations and discussions highlighted research and the impacts of the pandemic and our college transformation over the past year.
As we look to the Spring semester, planning is well underway for Professional Week. On January 19th ELITE invites you to explore more than 30 virtual workshops, speed sessions, and featured presentations designed with and for you as we continue to teach and learn together.
This month we have more MC gear than ever to give to two lucky winners of our monthly H5P challenge. To enter, all you have to do is:
- complete this month’s ELITE Interactive Game (see below); and
- send us a copy of your answers by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 9, 2022.
Winners will be selected at random and contacted via email on December 12, 2022. For an extra chance to win, “like” the December ELITE Digest post on the Montgomery Employees Facebook page by 5:00 pm on December 9, 2022.
On behalf of the ELITE, I wish you and yours Happy Holidays. As always, we thank you for allowing us to support your professional development needs.
Professional Week Workshops, Speed Sessions, and Guest Speakers
Spring 2023 Professional Week begins on Tuesday, January 17, and kicks off with the Collegewide Opening meeting. Professional Week offers faculty and staff over 30 professional development opportunities from the College and ELITE.
All ELITE-sponsored events are scheduled on Thursday, January 19, and will be held via Zoom.
Yuja
Montgomery College has obtained a college-sponsored resource that enables Faculty and Staff to upload videos for publishing to Blackboard, blogs, websites, and other areas to present or share video content. This resource called YuJa allows publishing media without the need to use a personal YouTube account. YuJa allows you to upload commercial-free videos. In addition, this resource helps with the accessibility of video content by generating auto-captions that are easy to modify for accuracy. Learn More
The Academy for Teaching Transformation
The Academy for Teaching Transformation (Academy) is a program specifically designed to support new faculty and instructional staff members at Montgomery College. Through three interconnected sessions, each Academy program is designed to provide opportunities for faculty and instructional staff to become actively involved in meaningful discussions, content planning, and learning activities that support collaboration, problem-solving, and knowledge sharing. Learn more about the four different workshop series being offered in the Spring.
Virtual Campus Lounge Hours for Employees
As the virtual campus continues to develop, Dr. Shinta Hernandez, Dean of the virtual campus, would like to invite you to her virtual campus lounge hours throughout the Fall 2022 semester.
Learn More
Multi-Day Observances in December
The popular English carol “Twelve Days of Christmas” is more than just a catchy holiday song. According to the Christianity.com article, “The 12 Days of Christmas Lyrics and Meaning of Each Gift,” many denominations celebrated the holiday for 12 days, and the seemingly unusual gifts in the song were religious symbols or codes used for Christians who were not allowed to worship and celebrate freely. While Christmas today is usually celebrated only one day, December offers other multi-day observances of social, religious, and cultural significance.
Learn More about Multicultural Moment.
Experiential Learning Ideas for Any Course
Tip 1: Teaching Others
One of the most effective ways to learn a skill or concept is to teach it to others (“Improving Your Learning by Teaching, 2021), and the practice of teaching engages learners in the experiential learning cycle of planning, doing, reflecting, and concluding.
Learn More about Teaching Tip of the Month.
Voyant Text Analysis Tool to Self-Reflect on Writing
Voyant is a free, web-based text analysis tool. The open-source tool was created by Stefan Sinclair (McGill University) and George Rockwell (University of Alberta) to support the digital humanities efforts of students, scholars, instructors, and the general public.
Learn More about Teaching Tips with Technology.
4Cs of Good Writing: Commas, Clarity, Coherence, and Conciseness
Are you suffering from comma splices? Do misplaced modifiers give you headaches?
Attend this mini cohort to get relief! Accurate and well-developed written communication is a valuable skill and is highly sought by hiring committees. Make your writing clearer, more organized, and more concise by participating in this four-session cohort class in Zoom.
Tuesday and Thursday: Feb. 28, March 2, 7, 9
8:45 a.m.-noon, Register in Workday
Learn More about @ Work Tip of the Month.
MC Forward
Dr. Michael Mills hosts a weekly podcast that focuses on Montgomery College individuals who are leading from where they are.
HRSTM
Required Training Due by December 23
Each year, MC provides college-wide training that is mandatory for all or certain staff, depending on their position at the College that focuses on data security, ethics, mental health, and racial equity.
The following three Required Training classes are due by Friday, December 23, 2022.
- Data Security @MC – Annual Review FY23
- Data Asset Management Training
- Ethics Self-Reflection Questionnaire Employees and for Supervisors
Please visit the Required Training webpage to register.
Professional Development Leave: Information Session on December 9
Montgomery College department chairs, administrators, and benefits-eligible staff are eligible for a period of paid leave to engage in professional development, research or scholarly activities, or study for the completion of a degree, certificate, or other professional credential.
Does this sound like something that may interest you? Then join the HRSTM Employee Development and Engagement team on Friday, December 9 at 2 p.m. to learn how the College’s Professional Development Leave program can help you achieve your professional learning and career goals.
The Office of Analytics & Insights
Data Is The Sweet Spot
The Office of Analytics & Insights is thrilled to announce its new podcast, Data is the Sweet Spot. It is easy to access all episodes and has very engaging content from several Montgomery College (MC) colleagues. Of course, the subject matter is all about data.
Data is the Sweet Spot was created to engage the MC community in data-informed discussions and to creatively highlight diverse MC data journeys. This podcast gives us an opportunity to hear about and get a glimpse of data-infused experiences within our MC community. Don’t you want to peek? The fact is that we all use data in some form or fashion. Every. One. Of. Us.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion
The Journey Towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Institution
This is our required college-wide Antiracism training that will launch itself during the 2022-23 academic year. This training promotes social justice, radical inclusion, and racial equity within the College and the broader community and continues the Board focus on the journey to being an antiracist institution.
Register for The Journey Towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Institution workshops
