Volume 3, Issue 1 | ELITE Digest | September 2023
Welcome to the First Edition of the ELITE Digest for Fall 2023!
As we usher in a new Fall Semester, it’s only fitting to pause and reflect on the success of the Summer Staff Professional Development Days. We offered over 40 exceptional Professional Development (PD) sessions and expanded our training spectrum, notably by introducing the enriched Microsoft Essentials training through Essentials Plus.
This Fall Semester kicked off with a bang, featuring over 40 high-impact workshops and speed sessions during Professional Week. With more than 650 faculty and staff participating, we’ve truly embodied the essence of Teaching and Learning Together as a community. The fervor and unity displayed during the day set the stage for meaningful transformations across the Montgomery College community and beyond.
As we enter the new academic year, ELITE is excited to present various fresh features in the Digest. We invite you to explore the Multicultural Moments, Teaching and Tech Tips of the Month, @Work: Tip of the Month, MC Forward, and our highlighted professional development opportunities for September.
Looking ahead, the fall calendar is jam-packed with enriching events. With over 50 different program types, Leadership Cohorts, Academy Series, and the ELITE Faculty Showcase, the learning journey continues. We’re also thrilled to launch new initiatives like the International Dialogue for Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Community of Practice and the Student Training and Support (STaR) network. And we’re bringing back crowd-favorites such as the Inclusion by Design Summit and Tech It Out. Check out your Fall Professional Development Catalog to learn more!
The upcoming semester is teeming with opportunities, and we look forward to Learning, Working, and Growing TOGETHER!
Monthly H5P Challenge
Participate in our monthly H5P challenge for a chance to win exciting prizes! To enter, simply:
1. complete this month’s ELITE Interactive Game (see below); and
2. send us a copy of your answers by 5 pm on Friday, September 8, 2023.
For an extra chance to win, “like” the May ELITE Digest post on the Montgomery Employees Facebook page by 5 pm on September 12, 2023.
Winners will be randomly chosen and notified via email on September 15, 2023.
Connect with ELITE
As always, we appreciate your engagement with our latest ELITE Digest. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us through the various ASK ELITE channels. We look forward to serving your professional development needs.
Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you enjoy this month’s ELITE Digest!
FY24 At-a-Glance
September
• ELITE After Dark Series, September 11 start
• 30th Leadership Development Institute, September 14 applications due
• MC Management, September 14 applications due
• Pedagogical Discussion Series—Trends in Higher Education, September 22
• Academy for Teaching Transformation, September 22 start
• Tech It Out Series, September 29
Tech-it-Out Returns
The popular Tech-it-Out committee returns for the Fall Semester! Attend a speed session offering short, targeted professional development on a specific tech topic.
Learn more
ELITE After Dark
ELITE is pleased to announce the return of ELITE After Dark Professional Development programming to support your busy schedule. ELITE After Dark offers some of ELITE’s most popular workshops on the first Monday and Tuesday of each month between 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm.
Learn more
30th Leadership Development Institute
A signature program of MC since 1992, the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) promotes the philosophy that people lead from where they are and, therefore, focuses on the participants’ self-awareness of personality, vision, influencing, building relationships, and interactions with others.
Be a part of the experience!
Learn more
Pedagogical Discussions: Trends in Higher Education
The 2023-2024 Pedagogical Discussion Series comprises six thematically linked roundtable-style workshops. The theme for Academic Year 2023-2024 is Trends in Higher Education.
Learn more
Final F.Y.I.
• Applications for the 30th Leadership Development Institute are due September 14.
• Applications for MC Management are due September 14.
• The deadline to register for one of the Academy for Teaching Transformation is September 22, the day classes begin.
• Information flyers for the Fundamentals of Supervision and The Global Leader have class details and the application deadlines.
Z-Courses – Zero Textbook Costs
The start of the Fall semester saw record highs in the number of students taking Z-courses and the number of sections being offered. Z-courses are those courses that have zero textbook costs.
There are 647 Z-course sections offered this semester, a 9.6 percent increase over last fall, while the 12,783 enrollments is a 16.3 percent jump. In all, the 647 sections comprise 174 unique courses and 309 unique instructors.
Since 2017, MC has saved students an estimated $13 million in textbook costs.
Virtual Campus Information Sessions
ELITE would like to invite you to hear about virtual campus updates. The first session of the academic year, entitled “The Virtual Campus: Transforming Teaching and Learning,” will be held on Friday, September 29 at 12:30 p.m. Register for this session on Workday. There will be additional information sessions throughout the year.
For more information, please contact Dr. Shinta Hernandez, Dean of the Virtual Campus
Labor Acknowledgements
September is the month to commemorate Labor Day, so this month’s issue of Multicultural Moments will highlight Labor Acknowledgements, including a definition, purpose, and examples.
Learn More about Multicultural Moment.
Reminders about Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Teaching and Learning
Tip 1: Explore the Possibilities
The rapid spread of AI tools in recent years has opened the door to many possibilities. Working together, instructors and students can creatively maximize AI tools such as Chat GPT to enhance teaching and learning.
Learn More about Teaching Tip of the Month.
Enabling Voice Typing in Edge and Windows Applications
What is Voice Typing?
Microsoft Voice Typing, also known as Windows Dictation, is a feature available in Microsoft Windows that allows users to input text by speaking instead of typing. It utilizes speech recognition technology to transcribe spoken words into written text.
Learn More about Teaching Tips with Technology.
Tip of the Month: Get the Results You Want from Others
When you ask others for something that results in a tangible output, do you get what you need when you need it? Often, the results can be less than you expected, or they can be late.
FOCUS ON: Learning Pathways
Power skill classes, also known as soft skills, have been offered and many employees have completed one, a few, or many. Since 2016, these classes have been organized in learning pathways.
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
Check out the latest edition of Employee Matters.
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
Antiracism Badge
The anti-racism badge is a four-part microcredential that will explore the possibilities of engaging in antiracist action at Montgomery College and in the community. This badge is an opportunity to examine one’s knowledge of racism and antiracism, and to reflect on ways to challenge racism in one’s spheres of influence. Through interactive sessions, participants will gain important background information and resources to better understand how racism impacts us as individuals and as a society. The sessions will examine implicit bias and how it contributes to racism. They will then analyze how social movements and antiracist actions can operate effectively in order to apply this knowledge to develop an individual action plan.
Register for Anticism Badge
ELITE H5P Activity
