Weekly Newsletter: Tuesday Is News Day

_________________

College Announcements

Apply for the Globalizing Curriculum FLC, Deadline to apply April 26

Applications for the Globalizing Curriculum Faculty Learning Community are now open. This two-semester program will engage with an interdisciplinary group of ACC faculty members in high-quality programming and collaborative discussions on globalizing community college courses with a focus on global citizenship, human rights, gender and women's studies, peace and conflict studies, and other relevant topics. During the FLC, faculty members take an active role in shaping programming and discussions throughout the year. And faculty receive a stipend for participating! Want to hear more about this exciting opportunity? Contact Brinda Roy, facilitator extraordinaire for the Global FLC. She can be reached at broy@austincc.edu. The application for the Global FLC may be found here.

-----------------------

Design Team, Please Nominate Yourself! Deadline to apply April 19

Post Data Summit, we are aiming to get as many interested CLS folks onto those Design Teams. Truly, coming out of our "School Board" meeting and the Data Summit, this is the place to get our expertise, voices, and presence at the table where decisions are being made. I know you received the email, but I am resharing the self-nomination form here. There are nearly 180 of us. We need to try to get ourselves onto these teams!!!

https://swimdigitalgroup.surveysparrow.com/s/Nomination-for-Design-Teams/tt-6wYawKHqcJeurmnHvub9o3

(from the original email)-

We are excited to announce that the nomination process for the Theory of Change Design Teams is officially OPEN!

The process for nominating yourself or a colleague is straightforward: 

• Complete the nomination form.

  • If you’re nominating a colleague– you just did it!

  • If you’re nominating yourself, complete the innovation assessment (link provided upon submission of the form) and upload your results. Your process is complete!

• Nominated by a colleague? You will receive an email with the option to accept this nomination and complete the process or to decline the nomination.

The nomination form will remain open for two weeks and close on April 19, 2024, at 5 pm Central time. All nominations and innovation assessments must be received by then to be considered for a Design Team. Design Teams will be notified of next steps by the end of May. 

-----------------------

Rolling on the Riverboat Cruise, buy your tickets by April 22

The Faculty Center for Learning Innovation (FCLI) and the Faculty Development Office of TLED invite you to join your colleagues for a night of professional development, activities, and camaraderie. The Riverboat Cruise includes a meal with a gorgeous view of Austin and the flight of the river bats, a themed program focusing on joy and happiness, and the opportunity to network and connect with faculty colleagues from across ACC campuses and departments.

The Riverboat Cruise will be held on Thursday, May 2, 2024, starting at 5:45 pm for embarkation and returns at 9:00 pm. Tickets for the cruise and dinner are $25 per person. They do not include parking fees. Seating is limited, so be sure to purchase your tickets early. The deadline to purchase your ticket is Monday, April 22nd, at 5:00 p.m.

Date: Thursday, May 2, 2024

Time: Boarding begins at 5:45 p.m. return is at 9:00 p.m.

Location: Capital Cruises Dock at the Hyatt Regency – 208 Barton Springs Road, Austin, TX 78704.

Tickets: Tickets are $25 and can only purchased online through the ACC Marketplace. Sales close Monday, April 22nd, 5 p.m.

Get Tickets

-----------------------

PACS Symposium: "What's Peace Got to Do With It?", April 19

From Shirin Catterson Khosropour, Director of Center for Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS)

You're invited to join us at our 10th Annual Spring Symposium. We have created a program that is festive and also promises to inspire and give you tools to transform conflicts in your life. Learn from top experts in the field how to deal with conflicts in your personal, professional, and academic life and to contribute to a more peaceful culture. 

The symposium "What's Peace Got to Do With It?: Transforming Conflicts in Your Relationships, Career, and Community" is brought to you by Austin Community College's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies in collaboration with ACC’s division of Arts and Digital Media, including departments of Dance, Drama, Art, and The Art Galleries. 

Date: April 19, 2024

Time: 8:15 AM – 4:45 PM

Location: HLC Presentation Hall (2.1550), Jonathan Dr, Austin, TX 78752

Full Schedule and Registration Form here: PACS Symposium 2024

Also of interest to all those in instruction:

Our keynote speaker, Dr. George Lopez, will be with us Thursday April 18 (4:30 - 5:30) for a talk with faculty. Join us as Dr. Lopez defines the role of peace studies and conflict studies (PACS) across the curriculum and offers ideas about how to add a PACS lens to our existing course objectives across the academic and workforce disciplines. Faculty will have an opportunity to engage in Q/A and discussions. This talk will be held at RGC's Multimedia Room 1103, Building 1000 (main Bldg).  Complete this form to let us know you are attending. 

Please share widely — the symposium is free and open to the public. The Thursday meeting with George Lopez is open to ACC folks. 

-----------------------

Apply: Hyflex Training, Summer Institute (June 22)

The 2024 Summer Institute: HyFlex Teaching and Learning, sponsored by the Office of Distance & Alternative Education, is designed to help you prepare for teaching a HyFlex class.

This supportive cohort will focus on applying effective practices for implementing HyFlex delivery in your own course, demonstrate how to utilize HyFlex technology in the classroom, and provide tips for integrating synchronous learning activities and engagement in a HyFlex learning environment.

This learning opportunity will be delivered in three sessions: AM, PM, and One-on-One:

• AM Session: This session will cover the topics of Orientation, Getting Started with HyFlex, and Designing your HyFlex Solution.

• PM Session: This session will cover the topics of Develop Engagement Approaches, Implementing HyFlex in your Own Course, and Explaining and Evaluating your HyFlex Course Design.

• One-on-One Session: This session will cover the topic of ACC HyFlex Technologies.

Date: Saturday, June 22nd, 2024
Time: AM Session: 9am to 12pm / PM Session: 2pm to 5pm

Note: The training is divided into three sessions. Faculty must attend a one-on-one meeting in person on campus to learn the  HyFlex technology after attending the first two Institute Sessions.

Stipend: Total of $1000 stipend will be paid after participating in the institute, finishing HyFlex course design and HyFlex course scheduling. ($300 for completing the Institute, $200 for completing course design, $500 for scheduling the HyFlex course.)

Professional Development: 7 hours (To self-report credits, go to Workday > Career > Training > Add Training) 

More information and application here: Application for 2024 DE Summer Institute: Hyflex

-----------------------

Reminder: Tag those Artifacts!  

We need to tag artifacts in Blackboard for the yearly assessment of general education competencies.  This year the focus is on Visual Communication, Social Responsibility, and Teamwork.  If you are teaching a Core Curriculum course, please tag at least one relevant assignment from each of your courses. Here's written and video instructions for tagging assignments in Blackboard.

Ron Johns, Associate Dean of Assessment and Evaluation, put an emphasis on the Social Responsibility competency, and notes that "assignments for Social Responsibility should, at a minimum involve:

• demonstrating a knowledge of different cultures and/or perspectives

• analyzing or comparing commonalities and differences between these cultures or perspectives"