The Instructional Innovation Division is growing from its start date, July 1, 2020 and has acted quickly to serve the needs of the NPC Community. The division houses support from the Libraries, Instructional Technology and Curriculum Support, Perkins Grant, Early College, and Office of Accessibility and Inclusion. We serve our students, faculty, staff, and community partners.

Innovation Connections is a monthly newsletter that features division updates and college-wide innovation and collaboration. Contact Shannon Motter if you wish to contribute to the content.

Summer is just around the corner. For many organizations, summer is the best time to do some Strategic Planning. However, with everything going on these days, planning seems to be an ongoing process in response to all the changes. This year, our division has been working diligently in aligning our operational plans with the college’s strategic goals. The following outline highlights a few priorities and ideas that we are currently implementing or exploring in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders:

NPC is one of the participating community colleges in rural Arizona in a joint project to create eResources such as eTextbooks for their students. These resources will be shared freely with others. The group was awarded a three year Department of Education grant for over $800,000. Join other NPC faculty already hard at work on their eResources.

Want to join? Contact LaTonya @ Latonya.Motley@npc.edu or
Shannon @ shannon.motter@npc.edu 

Please click HERE to access a Google Drive folder, which includes video recordings and PPTs from the presentations. Click the links below to access great resources from the project, NPC, and fellow Open Educational Resource creators:

Check out our ITCS Newsletter below to find out the winner of the NPC 2022 Innovation of the Year Award, sponsored by the League for Innovation for Community College. You can find Moodle tips, curriculum updates, and the informative presentation by our own LaTonya Motley at the Open Educational Practices Conference at the Texas Woman's University.

Congratulations, Class of 2022!!!! 

We've been grateful to be a part of your educational journey, and we can't wait to see what great things you continue to do!

Reminders:

• If you are transferring to another college/university, be sure to have your OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS sent to your new school! More information at npc.edu/transcripts.

• Graduating seniors are eligible to apply for federal financial aid for the Summer 2022 semester! And apply for the Fast Track tuition waiver. 

• Incoming seniors, juniors, and sophomores: Get a headstart on your Early College career! Take courses through the Early College Waiver this summer or fall semester. 

Most federal laws are reviewed every three years.  IDEA was reviewed and updated so many times to keep current with K-12 education, it eventually was titled as a new law.  Among its changes, it has roots in some huge systemic changes involving education for children with disabilities.  Keeping in mind the image of education leading to employment as a relay race, IDEA is the first leg of the relay race, establishing a plan for modifications of approved curriculum, placing the student in the least restrictive environment, and beginning the process of transition.

What does this mean for NPC?  Read more to find out on the IDEA link below:

Chef Janet Yu, owner of Hollywood East Café in Wheaton, Maryland, shares stories and prepares recipes from her home kitchen that draw upon her family’s heritage from Taishan, a village in the Guangdong Province of China. Yu talks about her work preserving and sharing Chinese food culture in the Greater Washington, D.C., area and how doing so is a vital form of advocacy. She also discusses her role as a mentor and the ways mentorship can maintain cultural bonds and identities as well as empower a new generation of chefs, cooks, and food entrepreneurs.
Free virtual event: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET