Classified Employee of the Year Award nominations are due Friday, February 9, 2018 by 4:00 p.m.

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors created the Classified Employee of the Year Award honoring community college classified employees who demonstrate the highest level of commitment to professionalism and community colleges.

Every college district is invited to submit a nominee. Nominees must be classified employees with a minimum of 5 years of service as a permanent employee within the nominating Community College District (full-time or part-time).

All nominees will be evaluated on their commitment to the mission of community colleges; professional ethics and standards; serving the institution through participation in professional and/or community activities; and serving as a leader beyond the local institution. A $500 cash award and plaque will be presented to each statewide recipient at an upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors. Anyone may nominate an employee consistent with the criteria set by the CCC Board of Governors

Each district is allowed to submit one nomination. SMCCCD is soliciting the names of four proposed nominees, one each from the three colleges and the district office. At its February 28, 2018 meeting, The SMCCCD Board of Trustees will select one of the four nominees to submit to the Board of Governors. All four of the nominees will be recognized at the District Board meeting.

The criteria and nominating forms are available at the following links:

Criteria: http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/ExecutiveOffice/Board/2014_agendas/classified/Classified%20Employee%20Award%20Criteria_BOG_2.pdf

Form: http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/ExecutiveOffice/Board/CLASSIFIED_EMPLOYEE_AWARDS_PROGRAM_NOMINATION_FORM_BOG.pdf

Here you will find the guidelines and criteria form, and the nomination form. Anyone can make a nomination. Simply submit the completed nomination form in electronic format to Theresa Tentes at tentes@smccd.edu by February 9, 2018 by 4:00 p.m. The College Council will screen the nominations and select a Skyline College nominee in time for the agenda packet for the February 28th Board of Trustees meeting.

Article by Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud

The 2018-2019 President’s Innovation Fund Applications are now available. The applications are due to Theresa Tentes in the President’s Office by April 16, 4:00 p.m.

Don’t miss this opportunity to realize your vision for these special programs, services and events!

 

To download the application, please visit the President’s Innovation Fund Website.

The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) is pleased to announce that starting Feb. 14, they will be hosting a monthly meeting of the new Adjunct Faculty Teaching and Learning Community (AFTLC).

Led by adjunct English faculty member, Monique Iles, this group will serve as a way for participants to build community, discuss a variety of issues of particular concern to adjunct faculty, build pedagogy and practical tools for use in the classroom, and connect across disciplines. Meetings of the AFTLC will be collaborative and topics will be chosen based on member interest/feedback.

The AFTLC was created to provide a time, and place in which adjunct faculty, who seek more satisfying connections with their adjunct colleagues, due to their fleeting time on campus (and other factors), can build community, grow their skills, and connect with one another. Adjunct faculty from across disciplines are encouraged to participate and share their experiences. In collaboration with the Center for Transformative Teaching & Learning, the AFTLC has crafted a survey in order to gauge interest in topics for this semester’s meetings. If you are an adjunct faculty member who is interested in participating, please fill out the survey.

For questions about the Adjunct Faculty Teaching & Learning Community, please contact Monique Iles at ilesm@smccd.edu or Nina Floro at floro@smccd.edu.

The AFTLC will meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 3:40-4:40 in the CTTL Learning Space, Bldg. 1, Rm. 1-311F, starting February 14, 2018. Light snacks will be provided.

Article by Monique Iles

In May, a diverse crew of Skyline College Engineering and STEM Students will be embarking on the open waters in the Annual Sacramento Municipality Utility District (SMUD) Solar Regatta. On May 5, 2018 the team will venture to the Rancho Seco Recreational Area and compete in races against different schools of Northern California such as UC Davis, CCSF, and SJSU, to name a few.

In their spare time, the students have been participating in the Skyline Engineering and Robotics Club (ERC) where they are using Fabrication Equipment and utilizing the knowledge learned from their courses to construct an operating Solar Boat!

The competition is split into three sections where the overall design, maneuverability, and efficiency of the boat’s performance will be tested. Artistic appearance and team spirit will also be judged. The ultimate challenge will be the three races, which the boat and the ‘skipper’ have to perform. There will be a speed race, a slalom race, and an endurance race, in which the boat will run only on battery to test the design efficiency.

Skyline College has competed before, but never have they fully designed and manufactured a boat from raw construction materials. The work on the boat is entirely voluntarily and happens in the Skyline College Fab Lab. Students are learning the process of building a large and complex structure as a team.

A key element to this competition is sustainability; due to limited resources the students have to improvise and work with the materials that they have at hand. Following the team’s mission, “Building green, living clean,” the energy for the propulsion will be provided by two Solar panels, donated by SMUD. Together the students are improving their problem solving skills, tackling the constraints of a limited budget, materials, and time, which are all talents to help them transition from their academics to career.

Our team consists of ten Engineering and STEM students who have been working diligently since last fall on the boat. They have developed a CAD (Computer Aided Design) model based on an internet publication of a catamaran design. With this model, they designed the parts and toolpaths, which were then cut out of plywood with the Fab Lab Shopbot, a big CNC router. Those pieces were then assembled using a process called ’stitch and glue’, where one uses wire to stitch the boat panels together, and glues them with epoxy. The next step in the manufacturing will be the application of the composites on the outer hull to make the boat water proof.

The learning fields of the boat include wood crafting, composite layering, electronic circuity, assembly and sustainability. If you are interested in watching the process or joining the team, stop by at the Fab Lab in Building 7 (room 7-310)! The team meets every Friday at 2:00 p.m. For more information contact the team leader Mikaela Quintos mikaelaquintos@my.smccd.edu or the advisor Marco Wehrfritz wehrfritzm@smccd.edu.

Article by Marco Wehrfritz, Mikaela Quintosm and Maryam Khan

The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) is pleased to introduce a new collection of books for instructors.

CTTL has partnered with the Skyline Library to establish a new library collection that currently includes 45 books to support your exploration of best practices in teaching and learning.

We understand that teaching and learning is in a constant state of change, making it difficult for instructors to stay well informed of a wide variety of best practices and current issues in education. Instructors are bombarded with new and ongoing education jargon; student-centered, active learning, equity across the curriculum; intrinsic motivation, formative assessment, OER, and the list goes on.  Where should one begin their search for understanding the current best practices in teaching and learning?  Wikipedia?  We hope not!  Google Search?  Good luck with that search!

The CTTL Library Collection is available for faculty and staff to begin their search for best practices in teaching and learning, and a place to understand current issues in curriculum and content delivery.  The following is a partial list of books available for checkout from the CTTL Library Collection with your Skyline College library card (or Peninsula Library System card).

1. Collaborative Learning Techniques by Cross, Barkley, & Major
2. Active Learning: A Practical Guide for College Faculty (Weimer)
3. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (Angelo/Cross)
4. Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (Barkley)
5. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses (Revised and Updated) (Fink)
6. How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (Ambrose et al.)
7. Civic Engagement in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices (Ehrlich)
8. Assessing Campus Diversity Initiatives: A Guide for Campus Practitioners
9. Teaching for Critical Thinking: Tools and Techniques to Help Students Question Their Assumptions (Brookfield)
10. Design for How People Learn (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter) (Dirksen)
11. A New Way: Introducing Higher Education to Professional Learning Communities at Work (Eaker, Sells)
12. Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (Pacansky-Brock)
13. Classroom Instruction that Works: Research- Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (Marzano, Pickering, Pollock)
14. Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide (Essentials of Online Learning) 2nd Edition
15. Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People who will Change the World (Wagner)

Visit the CTTL (Building 1, Room 311F), and check out the items in our new collection. Have questions, contact the CTTL at skylinecttl@smccd.edu.

Article by Jim Houpis & Bianca Rowden-Quince

 

 

Each semester the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC) of Skyline College recruits a new cohort of students to join the Internship Job Shadow Program.

We recently concluded our Fall Program, with a class of eight student interns. Students were placed in a number of participating offices and divisions on campus. Throughout the semester these students were exposed to a variety of career options and were encouraged to explore their career and educational interests.

Students in the program are provided the space to engage in real-world career experiences. Students also enhance their soft skills, learn how to improve their resume, develop their professional network and are referred to other career and educational opportunities. To date, seven students have been placed in jobs as a result of the Internship Job Shadow Program.

If you know of any students interested in applying for the Spring Internship Job Shadow Program, have them complete this application.

Spring Applications Due: Friday, February 2, 2018.

If you are interested in hosting an intern, or for more information please contact the BAEC Director, Pcyeta Stroud at stroudp@smccd.edu.

The Internship Job Shadow Program is supported by the President’s Innovation Fund.

Article by Terri Wade | Photo by Linda Truong

Through the collaborative efforts of YouTube’s Tom Denton, Ph.D. and Wu Yu, Ph.D., and Dean Tammy Robinson, 75 students from the Middle College along with staff toured the YouTube corporate headquarters in San Bruno.

The first-hand opportunity to visit a film production studio, observe the collaborative work environment, and participate in a panel discussion with current YouTube employees to learn about possible non-tech careers at technology companies was a real-life eye opening experience for our first-generation students (80%), especially the young women (70%) and racial-ethnic minorities (90%). Students were then divided into groups to participate in a YouTube “User Experience” interactive research project that critique YouTube consumer products, i.e., YouTube TV.

Acknowledging the difficulty in recruiting high school age participants to try out new YouTube features, the Director of User Experience Research extended an invitation for students to register and be paid for their participation in future User Experience research projects. The half-day tour concluded with YouTube’s employees representing nearly every major and degree sharing a delicious lunch with students in small intimate conversation groups that let students ask questions about the YouTube’s culture, work environment and employment opportunities.

“I was amazed that there are so many different non-tech career opportunities,” Erik, a Middle College student said. “I thought you had to be into sciences and math.”

Article by R.W. Jones | Photo by M. Center