The 1977 Society is comprised of an elite group of those who recognize the importance of supporting Golden Key’s mission of creating scholarship and leadership opportunities for our members.
One of the immediate impacts of the 1977 Society is the launch of SPARK a Change, Golden Key’s global service initiative with the goal of dedicating 400,000 service hours by 2017 to impact and improve the lives of at-risk youth through literacy, education and real-world preparedness.
-10-101In order to train the 30 to 50 students who work within Digital Media Services, the team of five permanent staff use a two-pronged approach with both online and in-person training. The in-person training can only happen once each year based on the needs of the University, but online training is accessible throughout the year, except when it is updated at the end of each summer.
This year, the team of supervisors elected expanded the breadth of the online training (created in Articulate Studio 13) and allow the depth of training to take place in the in-person training days in August and in training activities throughout the semester.
Alma was in charge of adding new information on student services, emergency procedures, as well as a comprehensive picture of where their position impacts the University and its departments as a whole. Alma researched these areas, collaborated with the team on what was worthwhile to include and assembled the information using engagements, videos, narration and quizzes. Alma also scripted, produced and edited a comprehensive set of situational videos and engagements illustrating positive customer service.
During our in person training Alma designed several activities for students to do which tied to the topics that were added to online training. These topics ranged from watching and discussing the FBI Active Shooter video, role playing customer service scenarios, and collaborative communication/storytelling games.
-10-101This presentation has gone through three incarnations, and each of the three has been a different experience.
There are two programs at Loyola University Chicago that involve iPads or other tablets being issued to students, specifically for course work. All told, Alma has prepared and delivered five such presentations and developed an in-depth online training and support resource for anyone interested in using a tablet or mobile device in their courses.
In an effort to transition from on-ground training and support to online, self-paced training and support, Loyola University Chicago entertained working with several repositories of video tutorials. When it was time to begin a pilot of one service, Atomic Learning, Alma was integrated in to the core workgroup as a Subject Matter Expert on student use of online, video-based software support.
The group was charged with reviewing system strengths and limitations and assessing the impact of those limitations on our planned implementation of the system. Throughout the pilot Alma encouraged the student workers she supervises to use the system for individual enrichment and for the academic support of our clients. At the end of the defined pilot time the group gathered feedback from students, faculty and staff on their use of the online-learning system. After the survey was closed, Alma assessed quantitative response from survey of system users, coded qualitative responses and compiled survey results in an executive summary to guide higher-level leadership in decision to adopt the system.
After the adoption of Atomic Learning, Alma assisted in the development and implementation of comprehensive marketing schema to target students, faculty and staff via print and electronic media, events and organizations.
-10-101Alma presented this with her Digital Media Services colleagues at the CCUMC (Consortium of College and University Media Centers) Conference in Oak Brook, Illinois in October 2013.
The presentation focuses on the evolution of on-campus computer labs throughout the past decades, from the time when personal computers were prohibitively expensive and dial-up internet created issues for family houses to now. The ubiquity of mobile computing and cloud software has placed a very different set of demands on computing spaces, including fast access to printing or kiosks, high-power creative and statistical software, and access to protected databases.
The presentation is available for review here.
-10-101October 2012 – May 2013, as Digital Media Specialist at Loyola University Chicago
Alma planned, developed and created a multi-tiered curriculum on Video Production. Using Articulate Studio 8, the short tutorials were made of powerpoints combined with narrative media and multimedia interactions and short assessments. Alma did have the assistance of several part-time staff, one was dedicated to the project for 10 hours per week for three months. A large part of the curriculum development involved teaching those who assisted with the development of the training media.
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The series of video production short courses Alma developed for Loyola University Chicago included basic concepts in three different areas: preparation, production software, and special effects.
The workshop on preparation includes the different styles of pre-production documents, breaking them down and including what special needs they meet depending on workflow. Alma’s presentation on production software, or the Non-Linear Editor, is a mixture of background knowledge and workflow. This ties closely to Alma’s educational values, she has always felt that knowing why something is the way it is factors largely in how it is understood. The last presentation, on the Green Screen special effect covers how the effect works, and how it can be used.
With the increased access to high caliber video production tools, these presentations were supposed to entice the Loyola community to use video, and teach a little more about why things work (or don’t work) the way they do.
For more details on the specific topics of these presentations:
-10-101One of the series of short courses Alma developed, as Digital Media Specialist at Loyola University Chicago was on Adobe Photoshop. The courses covered topics from Adobe’s desire to eradicate the use of “photoshop” as a verb and common photo retouching actions as well as some tools for photo manipulation. Some of the features that were highlighted are:
In an effort to promote Digital Media Services support services and wider use of digital media on campus, Alma and one of her colleagues developed an structure to deliver short courses in six different tracks. These tracks included Computer Solutions, Web Apps, Media Theory, and Mobile Computing as well as a track that focuses on equipment and software available through Digital Media Services and a Contest Track.
The tracks were developed to tie course topics together and enable students to become “certified” in an area, with the exception of the contest track. The contest track intended to tie together short courses that would benefit students interested in entering one of the planned monthly contests.
All short courses were developed to be 60 minutes long and be conducted within the Digital Media Lab at one of Loyola University Chicago’s Lakeside campuses. Continue Reading →
-10-101Loyola University Chicago: December 2011 to September 2016
While working in Digital Media Services, under Loyola’s ITS department, there are many opportunities to reach out to students of all majors, faculty in all colleges and staff from all departments. By encouraging the use of digital media and technology, Alma feels that DMS encourages the development of a more well-rounded digital citizen in all members of the Loyola Community.
In addition to her regular duties, which are listed below, Alma has undertaken many other initiatives and projects detailed throughout this CV.
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