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Oakton Community College Tutor Training Development

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations, Teams and Groups

In developing annual tutor training with her colleagues, Alma sought out different resources and even non-academic approaches for inspiration. Many tutors in attendance would have had multiple years of training, so adding some variety to the training repertoire would be worthwhile.

Tutors must build a rapport and constantly read the comprehension level of those they’re working with. Comics must, similarly, know and adapt to their audiences while maintaining a quality of performance. Why not apply some advice from stand-up-comedians to tutoring situations?

Some topics may include: Continue Reading →

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Learning Specialist: Media-Based Academic Support

By • On • In Employment, Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations

Oakton Community College: September 2010 – December 2011

Alma supervised and scheduled tutors for all Foreign Languages, Computer Topics, Humanities and Social Sciences courses. She participated in a team with other supervisors in developing and implementing quarterly training activities for all tutors.

Alma developed and provided asynchronous in-services on technology topics for the staff and administrators of the Learning Center. She investigated and proposed an online tutoring platform and integrated other technology resources into daily operations. Alma also provided basic maintenance to the on-site computers and copy machines. She maintained the online tutoring schedule and all other contents of the Learning Center website and marketed Learning Center events.

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Viking Academic Boot Camp SLA Leader

By • On • In Employment, Instruction and Curriculum Development, Teams and Groups, Volunteering

After graduating, Alma volunteered as an Structured Learning Assistance Leader for the pre-algebra portion of the Viking Academic Boot Camp. This was the second summer she had been part in the program, having been a leader for pre-algebra during its inaugural year (2009).

This was a summer-only program organized by University Advising and Tutoring and Academic Success Center that allows at-risk incoming freshmen to place into a credit-bearing, non-developmental math or English class during their first semester at Cleveland State University.

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An Analysis of the Analogous Application of the Adverbial Affix

By • On • In Coursework and Research

Alma wrote this paper in my final semester of Graduate School for a Linguistics Special Topics course, covering the History of the English Language.

Abstract:
During the mid-fourteenth century there was a shift from the Old English form of adverb creation to a new form that we recognize in the English we use today. This transition was hastened during the fifteenth century by the increase in creation of original English Literature. Further, the change was solidified in the late fifteenth century with the arrival of the printing press in England. This paper examines the shapes of seven adverbs that existed during the five generations that passed between Chaucer and the first published dictionary.

 

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The Power of Legos

By • On • In Coursework and Research, Productions

A capstone project for my final Educational Technology course, Computer Uses in Education, this video was supposed to illustrate an integration of technology in education. Alma created a production guide and storyboard, below, as well as a two-column video script, in advance of shooting. The video captures ways that legos can be used to illustrate concepts that may be taught, even in higher education.

Feel free to view the final video here:

Special thanks go to Katelynd, Eric, TJ and Kurt for their participation in the video.

Legos Production Guide

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Using Dropbox for Communication

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations

In the Supplemental Instruction and Structured Learning Assistance programs at Cleveland State University, student workers must share up-to-date attendance information with both professors and the SI and SLA program coordinator. In previous semesters, this involved sending excel spreadsheets multiple times per week and submitting hard-copy attendance logs.

Alma opted to harness the newer technology of cloud storage (Dropbox) coupled with an excel template. The template would show attendance and produce other metrics such as average session size, and attendance percentage by student, which is necessary for the SLA program. Continue Reading →

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SI/SLA Program Administrative Organization in Blackboard CE 8

By • On • In Instruction and Curriculum Development, Productions, Teams and Groups

In the highly regimented Supplemental Instruction and Structured Learning Assistance programs there is a lot of paperwork.

This communication between students, SI and SLA leaders, faculty and staff helps the program grow through suggestions and comments. In addition it also allows the program coordinator to ensure a somewhat standardized student experience across SI/SLA Leaders. In the past, Cleveland State’s program used hard-copy weekly reports, this lead to large binders and folders and confusing files as well as late submissions.

Alma designed an assessment in the the Tutoring and Academic Success Centers’ Blackboard community, it remained open for a full week so student workers could fill in their paperwork and submit it on time, from any computer. This regimentation helped the staff develop a routine and allowed the program Coordinator to do her review of these reports all at once. Staff were also able to complete the report more quickly as the original report was scaled down to fit into an electronic format and more quantitative metrics were involved.

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Technology Implementation Specialist, Tutoring and Academic Success Center

By • On • In Employment, Instruction and Curriculum Development, Presentations, Teams and Groups

As part of my Graduate Assistant role at the Tutoring and Academic Success Center, Alma had the opportunity to provide technology in-services and implement tools for the organization of the entire tutoring staff (which ranged from 60 to 90 students).

AlmaI focused on finding technology tools that would increase efficiency and communication amongst staff and faculty while not jeopardizing the confidentiality of student records. She implemented those tools with the support of the TASC Coordinator and provided training and support for the use of the tools to the tutors and involved faculty members. Alma also organized the use of social media to increase visibility to students and edited a short promotional video on the programs, which is still in use.

Continue Reading →

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