Volume 2, Issue 21 | February 20, 2020
Our Mission

We champion excellent teaching and build connected community to promote meaningful learning.
Starfish Tips
Keisha Jones
Keisha Jones, Dean of Student Engagement
Starfish Resource Page - This page has all of the up to date information regarding Starfish, including tutorials etc. that may assist you.

Starfish Internal Help Form  - This form is used to assist you with issues you may have that may not require IT involvement.

Starfish Enhancement Form  - This form is used for suggestions you may have for referrals and flags. Please remember that all suggestions may not be possible to implement but will be considered. If for some reason we don't implement I will be sure to provide you with a reason.

User Guides


New Feature Alert = Direct Links  - Starfish now offers the ability to provide students with a direct link to your calendar to make an appointment, send the Intake Form, and send Progress Surveys. For more information or assistance email Keisha Jones

Surveys will no longer be sent out . Faculty will go through each of their classes and determine the progress of students during the time around the 25% mark on a date that best reflects student progress (for example, after a test, paper or some other grading). Faculty will do the same thing around the 60% point--again, at a time that best represents student progress. 
Faculty Cafe
brought to you by Nathanael Gough
Dr. Joseph Woodall
Dr. Joe Woodall Publishes
Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Woodall for his publication in NISOD’s Innovation Abstracts !
Volume XLII, No. 3 | February 6, 2020

Lift Every Voice and Sing: Building Equity in Education

Instructors spend a great deal of time working with the concept of individual equity as it relates to the students they serve. The majority of equity training and dialogue focuses on a macro-level conception of equity. Perhaps it is time to look at equity from a micro perspective. Marginalization does not end when a student leaves the community setting and steps onto a college campus. Learned behavior, internalized by years of experience, cannot be turned on and then turned off when a change in environment or geography occurs. How do educators teach students who have been socialized to believe they have no voice to believe they have a voice that matters?

It is tempting to approach this challenge from the top down (i.e., institution to student). While this strategy looks good on paper, equity must be built—and learning the skills of “voice” must be taught and reinforced—through individual relationships, one student at a time.

Accessibility Questions--Who you gonna call?
ghost inside a red circle with a slash
Image by  Christian Dorn via  Pixabay
We continue to make digital accessibility an institutional priority. While you are working to make your course content more accessible, please share questions or concerns with any staff members of the Office of Learning Design.

  • Dori Lloyd
  • David Whitehead
  • Nathanael Gough
  • Amy Archambault
  • Christie Bundy
  • Chad Skudlarick

Faculty (both full-time and adjunct) and staff can still access the  Digital Accessibility Web Page  for training documents and videos as well as the  Request to Caption Videos Web Form .
Professional Development on DCCC's Campus
Join fellow NC community college educators for a day of learning and networking at the NC Community College Association of Distance Learning (NC3ADL) Central Region Workshop, which will be held in the Rittling Conference Center on Thursday, March 12. Registration is only $30 for NC3ADL members/$50 for non-members, and space is limited. Please see the  workshop webpage for the agenda and registration details, or contact the Office of Learning Design to find out more. We attend this event every year and always feel that it is time well spent. Plus, Amy is presenting this year!
NC3ADL Workshop at DCCC, March 12th
NC3ADL Workshop at DCCC, March 12th
Got a great teaching idea, tip/trick or tool you use?
Please share it with us and we'll feature it in the newsletter!
Upcoming Events
Monday, February 24th:

  • HWPS Transfer Career Fair, 11 am - 3 pm, Smith Health Lobby
  • Irish Conversation Hour, 12:00 - 12:50 pm, Gee N 111
  • Global Employability Skills Panel, 11 am - 12 pm, Reich 100

Tuesday, February 25th :

  • MLA Style and Format, 12 - 12:30 pm, Live 109
  • Basketball, Home Game, 7 - 9 pm, Brinkley Gymnasium

Wednesday, February 26th :

  • French Conversation Hour, 12:00 - 12:50 pm, Gee N 111
  • "Chalk About Love", 12 - 1 pm, Courtyard

Thursday, February 27th :

  • Ireland at the Movies, 10- 11 am, Gee N 111
  • APA Style and Format, 12:00 - 12:30 pm, Love 109

Friday, February 28th:

  • International Coffee Hour, 9 - 11 am, Gee N 111
  • Academic Affiars Meeting, 2 - 4 pm, Rittling Conference Center
Office of Learning Design staff members
We Want To Hear From You!!
If you have ideas for our next issue, please contact anyone from our team.

  • Suggest a faculty to spotlight
  • Share a favorite course design or teaching technique
  • Showcase a favorite instructional strategy/tool
The Office of Learning Design Team
Office of Learning Design, located in Briggs 225