January 26, 2023 | Volume 9 | Issue 20
Five Things to Know about Stefani Smoot
By Stefani Smoot

I was born and raised in Thomasville, NC. I attended East Davidson High School, where I took college prep courses and Health Occupations classes. I received my nursing assistant certification prior to graduation from high school and starting working in long-term care.

After graduation, I moved to Greenville, NC where I graduated with my associates of applied science degree in nursing. I returned to Thomasville in 2011, where I currently live with my husband and fur baby, Chloe (Shorkie - part Yorkshire Terrier, part Shih Tzu) and took a full-time job as a registered nurse at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist- Lexington Medical Center, where I still work at the bedside when needed.

In 2017, I completed my bachelors degree in nursing, masters in nursing education in 2018, and doctorate of nursing practice in 2021 from Capella University. I began teaching nursing courses about 7 years ago and most recently in May 2022, I accepted the role as the director of nursing programs at Davidson-Davie Community College.
Part Yorkshire Terrier part Shih Tzu
  1. Food: I absolutely love Italian food! 
  2. Streaming Show: I have just recently started binge watching New Amsterdam on Netflix and love it. I don’t normally watch medical shows, but this one is so accurate and the story lines are realistic. 
  3. Music: I don't necessarily have a favorite song or genre (I listen to everything - depending on my mood). 
  4. Travel: I'm not really a "traveler" - I guess you could say I'm a homebody! I'm happy just going to the beach or mountains for a weekend. 
  5. Joyful Experience: I've had so many things that I could count as a joyful experience, that I can't pick just one. I guess my biggest joy is just helping others. I've always enjoyed helping people. 
Calendar with rings on top
Upcoming Events
Spam-A-Lot
By Grant Jolliff

I have a confession to make. I am a spammer. At least, I have earned a reputation throughout the community college system as a spammer. Last week, a community college in the region reported me as such, resulting in the temporary suspension of my email account. Fortunately for me, and maybe unfortunately for you, my email account is back and I am again sending out emails on behalf of the Piedmont Teaching and Learning Hub!

While the emails regarding Hub events may seem like a lot, they are in fact a genuine effort to extend professional learning opportunities to campuses across the region. I want to challenge all faculty at DDCC to attend at least one Hub event this year.
Learning Design Offers Micro-Courses
By Trudy Brown
Micro-Course Offerings

The Learning Design team conducts professional development workshops throughout the semester, but because of scheduling conflicts or lack of time, you may find yourself unable to attend. However, there is a way for you to receive this professional learning at your own pace and at a time that is convenient for you: micro-courses. We have a number of micro-courses that cover many of the same topics as our workshops. Visit the micro-courses website to see what's available and start learning. Watch this short video (text version) or contact one of the instructional designers for more information.
Globalizing Your Course

Speaking of micro-courses, we have a brand new one coming out this week: Globalizing Your Course. Students who take 15 hours of globalized courses can become Scholars of Global Distinction. If you would like to have your course officially recognized as a globalized course for this program, this micro-course will help you put together a plan that you can submit as part of your application to have your course approved.
Watercolor world map
Make Forums Work Like Open Forums!
Pink and navy thought bubbles
By Gretchen Benton

When making the switch to Forums in Moodle, you can streamline the grading process by turning on Whole Forum Grading. You will see some non-student users in this list (this is a known Moodle bug), but once you skip past those users, grading Forum is greatly streamlined using this method.

If you want a quick summary view of how many students have posted or replied to a particular forum, use the Forum Summary Report. This can be found by opening any Forum in your course and selecting “Forum Summary Report” from your Forum Administration menu (located in the lower left hand side of your screen).

As a reminder Open LMS, our Moodle host, has decided to sunset Open Forums sometime soon. They originally said April 2023, but it looks like this has been delayed to sometime in late Summer 2023.
Faculty Panel: ChatGPT
By Phil Tietjen

Have you been hearing the buzz about ChatGPT? Want to learn more? Attend the upcoming virtual faculty panel discussion on February 3 at 2pm.
Attend Virtual Accessibility Conferences for Free
Free
By Amy Holmes

There are three digital accessibility conferences being held this spring that you can attend for free! All are virtual and will have different themes. The links provide more information.
  1. 2023 ATHEN Virtual STEM Accessibility Conference: Acc3ss - February 9-10th from 12 pm to 4 pm. Choose "ATHEN Institutional Member" when you register
  2. Deque's Axe-Con March 15-16th from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
  3. Accessibility Summer Camp - June 2nd from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Ed Tech Update: Interruption in Zoom Recording Moving into VidGrid
By Gretchen Benton

You may be experiencing an interruption in your Zoom cloud recordings automatically uploading to your VidGrid account. This issue began around January 18th and the issue is ongoing. We will update you as there is more news. 

Any recordings you are missing can be downloaded from your Cloud Recordings list in our Zoom portal and then uploaded to your VidGrid. Once your recordings are in VidGrid, you can share them with students as usual.

If you need additional support please email edtech@davidsondavie.edu to open a support ticket.
Share Your Thoughts!
Which word processing program do you prefer to use?
Google Docs
Microsoft Word
What is the Community Saying?
By Phil Tietjen

Here are the results from the last “Share Your Thoughts” question, “Would you attend a workshop on inclusive course design if it’s offered at a convenient time?”
  • Yes: 77.8%
  • No: 22.2%

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts!
From the Editors: Do You Have a Story to Share?
We want to promote faculty and staff stories! Here are some ideas:
  • Professional development experiences
  • Study away & study abroad trips
  • Receiving awards and honors
  • Student success stories
  • Active learning ideas
  • Upcoming events
  • Globalized courses
Invitation
Please contact one of the editors if you have ideas or referrals for stories.
Teaching, Learning, & Global Engagement is:
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