The Storm Report

September 2, 2021 | Issue 2

Center for Teaching and Learning

Greetings, Colleagues. Here are a few upcoming professional learning events which you may find useful. Just click the titles for further information.

1) New & Dynamic Ways Forward: UDL in Career & Technical Education

This free event is billed as a discussion of practical strategies for using universal design that can be applied in any teaching and learning environment.

2) The North Carolina Student Success Center is hosting a number of workshops in September, including:

Supporting African American Students at the NC Community College System, 9/2/21
Dealing with an Upset Person, 9/9/21
Fostering Inclusive Community College Environments through Allyship, 9/16/21
When Good Students Make Bad Decisions: The Psychology of Why Students Cheat, 9/22/21
And many more…

All of the opportunities above are free! All you need to do is register. The NCSSC workshops often fill up quickly, so register ASAP if you see one of interest to you.

Happy teaching and learning!

Gloria.

Amy Holmes

New Instructional Designer:

Amy Holmes

Those who have been at Davidson-Davie for a while recognize the name Amy Holmes. A few years ago Amy was here teaching psychology at the Davie campus. She has returned in a new role--this time as an Instructional Designer in Teaching, Learning, and Global Engagement.

Amy's life began on Air Force bases before she moved with her family to North Carolina when she was 11. She obtained her Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in psychology from the University of Mt. Olive, East Carolina University, and Northcentral University. "I'm fascinated by development, in both humans and animals," she says. She completed a MicroMaster's Certificate in Instructional Design and technology from the University of Maryland, Global Campus.

Fulbright Scholarship in Residence: Veronica Pellegrino

Welcome to our Fulbright Scholar in Residence Veronica Pellegrino. Veronica will be teaching Spanish at Davidson-Davie. Veronica was born and raised “…in Villa Maria, a city right in the center of Argentina, and about 600 kilometers from Buenos Aries, the capital of the country.”

In Argentina, Veronica is an English teacher in the English Teacher Training Program at National University of Villa Maria. She has been there since 2002. Currently, she is in charge of Cultural Studies and Applied Technology at the university. Additionally, she works with special projects in the Internationalization Office at the same university.

We asked her about cultural shock upon arriving in the USA. “I have been to the US in the past so, culturally speaking, I was not extremely shocked when I got here this time. However, there are a great number of visible cultural differences between Americans and Argentinians that denote different perspectives, values, and ideas such as the one of ‘personal space’.”

In comparing students in the USA to Argentinian students she notes: “I find DDCC students a lot quieter than university students in Argentina. I also notice that they are very independent and responsible regarding their own learning.”

If there were one thing she could change about the way Argentina is viewed in the USA she says, “I would like to dissipate the idea that Argentinians are unpunctual and that we like to improvise things all the time.”

Veronica will continue her role as a Fulbright Scholar in Residence for the entirety of the academic year. She will not only be teaching Spanish classes, but will be teaching about Argentinian culture in sessions open to the Davidson-Davie community. She will be active in the International Education Office, where she will have her office.

We asked her about what lies ahead once she has finished her year here at Davidson-Davie. “I will go back to my university and I will add to and improve different internationalization projects I am planning to work with. I am sure that my time here will contribute greatly to that objective. I would like to carry out more collaborative projects between DDCC and my institution.”

Please drop in to the International Education Office to meet and welcome Veronica to Davidson-Davie Community College.

International Education

Congratulations to the following faculty for internationalizing their courses:

Christina Kirwan - ENG 241 - British Literature
Whitney Monroe - COS 118 - Salon IV
Kendra Guffey - MAT 110 - Math Measurement & Literacy
Amanda Christian - HSE 125 - Counseling
Victoria Hundley - ENG 111- Writing and Inquiry

Learning Design: Smart Boards

A smart board with pictures of bees for teaching Beekeeping 101

SMART Boards provide instructors with flexible options for delivering content in the classroom. If you have a SMART Board in your classroom, you know that it can be used to project material from your computer. You can take this a step further and use the interactive display while you're projecting. For instance, a slide presentation can be projected while you or your students write on the board to provide annotations. Since SMART boards are touchscreens, the presentation can be navigated simply by touching the screen with your finger.

Another feature of SMART Boards is that they are whiteboards. You never have to worry about dried up, squeaky markers and smudged up boards again! Just open the Whiteboard from the main menu and start writing with one of the pens. The pens write smoothly and you can choose the color, type, and thickness of them. To erase, use the opposite end of the pen, the eraser, or the back of your hand. If you find that you wrote something out of order, the whiteboard allows you to easily move the text to another area of the board without having to erase. It's convenient and fun to use.

To learn more about SMART Boards and how they might be used in your classes, contact Amy Holmes (email) for an individual or group workshop.

Creation Studio

Please click on the Creation Studio sign below to see a video with cameos of Dr. Darrin Hartness, Dr. Susan Burleson, Michael Liu, John Hart, and others...as you've never seen them before!

Accessibility for the Beach

Sometimes able-bodied people can take things like walks on the beach for granted. But what if a day at the beach feels nearly impossible due to a mobility disability? For the Wilmington Beach Community, folks can apply for a grant to provide Terrain Hoppers: a wheelchair with the durability of an ATV. The grant is made available through Access of Wilmington, Inc. (webpage) who strive to provide people with disability access to everyday adventures.

Spectrum 1 News Coverage (online article)

Got questions? Contact your Teaching, Learning, and Global Engagement Specialist, Christie Bundy (Email).

Resource Links

Teaching, Learning & Global Engagement