Teaching, Learning, &

Global Engagement

Weekly News & Updates

By Louise Siméon

I was born in Besançon a small town in the center east of France. I lived my whole life until I turned 17 in a village 10 minutes away from the city, called Grandfontaine. I had the chance to grow up in a beautiful environment and to travel quite a lot with my family, in my region or further. My mum and my grandma were both teachers and could spend the vacations with us. Continue reading Louise's story

Five Things to Know

1. Travel: One of my best traveling experiences was a one month and a half trip I did with Interrail between Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. A friend of mine sent me a link saying that the interrail pass (train pass for different countries in Europe) were 50% off because it was the 50th birthday of the program. And I just couldn’t say no. So I bought the ticket and three months later, I started my journey. Valencia, Madrid, Cordoba, Portimao, Lisbon, Aveiro, Porto, San Sebastián, Bordeaux, Molliets, Paris, Montpellier, Nice, Cinque Terra, Pisa, Florence, a bit of Tuscany and then back home in Besançon to then go back to Vienna for the year. I traveled mainly alone and met some of my friends along the trip. But when you are travelling alone, you are never alone and I got to meet people from everywhere in Europe, but also Australia, Morocco, or the US. I took my time, from places to places booking my hostels only 2 days in advance, giving me the time to enjoy the train travel and the places I was visiting. I just loved it, it was a month and a half of slowing down, discoveries and it cost me in total not even 2200€.
2. Music & Podcasts: An American friend just made me discover cool country music, so right now I'm all about "Oh Sarah" from Sturgill Simpson, plus the Podcast The Daily from the New York times and one called Les actus du Jour - Hugo Décrypte, a French young political student who created his channel to make political news for accessible to everybody. 
3. Food: Eating Italian food in Italy and going back home enjoying my dad's cuisine. He can make something amazing with practically nothing! 
4. Streaming Show: I watched Fleabag with Eibhlin. This British series is a masterpiece, lots of humor and important subjects to tackle!
5. Joyful Experience: When I was in Guatemala, the friend I was with wanted us to go to a zip line around a lake, called Atitlán, surrounded by volcanos, one of the most beautiful place I saw. He told me it would be around 20m high and not very extreme. Spoiler alert! I asked the guide and it was way more. It was extremely extreme. We hiked to the top of the hills around the lake and then did zip line between the hills, about 100m/328 feet high. It was just extraordinary. The view was unbelievable, it was breathtaking. I will never forget the feeling of sharing that moment with one of my best friends and just pushing me to get out of my comfort zone. 

Upcoming Events

• HyFlex II: "Hands On" workshop: October 5 from 1:00-2:00 pm on Zoom. Register through the Piedmont Hub
• Learn about Colombia with Maria: October 17 from 11:30 am-12:30 pm on Zoom
• The Impact of European Trade Goods on Native American Societies in the Colonial Period: October 19th at three different times: 8-9 am, 9:30-10:30 am, or 12:15-1:15 pm. In person at the Davie Campus in Admin 110
• The Impact of European Trade Goods on Native American Societies in the Colonial Period: October 20th at two different times: 9:15-10:15 am or 10:30-11:30 am. In person at the Davie Campus in Admin 110

By Sarah Wright

Last week, I was asked a really great question. Is the date listed for Hispanic Heritage Month a typo or does it really run from the middle of September to the middle of October? It is not a typo. As each Spanish-speaking country is unique in its own existence and culture, so too is this month set aside to celebrate Hispanic/Latin/Latinx Heritage Month, which is, in fact, a month, but it is not confined within a single month. And while it is fitting that such unique cultures celebrate their heritage outside the conventions of a traditional month, there is a reason that September 15th marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. 

The reason is simple: independence. Five countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) achieved independence from Spain on September 15th. Mexico celebrates independence from Spain on September 16th. (You read that correctly. September 16th, not May 5th or cinco de mayo.) And Chile gained independence on September 18th. Sounds like an extremely defeating month for Spain, right? However, these countries did not gain independence in the same year. 

You may have also seen the term Latinx referenced above or in other places and wonder what it means. As we know, Spanish is a gendered language. Many (not all) people of Hispanic descent want to remove the gendered nature of the language–at least in terms of identity–so they started referring to themselves as Latinx and/or Latinae. In Spanish, the feminine becomes masculine if both masculine and feminine gender identities are expressed. Since languages are living, breathing, and evolving, these types of changes can occur frequently in languages. I use the term Latinx unless someone specifically refers to themselves differently or asks me to do so because, in my experience, students generally prefer Latinx. But in all cases, people and cultures do not fit into one proverbial shape. Enjoy the second half of Latinx Heritage Month. Stop by outside the International Education office and enjoy a piece of candy either from a Latin American country or inspired by the flavors of a Latin American country. 

Pro Tips on Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month:

1. Celebrate the month by truly engaging with someone different than you. I don’t mean engage in a rote question and answer series; I mean a real-life conversation.
2. Celebrate Latinx Heritage Month by finding your local Latinx owned businesses and becoming a loyal customer.   

By Kendra Guffey

How to Structure Headings in Microsoft Word

So you’ve mastered using Heading 1, now what about other headings? The first thing you need to know is screen readers can only read up to heading 6. This means you should not go beyond heading 6.

If you go to the “View” tab in Word and then check “Navigation Pane” under Show, you'll see the outline you have created for your document using headings. You should not skip headings; for example, you do not want to use heading 2 and then skip to heading 4. Headings should follow a sequential and descending order. Think about it this way: Heading 1 is the title of the document. Use heading 2 as the sections, and then use heading 3 as subsections.

View this Word document as an example of how to use headings 1 through 6.

Join the International Education Committee

By Sarah Wright

Have you been wondering what all the talk about international education is? Now is the time to find out. If you want to know more about what we have done, are doing, and will do in the future, send an email to Sarah at sarah_wright@davidsondavie.edu for more information, or to join the International Education Committee. We are happy to welcome new faculty and staff members. Also, check out the Passport events for the second-8 weeks.

By Trudy Brown

Now accepting registrations for the Spring 2024 Effective Teaching Online training.

This training covers research-based, best practices for teaching online. This six week course is for full-time and adjunct faculty members who are new to teaching online at DDCC and will provide a foundation in principles that are essential for building an effective online course. Additionally, adjunct instructors will receive a $270 stipend for successful completion of the course.

Dates: 1/16/2024 - 2/25/2024

Instructor: Trudy Brown, Instructional Designer

Please sign up by filling out our registration form.