1. Open Cam p us Fac ul ty Bull etin
Volume 3, Summer 2011
A Message from Interim President, Dr. Sheri Litt
We are pleased to share with you an exciting new program that
will be launched fall term. The Exceptional Faculty Experience
will engage faculty who call Open Campus ―their campus‖
despite where they reside. This ―experience‖ will provide an
environment that combines inspiring and motivating online
support and state of the art resources in order to maximize
educational quality. Recruiting and hiring, orientating, mentoring,
learning, networking, evaluating, assessing and broadening
responsibilities are just a few of the areas that we will feature.
While the program will officially launch during fall term, you may have already noticed some
improvements. I‘d like to take a moment to point these out. The faculty newsletter, designed
and edited by Amy Moore, Social Media Coordinator, weekly media messages and faculty sur-
vey by Dr. Jose Fierro, Associate Dean, and the first faculty and student awards ceremony, the
OC Awards, just to name a few. If you liked these, I am certain you will love what‘s to come.
The diagram below provides a snapshot of the themes. Click the image below for a full video
explanation.
An Introduction to Jana Kooi, Incoming Open Campus President
Jana Kooi has been a Campus President at Pima Community
College in Tucson, Arizona, since 1991. Since 2009, she has
served as the President of the Northwest Campus, the youngest
campus in the district. During her tenure, campus enrollment
has grown almost 25% each year. She also established key
relationships and credibility of the campus in the community and
fostered an innovative training partnership with the Pascua
Yaqui tribe. Kooi moved to the Northwest Campus from the
Community Campus as an opportunity to turn the young
campus into an innovative showcase for the College.
Prior to the Northwest Campus, Kooi served as the President of
the Community Campus for 18 years.
She was brought to Pima Community College to build an innovative distance and workforce
education program. Kooi built a comprehensive competency-based distance education program
that now has more than 50,000 students annually and includes comprehensive student services.
She led in the development of the institution‘s first virtual college, including the creation of a
Center for Learning Technologies to develop and support online learning. Kooi also developed a
fully online post-baccalaureate teacher certification program to address the K-12 teacher
shortage. She also guided and managed the development and rapid growth (15,000 enrollments)
of the Public Safety and Emergency Services Institute that trained all law enforcement, fire
department, paramedic, and EMT personnel for the County.
Additionally, Kooi built a dynamic business development enterprise that provides customized
contract training throughout the country. She was a founding Board Member of Global Corporate
College, a national group of community colleges whose purpose is to close the national talent gap
in the US by providing a nationwide system of training services. She also developed and
implemented a nationally recognized Industry Training Credit Approval Process (ITCAP) model to
confer college credit for mastery of industry-standard certifications -- cited as a ―Best Practice‖ by
Microsoft Education and Certification. ITCAP generates approximately $1,000,000 annual
revenue and has served more than 55,000 students in 38 states.
While at the Community Campus, Kooi partnered with the Tohono O'odham Nation to establish
Tohono O'odham Community College from start-up to independent accreditation.
At both Campuses, Kooi improved organizational systems to support staff development, resource
leveraging, service delivery, human resource management and program and funding
development.
Prior to Pima Community College, Kooi served as the Associate Vice President for External
Academic Affairs and Associate Dean, both at Triton College in River Grove Illinois. She has
extensive teaching experience from GED and Developmental Education courses through
Supervision/Management and Business Writing for industry.
Kooi is currently the President-elect for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
President's Academy Executive Committee (PAEC) and has been an Executive Board Member
since 2006. Formerly she served on the AACC Commission on Economic and Workforce
Development and the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs.
Locally, she is a member of the Arizona STEM Education Center Advisory Committee and is
active in the local Chambers of Commerce. She received the YMCA Women on the Move Award
in 1995 and was named one of the "Women of Influence" by Inside Tucson Business in 2004.
Kooi earned a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University and a
Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and Communications from Calvin College in Grand
Rapids, Michigan.
Open Campus Updates: Welcome to Our New Staff!
Lori Atkinson, Advisor II
Lori Atkinson has a B.A. in English from UNF. She has taught
American Sign Language to high school students and
English, Writing, and Literature to homeschool students. She
has two adult daughters and is still raising an
energetic teenaged boy. Lori has worked extensively as an
Administrative Assistant and has experience as a newspaper
writer. Here at FSCJ Lori provides Academic Advising
assistance and referral to all of our Open Campus students.
No call or question is too small or too big. Lori is also involved
with designing and creating student success resources for
our students through face-to-face workshops and online
Blackboard community options.
Katherine Martin, Project Coordinator
Katherine Martin is the Academic and Student Success
Group Coordinator for the Open Campus, where she helps
Open Campus advance its many projects. Katherine is
currently completing her active role in the College‘s Higher
Level Leadership Program and her term as Vice President of
the Career Employee Council. She has an Associate‘s
degree in Graphic Design and is actively pursuing her
Bachelor‘s degree in Fine Arts/Graphic Design Track at the
University of North Florida. She has been in the College for
11 years and has worked at the Advanced Technology
Center and South Campus before joining Open Campus in
May. Ms. Martin is married to her High School Sweetheart
and has a dog named Bella.
John Weber, Instructional Designer
John Weber, newly hired instructional designer, grew up in
Southern California and Washington state. He attended
Western Washington University, where he earned a
bachelor's degree in Chemistry. John later pursued an online
master's degree in Instructional Systems from Florida State
University, where he completed his degree in 2009. John and
his wife Betsy live at Lake Asbury, near Middleburg, Florida,
with three dogs, three cats, and a bird. They enjoy hiking,
jet-skiing, and taking trips to the Georgia mountains. As an
instructional designer for the Open Campus, John can help
faculty and staff create engaging, interactive, and motivating
courses for online delivery.
Dr. Barbara Yankowy, E-Learning Project Coordinator
Barbara Yankowy received her doctorate in higher education
administration from the University of Florida in May, 2011 . As
E-Learning Coordinator, Barbara will be working on
distance learning-related projects and initiatives. She
will also serve as a liaison for new and current faculty
and can help others by answering faculty- and
course-related questions. One of her daily goals is to
inspire and make a positive impact on others. Her passions
are education, music, and traveling. Her favorite traveling hot
spots are New York City, Europe, and Bermuda.
Exceptional Faculty Profile—Lucy MacDonald
I have been teaching online since 1992 BW (before the web). For
me, discussion is where class happens. I have several of these
each week: one is to engage the learners in the topic of the week
and the other is to engage the students with the
textbook and multimedia materials. In order to get students
started early, I offer bonus points for the one who starts the
discussion first. Students are also encouraged to contribute to the
weekly topics with photos of their materials and workspace as well
as links that they find that are pertinent to the topics at hand.
My courses include SLS classes and Basic Writing at FSCJ, as
well as Instructional Technology for Education Majors at
Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Or. I also teach a
Faculty Development course at Texas State in the summer. This is
a one-week institute called TIDE: Technology Institute for
Developmental Educators. It is now in its twelfth year.
I am also the founder of the howtostudy site www.howtostudy.org. This student-centered site
provides learning strategies from time management to test anxiety. It also organizes the
learning strategies by discipline areas and includes writing strategies for each discipline.
Students can interact with other students by sharing their hints and tips with other students in
writing a review. They can remain anonymous or be famous. I read all reviews and edit as
needed. Students can add their instructor‘s email, so their reviews can be used as an
assignment. Tutor trainers can also have tutors review the learning and writing strategies in their
discipline area.
I love teaching online, reading mysteries and visiting my grandchildren in Australia.
Lucy can be reached at lmacdona@fscj.edu.
High-Tech Corner: Chatting with Guest Experts by Dr. Julie Giuliani
Talking with a nationally recognized author is easier than you think.
Recently, Open Campus had the privilege of conversing with Dr.
Lee Bolman, co-author of Reframing Academic
Leadership, via Skype. Skype, a free internet tool, enabled
faculty and staff to see, hear and address questions to Dr.
Bolman during a 60-minute interview. Dr. Bolman discussed both
realistic and practical strategies to help leaders adapt more
easily to demanding, fast-changing, circumstances. Viewing
complex situations from multiple perspectives-structural, human
resources, political and symbolic-was cited as being at the very
heart of academic leadership. Beyond engaging virtually with Dr.
Bolman, participants also discovered creative ways to use Skype in
their classroom and/or department.
Click the following link to find an informative Skype tutorial. To view and listen to the Dr. Lee
Bolman interview, please click the link containing his name.
New Online Course Syllabus Being Made Available to Faculty by Floyd Ballard
We in the Digital Media Education and Training
Department are delighted to announce that we have a
new Online Course Syllabus available!
Some of the innovative features include:
 A User-Friendly and Visually Appealing Layout
 A Warm Introduction Page to Students
 A Convenient Interactive Table of Contents
 New Important Topics such as Blackboard
Supported Browsers and Recommendations for
Success in This Course
 Official Learning Outcomes from Course Outline
 An Expanded User-Friendly Calendar of
Activities that displays Week, Learning
Outcomes, Lessons and Assignments and Due
Dates in a Color-Coded Chart
In addition to our new Online Course Syllabus Word Template file, we have also created an
innovative Online Course Syllabus Training document that has eight 1-2 minute to the point
Training videos on how to use our new Online Course Syllabus! You probably will not need to
view all eight Training videos, but they are included for your convenience. Our new Instructional
Designer, John Weber, will be maintaining and keeping our Online Course Syllabus Word
Template up-to-date every semester.
Feel free to contact John if you have any questions – jweber@fscj.edu. To access our Online
Course Syllabus Training document, click here. To access and download our Online Course
Syllabus Word Template file, click here. Let us know how you and your students like our new
Syllabus! We love feedback.
The Truth about Open Campus Faculty by Dr. Jose Fierro
When I came to Open Campus a few months
ago, I was very interested in meeting the faculty.
Given the fact that we have faculty members in
over 36 states, getting to know everyone wasn‘t
as easy as taking a walk down the hallway to
someone's office and introducing myself.
Therefore, I decided to send out a short survey to
get to know the Open Campus faculty a bit better.
The survey contained 10 basic but very
meaningful questions.
As I predicted, the survey results showed that
Open Campus faculty members are highly
qualified to teach their subjects and care deeply
about Florida State College and our students.
Because many of you haven't met your
coworkers, I would like to give you a brief
overview of the results so you are aware of the
caliber of educators of which this group is
comprised.
Please click the image on the upper right to access the final results of the survey. Here, you will
find an incredible number of fascinating facts about you and your colleagues! Again, thank you
for your dedication and commitment to Florida State College Open Campus.
Save the Date! Helpful Links
 A12, B8, C4 Classes End:  Blackboard 9 Grade Center
July 31 Tutorials
 End of Summer Term:  Student Tutorials
August 26
 Collegewide Fall Convocation:  Academic Calendar
September 9
 Enriching Teaching
 Open Campus Convocation: TBA
New Student Success Blackboard Forum Expands Services to All Online Students
by Melanie Clark
The Open Campus Student Success Team has
been busy working on our new Student Success
Forum Blackboard Learning Community. All
students taking Open Campus online courses
will now have access to this Community. The
Student Success Forum offers a wide variety of
service, support and opportunities for
connection for students taking online courses,
including survival tips, academic success
strategies, student ambassador blogs, faculty
interviews, and contacts for Open Campus
student success staff. Our team is excited
about this opportunity for increased engagement
with our students.
We encourage all Open Campus faculty to include an announcement with instructions on how to
access this new student resource at the beginning of each term. We believe that with increased
student engagement in this online community, you will see benefits in your classrooms! Contact
the Student Success Center staff for a script you can post as an Announcement.
The Student Success Center team is: Melanie Clark, Associate Dean of Student Success;
Kathleen Dobson, Instructional Program Coordinator; Keri Dozier, Developmental Education
Advisor; and Lori Atkinson, Advisor. We can all be reached at 904.632.5070. Please contact us
with any comments or suggestions.
Did You Know?
Open Campus Has a New Entryway!
(Click image to see a slideshow)
Blackboard Tip of the Month: Creating a Timed Assignment
By Amy Moore
1. Go into the content area in which you‘d like to create the
assignment.
2. Click the button marked ―Evaluate‖ and select ―Create
Assignment‖ from the drop-down.
3. Name and describe your assignment in the fields provided.
4. Scroll down to ―Availability‖ and click the check boxes next to
Click the image to link to a
―Display After‖ and Display Until,‖ and then select the date video tutorial on this topic.
range during which you‘d like the assignment to be available
to students.
First Annual OC Awards a Success!
The first annual Open Campus ―OC‖ Faculty and
Student Awards were held April 28th, and all who
participated joined in calling it a huge success. Held at
the Urban Resource Center in downtown
Jacksonville, the OC Awards hosted faculty,
students, and their families for a fun-filled reception
with cake, snacks, and lots of accolades of course!
The ceremony was also broadcast online via Skype
so faculty and students from all over the country could
participate.
Of the awards, Professor Jerry Shawver said, ―That was probably one of the most special
moments in my teaching career, and I owe it to your shared vision and desire to host such an
event. Whether professors share this or not, events like these motivate us to continue with the
hard work and effort behind the scenes to make these courses the best they can be.‖
Student Julie Worden-Allen says ―This award tells me ‗I can.‘ Many times the course load is
overwhelming and staying focused takes a willingness to succeed. The professor who nominated
me believes that I can do difficult course work, even when I lack confidence. I will surely hang it
proudly over my desk.‖ Please join us in congratulating all of our amazing student and faculty
awardees!
Who You Gonna Call?
See the list below to learn who to call at the Open Campus in your times of need!
Blackboard 9 & Course Shells—Floyd Ballard 904.632.3258
Faculty & Student Concerns—Jose Fierro 904.357.8933
Syllabi/Course Readiness—Cindy McNally 904.632.5055
Testing & Assessment—Carl Jowers 904.632.5020
Social Networks & Lifestyle Integration—Amy Moore 904.632.3115
Schedules/Textbook Adoption—Bea Harrison 904.632.3126
Virtual Student Learning Center—Keri Dozier 904.632.3149
IRM (Contracts/Pay)—Teresa Dickerson 904.632.3119
Overrides—Cindy McNally 904.632.5055
Appeals—Linda Ludwig 904.632.3044
To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here.
Questions or comments? E-mail ammoore@fscj.edu or call 904-632-3115
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