Teaching Excellence

How to help students end the term on a high note
August 3 is speeding toward us. Here are some ideas taken from various websites on how to help your students finish up your course successfully and add to their learning skills.

►Don't let them procrastinate! The purpose of this strategy by ECA Introductory Math instructor Terrylynn Vigil is to "get both the students and myself ready for the final exam" by having the students "begin working on the reviews for the finals around the middle of the semester." Read more...

►Who wants to ace the final?:  The purpose of this activity on the On Course Workshop website is to

• Prepare students for the short answer questions of a final exam
• Have fun while reviewing academic content

"This strategy could be used successfully by any instructor who gives exams with short answers and/or multiple-choice questions."

►Promoting learning with a game show:  The purpose of this activity on the On Course Workshop website is to

• Provide students with a fun and stimulating way to learn new material.
• Encourage students to share their knowledge with each other to achieve a goal.
• Motivate students to prepare for class so they will participate actively during lectures and increase learning of the assigned
  material.

But it can be used to help students review for a test or final exam as well.

►Help students learn new test-taking skills:  The purpose of this activity on the On Course Workshop website is to to

• Remind students of test-taking strategies they may have used successfully in the past
• Provide students with new test-taking strategies
• Improve students’ scores on math tests (though this approach will helps students in any course)

7-Second Survey Yikes!  I goofed!  When I went to collect the data from last week's (June 25) survey, I found--an empty file!  If you completed the survey last week, please accept my apologies for losing your feedback.  I hope you will submit it again, below.  After all, it will only take 7 seconds, and I've tested the form to make sure it works now. And if you didn't complete last week's survey, I hope you'll do so now.  Thanks. What strategy (or strategies) have you used and found effective to entice--or coerce--students to keep coming to class, class after class, week after week?   Thanks for your feedback. The results will be posted next week in this e-newsletter.

Quotation 
"Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study.  Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life."
-Henry L. Doherty

Q: What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?
A: The Americans licked the British!

Q: Why did Paul Revere ride his horse from Boston to Lexington?
A: Because the horse was too heavy to carry!

Q: Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell?
A: Yeah, it cracked me up!

Happy 4th of July!

At-your-desk learning
Learn or improve your technology skills right at your desk

"How to podcast" is a free tutorial on--duh!--how to podcast using Audacity, a free application that you can download to your home computer or ask CNM's Information Technology Services (ITS) to download to your CNM computer.

The nice thing about this tutorial is that it consists of several videos that show viewers exactly how to

• configure Audacity before beginning to record
• use the editing tools
• edit and trim your audio file
• adjust various levels
• import audio and add music to your podcast
• save your project and export your mp3 file

From the same webpage, you can download Audacity software.  This guide will help you through the process.

And speaking of podcasts, here are some to celebrate the 4th of July...
You don't need an iPod or an MP3 player; you can listen from your computer if you have speakers or a headset.

• Dan Sindel: Symphonic Guitars Podcast # 9: Scroll down and select "Click here to download mp3" to listen to "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and "The Star Spangled Banner."
• The Declaration of Independence: hear it read by Bill Barker.  It is made available, along with many other podcasts of historical interest, on the Colonial Williamsburg website.

Productivity Primer  
Do It!  A simple process for creative problem solving
DO IT is an acronym that stands for:

D - Define problem

O - Open mind and apply creative techniques

I - Identify best solution

T - Transform

Learn more about these four stages of creative problem-solving in an article  on the Mind Tools website.

About Organizational Learning The Organizational Learning Division's mission is to create professional development pathways for college employees that support the strategic mission of CNM and contribute in meaningful ways to college personnel’s lifelong learning and job enrichment. For more information about Organizational Learning or any of its events, contact
	Jean Montaño Admin. Coordinator	224-4400 jmontano@ cnm.edu
	Greg Casaus Director	224-4244 gcasaus6@ cnm.edu
	Eleanor Radius Director	224-4237 elarm@ cnm.edu
	Timothy Ligon Tech Support	224-4243 tligon@ cnm.edu
	Kayleigh Carabajal Executive Director	224-4401 kcarabajal@ cnm.edu

News & previews

Sign up for online Microsoft Office 2007 training beginning this week  
You can register for and take the following Office 2007 workshops online beginning at the end of this week, according to Greg Casaus, Organizational Learning director:

• Intro to Office 2007

• Access 2007

• Word 2007

• Outlook 2007

The workshops will be available through the LearnKeys website.

Greg says that the online Excel 2007 workshop is expected to be available at the end of July, and PowerPoint 2007 in mid August. 

In addition, Organizational Learning will offer an "Office 2007 Overview for Experienced Office Users" beginning in late July.  This workshop will take place in a classroom and cover product enhancement, the new user interface, and various demonstrations and exercises. 

Keep an eye on this newsletter for dates.  You can contact Greg for more information at 224-4244 or email him at gcasaus6@cnm.edu.

Preview of events for the week of July 9-13
The following events are taking place at CNM during the week of July 9-13.  Register on this webpage.

*TBD: To be determined

Joke of the Week

☺ A motorist, driving by a Texas ranch, hit and killed a calf that was crossing the road. The driver went to the ranch house and explained to the rancher what had happened and asked what the animal was worth.

“Oh, about $200 today,” said the rancher. “But in six years it would have been worth $900. So $900 is what I’m out.”

The motorist sat down and wrote out a check and handed it to the farmer.

“Here,” he said, “is the check for $900. It’s postdated six years from now."

☺ The Fourth of July weekend was coming up, and the nursery school teacher took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism.

"We live in a great country," she said. "One of the things we should be happy is that, in this country, we are all free."

One little boy came walking up to her from the back of the room. He stood with his hands on his hips and said. . . ."I'm not free. I'm four." 

This newsletter is produced by Nancy King, for the Organizational Learning Division.