2 the clackamas print HARMONY: road could kill forest Continued from HARMONY, Page 1 Wilton agreed that there are some negatives involved in building a road. “It is true when you build a road there are nega­ tives,” he said, explaining that in .the bigger picture it will help sustainability as more people live, close to Harmony and expanding there would allow them to drive less if they were to go to the Harmony cam­ pus rather than Oregon City campus. Thus cars would be driven less and the over­ all environmental impact would be less, Wilton said. Wilton also explained that Harmony campus is much closer to the ’ Green "" MAX line and would not be a far walk for people from the transit center to Harmony, where as from Green line to Oregon City is a much longer bus route. Wilton also said that the college is not in charge of environmental impacts and that the county has been working hard to compro­ mise. He explained that the - road is much smaller and narrower than the original plan. “They are trying to make it less impactful,” Wilton said. Wilton also explained that the intersection of Harmony and 82nd Avenue is very busy and by putting in the extension it would help reduce congestion. However, Wilton did say that there are some who are not supportive of the road but does feel that most people are supportive of the road and think it will allow more opportunities and closer to home education. Milwaukie Mayor Jeremy Ferguson was not availble for comment; Gary Parkin, Engineering Director for the City of Milwaukie explained in an e-mail that “The city’s con­ cerns with the extension of Sunnybrook are related to the traffic impact it would have as additional traffic would be directed to City streets. The intersection of Harmony Road and Linwood Drive would receive traf­ fic from the Sunnybrook extension and is already at capacity. There are also environmental concerns as the new road impacts an area adjacent to Mt. Scott Creek, a sensitive salmon habitat just upstream of the City.” Wednesday, Feb, 17, 2Q10 Core classes fill too quic By Travis Hardin The Clackamas Print Are you on the wait list? Yes, I’m number 125. * Starting Feb. 23, returning students here at Clackamas will hâve the opportunity to start signing up for spring term. With the increase in student enrollment at the campus students are finding it more difficult to get into the classes that they need. According to an e-mail statement from Judy Redder, who works in the curriculum and report­ ing office, as of Feb. 11 the non-duplicated student headcount was 11, 591 at the college. Of those students, 3,641, are classified as non-credit taking students, an increase of about 2.17 percent from this time last year. The full-time student popula­ tion at the college has increased 26.49 percent since last year. Nowhere is it more evident in how tough it is to get into classes than in courses listed under general studies. When asked which class or classes he has had trouble in the past getting into, sophomore Steven Rousseve said, “Math.” . Rousseve responded when asked which class­ es he plans on signing up for first for spring term, saying, “Definitely math, other than that... I’m going to try sign up for a science class and then maybe a psychology class.” Students are finding that they need to have a plan B and in some cases a plan C nowa­ days because of the competition for popular and required courses. According to registrar Tara Sprehe, via e-mail, the courses that typically fill up the fastest are in the science department, specifically anatomy and physiology. Next in line is some of the math and writing courses. When asked which class she will sign up for first, freshman student Karly Null replied, “Math 95.” One of the biggest issues that students are fac­ ing is finding classes that don’t conflict with one another as well as their work schedules. When asked how does not getting into a spe­ cific class affect her overall schedule, Null said, “Like certain times, I have to work on Mondays, so I probably wouldn’t take the class at all if I couldn’t get the right time.” Freshman Troy Spivey, who is a transfer degree student, still has many core classes to take. When asked what classes he plans on tak­ ing for the spring term, Spivey responded, “You Steven Riley Ci Students pack Barry Kop’s anatomy and physiology class. Kop’s class is o many core classes that fill up within the first week of registration. know, some core classes. I still have to take some writing classes, a speech class, some social sci­ ence classes and you know, a lot of those fill up really quick, and if everyone logs on at once, it just trashes the server like it did [last term].” Last November, students had a problem signing up for winter term classes due to the CougarTrax sever becoming overwhelmed, and it actuallycrashed. According to Rousseve, he was one of the stu­ dents who had trouble signing up for classes over CourgarTrax last term. This time, he is going to go in person to the registration office and sign up. According to Sprehe, the issues impacting winter registration have been addressed. Her department is bringing in four additional part- time employees to help at the enrollment services counter during the first week of spring term. Spivey said, “Oh well yeah, I mean the whole computer problem, I had to wait for a lot longer than I thought I would. It really wasn’t all that bad; I still got all the classes that I wanted.” Students who are new to the college have more options if they can’t get into a particular class because they have many more classes that they need to take. On the other hand, a student who is near com­ pleting their course of studies may find it harder when they don’t get into that last remaining class. Now students have the option of signing up on a wait list for a class, but typically they are required to still show up to the courseti) name on the list Students usually until the first week of term is over to if they can get into the course or nod to Sprehe, die cut off for the number in a course is determined by each it varies. When asked what course he a for first, freshman student Matt G “Probably Math 111 because IB transferring.” Gottlieb is majoring in business an management and is transferring to the of Oregon after he leaves Clackamas, According to Gottlieb, he had Ira up for Reading 115 last term. “I was on the wait list for likea was third on the list, people were j and not dropping that particular class, According to Rousseve, half of in his math class have dropped already. As Feb. 23 nears, returning st many options available to them in lx registration, but it is up to them to they register sooner rather than later. When asked what method he v registration, Rousseve replied, “M person. I usually have a tot of probl Internet at home, and it’s just a lot up and do it and show up really early! Blackboard bites the dust; Moodle triumd By Abigail Neet News Editor Blackboard’s life at Clackamas has officially been called to an end. The Feb. 5 President’s Council approved ' the recommendation made by distancé learning to adopt Moodle. A training program for faculty was started Monday, Feb. 8. ‘Tm happy about it It is an unprecedented opportunity for the college,” said Steve Beining, head of distance learning. “Moodle is going to allow the college ttJ'greatly improve the way it • uses the Internet to support teaching and learning,” he added. According to Beining, one of the main benefits of switching to Moodle is financial. “Moodle would cost approxi­ mately half of what Blackboard costs,” Beining stated. Beining said the savings will go back into the distance learning department and will also be used for the conversion and training process now that Moodle is approved. Another new element Moodle will provide is the capability to connect MyClackamas with the online learning system (Moodle). Ibis would make things easier and more convenient for students as they would no longer need to log in to MyClackamas and the dis­ tance learning system. It would also automatically enroll students in then- online classes. The hope is that this will be accomplished by fal 1 term. Beining said the college has start- ed to implement the conversion plans and is currently in the process of purchasing the new system. “We have found it is better for teaching and learning,” Beining said. Beining also does not think it will change a lot in what happens in online courses but will change the way students access their online courses. Other colleges seem to agree as many are also piloting Moodle. Portland Community College is now piloting Moodle. Linn-Benton, Columbia Gorge and Lane com­ munity colleges have switched from Blackboard and are using Moodle. Portland’State University is also in the process of finding a new learning management system, and Moodle is being discussed as one of the options. According to a Fall using 109 students, 75j them discovered and resources on Moodk or very easy compared tq who found it neutral or A larger 83 percent using the Moodle sj satisfactory, and 72 pe dents surveyed actual! Moodle to Blackboard, 72 students who had pre Blackboard. x the clackamas print 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 503-594-6266 Co-Editors in Chief: Kayla Berge, John Hurlburt News Editor: * Abigail Neet Ad Manager: Staff Writers/ Photographers Production Assistants Meredith James Joshua Baird, Michael Bonn, Chyanne Escalante, Sean Copy Editor: Kayla Calloway Hillary Cole, Jaime Dunkle, Huggins, Jessica Foster, Travis Hardin, Robert Morrison, Neil Associate News Editor: Design Editor: Shambre Lund, Javierh Mon­ Romick, Erik Andersen Kelsey Schneider tero, Matthew Ostergren, Emily Vaterlaus Sports Editor: Photo Editor: JohnShufelt ven Riley, John Simmons, Mark Mark Foster Associate Sports Editor: Web Editor: Steven Weldon Brian Steele Arts & Culture Editor: Annemarie Schulte Sunderland, Art Volodko Ste­ Kitty Lundin, Corey Suydam, Goals . The Clackamusl aims to report t in an honest, ui professional 1 Content publishel Print is not sere Journalism Adviser: Melissa Jones subject to censon E-mail comme chiefed@clacka