newsed@clackamas.edu
Wednesday, Nov. 1 6 ,2 0 1 1
The
Clickers keep
students engaged
By Joshua Dillen
Last T uesdays presentation o n
“Clickers” by Kurt Lewandowski,. C C C
m ath instructor and senior m em ber o f
T h e power o f education is growing the departm ent for 21 years, had several
and thriving at Clackamas C om m unity faculty m embers in attendance amazed
and intrigued by the capabilities these
College.
T hanks to the C ontinuous Learning deviceshave.
“I love, teaching. I’m a teacher first,”
Collaborative (CLC), students and fac
ulty can be assured that the quality o f said Lewandowski. “I enjoy helping peo
education will always improve at-,CCC. ple overcome their obstacles to achieve
T h e C L C was established in the fall o f their goals.”
It was very obvious th at th e use o f
2010. T h e driving force behind this is the
combined, efforts o f Steve Beining, dis clicker technology helps him accom
tance learning departm ent chair and Kate plish this in his classroom. C L C and
Gray, English instructor, co-coordinators Lewandowski w ant th e entire faculty at
C C C to continuously develop and grow
o f CLC.
“O u r [CLC] mission is to optimize; their teaching m ethods by sharing this
the art and science o f teaching to create and other new advances in educattonal
the best possible learning experiences for technologies.
Clickers w ork h e explained they are
C C C stu d e n ts/ said Gray. “W h at w ere
about is looking at best practices within an “audience response system” that allows
the classroom an d online; to see how we users to participate in whatever is being
can optimize w hat students are doing and discussed. T here are several brands; click
ers are just a generic term . T his technology
how we can better serve them .”
Faculty m embers at C C C can access helps instructors to track individual as well
a wealth o f new teaching techniques, as overall understanding o f the current
the latest in educational technologies and lesson.
optim ize their students learning experi ’ “I t keeps students engaged. I ts easy to
ence, by attending th e m any sessions avail kind o f glaze over and start day dreaming
able through CLC. Faculty familiar w ith o ut die window,” h e said.
By design, this system doesn’t allow that
M oodle and N O T É , C C C s N etw ork for
O nline Teaching Excellence, can link to lack o f understanding th^t .instructors can
miss. It causes m ore learning because the
C L C s current schedule on the N O T E
website: http ://n o te.o n line.clackam as. students are alm ost involuntarily com m it-
i. .1 a n d i n v o l v e d ¡ ii t h e le s s o n . ■
f
T h e simplicity and cóMeníéñde' was
develop and enhance any teaching style
w ith the tools they provide. N O T E focus obvious after a very informative and inter
es on M oodle an d provides conveniendy active PowerPoint presentation. Interactive
scheduled training sessions for teachers.
is the Operative w ord. T h e clickers work
T he Clackam as P rin t
K u rt Lewandow ski give a presentation on the use o f clickers in the classroom a n d
their effectiveness. Lewandowski, has plans to use this new technology in some classes
f a l l term and. a ll classes w inter term.
w ith PowerPoint and let an instructor see
real tim e feedback from the participants.
T his allows im m ediate adjustm ent o f â
lesson. Students can be polled and quizzed
w ith im m ediate access to understanding
and compfehension.
T h e faculty attendees .quickly expe
rienced the advantage an instructor Kas
w hen using clickers. T his technology
enabled them to answer questions and
directly ©n th e screen.;
th é hands-on dem onstration was experdy
guided by Lewandowski and included
several lesson style examples o f their ver
satility and convenience. A ttendants o f
the presentation were engaged an d h ad a
positive impression o f the clickers.
“Fm sure its going to be very help
ful,” said Rodica Gotur, part rime m ath
instructor at C C C . “I always encourage
them [students] to participate.”
G otur plans to start using the clickers
gradually through this term and will be
im plem enting this tool in all o f her classes
next term .
OtherCLGS^3Sr<^s‘lastw eek Hfoltltlud1
team building exercises and group project
developm ent for students. All m embers
o f the G C G com m unity will benefit from
the CLC.
Adult High School Program gives new alternatives to G.E.D.
By Isaac Soper
T he C lackam as P rin t
As the years go by, students change along with their
needs. According to the Department o f Education, high
school graduation rates are at 64.4 percent, which brings
the question to mind, what ate the others doing? There
are many non-traditional high schools, such as charter
high schools like Clackamas Middle College and other
means to receive a diploma or GED, for students who
have been “lost in the void” at traditional high schools or
have had to leave school for whatever reason.
“O ur programs here fill a very important niche at a
community college. It is a very important strand so that
students can pursue other classes at the college level,”
said Cathy Hanson, department chair o f Clackamas
Community College skills development.
C C C has offered many programs in the past for high
school completion but as the years go by, those programs
have decreased. T he college currently offers the Adult
High School Diploma program, which offers the chance
for students who ate over the age o f 21 to receive a diplo
ma, the Young Parent Opportunity Program (YPOP), for
students between the ages o f 15-21 who are either preg
nant or parenting arid looking for a high school diploma
and the G E D program.
“Some students may need from one term to two years
[to complete their diploma]. Based on evaluation, we fig
ure out how many credits they need. We work really hard
with our students. It is a very focused program. We help
them get their G ED, but we help them set up a plan as
well.” said Hanson.
Another program that works directly with the college
is Clackamas Middle College, which used to be located
in a small building in the Haggen parking lot, but is
now located on 82nd Ave., C M C is considered a “charter”
high school, in which students from any district can apply
and finish their high school diploma while taking federally-
funded college classes at either the main C C C campus or the
Harmony campus.
“T he main purpose o f our school is to bridge the gap from
high school to college and bring two educational systems
together so that kids aren’t falling between the gaps,” said
Brian Sien, principal o f CM C .
X v
C M C isn’t worried about getting a student in and out of
high school in four years. T he main focus is to ready a student
for the college experience and life afterwards, primarily focus
ing on skills that a student needs to excel in the world after
highschool.
Their program is split into three tiers, the first being pri
marily high school classes melded with learning objectives
that are meant to help a student learn how to study, take
notes and work on skills such as participation and critical
thinking. T hé second tier allows a student to take a limited
number o f college courses for both high school and college
credit. If a student is successful in both levels, they are granted
the opportunity to rake up to 12 credits o f college courses,
with $700 per term allocated for classes, and $450 per year
allocated for books.
“We provide students with a family o f support that they
can rely on throughout and after high school, sometimes
even beyond college. There are other early college programs,
but there are no other schools like CM C,” said Eric Stone,
counselor at CM C.
W ith the possibility o f entering the C M C program as a
high school freshmân, a student has die opportunity o f taking
up to four years of classes at C C C that are federally funded, to
work toward and hopefully complete their Associate s Degree
or certificate pregram.
“O ur symbol is the bridge, students go from here to col
lege, knowing they can come back for ongoing advice and
help. And they do come back h o m e to C M C ’ to get that
support to achieve their goals,” said Stone.
W hether a student has been unable to complete their high
school diploma or if the conventional high school setting isrit
working there are other opportunities available. For students
under 21, C M C is a unique pregram that has a partnership
with the college and for those over 21, C C C s G E D program
is a great opportunity as well.
M iddle College studying in class.