College Douglas College will begin a major technical services reorganization in 2003 as Distributed Learning Services and Systems and Computing integrate into a new department called the Centre for Educational and Information Technology. The restructuring won't impact most day-to-day m New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus & Thomas Haney Campus N : Cd S e December 2002 The Douglas College Newsletter Es Douglas College integrates technical services work for employees, but will allow centralized planning, management and resource allocation. Headed by a Director, the new Centre will feature three service areas (each headed by its own manager). The three service areas are: Learning Support and Client Services, covering all production services of Distributed Learning Services and employee training in the use of technology; Application Services, responsible for all systems such as Banner, data warehousing and customized applications development; and Technology Services, responsible for infrastructure, networks Celebrating Mia's achievements VP College Development Mia Gordon (second from left) poses with friends at a gathering celebrating her 17 years at Douglas College. Her retirement parties held October 30 at the David Lam and New Westminster Campuses drew over 100 friends and colleagues who reminisced and wished her well in this new phase of her life. From left to right are Al Atkinson, VP Educational Services; Yvonne Mostert, Administrative Assistant, David Lam and Thomas Haney Campuses; and Wendy Watt, Administrative Officer, Student Development. It's not too late to donate There's still time to help make Christmas a little merrier for a student family. Each year, the Financial Aid office matches student families who need a little extra help with College employees who provide food and gift hampers. While hampers are due at the Financial Aid office by December 10, there’s still time for people to provide items or gift certificates for groceries that can be added to a family’s hamper at the last minute. For more information, call Marie Anweiler at 604-527-5106 or Patty Lewis at 607-527-5105. Forecast looking good for PD day Dont miss out on the second College-wide Professional Development day, February 12, 2003. The theme of the day is Post-Secondary Education Forecast: The Community College in Changing Times and features guest speakers Maude Barlow and Ray Ivany in the morning and afternoon roundtable discussions. All Douglas College employees are encouraged to attend. Daytime classes at all three campuses are cancelled to allow as many people as possible to participate; evening classes continue as scheduled. For more information, watch for flyers in your mailbox, go to www.douglas.bc.ca or contact Lin Langley (langleyl@douglas.bc.ca) or Drena Maccormack (mccormackd@douglas.bc.ca). and hardware maintenance. “The pace of the integration and its detailed planning will be in the hands of the director and managers — and we expect this team to be in place by early next year,” says Al Atkinson, Vice-President for Educational Services. “The integration will not cause any job losses and we have met with all the employees from these departments to explain the new structure and answer their questions.” For most Douglas College employees, the biggest change will be accessing a single help-service desk for all educational technology needs and questions. “Tt has sometimes been difficult for people to know exactly which department to call about specific computer or technology-service issues, so establishing a single help desk should make things easier and more efficient,” says Atkinson. Instructional skills workshop draws staff participation If you thought that instructional skills workshops (ISW) were only for instructors, think again. November’s ISW saw six staff members from departments all over the College participating. “To the best of my knowledge this is the first time that it’s been all staff atan ISW. We didn’t plan it this way—we normally have all faculty or a mixed group,” says Jennifer Kirkey, ISW facilitator, Douglas Development Coordinator and Physics instructor. “Part of many staff members’ responsibilities are to make presentations or teach people how to do things. There’s an awareness now that people need more training like this.” ISWs are offered through Douglas Development, and are designed to help participants develop the skills of writing instructional objectives, preparing lesson plans, designing pre-and post- assessment strategies, and conducting instructional sessions. Stagecraft Technician Scott MacDonald (left) and Language and Cultural Facilitator Lani Hyde attended November's Instructional Skills Workshop, one of the first staff-only sessions. “We're trying to make the workshops accessible to all groups,” says Kirkey. “Staff have told us that it’s easier for them to get one daya week off rather than four days in a row, and Friday was chosen because according to the Registrar’s Office, the fewest classes are scheduled that day.” Lani Hyde, Language and Cultural Facilitator in Student Development, recently completed an ISW. “T wanted to refine the skills I already had in preparing lesson plans and teaching, and to get feedback from peers so I could improve,” says Hyde. “T will also be able to incorporate the new information I learned when conducting workshops for the English Immersion Program staff.” For information on upcoming ISWs, contact Douglas Development at 604-527-5503. Quote of the Month “You cant have everything. Where would you put it?” Steven Wright