News / Tips for Teaching and Learning

Content tailored for Amarillo College faculty which explores, promotes, and supports excellence in teaching, with diverse technologies.

Volume 2, Issue 4

A break is around the corner!

December is here - again already! We are all looking forward to spending time with family, friends, and having some time away from work. As you are wrapping up the fall term, the faculty development committee is busy preparing for the Amarillo College Educational Summit (ACES). This year ACES will be on January 12, 2022, from 9 am to 3:45 pm. It will be located in the Byrd/Parcells building on the Washington St campus. We can't wait to see you there!

Highlights in this issue include:

1. ACES 2022 Information: Learn more about and register for ACES 2022.
2. Spring 2022 Professional Learning Cohorts: Registration is open for the Spring 2022 cohorts. 
3. Ranks and Tenure Course #4: Registration is also open for our fourth and final Rank and Tenure course. 
4. Ultra Base Navigation preview: On January 3, we will move to Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation.  

We hope you all have a great and hopefully restful holiday season! We will see you in 2022. 

Your CTL Team

ACES 2022 Registration

Registration is open for ACES 2022. Please register by January 6th, 2022

How to register for ACES 2022:

1. Go to https://acconnect.actx.edu/
2. Under the Self-Service section, click WebAdvisor for Employees and log in, with your ACNet ID and Password.
3. Under Professional Development, click Register for Center for Teaching and Learning Classes, then SUBMIT to access a list of courses being offered by CTL.
4. Click the SELECT box to the left of the workshop for which you wish to register.
5. Click SUBMIT again at the bottom of the page to finalize your selection(s).

If you have any issues registering please contact Cheryl Oldham at 371-5941, or email cloldham@actx.edu.

CLICK TO REGISTER >> 

ACES 2022 Sessions

This year we have many exciting presentations to bring you. AC faculty submitted proposals to present the amazing things they are doing in their classes. 

Sessions Include:

1. Learning Through Teaching: Macy Kohler, Shannon Cornell, Penelope Davies, and Maria Johnson
2. Start with Why: Backward Design to Push Students Forward: Renee Stovall
3. Learning Activity Menus: Motivating, Engaging, & Meaningful Learning at a Deeper Level Through Choice: Sheree Talkington
4. Classroom Engagement: Creating Culture, Community, and Competition: Skip Chisum and Sarah Welshimer

In addition, Ariana Tiroff and Kristin Barker will present sessions on Ultra Base Navigation.

PREVIEW THE PROGRAM >> 

ACES Drawings

Through the generosity of our Amarillo community, we have gathered many prizes and gift baskets to give away. In addition, all of the water bottles for the event were donated to us by Imperial Vending and Natural Grocers. 

Please be sure to support these businesses and thank them for their support of Amarillo College faculty! 

READ MORE >> 

Spring 2022 Cohorts

The Spring 2022 cohorts are available for registration. We have many great offerings for you this next semester. 

Remember to see the description as well as the meeting dates and times, click on the cohort tab. After you register, please be on the lookout for communication and calendar invites from the instructional designer of that specific cohort. 

If you have questions email Lori Petty

READ MORE >> 

Ranks and Tenure Course 4

The fourth and final course in the Rank and Tenure pedagogy course series will be held during the Spring 2022 term. 

In this course, we will focus on how to align our ideology of teaching to engagement strategies and techniques, and the assessments used to measure understanding. You’ll discover how you can create a classroom culture that allows difficult ideas to surface, revealing student misconceptions and misunderstandings allowing you to tailor your teaching to your student’s needs. You will also learn the key principles of creating and evaluating valid assessments for learning. Finally, we will explore ways to analyze the assessment data to further improve and enhance our teaching. 

READ MORE >> 

The Rank and Tenure Courses will begin again in August 2022

Ultra Base Navigation

On January 3, 2022, CTL will introduce a new, streamlined landing page in Blackboard Learn. 

What you need to know:

• Please note that only the home page is changing. Your courses and organizations will remain the same.

Left Hand Navigation:

• Institution Page: Contains important news as well as helpful information about college offices.
• Profile: This allows you to manage your online persona and modify your notification settings.
• Activity Stream: See what’s new and coming up across all your courses and organizations. 
• Courses: Quickly navigate your courses using search, filter, and favorites. 
• Calendar: View all due dates and events in your courses and organizations.
• Messages: Stay connected by viewing and sending messages to/from all your courses in one place. 
• See what needs to be graded across all your courses, and start grading with just one click.

10 Things to Try in UBN

Base Navigation: A Better Way to Navigate Blackboard Learn

Save the Date

Blackboard ER
Friday, December 10, 2021

8am - 5pm
Zoom or Ware 205V

Zoom link located in Blackboard

ACES 2022
1/12/2022

9am - 3:45pm

Lunch provided
Location: Byrd & Parcells 

Washington St. Campus

ACES 2022 Prizes and Giveaways Preview - more to come!

Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

Center for Teaching and Learning (WARE) Room 205
Web Page: www.actx.edu/ctl | Email: ctlhelp@actx.edu
Phone:  806-371-5920 

CTL Mission Statement: 
The Center for Teaching and Learning promotes transformative, evidence-based, and engaging professional learning for the enrichment of faculty and administrators to ensure academic success of all students at Amarillo College.