What the Chef has been up to: 1997

Re.: Performance objectives for my first eight months as outlined in the advertisement of job opportunity.

Situation 1: I was charged with the objective to meet as many people as possible and to ascertain the perceived needs of the campus as well as the role I am expected to play from the viewpoint of my clientele.

Task: Set up points of contact, secure invitations to meetings, present services to clients.

Action: I had ample opportunity to attend a variety of meetings, of which there are no shortage on campus. Participation in the NCA assessment meetings was especially helpful for a new hire. It enabled me to get a grip on what is happening district wide.Participation in district meetings such as the High Resolution Graphics committee and staff development days further allowed me to develop the big picture.

Result: On the homefront, I was able to meet many of the faculty and staff through attending four division meetings, as well as 18 other committee meetings. The classes and presentations I made during the spring semester (12 classes, 5 presentations) also allowed me to focus the attention of our clientele on the future service capabilities of Media Services. In addition I created presentations for the TAC meeting , Multimedia Overview for the Media Services/ CTL open house and the April board meeting.

This objective was made more difficult to reach because I struggled for some time in knowing where I fit in. When I arrived I was unsure of the nature of my reporting authority- and how to divide my time between the CTL and Media Services. The communication lines opened, the situation was clarified and I was able to find the proper balance.

Situation 2. I was charged to fulfill this objective: to facilitate workshops and training programs for faculty and staff to encourage use of interactive media.

Task: analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate workshops and training.

Action: I designed and presented basic classes in the following areas: Internet Tools and Management Techniques, (presented also at Staff Development Days) , Web Design (3 sessions), Using Internet in the Classroom, Imaging Techniques (4 sessions), Design Essentials for Non Designers, Intro to Multimedia Authoring (also at Staff Dev. Days), as well as two sessions on adding Multimedia to Powerpoint.

Result: Over 100 faculty and staff training hours were logged. The response of the participants was overwhelmingly positive. From summative evaluation response forms I ascerteined the interest and willingness to participate in other sessions as well.they also indicated that an asynchronous format would be a good option and expressed the need for a coherent certificate series.

To that end, I am currently writing the curriculum for the Multimedia Certification Program (10 sessions) and the beginning / intermediate Multimedia Authoring training program which will be instituted this Fall. In addition, I have made the content of three of the introductory classes available on the internet for review of the original participants.

By working through the process of delivering content, I was better able to ascertain the readiness of the campus for advanced material, and came to realize that in some cases I was shooting over the heads and the real and perceived needs of the participants. I adjusted the content accordingly throughout the semester and now have a much better idea of how I should gear the Multimedia certification program and any other offerings.

Situation 3: I was charged with the objective of analyzing the needs, goals, resources, constraints and alternatives in the development of multimedia instructional materials and to provide leadership on collaborative projects.

Task: organizational and environmental analysis, cause analysis, diagnosis and intervention.

Action: reviewed and abstracted college vision, mission,values, goals and strategies via literature review and interviewed CTL director, Media Services manager, webmaster, and reference librarians to verify analysis.Took stock of tools and resources available. Designed a programmatic approach to expanding the use of multimedia in the classroom- Technology Enhances Learning which was grant funded to provide release time to faculty to develop instructional technologies to add value to current pedagogies. partnered with individual faculty upon acceptance of project prospectus they hasd to submit for application toprogram. Set up individual treatment plans for instructional problems in consultation with faculty.

Result: Part of the challenge in achieving this objective was the definition of multimedia instructional materials. I had to readjust my definition early on to include PowerPoint presentations, which was not a program listed in my CV. I quickly learned the rudiments of the program and worked on eight presentations.

I have been involved on an ongoing basis in consultation with the Reading Lab, the Access office, SI, and The Chemical Technology program’s Recruitment efforts, as well as a number of individuals on campus.This has allowed me to shape the direction of their endeavors. It has been a great help to bring these issues to my supervisor and get candid input on the issues.

In addition, these past seven months have seen my relationship develop with our own staff and I am seeing new ways in which to relate to and work with Charles and Mary in particular. The chance to work with them as a team on the ChemTech recruitment CD-Rom/Website has been encouraging to me and I have seen the communication lines opening progressively. I have also been developing the CTL and Media Services websites as a source of information for Faculty and Staff, and look forward to collaboration with all the rest of the staff on this ongoing project.

Summary: All in all, I would characterize the events of the past eight months in a very positive light. As with any new situation, all parties concerned had an adjustment period, which in this case went very smoothly. I have been given time to discover the nature of the campus. I have also learned in my position to measure my words and to remember that anything I say can and will be held against me.
The campus is moving forward in its development in information technologies and is growing into a place where I can fully utilize my skills as a trainer. I will continue to work to see the big picture and to seek incremental progress toward the objectives we set each year. I think it is paramount to look hard at these objectives freshly each year and adjust accordingly- such is the dynamic nature of our vocation. One thing that I will set as a high personal priority is the ongoing effort to keep my skills up to date.

 

Tracking with the Magic Chef