Topics Presented

Keynote

We are excited to welcome Gary Olp as our Keynote Speaker. Mr. Olp directs GGOArchitects, a successful environmentally focused private practice in Dallas, Texas. He has dedicated his professional career to crafting improved environments to live, learn, work and play in and believes that our society clearly stands to benefit from a commitment to habitable cities and a gardeners concern to nurture rather than exploit our limited resources. Mr. Olp has published numerous articles and lectures regularly on the topics of Sustainable Architecture, Healthy Environments and Indoor Air Quality.

Bringing the "discussion" back to the Bb Discussion Board

Students and instructors frequently cite a lack of connection to the class and the individuals within it as reason to avoid participating in online classes. So often an online class can devolve into a pattern of read-work-test-grade so that any sense of being part of a class has all but disappeared. This workshop will explore the different methods of successfully fostering a lively and interactive community of practice via the Blackboard discussion board forums.

Jazz up your classes with Jing!

Did you ever wish you could show an online student exactly what you are doing on your computer? Jing is a free program that allows you to quickly capture anything on your computer screen. The capture can be up to a 5 min video with both real time motion and audio or simply a screen shot that is easy to annotate. Once captured with Jing, embedding code is automatically created to place the capture directly into a webpage, blog, or Blackboard discussion board, announcement, or item. Jing is a tool for online communication that is easy and fun to use. In this workshop, participants will learn how to download and use the program and discuss ways to incorporate it in the online classroom.

Web Advisor 101

This session will show the options for faculty and staff on Web Advisor. Demonstration will include how to certify class rolls, how to download classroll information, how to look up a Student Automated Degree Plan and other faculty WA functions. We will also demonstrate how to look up your leave balances. We will also show you where to get additional documentation and how to locate the FAQ (Knowledge Base) information.

Use Groups Successfully in Your Classroom

Some students LOVE getting into groups in their classrooms; others roll their eyes and groan at the thought of being in a group. Learn the differences between groups and teams, and what you can do to make productive use of "group" time for your students. We will be doing generic group activities that you can use in your classroom!

Campus Crisis Response

Whether is be a natural disaster or attack of some kind, we all need to know how to respond to a crisis on campus. Come hear from members of the Crisis Management Team and ask them your questions about MCC's response plans, as well as learn what you can do in such a situation.

Extended DISC: "Success with People"

Based on more than 30 years of proven reliability and over 40 million users, Extended DISC® remains the most trusted learning instrument in the industry. It is used worldwide in dozens of training and coaching applications, including organizational development and performance improvement. The Extended DISC® Personal Profile System (PPS) will help you understand yourself, your colleagues, and others while reducing conflict, increasing communication, teamwork and improving relationships. The PPS model identifies and groups behavior in four easy-to-understand styles.

Guiding Student & Community Conversations

In any given day, an employee must be prepared to handle a wide range of customer interactions: simple and complex, clear and confusing, informational and emotional. It's the employee's job to make sure that each transaction reaches a purposeful and satisfactory conclusion and that the student/community member/coworker feels well treated and cared for every step of the way. This session provides a universal approach employees can use to manage any interaction with confidence. It is based on the four expectations students/community members/coworkers bring to every interaction.

The Life of a Student

This session would describe the "life" of a student from start to finish. Each person would explain what a student completes in their department and other pertinent information for enrollment, financial aid, advising, records, and graduation. This would help colleagues to understand what steps a student goes through and would give them information on where to send students for certain things. We will also be available for question and answer.

Keynote Q&A

Come ask our Keynote Speaker, Gary Olp, your questions regarding sustainability.

Mission Waco - Waco Poverty: Empowerment Instead of Charity

This session will discuss the incredible reality of poverty in Waco and what can be and is being done about it through Mission Waco.

Aging Parents - How We Can Give Back What We Were Given

A primer on aging in today's society, and the importance of caring and obtaining guidance for the care of our aging parents.

Library Café

Grab a cup of coffee from the snack room and come to our Library Café, where you'll get a personal hands-on discussion with a member of the library team on a variety of topics including library resources in your subject area, library services, and issues of importance to you that the library can address. Someone will be on hand to direct you to the appropriate person during the session.

Blackboard: Supporting Students and Instructors

Overview of the Blackboard Support Classes to help Students (SupOr - Support and Orientation) and Instructors (SCOPE - Supporting Collaborative Online Practices & Excellence). The SupOr shell is to orient students to Blackboard and MCC as well as provide support to online students. The SCOPE shell is to provide a collaborative environment between faculty members by highlighting outstanding online faculty and providing new and innovative ideas for online teaching and learning.

Office 2007 Suite: Q&A

The Information Systems Team will be here to provide help with review of the software, and answer all your Office 2007 Suite questions. We will have handouts with information regarding the use of the new Office 2007 Suite.

"Are You Smarter Than Your MCC Colleague?"

This interactive session will allow you to test your knowledge of college policies and practices while having some fun. The session is for all employees who want to learn new (and old) changes to such policies as the Budget Administration Policy, Sick Leave, etc. Come see if you know as much or MORE than your MCC colleague?

SACS and MCC's Accreditation Process

The accreditation process helps schools bring together all the parts of the school to improve student and organizational performance. Come learn about important issues concerning MCC's upcoming accreditation process.

Safety in the Workplace

This session will cover Material Safety Data Sheets and the safe handling of chemicals, as well as human factors in accidents.

Who's Afraid When Robert Rules?

This very interactive workshop will provide you with the essential skills needed to feel comfortable with the application of Parliamentary procedure for Any meeting you ever preside over or attend.

How to Handle an Angry Person

Serving others who are frustrated or angry is a challenge for both new and experienced employees. Working with someone who has had a bad experience demands extraordinary patience and tact. Research shows, however, that the effort can not only restore that person's loyalty, but create a relationship stronger than it was before. In this session, participants discuss the positive in negative experiences and learn four guidelines for restoring trust and confidence.

Working Together to Build Student Success: PSYC 1300 & College Success 0101

This is a panel discussion that will examine the impact Psychology 1300 Learning Framework and COSU 0101 College Success are having on student academic success. It will also discuss specific challenges that can hinder students' academic performance as well as strategies both courses are utilizing to assist MCC students in overcoming these personal and academic challenges.

Changes in Your 403(b)

As of January 1, 2009, significant changes made by the IRS have taken effect which affect our 403(b) plans (both voluntary and ORP). Retirement Manager is the third party administrator that MCC has chosen to use to help facilitate compliance with the new regulations. Brian will walk you through Retirement Manager, showing you the tools available to you to help in managing your retirement funds and will also be available to answer general questions concerning the new regulations.

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Come hear about the services provided by the Heart of Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross and how you can get involved!

MCC Goes Green: An Overview

MCC is committed to becoming a more ecofriendly/sustainable campus. Come see what's happening across MCC and how you can join in the effort.

The Teacher's Voice

Research conducted at the University of Iowa Voice Academy indicates that the second largest population of voice professionals in America, teachers, is the professional group having the greatest incidence of voice disorders. Moreover, Charles Schmidt and colleagues at Indiana University, in their study of voice variables in relation to teaching effectiveness, used panels of college students and a group of educational professionals independently to rate the lectures. They found that teachers who use a range of pitches, vary their speaking rate and express few disfluencies were judged to be more effective teachers. (Pitch level, however,was not judged to be significant in teaching effectiveness.) This workshop is designed for teachers and others who would like to optimize their breathing, vocal power, range, etc. We will cover how to reduce the Texas accent for those who are interested.

Talking Tablets

In this panel discussion, members of the Music, English, and Math faculty will discuss how using tablet laptop computers have enhanced their instruction. Topics covered include examples of how tablets were used to record lectures, produce pdf files of the instructor's notes, demonstrate music notation software, and students use of the laptops during classroom instruction.

Blackboard 8 New Features

This session will present an overview of the new features in Blackboard version 8 and focus mainly on the new Grade Center which replaces the old Gradebook.

How the University Center Impacts the MCC campus

We will discuss the impact of the University Center on advising, financial aid, enrollment, and program development on campus and the role the University Center plays in meeting the demands for higher education in the Waco area.

Enrollment Trends at MCC

This is an exciting time of growth at MCC. This session will cover the enrollment trends of MCC students and how that will affect the college in the coming years.

Negotiations: Get Paid What You're Worth

This workshop will be a brief introduction of the Negotiations and Conflict Resolution class taught at MCC. An overview of salary negotiations will be followed by a practice session and then a review of what the practice revealed for each person.

"Viva La Raza"

This interactive panel will provide insight on how to promote educational enrichment for your Hispanic students. A student panel will be featured and a teaching tool packet will be provided.

Service to Students & the Community, Etiquette and Conflict Resolution

This presentation will cover information about service to students & the community, telephone etiquette, and a workshop activity on conflict resolution.

MCC Goes Green: Turn Trash to Treasure

Did you know we can recycle in most places across the MCC campuses? What can we recycle? Why should we? What are the benefits to MCC? Come find out what has been implemented and what is planned for the upcoming semester.

Easy Line Dancing

Don't just stand and watch all by your onsey anymore! Learn how to do four easy line dances and join in the fun! You don't need a partner.

Waco Habitat for Humanity's Partnership Housing Program

This session will explain Waco Habitat for Humanity's partnership housing program, including new construction, Ramps and Rails wheel chair ramp program, and the Habitat ReStore, a building materials recycling center. Emphasis will be give on volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups.

MCC Goes Green - Being "Green" Smart

Join a roundtable discussion: How can sustainability become part of everyone's education?

Manage to Learn: A Panel Discussion About Classroom Management Techniques

During this session, attendees will have the opportunity to hear a panel of faculty experts discuss proven strategies for dealing with difficult students and/or classroom situations. The panel, along with the Coordinator of Student Discipline, will also field questions from the attendees.