he irreversible reliance on digital technologies has elevated the importance to develop critical digital literacy skills around the world. Educators have an important role to play to engage with learners and push them to consider one’s interactions, behaviours, and consumption patterns online.
DLLE offers an essential course of personal and professional development for educators, learners and anyone interested in re-evaluating our current digital world. At the centre of this course is ‘netizenship’, coined by Michael Hauben to define the internet user as a positive contributor online. The course will consider how our digital world has reimagined conventional media, and will scrutinise the opportunities and challenges of online content creation and consumption whilst introducing strategies to guide our activity and improve our ‘netizenship’.
By the end of this course, participants will feel more empowered to share a fresh perspective on digital literacy to be shared with their personal and professional communities. The aim is for participants to become more active local champions of digital literacy for a better online world for all.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, participants are expected to be able to:
Outline key components making up our digital world;
Articulate what is meant by ‘digital literacy’ and ‘netizenship’;
Explain the opportunities and challenges we face online;
Demonstrate a critical understanding of our roles as creators and consumers online.
Instructor(s)
Dr Emma Pauncefort, Professor Jane-Frances Obiageli Agbu, Professor Shironica P…
Open Educational Resources (OERs) is defined as “teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost-access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions” (UNESCO 2012). Understanding the concept of OER and its integration in online learning is crucial in the face of the pandemic necessitating a paradigm shift in teaching and learning. This is a 4-week course designed for educational administrators and planners, teachers, trainers, researchers and individuals with interest on how to use Open Educational Resources for teaching and learning. The course aims at creating awareness on the importance and use of OERs in online learning as well as capacity building in this area
This course will be useful for educational administrators and planners, teachers, trainers, researchers and individuals with interest on how to use Open Educational Resources for teaching and learning.
Learning Outcomes
It is expected that by the end of this course, you will be able to:
The introductory-level Leading Change in Teaching and Learning for a Digital World (LCTL) massive open online course will provide frameworks and practical approaches to the leadership and change management required for implementing technology into teaching and learning. This free, 4-week MOOC provided by the Commonwealth of Learning in partnership with Athabasca University is open to administrators, teachers, and other educational professionals.
Watch the video below for more information on LCTL MOOC and to meet some members of our team, and be sure to download the brochure for further details and distribution through your personal and professional networks.
Leading Change in Teaching and Learning for a Digital World is a massive open online course for those interested in shaping, leading, and supporting innovative application of digital tools and technologies during teaching and learning. This course will engage you in the review, discussion, and application of leadership ideas that support new teaching and learning practices. These leadership approaches and teaching and learning practices are aligned with the digital transformation that is shaping our societies. Upon completion of this course, you will understand and have a plan to apply general leadership approaches toward education change in digital, technology-enabled teaching and learning environments. This course provides you the opportunity to view, read, review, and discuss digital transformation in education and the leadership mindset and approaches that leads organisations in this direction. With a focus on post-Covid19 education needs, topics will cover digital education futures, technology-enabled teaching and learning, required organisation infrastructures, and how to develop the needed leadership actions.
Learning Outcomes
Meet online with teaching and learning leaders from all over the world who are also learning to improve their leadership techniques
Review what digital transformation means and what role there is for education
Evaluate potential change requirements for teaching and learning in and for digital environments
Demonstrate knowledge regarding several leadership theories appropriate for digital transformation in education
Identify and reflect upon personal leadership strategies and evaluate their potential for leading transformative change
Combine personal leadership knowledge with context specific needs to support a Leadership Activity Plan
Receive a certificate on completion of required activities
Syllabus
Week 1: Defining digital education
Introducing definitions of digital transformation and its role in education
Exploring the need for education change in individual contexts
Reviewing general leadership theories applicable to digital education
Week 2: Digital leadership for digital change in education
Creating organisational infrastructure for digital teaching and learning
Applying leadership theories for digital transformation
Evaluating individual leadership development needs Week3 Preparing for education futures
Identifying individual and preferred organisational goals for the digital future
Considering leadership strategies and competency development
Integrating global and local needs with digital teaching development activities
Week 4: Creating leadership development plans
Identifying and testing leadership assessment tools
Mapping needs of digital teaching development to leadership strategies
Documenting opportunities for action to support digital teaching and learning transformation in context
The Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) and The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources (MAMR) in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning (COL) have partnered to provide farmers with an online course on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). This self-study course addresses fruit and vegetable production and is designed to inform farmers on the basic environmental and operational conditions necessary for the production of safe and wholesome produce. Fruits and vegetables are an important component of our diet. Nutritionists and health professionals have clearly shown that diets low in fat and high in fiber, with at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables, protect us against many types of cancers and lessen the risk of heart disease. Now, more than ever,
consumers listen to these messages and have altered their food choices. In recent years, there has been an increase in food recalls due to biological, chemical and physical risks, particularly with leafy greens such as lettuce. This six-week course will help to mitigate against these risks and serve as a guide in the implementation of best management practices at all stages of the crop production and processing systems. Participants are required to commit 30 – 60 mins per week on completing the weekly presentations and assignments to successfully achieve the learning goals of this course.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course you should be able to:
Discuss the importance of food safety and its relations to GAP
Define GAP standards and requirements
Understand the GAP structure, modules and key elements
Apply GAPs in fruit and vegetable production for improved food safety and quality
Are you creative? Do you enjoy artistic expression?
The Art, Media, and Performance department at Los Angeles Mission College offers high-quality classroom instruction from renowned faculty and industry professionals who provide students with practical, hands-on experience to ensure optimal skill enhancement. The department offers various Certificate programsLinks to an external site. in Animation, Graphic Design, Art, Art History, Interior Design, Video Production, Museum Studies, or Theatrical Production, and more!
We welcome students who are new to the industry, as well as seasoned veterans looking to stay up-to-date on industry trends while earning certificates. Our certificates prepare students for entry-level management positions and fulfill many academic transfer requirements to four-year institutions such as CSUs, UCs, and private colleges and institutions.
For academic advising on course sequences please contact our fantastic professors in the Areas of Study you are interested in!
AMP Department Chair & Multimedia/Commercial Photo: Curtis Stage Art & AMP Vice Chair: Deborah Paulsen – Theatre & AMP Vice Chair: Bob Cucuzza – Art: Adam F. Scott Art History: Thomas Folland Interior Design: James Lemmon Multimedia/Cinema/Film: John Huynh Music:
Arts, Media, and Performance Programs
Definitions: AS: Associate of Science, AS-T: Associate of Science Transfer, AA: Associate of Art, AA-T: Associate of Art Transfer, C: Certificate, SC: Skill Certificate *: This program has additional requirements. View the program page for more information.
Every Los Angeles Mission College student has access to a success coach to support you throughout your educational journey. Our coaches can assist you with any question you may have about your chosen Pathway, and they can also help with financial aid, admissions & records, and enrolling in classes.
Global Campus Chancellor Dave Cillay, a nationally recognized leader in online higher education, will serve as interim chancellor of WSU’s Pullman campus beginning June 3.
Cillay will maintain his role as Global Campus chancellor as well as vice president of Academic Outreach and Innovation while also serving as the leader of the Pullman campus. Inaugural Pullman Chancellor Elizabeth Chilton is leaving WSU to become the University of New Hampshire’s president.
“The tremendous growth of our Global Campus is in no small part thanks to the monumental efforts put in by Dave and his team,” WSU President Kirk Schulz said. “This is a time of tremendous opportunity for WSU to examine how it will continue fulfilling its mission as a modern land-grant university, and Dave’s record of innovation and thoughtful leadership will prove a tremendous asset to the Pullman campus.”
Cillay’s interim tenure is expected to extend through the university’s search for a new system president, with Schulz stepping down next summer. Schulz has indicated he plans to let the next administration select a permanent replacement.
“As we look for the next leader of our university system, I’m honored to serve the Pullman campus in this role,” Cillay said. “I’ve called Pullman home for the nearly three decades. My family and I are eager to embrace this opportunity and become even more engaged in this vibrant community.”
Cillay and his family are planning to relocate to the Ida Lou Anderson House later this summer. The house traditionally was the historic home of WSU presidents, but in 2022 the university made it the official residence of the Pullman campus chancellor.
In 2019, Cillay was named the inaugural chancellor of WSU Global Campus following seven years as vice president of Academic Outreach and Innovation. Since his appointment, WSU Global Campus has grown from 3,254 students to 3,750 this past fall, with enrollment eclipsing 4,000 students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jim Harbour, a career-track associate professor in the Carson College of Business, has been appointed director of the School of Hospitality Business Management. He will officially assume director duties on Aug. 16.
“It’s an incredible honor to be the next director of the School of Hospitality Business Management,” Harbour said. “I want to be a change agent while honoring all those who came before me who worked so hard to create our international reputation. It’s my goal to keep that reputation and work with students, faculty, staff, alumni, industry, administrators, and anyone else that wants to engage with us to help students thrive.”
Harbour (’99) earned his bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant administration from WSU and an MBA from Gonzaga University. He has been a faculty member in the SHBM since 2006 and has taught nearly every course in the hospitality program. One of his passions is leading students on study abroad experiences. He co-owns and operates South Fork and Round Top Public House restaurants and Fork in the Road Catering with business partner Wade Dissmore (’97). Harbour and his wife, Jennifer, own Porch Light Pizza and Sweet Mutiny.
The School of Hospitality Business Management was established in 1932 and is renowned for its faculty expertise, globally recognized research, industry collaboration, and hands-on experience, making it a top choice for students seeking a comprehensive education in an accredited school of business.
“Jim’s intimate knowledge of our curriculum and wealth of industry experience make him an excellent choice to lead our hospitality programs,” said Debbie Compeau, interim dean.
Early exposure to industry influences career aspirations
Harbour grew up in Auburn, Washington, and said his interest in hospitality began in 7th grade when his parents briefly invested in a restaurant. He worked there and fell in love with all aspects of the business. His family later moved to Pullman, where Harbour attended high school. At 16, he worked in a local pizza place, which confirmed the direction of his career.
“I enjoyed the intensity of the work and the industry; it suited who I am as a person,” Harbour said. “Making crew members’ and guests’ days better in the restaurant kept me coming back for more.”
Today, he infuses his classroom with the expertise he’s gained in the industry over the last 30-plus years.
“I use real-time data in the classroom so students see how the numbers work from an operating restaurant,” Harbour said. “I discuss successes and failures that we have experienced in the restaurants, which adds relevancy.”
As director, he plans to leverage industry partnerships that enhance student learning through lectures, internships, externships, company visits, and full-time job placements. He’ll ensure best practices are being used in the curriculum and work with industry leaders to identify resources and collaboration opportunities for research faculty. The hospitality faculty produce some of the most significant hospitality and tourism research in the world, in keeping with the Carson College’s vision to provide leading research insights and critical thinking about business to business and policy communities in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
“I am excited to develop the leaders and innovators the industry needs to keep progressing,” he said.
The new Life Sciences Building on the WSU Vancouver campus was dedicated Thursday, June 6, during a ceremony that included students, faculty and staff as well as donors, state legislators and others.
“This building unlocks unbound potential in research, student learning and community engagement, and I want to thank everybody who has been a part of getting us here today,” said Washington State University Vancouver Chancellor Mel Netzhammer.
Gratitude was the message of the day.
The $63.8 million project was funded largely by $57.1 million awarded from the Washington State Legislature for predesign, design, construction and furnishings. Due to market inflation, the cost to complete the Life Sciences Building came in above the original estimate. The Washington State Office of Financial Management provided supplemental funds to offset market inflation, WSU Vancouver applied money from its own reserves and many donors contributed to complete the building as planned.
“Completing the Life Sciences Building required a partnership between our state legislators and private philanthropy,” said WSU System President Kirk Schulz. He said it’s important to build the buildings we need, not just now, but well into the future, and not be limited by budget. That’s where philanthropy comes in. WSU Vancouver also celebrated the opening of eight named spaces in the Life Sciences Building with the donors and their supporters.
“Well over 10 years ago we started out with a vision for a building that would house chemistry, biology and nursing programs, bringing all of these life sciences disciplines together in one building to create synergies and collaboration for teaching and research. That’s what this building is,” said Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education Christine Portfors.
The Life Sciences Building, slated to open to students in August, houses lab space for programming in biology and chemistry, serving general educational needs for all students and foundational courses for an array of STEM degrees, including biology, chemistry, neuroscience and nursing.
“We always understood this complex project—a labor of love—would ultimately support the research of our faculty, which is groundbreaking and of international importance, and support student learning in brand news ways with new opportunities for collaboration and partnerships,” said Netzhammer.
Thursday was the first opportunity for guests to see the Life Sciences Building’s art installations. Murals and floor tiles were created by Los Angeles painter Roberto Delgado. Seven pieces by Oregon-based painter, printmaker and illustrator Jo Hockenhull are on display. Hockenhull is a WSU Pullman emerita professor and served as associate dean for academic affairs at WSU Vancouver. “Pointed Mask” by sculptor Seymour Lipton, and donated by the Palmer Foundation, can be viewed in Suite 225.
The Life Sciences Building is open during WSU Vancouver’s regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Breeders at Washington State University have kept Washington wheat competitive for well over a century from William Jasper Spillman’s first wheat variety in the early 1900s to the newest cultivars reaching farms this year.
“We are stewards who are here for the long haul,” said Professor Rich Koenig, chair of the WSU Grain Royalty Advisory Committee. “We’ve been entrusted with the future of the wheat industry.”
A legacy of innovation
The story of Washington wheat breeding began with Spillman, who arrived at the newly established Washington Agricultural College in 1894 as its sixth faculty member.
A WSU plant scientist, mathematician, and — at the time — the university’s undefeated football coach, Spillman sought to improve economic health for farmers by producing useful varieties of wheat. From crosses made in 1899, he showed how combinations of traits could make wheats that are better adapted to the soils and climates of Washington. Spillman went on to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he helped establish a forerunner of today’s Extension system, but not before breeding WSU’s first six club wheat releases.
“Traditionally, all the wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest was club wheat,” said Kim Garland-Campbell, a Pullman-based USDA research geneticist and club wheat breeder.
For decades, fungal diseases like bunt and smut were among the biggest challenges for Northwest wheat growers. Agronomy and plant breeding instructor Edward Gaines, who joined the WSU program in 1912, bred more fungus-resistant hard winter and club wheats.
After Northwest growers urged Congress to fund a cooperative regional wheat improvement program in the late 1920s, one of Gaines’ former students, Orville Vogel, was hired as a USDA wheat breeder in 1931.
“Vogel and Spillman were true renaissance men,” said Mike Pumphrey, WSU’s spring wheat breeder. “They were engineers and economists as well as breeders.”
Since Vogel’s day, scientists from WSU and USDA have worked together to improve wheat quality, hardiness, and productivity. Their work is also supported by the Washington Grain Commission, which has funded wheat and barley breeding since the 1960s in a six-decade partnership.
Working with the grain commission and the USDA, WSU built the Plant Growth Facility, which has become a national model of cooperation. WSU’s two-cent royalty on new wheat varieties, established in 2012, helped pay for the facility and is now supporting breeding research, training, and infrastructure.
Bringing in valued traits
Before Vogel, most commercial wheat grew on tall, stately stalks. A USDA researcher at WSU Pullman for 42 years, he bred new semi-dwarf wheat plants that ploughed more energy into their heads of grain, boosting yields by as much as 25%. Vogel named his revolutionary variety “Gaines,” in honor of his teacher. It was released in 1961.
Vogel’s former technician and WSU scientist Clarence Peterson worked with WSU plant pathologist George Bruehl to release Sprague, the first snow mold-resistant winter wheat, in 1972. Daws, released in 1976, was bred for winter hardiness, a trait maintained in current wheats. In 1988, Allan released Madsen and Hyak, the first strawbreaker foot rot-resistant varieties. Allan’s 1991 club wheat, Rely, included eight different types of stripe rust resistance.
Peterson’s 1990 cultivar Eltan and breeder Ed Donaldson’s 2000 release Finley are winter wheats with excellent emergence from deep sowing, another characteristic that WSU scientists have brought into modern varieties.
The chain continued as breeders Stephen Jones, Kim Kidwell, and Garland-Campbell took over management of breeding programs. Molecular geneticist Kulvinder Gill also released several varieties, including Curiosity CL+ and Mela CL+. Today, more than 50 named varieties have debuted since 1995 and counting.
Over the past decades, the WSU breeding program received multiple offers to merge with private companies. WSU has always chosen to maintain its independence, preserving the investment that the institution, the Washington Grain Commission, and growers have made throughout the past 120 years.
“Washington’s ability to export wheat is based on end-use quality, and that quality is phenomenal because growers hold WSU to a high standard,” Koenig said. “We can’t make solely short-term decisions. If we were to lose the rights to our germplasm, we’d lose control over quality and opportunities to breed for the specific needs of Washington.”
PULLMAN, Wash. — The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) at Washington State University has been awarded a $1.5 million grant to identify and track respiratory pathogens in the Pacific Northwest with the potential to spread between humans and livestock. This includes the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 that has recently jumped from birds into dairy cattle.
While considerable research has gone into zoonotic diseases — infections that spread between animals and humans — minimal attention has been directed toward small- and medium-sized ruminant hosts, including cows, goats and sheep. These species have been undersampled and a better understanding of virus transmission between animals and humans is needed, especially at events like county fairs where people and animals mix.
“These are species that have the potential to spread diseases to humans,” said Dr. Thomas Waltzek, a virologist at WADDL in the College of Veterinary Medicine who is leading the new project along with WADDL’s executive director, Dr. Kevin Snekvik. “It’s all about detecting these diseases quickly, determining if the viruses have pandemic potential and immediately taking corrective actions to hopefully prevent a pandemic.”
The project, which is being funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Washington Department of Health, allows WADDL to expand its ongoing surveillance of avian flu and other zoonotic diseases like SARS-CoV-2 as part of the Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence, a national network of labs dedicated to preparing for and responding to infectious disease threats.
WADDL joined the network in 2023 and began making infrastructure updates and adding positions, including those in its new next-generation sequencing (NGS) section created to quickly sequence genomes of infectious agents to track the spread of emerging diseases of potential risk to human and animal health. The larger mission of this national one health network is to quickly detect viruses of pandemic potential and use that information for corrective actions to be taken in prevention of the next pandemic.
“This funding has expanded WADDL’s capacity and exposed our growing NGS team to regional and national diagnosticians and researchers who have unquestionably helped us prepare for dealing with the current H5N1 outbreak and future such events,” Waltzek said.
Although WADDL and its partners have been tracking H5N1 for some time in domestic and wild birds, its jump into dairy cattle was unexpected. WADDL quickly confirmed the first H5N1 cases in dairy cattle farms in Idaho and sequenced the viral genomes to demonstrate that recently transported dairy cattle from Texas had brought the virus with them.
“The efforts of the WADDL NGS section members — including Becca Wolking, Brandi Torrevillas, Jillian Daigle, Marla Francis, and Dr. Azeza Falghoush — have been critical to WADDL’s ability to track H5N1 strains as they emerged in wildlife and livestock,” Waltzek said.
As of May 29, H5N1 has been detected in dairy herds in nine states. Two dairy farm workers have contracted the virus; however, the CDC says the risk to the public is low. While the disease is not causing cattle death, it is negatively affecting milk production in affected animals. Introduction of HPAI into dairy herds most likely occurred by exposure to wild birds that was followed by cow-to-cow spread.
H5N1 has already devastated the U.S. poultry industry and caused billions of dollars in losses. It has also had a huge impact on wildlife. WADDL has partnered with veterinarians and biologists who recently documented the spread of H5N1 from seabirds into harbor seals in Puget Sound, Washington.
“The number of wild birds dying, including raptors, is staggering,” Snekvik said. “And it’s not just birds, now it’s raccoons and skunks and seals. Luckily, it is not highly pathogenic for humans. We hope a mutation doesn’t occur that leads to something like that, but we need to be closely monitoring the situation.”
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