Celebrate Learning! Winter 2014 (Vol 6, Issue 1) | Page 6

you taking this class? Without fail, the majority state, “Cuz they say I hafta.” (I resist the urge to correct their grammar!) I remind them that the purpose of required classes such as history, government and humanities, is to afford them an extensive knowledge of past, present and future civilizations. However, it can be a challenge bridging the gap from the past to the present and at the same time generating enthusiasm; while teaching leadership and communication skills. 4) Communicative-“A team is many voices with a single heart.” 5) Competent. “If you can’t, your team won’t.” 6) Dependable- “Teams go to GO-TO players.” 7) Disciplined-“Where there’s a will, there’s a win.” 8) Enlarging- “Adding value to team mates is invaluable.” 9) Enthusiastic-“Act their way into feeling. The only way to begin is simply to begin.” As we discuss various countries and agree that we would not want to live during that era, due to their “Civilizations-” the class assignment is to create their own Civilization. Students are divided into two groups to discuss, design, develop and demonstrate a viable Civilization. Each group is issued a “stipend” to purchase materials for their Civilization. They elect a leader, form a government, develop a “living” Constitution, create a religion, write an alphabet, design a flag, name the Civilization, develop a dance or march and write codified laws. Every aspect found in the Eastern or Western Civilization must be addressed but not copied. 10) Intentional-“For a team to be successful, it needs intentional people who are focused and productive.” 11) Mission conscious-“Find ways to keep the mission in mind.” 12) Prepared-“To be a more prepared team, think about the following: Assessment, Alignment, Attitude, Action.” 13) Relational-“If you get along, others will go along.” 14) Self-Improving-“To improve the team, improve yourself.” Last semester, the students did well, with one major exception, in one group there was self-appointed leader/”dictator” who micro-managed every member of the team. Who was to blame? This instructor! I had not prepared them to work as a team. This semester, each student was given a handout on The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player to follow. In that book, Maxwell writes to become the kind of person every team wants, include the following: 15) Selfless-“Value interdependence over independence.” 16) Solution-oriented-“Make a resolution to find the solution.” 17) Tenacious-“Quit when the job is done, not when you’re tired.” At the end of their presentation, when students state, “I never knew I could be a leader, I never believed I could do this!” Somewhere in the cosmos, leaders such as Cicero, Alexander, Ghandi, JFK and MLK are saying,” Everything rises, and falls on leadership- we ought to know!” 1) Adaptable-“If you won’t change for the team, the team may change you.” 2) Collaborative-“Cooperation is merely working together agreeably, but collaborating means working together more aggressively.” 3) Committed-“There are no halfhearted champions.” 6 Andrea is a part-time instructor in the SE Liberal Arts Department and is in training to become certified as a Coach, Trainer and Speaker with the John Maxwell Team. Learning History through Technology: A Look at the Upcoming TCC Library Heritage Center Digital Collection By: Andy K. Taylor, MLIS The collections will include: • Ephemera • Artifacts Records Management, & Archiving Librarian, • Publications and Textbooks Northeast Campus Library • Sound Recordings • Photographic Materials In this day and age, it is important to • Records and Documents Knowledge Management, engage our students in a learning environment that is both educational and exciting. Most of our students spend a large amount of their time surfing the internet and using Web 2.0 tools, and it is important for us as educators and librarians to create content for our classes and departments that exist in a medium that is both comfortable and familiar to our students. This is part of the reason that the TCC Heritage Center has e mbarked on an exciting new project to bring the first ever TCC Library Heritage Center Digital Collection to life! Currently, there is very little information available about the history of TCC and TJC online, and this website will help to fill that gap. As mentioned before, the use of Web 2.0 tools is a great way to engage students, and this website will definitely do that! We are not just building what one might consider a normal institutional website. We are building a site full of different types of engaging media. For example, if you want to hear music by the Ultrasonics (a Southeast Campus jazz band from the 1970s), you will be able to go to the site and listen to those audio files. If you are looking for videos of different celebrations and events that have occurred at TCC and TJC over the last forty-four years, you will be able to find those as well. You will also be able to find hundreds of items in different digital formats. • Video Recordings Source: http://omeka.org/ This website will run on the OMEKA platform. This platform, which was built specifically for the support of digital collections, was created by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and it is being used by a number of historical and academic institutions across the globe (examples of other OMEKA sites can be viewed by visiting http:// omeka.org/codex/Sites_Using_Omeka). The launch of the website is slated for late 2015 or early 2016. The initial launch of the site will contain several hundred images, documents, videos, etc., and we will continue to add content to the digital collection. It is the hope of the TCC Library that students, faculty and staff will be able to use this technology to learn more about the exciting history and culture of Tulsa Community College. NOTE: I wish to extend a sincere thank you to Bob Holzmann and Cary Isley at the Metro Campus for all of their hard work and dedication on this project. 7