Three Webinars for IT Educators

The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) often hosts “special topic,” one-hour webinars for members of its Convergence College Network (CCN) Community of Practice. Typically, the CTC presents a spring webinar and a fall webinar. These presentations feature experts from the CCN community discussing best practices and strategies on specific areas of interest. Now, thanks to the magic of YouTube, recordings of these webinars are available to educators outside of the CCN.

* Mike Libassi (Sinclair Community College) and Doug Miller (Salt Lake Community College) offer case-study details on successfully designing and implementing a competency-based program, including a look at the steps for transitioning from a traditional “clock hour” approach to a CBE approach.

* David Keathly of the University of North Texas provides an overview of his school’s Bachelor of Arts in IT (BAIT) program, which allows the transfer of up to 21 hours of workforce classes (classified as “supporting area”). Specifically, the presentation looks at the origins of the BAIT model, the lessons learned in developing this unique transfer program, and the basic components and requirements of the BAIT degree pathway. While the initial beta test for expanding the BAIT’s reach via online classes will be limited to other CCN schools, the ultimate hope is to use the BAIT as a model for other four-year universities to offer similar transfer opportunities for community colleges and technical schools.

* Kyle Jones from Sinclair Community College discusses how a program can begin the process of applying for certification as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-DC), including a look at essential resources, CAE-DC program criteria, the first steps to beginning the certification process by mapping courses to Knowledge Units (KUs), and the benefits of becoming CAE-DC certified.