NISOD 2007

Sharon Mills, Fran Emory, and myself (Don Staub) are en route from Austin to New Bern (via Atlanta) as I write this. I’m taking this opportunity to recount my experiences at my first NISOD.

Overall, it was a great trip, and I’m thankful that Louise wrote this conference into the budget. There was a fantastic array of presentations on teaching, leadership, technology, use of data, etc… My goal was to try and attend as many sessions as possible on topics that related to Title III. Many of the sessions I participated in were related to the fostering of campus cultures in which collaborative conversations, with the effective use of data, become commonplace.

Fran and I participated in an interesting 3-hour workshop on Sunday that discussed assessment and the two primary ways to carry this out: Multiple Choice and Constructed Response. The presenter was from ETS, and there were useful conversations around both of these approaches. There was also a discussion of developing rubrics for constructed response assessments.

And, one of the best presentations I attended was given by Guilford Tech (had to come all the way to Austin to talk with people from up the road…isn’t that how it usually works). The presentation was entitled, “A Culture of Evidence” to Start Conversations about Student Engagement and Learning. They talked about data collection/analysis, and what it has done for student “success” at their school. We’ve already begun a dialogue about follow-up so that they can give us some more in-depth ideas on how they are implementing their process.

Fran and I also attended a luncheon hosted by SAS on their predictive analytics software. It all sounds very interesting, but again the issue of sustainability (i.e. long-term resources) weighs heavily on my mind.

I attended a few other sessions that related to the use of data for student success, strategic planning, accreditation, etc… These were all quite useful; particularly a session entitled “Strategic Metamorphosis: Transforming Community Colleges.” This session looked at aligning a number of IE initiatives and strategic planning.

One other session worth noting was an overview of the latest technology being utilized in online instruction. I learned about new stuff such as Yack Pack and Google Docs. You can check out the whole presentation by clicking here.

And, of course, Austin is a cool town. Lots of great music and cool architecture. There is also a fantastic, 10-mile greenway that follows the river that flows through town. Great for running, walking, bird watching, etc…

I am hoping that we can push for more of a Title III component next year. There were no specific T3 sessions (although plenty of Achieving the Dream sessions). I hope to present next year, or at least make sure that there are relevant sessions.

Next up, the Noel-Levitz Retention Conference in Orlando in July.