May through August are our busiest months with different projects that allow faculty to engage directly with the Center and assisting us fulfill our mission.

This Summer we have 6 projects, engaging over 20 faculty, with the outcome of all directly benefiting Minnesota State System faculty or students!

Project 1: IT Pathways – Cyber and Data

This summer we begin and continue the work started on creating dynamic IT Pathways for both our cyber and data programs. These pathways will include certifications, trainings, course work, learning opportunities and more and provide both faculty and students with a visual guide in different IT career paths. This project caught the attention of our Workforce Partners, Deed, and Industry leading to direct engagement with them and ultimately direct impact to the customers they serve.

Project 2: Module Development and Revisions

We are nearing the end of the Two-Year Grant and project that has allowed us to create over 150 one (1) credit modules in cyber, data, agile, career readiness, and general IT. All modules can be accessed directly from the MinnState Learn D2L Site for faculty across the System to use! Find out more about which modules are available at: https://mnstateitcoe.org/mn-college-it-faculty/curriculum-modules/

Project 3: Innovation in Online Teaching

We are excited to provide three faculty with an opportunity to create and develop a Faculty Training event around different innovative options available to us all. From Zoom hints, Voice Over, Case Studies and more, this project will hit them all. As part of this project, we will be conducting a Webinar Training Series this Fall around each of the pieces as well as a 1 or 2 day training for faculty next Spring FY 22.

Project 4: Campus Best Practice Road trip

We understand that many of you have been busy creating and developing your own best practices, programs, or systems to meet the everchanging needs of our student body. This summer 10 faculty from across the state will visit different campuses and learn about what they have developed. They will also provide a summary report with examples for everyone to access. This is a great way for the faculty to share ideas across campuses in hopes of building an even better educational experience for all.

Project 5: Hands-On Activities and Assessments

With over 150 modules developed, we wanted to take time to examine and develop additional activities, case studies, assessments, or hands on work that you can use to increase students understanding and skills. Each activity can be part of or a stand alone in a module or course. It may be a Case Study that puts students in a leadership role at their new job and works through a data problem using an agile method or maybe a short Lab that helps students work on setting up firewalls across a network. There are so many options, so we are going to start the work this summer.

Project 6: Bundles, Certificates and Badging

The Workforce Centers and campuses are looking for ways to engage students in learning that may not include full admission to a college or program at the start. Using our current modules and fitting in additional learning we will be focusing on building 3-4 module Bundles that each contain a Module Badge of Completion as well as a Bundle Certification if all pieces are successfully completed. Working with D2L and our Credily partners we will continue to develop meaningful options that allow students to showcase their learning to potential employers.

If you are interested in sharing of your time and expertise in any of these areas, please contact Janice Aanenson, Janice.aanenson@metrostate.edu