Teaching and faculty

CWI Library was recently awarded an Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, which is the academic library equivalent of winning an Academy Award. The award is given by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to honor an outstandingcommunity college, college, and university library each year.

It is a great achievement!

That day included a College of Western Idaho training session for our innovative faculty.

I listened to a presentation about new technologies and how to reach out to the new generation of students.

I thought about my first experience teaching. I was in adjunct speech teacher at Boise state. I was 23 and nervous.

It was a night class. When I introduced myself, several people seemed shocked. “You’re the teacher! You look like you’re in high school.”

In the early 80s, technology consisted VHS tapes, old educational videos, and one old decrepit podium.

I made sure that I used every available technology to engage my students. Fast forward 30 some years, I ran into one of my former students at a lunch. She told me that I was a great teacher and she learned a lot from me.

Around 2006, I started a real estate school with a good friend of mine. Teaching full-time, eight hours a day, for two weeks to complete the Idaho legal requirements to become a real estate agent was a challenge!

My students ranged from 18 to 70. In one class! How do you reach a cocky 18-year-old and a 70-year-old woman who hasn’t taken a class since she was in high school? I used every available to including weird videos.

Adult learners are scared of math. I used “School House Rock” to ease them into math which is key in real estate.

My students watched clips from the movie “Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House.” There are funny yet relevant scenes about home inspections and paint colors.

After my strokes, people asked me to go to schools to talk about strokes. My audience were 4th to 8th graders. I have Power Points for those age groups.

I’ve also developed presentations about strokes for adult learners. Sometimes I speak at survivor groups and use technology tools for my presentations including YouTube videos.

I also chair a stroke/aphasia survivor support group which meets every Wednesday in Boise. I developed a Facebook page in 2015 using videos and articles. It is been very helpful.

So when I listened to the CWI faculty I was in awe of their commitment to teach more effectively.

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