“We will have a complete new computer science program on campus both a direct transfer and Associate of Applied Science degree options (for our students).  (The) goals were met.  (The) project was complete on time with great detail. Questions were asked regarding changes and they were implemented in the report.”

Clyde Rasmussen, Dean of Professional and Technical Programs

Request a scope of work proposal and quote today.

Text

for Information and Computing Technology announces:

The 12^th Annual Working Connections Faculty Development Institute

The 12th Working Connections ICT Faculty Development Institute, Tuesday, August 24-Friday, August, 27, 2010 will bring Washington State community and technical college (CTC) information, computing and business faculty together on the Bellevue College campus to participate for an intensive  four-day professional development training period.  This information and computing technology experience offers faculty in-depth, hands-on labs in current and beta iterations of software and hardware applications.

Register now!

So, what are the top reasons why you should attend?

• The annual Institute is designed by faculty for faculty.
• You receive twenty-seven hours of high quality training at the exceptionally affordable price of $550.  (This includes instruction, instructional documents and a textbook, breakfast, lunch and snacks, and give-aways).
• You will experience hands-on application using the latest tools to learn the latest technologies.
• Working Connections is designed to prepare you to meet your student’s educational needs for the upcoming academic year.
• Through networking, instruction time, and presentations your are provided with the opportunity to share best practices with your community and technical college peers on using and teaching information technology.
• Your get to hear from industry professionals on relevant, current issues to increase your awareness and knowledge of emerging technologies, new products, and the latest application iterations.
• Working Connections supports your work in maintaining your Professional-Technical Certification.
• Working Connections doesn’t conflict with your normally contracted teaching hours as it always takes place during the latter part of August.

What faculty said about the 2009 Working Connections Institute:

“Just keep up what you have been doing for the past, how many, years?”

“My friend from California was very impressed with the Institute–I was so proud of you guys!”

“Working Connections appeared seamless again this year. Thank you for all your hard work.”

“Excellent track.  I am excited I learned these skills and look forward to enhancing my curriculum with them.”

2010 Tracks:

• Track #1: How to Make the Most of Web 2.0 in Your Classroom
• Track #2: SharePoint 2010: What’s New
• Track #3: Office 2010
• Track #4: Virtually, Virtualization and Windows 7
• Track #5: What’s New Adobe? Creative Suite 4!
• Track #6: Visual Studio: Gets a Makeover for 2010

A report demonstrating the CTC system support and value state Centers of Excellence provide was created and presented at the Workforce Education Council’s quarterly meeting in Vancouver, Washington on February 11, 2010.

The report includes an executive summary, and the eleven Centers of Excellence each provide a Center description, an initiative with system savings (or, the return on the investment), as well as a vision for 2010-2011.

“This is really helpful and will be put to immediate use as we are in the process of writing program reviews. I am truly grateful and impressed. I’ll be interested to see which of the suggestions we decide to incorporate into our program over the next year.”

Sharon Buck, Dean of Business and Workforce Education at Everett Community College

Systems Savings and Impact:

• The Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) designating Bellevue College as the Lead Organization for state ARRA initiatives in the area of “Information Technology Professionals in Health Care”. This responsibility can include health informatics curricula development; student recruitment and retention and establishing a bridge program to a university.
• The federal Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement on November 25^th.
• The Center and HCA are working on consortium building, and the application, on behalf of Washington’s CTC’s; 11 Washington CTC’s participated in Healthcare Informatics curriculum training November 17 -18, 2009 at Bellevue College.
• With the curriculum for the 18-credit health IT certificate for dislocated IT workers complete, three colleges begin implementing all or part of the 18-credit Healthcare Informatics curriculum in winter quarter 2010.
• Three colleges are offering the new health IT certificate program in winter quarter with one additional college planned for summer 2010.
• Six WA CTC’s are using the OIT Electronic Medical Record Simulation Laboratory in winter quarter
• Four WA state colleges are being included in Bellevue College’s federal health IT grant proposal.

This directory devotes one-page to each of the 34 CTC’s ICT programs and details the title(s) of the program, a program overview, the technical knowledge and skills students will have gained by the time they graduate, degree and certificate options and who to contact for further information.  This is an excellent resource for career counselors, academic advisors, students, parents and industry to review, compare and consider career pathways leading towards a career as an information and computing technology professional.

All the colleges will have an opportunity to submit updates to their program details on an annual basis.  The next call for updates will be December 2010.

The Center of Excellence for Information & Computing Technology invites you to apply to participate in:  How to Make the Most of Web 2.0 in Your Classroom

The Center has identified 10 Web 2.0 and related technologies* as ones that can help improve learning, make instruction more engaging, and/or foster connections among and between students and faculty.

A total of 10 faculty from Eastern and Western Washington will be selected to participate and they will plan, implement, and assess a project that will use one or more of the Web 2.0 tools for a course they teach.

Faculty Rewards and Responsibilities:
1.   Faculty will plan and complete a project incorporating one or more of the Web 2.0 tools to use in their teaching. View some examples.
2.   Faculty will assess the effectiveness of the project by collecting feedback from students about it.
3.   Faculty will receive one-on-one onsite training and support to learn and integrate the tool(s) into their teaching.
4.   Faculty will work with the project manager, Jean Kent, to produce a short Camtasia video showcasing their project from its plan to implementation and assessment. The video will be shared with other community and technical college faculty via the CoE for ICT web site.
5.   Faculty will receive a stipend of $250 upon completion of their project.

Who Should Apply:

• Faculty in the information technical technology field who teach hybrid and online classes are especially encouraged to apply to address some of the following challenges:
• Lack of community and feelings of isolation among students – Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube can help.
• Text heavy online instructional materials that overwhelm students – Jing, YouTube, Slideshare, and Flickr can help.
• Staying current in rapidly changing fields – RSS, Google Reader, YouTube and Twitter can help.
• Easily collecting student feedback for quick, mid-quarter course corrections – SurveyMonkey can help.

* They include YouTube & digital video planning and production, Google Reader & RSS, Flickr, Twitter, SurveyMonkey, Facebook, Slideshare, and Jing Project.

Please apply here.  The deadline for applying is Friday, January, 15, 2010. Participants will be notified by Monday, January 25, 2010,  if they have been selected.  Projects must be completed by Monday, June 14, 2010.

Please contact CoE for ICT Web 2.0 project manager, Jean Kent, at jean.kent@comcast.net or at 206.200.7096.

War veterans need jobs. They are returning to the U.S. and have a high technical knowledge skill set due to military training, experience, and service.  This is a major benefit to the U.S. workforce.  They often have “classified status”, meaning they have been vetted as recipients of secret or classified information.  Given the need to provide supplemental training and employment opportunities for our veterans, an ICT apprenticeship program is in process to simultaneously advance positive perceptions of ICT CTC graduates by ICT employers and grow in-house a new generation of ICT workers.

The Center is working with veteran’s groups, government representatives, partner community and technical colleges, and industry professionals to build a system and support process that is building an e-mentoring collaborative, a state-approved apprenticeship program, and a college career pathway in systems and network administration.

Partner colleges:

• Clover Park Technical College
• Everett Community College
• Pierce Community College

We are currently working with the State’s L&I’s Office of Apprenticeship in developing a state-approved apprenticeship program in  information and computing technology focusing on network and systems administrators.  The Network and Systems Administrators Apprenticeship Standards Committee will be working to develop the required standards between December and June 2010.  If you are an information and computing technology professional (a network or systems administrator) who would be interested in joining the committee, please contact us at maureen.majury@bellevuecollege.edu or by phone at 425.564.4229.  Compensation will be provided.

We are currently looking for an ICT faculty member of Washington State’s CTC system, who has experience either as a veteran or who has experience working with veterans, as well as veteran issues, to develop a five-credit ICT soft skills course. Stipend of $3,000. Contract period: January – March 2010.  Please contact Maureen Majury for a more complete project description.

Collaborate. Create. Grow.

Sustaining a world-class economy through innovation and industry development is a collaborative effort. As part of this effort, Washington’s Innovation Summit 2010 will bring together the region’s leading companies and thought leaders for a full day devoted to accelerating creativity and innovation. Join more than 35 speakers and 350 attendees focused on one theme: Collaborate. Create. Grow.  Register

• Industry Tracks
• Aerospace
• Defense
• Energy

What You Will Learn

• The contacts, resources and ideas to help build and reinforce the success of your enterprise
• The latest opportunities and research in the region
• New trends and current applications through case studies and discussions
• Innovative practices, evolving technologies and unprecedented discoveries

Who Should Attend

• Leaders in the private and public sectors
• Innovation-based companies
• Researchers from universities and nonprofits
• Entrepreneurs

Latest News:  CEO, scientist and astronaut Dr. Bonnie Dunbar to be featured at summit

Washington’s Innovation Summit 2010

Friday, April 9, 2010

7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center

1500 Broadway
Tacoma, Wash. 98042

Directions | Amenities

$150 – Until 12/31/09

$190 – Until 03/05/10

$230 – Until 04/07/10

$50 – Luncheon Only

Hotel and travel discount offers will be emailed to registrants.

Contact Us

Washington Technology Center

206-685-1920 or

206-616-3101

info@watechcenter.org

News from Microsoft….

Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and Microsoft® TechNet Magazine

New Free Windows 7 eBook downloaded now!

Looking for guidance specific to Windows 7 deployment?  Check out  what the industry’s leading experts have to say in this free Microsoft Press eBook with selected chapters from the Windows 7 Resource Kit on Deployment Platforms, Planning, Testing Application Compatibility, to name a few.  As an added bonus, you’ll also get six new articles on Windows 7 from industry experts on migration, running Windows 7 in mixed environments, Certification and more.

Free Webcasts to Students on Skills that are in Demand in Today’s Workplace

This fall Microsoft Students to Business is offering free webcasts to students on skills that are in demand in today’s workplace. Every other Wednesday until December 2^nd at 2:30 PM EST these webcasts will be broadcast live on Microsoft’s Student to Business Website: http://tiny.cc/S2BF8.

Also, you will be able to access the recording of the webcasts on the website after they have finished streaming live!  Each webcast consists of a half-hour of technical training (i.e. intro Microsoft SharePoint/Internet Portals) as well as a half-hour of soft-skills training (i.e. professional networking). You are required to register for the webcast series on the S2B website ahead of time.  You can see the webcast Microsoft Azure (Cloud Computing) and Microsoft Certifications 101 and register to watch others at: http://tiny.cc/S2BF8.

This fall Microsoft Students to Business is offering free webcasts to students on skills that are in demand in today’s workplace. Every other Wednesday until December 2^nd at 2:30 PM EST these webcasts will be broadcast live on Microsoft’s Student to Business Website: http://tiny.cc/S2BF8.

Also, you will be able to access the recording of the webcasts on the website after they have finished streaming live!  Each webcast consists of a half-hour of technical training (i.e. intro Microsoft SharePoint/Internet Portals) as well as a half-hour of soft-skills training (i.e. professional networking). You are required to register for the webcast series on the S2B website ahead of time.  You can see the webcast Microsoft Azure (Cloud Computing) and Microsoft Certifications 101 and register to watch others at:http://tiny.cc/S2BF8.

Microsoft Students to Business is pleased to host the Fall Webcast Series exclusively offered to the S2B community.

Each webcast consists of 30 minutes of technical training followed by 30 minutes of soft skills training.

November 18, 2:30-3:30pm EST

Windows Live-Internet Offerings of Microsoft

Forget to e-mail your professor your assignment again? Learn about free hosting on Microsoft Live as well as other cool offerings of the site.
Presenter: Dan Waters
Effective Networking for Professional Success
According to the U.S. Department of Labor ~50% of jobs are filled through personal referrals. Learn how to connect with the right people to get your name out there.
Presenter: Diane Curtis

December 2, 2:30-3:30pm EST

Hosting a Website
Want a dot com presence but don’t know where to start? Learn the basics on designing, building, and hosting a website as well as some cool tips on how to build hits to your site.
Presenter: Dan Waters

Entering the IT Industry
Don’t know where to start in the IT job market? Learn the basics on how to break into the IT Industry and get a job.
Presenter: Edwin Guarin

Please register for the webcast series at  http://tiny.cc/S2BF8 .