|
Effective Teaching |
Portfolio of
Garret Brand, JD
Associate Professor,
Director of Distance Learning and Instructional Technology
236 Cook Hall (Faculty Office)
309 Main (Distance Learning)
616.234.4308
gbrand@grcc.edu
I teach full-time in the Business Department. You can review my campus or online syllabus for Business Law 1 (BA 207). Also, review my online syllabus for Business Law 2 (BA 208).
Teaching Philosophy
Here are my scores from the Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory:
I'm here to help students learn. My desire is to use best practices in teaching and instructional technology. My teaching addresses multiple learning styles. I'm a strong advocate for flexible learning options. My classroom is:
- highly-interactive and applicable.
- sensitive to diversity.
- focused on learning outcomes.
Outside the Classroom
I am the Director of Distance Learning and Instructional Technology. I also serve on a number of college-wide committees and teams. These include AGC subcommittees and teams related to Blackboard and instructional hardware/software.
I'm married to Ruthie Brand. We have four (4) children ranging from three (3) months to eight (8) years-old. We live in Hudsonville, Michigan. I'm currently a Deacon at Grace Community Church.
|
College Service |
|
Social Media
I incorporate social media into my teaching to inform and engage the learner. Check out our YouTube channel, our Business Law group on Facebook, or live webcasting site on UStream.tv.
Classroom Capture
I'm leading a pilot that uses Camtasia Relay to capture slides and audio from campus classes. Students (campus or online) can use the video to preview or review instruction. More details on this project can be found at http://www.grcc.ed/relay. I recently presented our findings in a Campus Technology webinar (over 800 registrants).
Best Practices
I recently began redesigning components of my course to improve and assess critical- thinking skills. This involved moving the "lecture" out of the classroom (to video), creating cohort groups and meeting in an informal setting to discuss case scenarios. The redsigned activities resulted in a 10-15% increase in assessment scores.
|
Deans Council
As the Director of Distance Learning and Instructional Technology, I serve on Deans Council. My primary role has been to assist leadership with the planning and development of online and hybrid courses.
AT&T Wireless Grant
I am currently working with the TRIO/SSS program on a $25,000 grant. This grant is bringing iPod Touch devices and Netbooks to disadvantaged students. More detail is available at the "Closing the Gap" website (that I maintain).
Web Content Management
I
serve on a team that is responsible for bringing a new web content management system (to replace grcc.edu) to the college. I participated in the draft of the RFP and selection of vendors.
Blackboard Upgrade
I led and participated in a Blackboard 8 pilot and implementation. More detail on the project is at http://www.grcc.edu/bb8upgrade. |
|
Professional Development |
Student Service |
ETOM Presentations
I have attended several ETOM (Educational Technology of Michigan) conferences. I have also made several presentations. See http://www.etom.org.
League Presentations
I have attended several League conferences. I have also made several presentations. The latest presentation was on Blackboard Scholar. More information can be found at www.scholar.com and the presentation is available upon request.
|
Orientations
I provide orientations for distance learning students. This includes the telecourse and online student campus orientations, as well as the orientation delivered to students via Blackboard. More detail can be found on our distance learning orientation site..
Facebook Site
I'm co-administrator of GRCC's Facebook site. We use the page to attract and connect incoming students. See http://tinyurl.com/grccfacebook.
|
2688 page hits and 2352 unique visits since 08-24-04
Updated on 31-MAR-09
Edit this page
| View text only version