Ocotillo Spotlight on Instructional Technology
Note: The Ocotillo Spotlight is no longer published, but all previous issues will remain on this site.
spotlight for October 2001
This month the Ocotillo Spotlight shines on the STAR (Student Technology Assistance Research) program at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. These creative students are gaining valuable skills experience while at the same time supporting faculty in integrating technology.
Doug Sawyer
Ocotillo Faculty Chair
doug.sawyer@scmail.maricopa.edu
The STARs are Bright at Chandler-Gilbert Community College
written by Tom Foster(Instructional Technologist)
graphics and photos by STAR students Bonnie Seigel, Liz Guy, and Mary Watts
The STAR (Student Technology Assistance Research) program exemplifies the full cycle of education. Students acquire technical skills through coursework at Chandler-Gilbert and, through recommendations from their instructors, are hired as student-workers in the program to serve the faculty with technology needs. In addition to applying the skills learned in class, they acquire more skills such as working as a team member, project planning, and dealing with customers.
The goals of the STAR program are:
- Access valuable resources at a low cost
- Create a real-world learning lab
- Maintain customer-centric atmosphere
- Allow students to apply skills and knowledge (transference)
- Demonstrate teamwork
- Develop cross-training opportunities
Faculty who have recommended students to the STAR program include:
- Roy Pope, Photography
- Sherri Taylor, Computer Graphics
- Ted Wolter, Art
- Kelly Kirkpatrick, Photography
- Pam Petty, History
STAR Students
Bonnie Seigel is a Chandler-Gilbert STAR success story. After taking photography classes with Roy Pope, photography faculty, Bonnie was recommended to the STAR program. As a STAR student, Bonnie gained experience in perfecting her talent in digital photography and Photoshop as well as working with faculty as her customers. She was also cross-trained by fellow STAR students in their areas.
 (see examples of Bonnie Seigel's projects)
Bonnie attributes her experience as a STAR student directly to her getting hired as a digital photographer at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Since she is still a STAR student, she brings back to Chandler-Gilbert the information and skills she has been acquiring at her new job.
"The STAR program is a unique on-the-job training opportunity, which gave me a competitive edge in my employment search in the image industry. Skills such as digital image capture, digital file management, building custom image web and PowerPoint portfolios for clients, and working in a team environment are the same skills that I use daily in my job."
Steven Cox designs web pages and has helped faculty develop their main web page presence on the Chandler-Gilbert PersonalWeb site (these are the primary reference pages faculty provide their students).
(see examples of Steven Cox's projects)
Micheal Bishop's strong skills in FileMaker Pro were instrumental in supporting the searchable journal index for the history division. According to history faculty member Pam Petty, "The work that Micheal Bishop has done for the history program and library at Chandler-Gilbert has been remarkable. He has prepared an index to a large donated collection of history journals in our library. These journals were unused, despite their value, because we had no index available. Micheal spent two semesters reading and writing annotations about the articles in a 25 year run of four key history journals. He also prepared the data entry for the index. Finally, he worked with one of our computer technicians to put the site on-line. This index can now be accessed by any students (anywhere) and has been a great help to all of them."
Serving as administrative assistant and communication liaison among the STAR students, Jennifer Sousa, also supports web pages such as the Teaching and Learning Center professional library and other web sites. "The STAR program has been wonderful. I have been given opportunities that no other job could give. It has really spiced up my resume. The skills I have learned in the past year are invaluable."
Deb Jackson, illustrator, provides graphic design support for various web and print-based projects.
(see examples of Deb Jackson's illustration projects)
Liz Guy, a wizard at Photoshop, creates original photo-mosaic collages and other images used on faculty project and course sites. "The STAR program is an indispensable bridge between school and the chaos of the outside world."
(see examples of Liz Guy's graphics projects)
New STAR Students
- Mary Watts, Photography, Graphic Arts
- Jill Pelli, Photography, Illustration
- Michelle Bryant, Photography, Graphic Arts
Quotes from Faculty and Students
Chris Schnick, English Faculty: "This semester I worked with Deb. She helped us design three symbols to use for our syllabus. The images represented three strands of a theme for our learning community They work wonderfully, by themsleves; in fact, we are using them on assignment sheets. They also work well together and will be used together on our culminating assignment."
Ted Wolter, Art Faculty: "Our STAR students help our college shine. They provide graphic art services that promote the importance of good visual design in our college publications while serving as ambassadors to the community at large."
Mary Watts, STAR Student: "What I especially appreciate about being in the STAR program is being able to work with such multi-talented people and learning so much from them in whatever special field thay are associated with. I also appreciate the opportunity to be able to take on the various projects which resemble being in the workplace and gaining the experience from it."
Pam Davenport, English Faculty: "There is so much I can say about Bonnie Seigel and Liz Guy. Among other things, Bonnie took beautiful pictures at a service learning project we did, including shots of Pima baskets and dancers. Liz took the photos and created gorgeous images, some fascinating and abstract and others representational. I used these in a PowerPoint for a conference for Native American youth. A group of students used them for a spectacular presentation they did before hundreds of people at a celebration of Ira Hayes at the Gila River Indian Community. Recently Liz has been helping me with my Blackboard and web sites. At one point she said, "I need to know more about you," so I, with some trepidation since I felt a little embarrassed doing so, gave her a piece of writing I was working on. She took it, read it, and created images that capture me as a person and teacher perfectly. These two women are very, very talented, and a joy to work with. We are so lucky to have them."
Roy Pope, Photography Faculty: "The STAR program offers students an opportunity to apply classroom theory and technology skills creatively in a professional environment. The value of the STAR program is one that offers students an advantage to enhanced their job preparation skills, sharpen and build upon their portfolios, and presents an enterprising environment for students to prepare themselves to be competitive in the work place."
Sherri Taylor, Computer Graphics Faculty "The STAR program at CGCC offers students the opportunity to apply what
has transpired in their classrooms to real world occupational settings.
The program goes beyond what is typically defined as an 'internship' and
allows the students to develop and refine not only their
technical/academic skills but also their skills as entrepreneurs and
organizational team members. The STAR program is a unique model for
student development, one that will help Chandler-Gilbert Community College further its commitment to
student service and benefit the community we serve.
STAR Program Presentation
Learn more about the STAR program in this PowerPoint presentation:
view presentation as...
 web page (HTML)
 PowerPoint File [5.4 Mb]
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