Faculty who teach (or want to teach) blended and online courses are invited to participate in any of ELI’s November TOTAL workshops:
Developing Collaborative Activities (November 11 – November 24)
Designing Rubrics and Providing Feedback (November 11 – December 15; no activities Thanksgiving week)
Writing Directions (November 11 – November 24)
The workshops are facilitated online in Blackboard and involve reading/viewing assignments, application assignments, and interaction with colleagues. See the TOTAL project website (https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/vccs-total-project/home-1/workshops) for specific workshop descriptions. Each workshop requires 5 – 8 hours of work per week. Consider the workload carefully before registering for multiple workshops at the same time. Most TOTAL workshops are repeated each semester.
Registration for the November workshops is open now and closes at noon on November 8. To register for a workshop:
Select Course Catalog in the Learning Center menu at the top of the page.
Search on VCCStotal to see the TOTAL workshops listed. (Ignore the “classroom” description; NOVA Academy does not recognize Blackboard as a delivery method.)
Click on a workshop to see the section(s) available.
Click on a section to enroll or manage your enrollment. All those enrolled will receive an email announcement with workshop directions on or before the first day of the workshop.
describing how you would use your sabbatical for your professional development or to serve the college and/or our students
That’s all!
The members of the Personnel Services Committee will review all proposals and offer recommendations to Dr. Templin.
Dr. Templin will choose the winners in the spring.
Upon your return from sabbatical, you will present your work, findings, whatever to the faculty at the College Convocation.
Send your application to Assoc. Dean Jami Yazdani (jyazdani@nvcc.edu), head of the Personnel Services Committee, by December 1st!
Have questions? Need help putting your idea on paper? – Contact Steph Sareeram, AL’s faculty representative on Personnel Services, at (703) 845-6015 or ssareeram@nvcc.edu.
Dr. Elise Labbé, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL and clinic director of the USA Psychological Clinic. She has published numerous research papers in clinical and health psychology and presents at national and international conferences. Labbé, has earned several awards including the Phi Kapppa Phi Scholar of the Year Award, the Orurobors Award, Who’s Who in Biobehavioral Sciences, and university excellence in teaching and service awards. She is the editor in chief of Journal of Sport Behavior and is on the editorial of Journal of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, and has been invited to review a number of clinical and health psychology journals.
Labbé teaches and researches mindfulness and has practiced meditation for over thirty years.
She is currently co-authoring a book chapter on mindfulness, You Tube, and the brain with Dr. Andrée E. C. Betancourt, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Theater and Film at Northern Virginia Community College.
At the Schlesinger Center Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Gallery
Anne Bouie
“Sacred Earth, Healing Water” Mixed Media and Assemblage
Friday, October 11 – November 11, 2013
Opening Reception Saturday, October 12, 2013,
4 -6 pm with Artist’s Talk at 5 pm
Earth Shield #4
“Sacred Earth, Healing Water”, an exhibition of mixed media and assemblage work by Anne Bouie, is on display from Friday, October 11 through Sunday, November 11 in the Margaret W. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery, located in the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center at the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. The opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, October 12, 4 -6 pm with Artist’s Talk at 5 pm. The Gallery Hours are 10am—4pm Monday-Friday and during performances.
Anne Bouie’s draws her creative inspiration from timeless, universal spiritual principles found in ancient, indigenous cultures that use art to heal, teach, and sustain meaning. Through her art, Anne brings these teachings into contemporary context, keeping them alive so they continue to speak to us of our connection to the Invisible, and to one another. She explains, “In pre-conversion cultures and even in contemporary spiritual traditions, along with the essential purpose of contributing beauty to life, art serves as a medium to connect with, and acknowledge the existence of consciousness on “both sides of the veil”.”
Medicine Keepers Vessels
Ms Bouie’s use of botanicals in her artwork requires an intimate knowledge of seasons, cycles and the local landscape. She needs to know where specific plants grow and how to gather them without harming the sources. She also explores the beauty and utility in castaway objects she gathers during walks and travels. Anne’s intentional use of these components in her artwork results in a multi-layered experience for viewers. Anne elaborates, “The composition of work involves an interaction with the piece itself and its components. I often find that the piece itself has something it wants to say and I have come to respect that. It feels like we are working together to produce something of meaning—not just for ourselves—but for the viewer as well.” By creating artworks that are a synthesis of unexpected combinations, Anne challenges the prevailing conception of people, places and things to present an opportunity for viewers to see common objects with new eyes
The Diviner’s Vessels
Anne Bouie’s pivotal moment as an artist came during a meeting of the Black Artists of DC when she was encouraged to “stop sitting on her art ideas, and get busy doing it”. In 2006, her work was accepted in “Found”, an exhibit sponsored by Black Artists of DC. She has been working as an artist since then. Ms. Bouie has exhibited extensively locally, including Bowie State University, The Reginald Lewis Museum, The Joan Hisaoka Gallery and the Arts Club of Washington. She has also participated in exhibits in California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and India. She is a member of the Black Artists of D.C., Millennium Arts Salon, Washington D.C. and the Washington Sculpture Group.
The Fisher Art Gallery is located on the upper level of the Schlesinger Center, and is named for local artist, the late Margaret “Peggy” Fisher and her husband, Joseph Fisher. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and during performances. See Anne Bouie’s exhibition “Sacred Earth, Healing Water”from Friday, October 11 through Sunday, November 11, 2013 with an opening reception on Saturday, October 12, 4 – 6 pm and Artist’s Talk at 5 pm.
One of my most memorable experiences has to be when I studied abroad as a freshman in college. I remember walking by the bulletin board with the advertisement and thought “huh… I may be crazy enough to try this”.
You see, making the decision to go was huge for me because I had never been anywhere outside of Los Angeles County, my hometown, other than to visit family in Mexico. I also did not know anyone in the program and I was about to spend a whole summer with strangers on a different continent!
Espanya!
Needless to say, this was a mind blowing experience. I remember the first night we landed the group and I went to dinner in Puertadel Sol, Madrid and I just looked around at my surroundings in amazement. I felt so grateful!
It took me some time to adjust to the long days, nine-hour difference, and humidity but I got the hang of it quickly. Thankfully, I speak Spanish so language wasn’t a barrier for me. I made many new friends and learned a lot about Spanish culture. I tried new dishes and visited many places like Toledo,Córdoba, and Seville. Above all I learned a lot about myself. I gained the confidence to step out of my comfort zone and to try new things. I highly recommend studying abroad to all college students.
“Recently took up skating with my daughter and has not yet been taken from the ice by the medics”
I can do a mohawk on ice, I know, this is crazy! First, I skated forward on one foot, tracing the line of a half moon, then I switched feet halfway through the moon and finish on one foot skating backwards! If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said, “no way!” and I would have looked at you as if you had 3 ears. Of course if this were easy, I would have had no interest in learning how to do it. I mean, what is the point of learning something you can already do? On ice, I get the added thrill of failure to execute a move well means immediate bruising, possible concussion or a broken leg. Those are some incentives to not mess up, huh?
Well, when learning to skate, take it from me; you WILL fall down, REPEATEDLY! It reminds me of starting back to school at NOVA as an adult. EVERYTHING was difficult. Not because I can’t learn, but because I did not know how to learn efficiently, and I had other important influences in my life. Instead of the ice making everything slippery, I had a family with health issues and later a daughter and I had to pay my own way. Instead of bruises for my incentive to not fail, I had life goals. I wanted to do something really meaningful with my life.
Nevertheless, just like on ice, each success was balanced by a fall. With every fall in school, just like on ice, I had to shake it off, stand up and continue. Eventually I continued through a doctoral defense and a career teaching Biology at NOVA! While skating is a serious challenge to me, it is so similar to my academic and life goals that I think I know the secret to success – keep working at it, stand up after every fall, find pleasure in the challenges and I will succeed.
