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ALSO
IN THIS ISSUE Life Down Under Word Power Doggone Helpful Greetings from Costa Rica Taking Technology into Account(ing) Lucky Fall CurricuNet Chancellor's Column Development News Factoids Newsmakers Accomplishments
by faculty and staff… |
Fast, Easy and Eco-Friendly Gone are the long delays in the curriculum review and approval process with reams of wasted paper. To the rescue is CurricuNet, an online curriculum authoring, editing, management and approval tool developed by the district in conjunction with GoverNet, software development consultants who specialize in helping government agencies improve efficiency. Launched
last year, CurricuNet took three years and countless hours of hard work
by a dedicated committee collaborating with the Instructional Services
staff to create. Besides the logistics and leadership required to pull together participants from around the district, the sheer number of details in CurricuNet is daunting. There are 3,615 courses in 421 programs of study described in the two million lines of computer coding. Faculty can review course outlines and transfer articulation agreements in the online database. This information may be used in the creation of a new course proposal or the revision of an existing one. Prior to last year, any proposal stirred up a flurry of photocoping on campus and at the district level, where for the districtwide curriculum committee alone 20 sets of each proposal were required. But its real beauty in the eyes of faculty who have long struggled with the old paper-pushing cycle of approval, is that in CurricuNet a proposal is automatically moved along to the next approval step after 10 days, even if no action is taken. Users can see a flow chart tracking their proposals as they move through approval and review steps, and the proposals will not get lost. CurricuNet is already attracting calls from other colleges interested in acquiring it. The district has contracted with Governet to license CurricuNet to colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This spring CurricuNet was honored with a Technology Focus Award, recognizing exemplary technology initiatives, from the State Chancellor’s Office. Key faculty members on the CurricuNet Steering Committee were Channing Booth, music professor at Miramar College and committee chair; Libby Andersen, PE professor at City College; Jan Ellis, dance professor at Mesa; and Ray MacFarlane, fire technology professor at Miramar. Hank Beaver, instructional systems specialist at Mesa, provided technical expertise, and staff participants from district Instructional Services were Charlotta Grant, Sandy Mooney, Randy Barnes and Myra Harada. Among
the features of CurricuNet are
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