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WELCOME TO OUR NEW DIVISION of Digital learning NEWSLETTER

This regular communication will celebrate the people and culture that make DDL special. In this email, we’ll share news, explore issues, mark milestones, welcome new colleagues, showcase professional development opportunities and recognize our collective excellence — all from the DDL perspective.

Watch the Tom Talk

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OPS Appreciation Day is April 30

This new annual event recognizes the vital contributions of our valued OPS team members with an open forum, tours of the Digital Learning Center, snack bags, virtual games and more. Join the event in MS Teams 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 30.

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Mentoring Program Launches

The DDL Mentoring Program matched 18 staff members with mentors from across the division who will offer career guidance, professional development, training in specific skills and other support. Join the next cohort this fall.

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AIM Initiative Saves Students $11 Million

Since 2016, CDL faculty and team members have partnered with UCF faculty from across the university to help students save more than $11 million through the Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) Initiative.

Learn More

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CDL Video team members honored with Emmy award.

A Break for Impact, a docuseries created along the Texas-Mexico border by Lead Video Producer Aaron Hosé, Video Producer Christine Kane, Video Producer Tim Reid, Video Editor Brandon Wilson and UCF Legal Studies Associate Lecturer Irene Pons, was nominated for 3 Suncoast Emmy Awards, winning one in the Public/Current/Community Affairs category .

Watch the Docuseries

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Continuing Education offers Free Personal Finance course.

The online Personal Finance course is available at no cost for those who register by April 30. And you'll have 90 days to complete the self-paced course.

Florida Online Innovation Summit available to stream.

If you missed the event in March, you can still watch a panel of higher education experts discuss The Future of Synchronous Online Learning on YouTube.

Watch the Panel

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Teleworking is Transforming College Campuses.

This 30-minute podcast from EAB is well worth a listen. It examines remote work from a higher ed perspective.

Give a Listen

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Well Read Research

At a recent meeting of the International Journal of Technology in Higher Education, an article by Chuck Dzuiban and Patsy Moskal, et al, "Blended learning: the new normal and emerging technologies," was recognized as the most requested article with more than 111,000 downloads (80,000 more than the next most downloaded article).

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“The piece has become a cult figure. It’s like living in The Matrix.”

Chuck Dziuban

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REMOTE: The Connected Faculty Summit, June 9-10

Arizona State University hosts this free virtual event exploring lessons learned during the pandemic pivot on hybrid teaching, new technologies and more.

LinkedIn Learning: Higher Ed Leadership Series, April 15-July 22

Higher Education Leaders: Creating Opportunity for Every Student offers free monthly webinars through July, as well as on-demand recordings of past sessions.

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Celebrate Team Member Milestones

2021 Digital Learning Award Winners

Service Awards: Brandon Stull, Renee White
Collaboration Award: Institute of Emerging Leaders in Online Learning — Anita Gabbard, Amanda Major, Beth Nettles, Paloma Rafferty and Elizabeth Stucklen
UnPrecedented Times Award: Keep Teaching Workshop — Ginan Acosta, Alyssa Albrecht, Arianna Davis, Elisabeth Fry, Elisabeth Greenwood, Amanda Major, Jon Pizzo, Ashley Salter and Shea Silverman
UnPrecedented Times Award: Tasks Above & Beyond Normal Duties to Keep Us Safe — Ryan Seilhamer

2021 UCF Founders' Day Honors Convocation

Kathleen Bastedo, Instructional Designer, was honored with the Excellence in Instructional Design Award.

2021 CDL Quality Taskforce Award

Ashley Salter, Instructional Designer, is the winner of the Quality Impact Award.

Anniversaries

20 Years: Sue Bauer, Instructional Designer
20 Years: Nancy Swenson, Instructional Designer
50 Years: Chuck Dziuban, Director, Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness

Welcome New Team Members

Marie Brache, Support Technician
Desiree Byrd, Support Assistant
Michelle Garcia, Support Assistant
Susan Jardaneh, Instructional Designer
Sergio Novaes Coelho de Pinho, Techranger
Eddy Reyes, Support Assistant
Simon Roth, Techranger
Amy Sugar, Associate Instructional Designer
Rakesh Surapani, Instructional Developer Assistant
Artemis Tsampas, Support Assistant
Florence Williams, Associate Instructional Designer
David Wright, Support Technician

How Jacob Bates Brews a Stellar Cup of Coffee

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Techrangers Team Lead Jacob Bates drinks only one cup of coffee per day — so it's got to be great. In this YouTube tutorial, he showcases his personal pour over drip technique that he says yields delicious results.

Learn the Method

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Help Us Make this Newsletter Better.

Inside Digital Learning belongs to all of us. Send your news, awards, milestones, suggestions and any other feedback to eric.michael@ucf.edu.

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WE ARE AN ENGINE FOR INNOVATION

By leveraging game-changing educational technology, we pioneer new ways to fuel student access, enrollment and success, with an emphasis on decreasing time to graduation, reducing the cost of higher education, and improving the quality of the learning experience — at UCF and beyond. Let's change the future, together.

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