My Plans for Summer 2012

The spring 2012 semester is over for me at MPTC. This means it’s summer for college students! I will not be taking any summer classes, but I will be on campus periodically. I should be there in July for the New Student Orientation to represent the Web Developer Club.

I’ve already registered for the fall semester weeks ago. I have four classes that meet on campus. They are all afternoon and evening classes, and I’ll only have class two days a week.

I will be continuing with my volunteer work during the summer and learning some more programs on my computer. My birthday is in June so I’ll be celebrating that with my friends. My nephew’s birthday is also in June. I’ll be going to a family reunion later this summer at my aunt’s house.

Since it is summer you won’t be hearing from me quite as often as you do during the academic year, but I will still be writing a few blogs.

My favorite part of summer is sitting by a campfire at night. What’s your favorite part of summer?

Graduation Day

We headed to Fond du Lac High School for Moraine Park Technical College’s graduation ceremony on Saturday morning. When I went to get in line I was told I would be the last person to go up on stage. I’m used to being towards the end of a lineup, but I was pretty surprised to be at the very end of this one.

The ceremony

We sat according to our program. I sat with my friends who were also receiving the Web Site Coordinator Certificate. Not only did I get a nice blue case for my certificate, I was also given a commemorative medallion in honor of MPTC’s centennial in a royal blue pouch.

How We Created and Hosted Our First Webinar

A webinar is an online seminar. Until this semester I had never attended one. So, I find it pretty amazing that I helped host one on Wednesday for my Communication Technologies class.

The invitation to our first webinar for our group project

Every member in the group had a role such as speaker, moderator, or technical support. One of our members was in charge of social media communication through Twitter.

First, we created a content management document so we knew who our audience was, what we were to talk about, and the outcome we expected by hosting the webinar. This is an important step not to skip when creating anything, because it helps you keep focus on what is important. We did this step right away.

Second, we chose a webinar tool. We found a great one that offered a free 30-day trial. Attendees of the webinar can use the webinar tool without signing up for the trial. We sent invitation through the e-mail to the other groups in the class so they could attend. They would then register to attend our webinar.

Third, our speaker created a slideshow and an outline of what she was going to say during the presentation. Our assigned topic was applying audio technologies, one of the competencies of the class. We narrowed the topic down to specifically podcasting, especially for those who are new to the technology.

Wrapping Up

Week in Review: A Reflection of May 7 – 13

Everything is wrapping up now that the end of the semester is here. There are plenty of things to do still, and it’s going to feel very strange when everything slows down this summer.

We went to a restaurant in West Bend for our last Student Senate meeting on Thursday. It was a lovely day to step outside in the middle of the afternoon.

Afterwards I went back to campus to create an eBook for my Communication Technologies class. It was a challenging project, but I really enjoyed creating it. I was happy to use my graphic design skills to create a book that was not only informative, but also nice to look at. I used skills I learned in my Document Processing class this semester to add footnotes and make a nice table.

Cinco de Mayo and Seis de Mayo

Week in Review: A Reflection of April 30 – May 6

The end of the semester is always busy, and it’s not just school work that’s keeping me occupied. There is always something to do or to get done this time of the year. There wasn’t much time to get any school work done, but luckily my only big concern right now is a group webinar project.

Saturday was Cinco de Mayo. I was able to meet up with a friend who was in town that I haven’t seen in a while. We went to an authentic Mexican restaurant for dinner where they were giving away hats, artificial flowers, and t-shirts.

On Sunday I went to my cousin’s baby shower. I spent time with my extended family, and I’ll be seeing some of them again this weekend for Mother’s Day. Weather pending, I’ll also be doing some yard work on Saturday or Sunday. However, most of this coming weekend will be dedicated to the webinar project, my last assignment of the spring 2012 semester.

MPTC Student Awards 2012

Friday was a special night for my fellow Moraine Park classmates and me. There was a dinner and ceremony to celebrate our achievements this academic year.

I received an MPACTE scholarship and a Meritorious Service Award. I knew quite a few people at the ceremony. Several of my friends received recognition and scholarships. I sat next to some Web Developer Club members and a former co-worker of mine who also attends MPTC.

It was refreshing to take a break from all the hard work and be acknowledged for the time and effort we put into our education and activities. Sometimes it's easy to forget to stop for a moment to appreciate and enjoy accomplishments before moving on to the next challenge.

Congratulations to all the award recipients of the night!

 

A Visit from the President

MPTC's West Bend Student Senate received a visit from Moraine Park's president Dr. Sheila Ruhland during our last meeting. She wanted to know how things were going for us and if we had any concerns or questions for her.

Being a part of Student Senate gives me many opportunities to meet and speak with the administration of MPTC. It really is the kind of extracurricular you want to be involved in if you want to make an impact on student life.

After our discussion with Dr. Ruhland, we had a few things to talk about since the end of the semester is almost here. Traditionally, Student Senate likes to give something back to the campus at the end of the academic year. This year we are talking about installing two drinking fountains (or what you may call "bubblers" if you're from Wisconsin). I was told that the Beaver Dam campus already has them and they are popular. There's a dispenser on it that you can use to fill up your own reusable bottles.

What would you like to see Student Senate give to the campus?

My Video Project

Week in Review: A Reflection of April 23 – April 29

Lately I’ve been talking a lot about all these media projects I’ve created for my Communication Technologies class at Moraine Park Technical College. I thought you’d like to see one of them. So, here’s a video I made for my last project:

The assignment was to make a video for a business. I chose a fictitious employment services company. This video is something they could produce to get some social media notice and essentially promote their services.

I believe we are all done making videos for this class. The next big project will be to create and host a webinar. This is something definitely new to me. Have you ever participated in or hosted a webinar? Do you have any tips on how to make it successful?