1. Online Faculty Newsletter
October 2011
Pima Medical Institute Online Education’s
Online Faculty Newsletter
MESSAGE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Hi All!
We have some housekeeping tips for you. Instructor contracts are mailed out at the end of the first week of classes so we can make sure we have enough sections—and students—for you. Until the end of that week, there may still be some student fluctuations happening. Once they stop, we will send those contracts out. As a reminder, all teaching assignments are secured verbally until the enrollments are set.
For those of you that will be completing courses this month, your paycheck will be mailed to you once final grades have been posted (deadline: October 26th). Accounting fulfills the check request and checks are snail-mailed out with our next “check run.” Full-time PMI employees will see the amount added to their regular paychecks.
Please be aware that Blackboard will going through an upgrade in December during the semester break. We have been told it will be harmless so we will keep you posted!
October 23rd-29th is Respiratory Care Week! We have several RRT instructors, so when you see one—wish them a great week!
~ Nancy, BP, Chalonda, and Shanel
The
Instructor
Resource Center
With
Honors
How many times have you asked yourself, “How do I do this in Blackboard”? You just might find what you need in the Instructor Resource Center (IRC). This fantastic resource contains many tutorials and how-to tips for all of your online instructor needs.
Take some time to visit this resource by logging into Blackboard and clicking on the course titled “Instructor Resource Center”. If you are not enrolled, please contact your Program Director.
If there is information that you would like to see added to the IRC, or information that you think may benefit a new or ongoing instructor, let us know! We are continuously updating and adding information as needed. The only way to get valuable information posted in the IRC is if you tell your Program Directors.
One thing we are adding is the “Online Instructor Tip of the Week”. So if you can’t find yours, it will be in the IRC! 
On September 12, PMI’s Director of Education,
Ty Druse, announced that
PMI will be raising the student honors distinction to 3.75 for all programs. Students failing one or more course will no longer be eligible for honors. This decision was made after a survey compilation and statistical review of grade distributions from was completed. 
Using this new standard, the online BSRS graduating class from August had nineteen Honors graduates!
GREAT JOB!
Safe Assign: Your Plagiarism Detector
Have you ever wanted an easier way to check student papers for plagiarism? Well now you can use the SafeAssign tool in Blackboard! SafeAssign is a text-matching algorithm capable of detecting both exact and inexact matching between a paper and source material. Assignments are compared against several different databases.
To learn how to use SafeAssign:
Log into the Instructor Resource Center located in Blackboard.
Click Tips & Tutorials from the blue menu.
Then click Plagiarism Prevention Tutorials.
students, that mindset becomes contagious. At the beginning of each session, create a positive tone and an affirmative environment for your students. As an instructor, you have the power to motivate. In doing so, you will find that your students will strive to attain those positive expectations as a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Also, Venita believes that flexibility is key in your approach to teaching. “Not every student learns the same; therefore it is imperative that you are aware of different learning styles. Some students learn by auditory impulses, some by visual impulses, some are right-side thinkers other are left-side thinkers. If a student just isn’t getting it, ask yourself, ‘How can I present the material differently?’ At times minor changes in the presentation of material can make the difference between a pass or fail for the course.”
A fun fact about Venita is that she’s a nationally-recognized martial artist (black belt) and business owner with her own martial arts studios. Although retired from competition as former state and national champion, she is an extremely proficient instructor, producing multiple state, national and world champions.
In 2005, Venita integrated her proficiency in the classroom, martial arts, and the methods she developed as a social worker, and created a program to build social skills for developmentally-challenged Native American youth in the greater Phoenix area.
Venita Knighton
Venita Knighton graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work. She received her Associates in Radiography from Pima Medical Institute. Venita is currently employed full-time as a Radiographer at Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in Phoenix, AZ and as an online instructor for the APTR program. She has held various occupations in the past such as social worker, science teacher, Marital Arts instructor and business owner.
Venita advises other instructors to start each course with a positive and encouraging tone. “If you believe in and encourage your
STUFF TO REMEMBER
Important Dates
(for HCA & BS)
10/23: Term A ends
10/24: Term B begins
12/13: End of semester
Important Dates
(for APTR)
11/11: End of semester (old)
12/13: End of semester (new)
If you are
completing a course this month, official grades must be
posted by
October 26!
Respiratory Care Week
October
Remember to thank an RT professional!
Send your Weekly Updates to Angela Taylor in Student Services and your Program Director.
HELPFUL INFORMATION
Check out what’s new in the
Online Student Center
Helpful Links
2012 Semester Calendar
Blackboard
Blackboard Login Directions
Login Directions
Faculty Portal
Click
PROGRAM CONTACTS
Deb Ayers
Director Online Education
Angela Taylor
Student Services Coordinator
Susan Rose
Online Education Coordinator
Nancy Daugherty
BSRS Program Director
(480)
BP Polanco
BSRT Program Director
(520)
Chalonda Jones-Thomas
APTR Program Director
(520)
For questions or comments about this newsletter, contact your Program Director
Shanel Oliver
HCA Program Director
(520)