Transitions: Collaboration key to engaging online

With the abrupt arrival of the COVID-19 crisis, Student Activities offices across the District have been contributing to the work of urgently fulfilling the new and changing needs of our students by adapting student engagement to an online environment. Our team at TCC Northeast is collaborating to ensure that students have the opportunity to engage in experiences similar to what they would have if they were on campus. Our staff has video meetings every day, not merely to complete our work, but also to simulate the kind of face-to-face interaction and camaraderie we were accustomed to when working together on campus. We also are taking full advantage of the technology at our disposal such as Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Collaborate. All things considered, we have adapted well to the new settings before us and are making the necessary modifications to continue quality outputs to serve our students.

Additionally, we are guiding students to continue their outside-of-class engagement through outlets such as LinkedIn Learning and through continued participation with student organizations. We reviewed this online platform’s offerings of short video courses, which are free to all within the TCC community. We distributed our recommended courses to benefit students including Being an Effective Team Member, Strategic Thinking and Successful Goal Setting. For our student organizations, we hosted video meetings with organization leaders and advisors to provide helpful tips on how to host video meetings of their own, how to keep members connected and how to host online elections.

Much of our office’s primary work includes hosting programs to promote student development, and we are continuing that work through live events such as Pizza with a Purpose! Our Pizza with a Purpose series covers a range of topics to help build students’ personal growth. Themes have included Finding Your Purpose, an interactive discussion on helping participants discover and activate their individual purposes and then tying those purposes to their future goals. Individuals can log in to their myTCC and participate through Blackboard Collaborate, plus participants will have the opportunity to get a free personal pan pizza at a later date. We will have other live events in the near future, particularly highlighting hallmarks that we can acquire and utilize as leaders. Students have told us they like events that help them take their minds off the crisis that they conveniently can participate in from home.

Events still planned for the semester include:

COOKING WITH SDS Series and STUDENT ACTIVITIES’ MOVIE PICKS on Northeast Student Activities Blackboard Page
Need some ideas on cooking some easy meals at home? Check out the COOKING WITH SDS (Student Development Services) video series where you will see staff from Student Development Services teach you how to cook some easy recipes! Want to get some reviews on some great movies and shows you can watch at home? Check out STUDENT ACTIVITIES’ MOVIE PICKS! Here’s how to get to these resources/the Northeast Student Activities Blackboard Page:

  • Join the TCC Northeast Student Activities page on myTCC.
  • On the home page of myTCC, click on the Organizations link at the top of the page.
  • Click on the Northeast Campus folder.
  • Locate NE-StudentActivities, click on the gray triangle, and click Enroll.

Once on the Student Activities page, locate the Info, Events and More! link in the menu on the left to find the videos and movie lists!

 FINALS FINALE ONLINE!
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, THURSDAY, APRIL 30 · MONDAY, MAY 4
We have interactive games, chat sessions and wellness activities to help you minimize the stresses of Finals and wrap up your semester! Stay tuned for more details to come!

We look forward to the opportunity to work with students again in a face-to-face environment, and meantime, we are equally happy to support students from our remote locations. Our goal in this season is to ultimately cultivate an environment where students can continue to build community, even in an era of social distancing. We welcome opportunities to collaborate with other departments! Now is such a great time to come together to consider how we can collectively engage students in an online environment.

Cara Walker, the TCC Northeast coordinator of Student Activities, enjoys reading, community work and spending time with family, especially her adorable nephews. TCC Northeast associates are Karen Raulerson and Michelle Taylor. Raulerson’s passions include her family, needlework, sewing, embroidery and crafts.  Spending time with her family also is important to Taylor as well as getting lost in a good book, swimming and cycling.