Lindley Estes writes about Spotsylvania County schools, King George County Schools and other issues of interest to the community.
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Germanna recognized in annual survey on use of digital technology
Germanna Community College was recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative community colleges, according to a recent survey of digital technology, the college announced.
Germanna tied for seventh place among mid-sized colleges. Germanna has campuses in Spotsylvania and Orange counties and centers in Culpeper and Stafford counties.
Below are more details issued in a news release from Germanna.
Annual survey finds Germanna among nation’s most technologically innovative community colleges
Oct. 18, 2012 – Germanna Community College, Northern Virginia Community College, Piedmont Virginia Community College and Lord Fairfax Community College were among the most technically innovative colleges in the nation, according to a recent survey by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Education. This was the eighth annual Digital Community Colleges Survey.
Ninety-two percent have expanded distance learning offerings online and 77 percent have increased online student services. Survey results also show that 95 percent are now using social networking to reach out to students and 79 percent use YouTube, up by 14 percent from 2011.
Among other things, Germanna has enhanced its online distance learning program and issued full-time faculty iPad 2s as teaching tools–the first school in the Virginia Community College System to do so.
2012 Digital Community Colleges Survey Winners
Large Colleges Category – 10,000 Students or More
1st Lone Star College
2nd Northwest Arkansas Community College
3rd Howard Community College
3rd Kingsborough Community College
4th Johnson County Community College
4th Northern Virginia Community College
5th Houston Community College
6th Delaware Technical and Community College
7th Delta College
7th Tidewater Community College
8th Montgomery County Community College
8th Salt Lake Community College
9th Moraine Valley Community College
10th Fayetteville Technical Community College
Mid-Sized Colleges Category – Between 5,000 and 10,000 Students
1st Lord Fairfax Community College
2nd Virginia Western Community College
3rd Laramie County Community College
4th Hostos Community College
5th Darton State College
6th Walters State Community College
7th Germanna Community College
7th Piedmont Virginia Community College
8th Southside Virginia Community College
9th Lake Land College
10th Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Small Colleges Category – Less Than 5,000 Students
1st Carl Sandburg College
2nd Tompkins Cortland Community College
3rd Kirtland Community College
4th Atlanta Technical College
5th Lake-Sumter Community College
6th Halifax Community College
6th Rappahannock Community College
7th Patrick Henry Community College
8th Spoon River College
9th Southwest Virginia Community College
10th Panola College
Selected Survey Findings:
Top 10 IT Priorities for the 2012 Digital Community Colleges Survey respondents:
1. Mobile Computing – managing devices, integration into curriculum
2. Wireless Infrastructure – upgrade and expanded access
3. Student Portal Development
4. Server Virtualization and Virtualized Desktop deployment
5. Professional Development in technology use and expansion into curriculum
6. Data Analytics – enhanced reporting, dashboards
7. Cloud Computing – ongoing migration
8. Lecture Capture – expanded use
9. LMS – upgrade or replacement
10. Simulation Labs – nursing, math, game design
Surveyed colleges are reaching out to the student population, businesses and the community in the following ways (all increases over 2011 were slight (2-4%) with the exception of You Tube/Flickr which increased 14 percent):
- 95 percent using social networking/Web 2.0 such as Facebook, Twitter, My Space;
- 93 percent using emails/newsletters/text messaging;
- 91 percent using distance learning;
- 86 percent using hazard/warning/mass alert system;
- 79 percent using You Tube, Flickr (a 14 percent increase over 2011);
Forty-six percent have developed and published social networking policies – a 16 percent increase since last year.
Responding colleges have used IT to cope with increased enrollments and limited budgets in the following ways:
- 92 percent have expanded distance learning offerings for online, hybrid and Web-assisted courses;
- 77 percent have increased online student services;
- 76 percent have virtualized servers;
- 74 percent have standardized classroom implementations;
- 73 percent have increased number of computers and kiosks;
- 68 percent have automated labor-intensive processes;
- 56 percent have improved the portal; and
- 51 percent are involved in economic redevelopment efforts in the community.
Colleges reported 100 percent of full-time faculty (and 95 percent of adjunct/part-time faculty) receive college-provided or funded technology skills development training.
Eighty-four percent of adjunct faculty receive support for faculty research for course content and delivery methods
Fifty-six percent of colleges report they have fully implemented mobile computing while 19 percent are learning more about it and/or preparing a business case for implementation.
