OCTC's Sturgeon Earns Honor for Course Design

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (12/10/2020) — Owensboro Community & Technical College's Lorraine Sturgeon, is one of thirteen faculty members and instructional design staff from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) that have been recognized by their peers from all over the world with the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program (ECP) Award.

The ECP Award recognizes exceptional faculty and course designers from schools, colleges and universities around the world who develop engaging and innovative courses that represent the best in technology and learning. Sturgeon was recognized for her online course, Business Employability Seminar (BAS 270), where students identify and assess their strengths and weakness to include soft skills, create a career portfolio of various business employment documents which will capture the attention of prospective employers, participate in mock interviews, both as an interviewee and interviewer with a peer, and build their professional network. All of this is essential in order to prepare students for the next stage in their career path. This course demonstrated excellence in Authentic Assessment, Self-Assessment, and Career-Targeted Skill Development.

OCTC President, Dr. Scott Williams added "Lorraine is an outstanding instructional designer and a great teacher, so this recognition ties together both of her talents and we are excited that she is being recognized globally."

Sturgeon has been at OCTC since 2010. She is a Training/Professional Development Specialist, serves on several peer teams, and teaches courses in the Computer and Information Technologies and the Business Administration programs. She provides training and technical support to faculty, staff, and students. Sturgeon worked with KCTCS Online Learning as an Instructional Expert to provide training and support to faculty throughout KCTCS in the KCTCS Optimizing Online Learning (KOOL) Academy.

Sturgeon stated, "I am thankful to have been involved with KOOL Academy, it was a great experience and has helped so many faculty design better courses.

"It is clear, that the efforts made by Mrs. Sturgeon improve the quality of online learning for the students at your institution, and we certainly believe that such achievements are deserving of special recognition. I want to extend my congratulations to you and Owensboro Community & Technical College for setting high standards when it comes to course design and delivery, and thank you again for your efforts and partnership in education" commented Lee Blakemore, Chief Client Officer and President, Blackboard Global Markets

The award is given to courses that meet the established standards for exceptional online courses. Each course has been reviewed by three people from schools from around the globe, using the ECP rubric. The other KCTCS winners, their college and courses are:

David Childress - Ashland Community and Technical College, Employability Studies

Janet Thompson- Ashland Community and Technical College, Medical Coding

Brian Hines - Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Internet Technologies

Sabra Jacobs - Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Death and Dying

Erin Faherty - Elizabethtown Community and Technical College,English 102

Justin Bertsch, Karen Hamilton-LaRosa, and Marcia Robinson - Gateway Community and Technical College, The History & Sociology of Rock & Roll Music

Julia Laffoon-Jackson - Hopkinsvile Community College, English 101

Dr. Tiffany Young - Jefferson Community and Technical College, English 101

Juli Gatling Book - Maysville Community and Technical College, U.S. History to 1865

Kelly Paul - West Kentucky Community and Technical College, English 102

"This is quite an honor for our faculty, staff and colleges," KCTCS Chancellor Kris Williams said. "More than one-third of the winners this year came from KCTCS colleges. These results showcase the investment our colleges have made to support faculty in their efforts to teach exceptionally well online."

Eight of the winners from KCTCS colleges attended the KCTCS Optimizing Online Learning (KOOL) Academy, a cohort-based faculty development program offered by the KCTCS Office of Online Learning. An additional two winners served as instructional experts in that year-long academy.

For nearly two-decades, the ECP has honored instructors and course designers whose courses demonstrate best practices. Since its founding, thousands of instructors, teachers and designers have used the ECP to evaluate and improve their courses with recognized best practices. To be considered for the honor, applicants must be a user of the Blackboard Learn learning management system.

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