The Educational Technology Division on the campus of Bossier Parish Community College has been nominated to receive a national award from the Instructional Technology Council (ITC), the community college distance learning organization.

Competing against such big names as the University of Maryland University College, Clark College and St Petersburg College, BPCC’s Educational Technology Division won in the category of Outstanding Technical Support and Services.

Kathleen Gay, Dean of Educational Technology said, “I am excited, honored and humbled to find out that we will be receiving this award.”

Gay said that awards such as this are very competitive and extremely competitive.

“We were up against some really big top notch campuses,” she said.

Gay credits her staff with having helped her department win.

She said that there are only three people other than her.   Barry Ware is the Systems Administrator for Blackboard, which is the course management system that BPCC uses.  Charlie Cameron, is the Assistant Director of Educational Technology and Jennifer LeGeaux is the administrative assistant.

“We are the little department that does a lot,” Gay said.

She is very proud of them and their accomplishments as a team.

“I feel very blessed by the staff that I have.  They are very hard working and conscientious people,” she said. “They are student focused and student oriented. They love what they do. They do a lot without complaining. If something needs to be done, they just roll up their sleeves and get it done. This award is so much about them and the hard work that they do and the things they produce.”

The person that is responsible for nominating Gay’s department for the ITC award was Luke Dowden.
Dowden is the Dean of Accelerated Learning at BPCC.

He said, “I think that it is probably a recognition that is long overdue. The Educational Technology Division really is a powerhouse resource for BPCC. It has allowed us to be a major player in the state of Louisiana in on line learning. Because of the foundation it provided, accelerated learning was able to be birthed and grow on this campus.” “It now receives national recognition in its own right, because it is built on a learning management system, strong support personnel, and a very fluid and logical and consistent training of best practices in e-learning. I believe that is why they received a national award such as this.”

Dowden said that the Educational and Technology Division does not always get the recognition that it deserves.

“I think is very befitting of that group. I am proud to have had the opportunity to nominate them. I think that they are very deserving, and it just goes to show what a gold mine that there is here at Bossier Parish Community College.”

The award will be presented at the national eLearning 2010 Conference that will be held in Fort, Worth, Texas February 20 through 23.

Gay said, “I hope that this award will open doors. This is a national conference and a national award. When you are in a situation such as this, there is always the opportunity to collaborate and work together with other colleges and universities on the different issues that surround e-learning.”  “Everybody shares. No one is territorial. They put it out there for your use. You take what you want from the conference. You come back and you try to implement some of the things that you have learned.”

Chancellor Jim Henderson knows how important an award such as this is to Bossier Parish Community College.

“This award shows the higher education community is catching on to something we have known for some time: BPCC is a national leader in utilizing innovative, student-focused technology. I could not be prouder of Kathleen Gay and her entire Educational Technology team."

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