WCC faculty member receives Exemplary Course Program Award
Doug Waters, a faculty member in the Business and Computer Technologies Division at Washtenaw Community College, is the recipient of an Exemplary Course Program Award [ECP] from Blackboard Inc., a global management technology firm that offers web-based interactive course management and learning platforms for higher education, K-12 and government organizations.
Waters received the award for his work on the college’s Business Law (BMG 111) course and a six-part animated video series he developed using the expertise of WCC instructional designer Brenda Barnes.
The series is a fictional case study of two community college graduates who open a submarine sandwich restaurant and encounter several legal hurdles during the life cycle of their business. The animated scenes are followed by video consultations with area attorneys with business law experience.
The award was presented to Waters at Blackboard’s 2020 BbWorld Global Conference held virtually on July 21-22. The ECP Awards recognize faculty members for course design that is engaging, innovative and represents best practices in technology and learning.
Below is the video course tour Waters created for the conference:
“I wanted the videos to provide simple, relatable stories that would resonate with my students and offer them practical advice,” said Waters, who said he gained inspiration for the course’s business life cycle approach from attorneys on the business department’s advisory board, as well as business faculty member Cheryl Byrne.
Waters designed the videos with the help of the college’s Center For Interactive Teaching and Learning department [CITL]. “I enjoyed working with my CITL colleagues – they really helped me make this course design come alive,” Waters said. He also developed a free Open Educational Resource (OER) with course materials, replacing the course’s commercial textbook.
“I’m thrilled that Doug was awarded Blackboard’s prestigious Exemplary Course Program Award,” said Eva Samulski, academic dean of the college’s Business and Computer Technologies Division. “He always takes an innovative approach toward educating his students and combines learning with real-life scenarios, technology and a level of humor. In addition, he continuously strives to provide OERs to accompany his classes to keep costs low for students. He goes above and beyond to provide quality instruction while keeping his students engaged.”
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