Category: Clark College

Congratulations Chris Martin

At the Clark College graduation ceremonies in June, Chris Martin was awarded the “Exceptional Faculty Award“.

The Clark College Exceptional Faculty Awards are presented annually to full-time and part-time faculty members in recognition of exemplary work performance, positive impact on students, professional commitment, and other contributions to the college. Nominations are submitted by Clark College students, faculty, classified employees, administrators, alumni, Board members, and Foundation directors. The awards are made possible through an endowed trust fund established by the Washington State Legislature and the Clark College Exceptional Faculty Endowment Fund, which was established in 1993.

Please join me in congratulating Chris on his award. This award is the highest accolade the college awards to instructors.

Congratulations Chris!

More >

 

Seven Microsoft MTA’s Completed

Earlier this week I completed my seventh Microsoft Certified Technology Associate (MTA) exam. The test was the “HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals (Exam 98-375). This exam focussed on the following:

  • Managing the Application Life Cycle
  • Building the User Interface by Using HTML5: Text, Graphics, and Media
  • Building the User Interface by Using HTML5: Organization, Input, and Validation
  • Understanding CSS Essentials: Content Flow, Positioning, and Styling
  • Understanding CSS Essentials: Layouts
  • Managing Text Flow by Using CSS
  • Managing the Graphical Interface by Using CSS
  • Understanding JavaScript and Coding Essentials
  • Creating Animations, Working with Graphics, and Accessing Data
  • JavaScript Coding for the Touch Interface, Device and Operating System Resources, and More

Here is a list of the MTA’s that I have completed the last few months:

  1. Microsoft Technology Associate: HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals, July 17, 2014
  2. Microsoft Technology Associate: Networking Fundamentals, June 18, 2014
  3. Microsoft Technology Associate: Security Fundamentals, June 11, 2014
  4. Microsoft Technology Associate: Database Administration Fundamentals, June 09, 2014
  5. Microsoft Technology Associate: Web Development Fundamentals, June 09, 2014
  6. Microsoft Technology Associate: Windows Operating System Fundamentals, June 04, 2014
  7. Microsoft Technology Associate: Software Development Fundamentals, February 25, 2014

Next up is the .NET Fundamentals exam.

Completed: Microsoft Security Fundamentals MTA Exam

Today I took and passed the Microsoft Security Fundamentals MTA exam. This is the fifth MTA I have taken since February. The next test I plan on taking is the Networking Fundamentals MTA. After that exam it’s onto the app dev series of exams. These MTA’s lead to the Microsoft Certified Software Developer certification. The exam topics include HTML5, .NET, Software Testing and several others.

Completed: Two More Microsoft MTA Exams

Today I took and passed the following two Microsoft MTA exams:

  • 98-363: Microsoft Web Development Fundamentals (C#)
  • 98-364: Microsoft Database Administration Fundamentals

This makes a total of four Microsoft MTA exams that I have taken. I plan on taking the Networking Fundamentals and Security Fundamentals exams next week. After those two I will take the HTML5 and .Net exams.

 

Completed: Microsoft Windows OS Fundamentals MTA

Earlier this week I completed the Microsoft Windows OS Fundamentals MTA exam. This marks the second MTA I have taken and passed. Next week I will be taking the Microsoft Web Development Fundamentals exam (MTA 98-363). I plan on taking over a dozen of the Microsoft exams over the next year.

Windows OS MTA Certificate

 

Basic Facts and Resources You Need to Know Now About Web Accessibility

Here are some great resources that my colleague Lorelle VanFossen has put together regarding web accessibility. Have a read and let me know if web accessibility is part of your design work.

Lorelle on WordPress

WordPress Themes Last night I gave a presentation for an amazing group of web designers and developers in Portland, Oregon. I spoke about web accessibility, a long time passion of mine. My co-presenter was Winslow Parker from the Oregon Commission for the Blind who has been teaching screen reading and computer techniques to the blind. He’s also a long time expert and consultant for JAWS Screen Reading Software . He also happens to be blind, so his passion for his work is tightly mixed with his passion for life and accessibility.

Glenda Watson Hyatt, author of How Pour is Your Blog free ebookAs I stood before the crowd at WebTrends, beside me in spirit are two of the world’s passionate leaders in web accessibility. Glenda Watson Hyatt, author of Blog Accessibility and the free ebook, The POUR Ebook: Standards, Tips, and Techniques for Meeting Web Accessibility Standards, and Aaron Gustafso, author of Adaptive Web Design: Crafting Rich Experiences with Progressive…

View original post 1,116 more words

Craig’s Smile

Cristi Jenkins and Anni Becker, Clark College students and friends of mine, created the video “Craig’s Smile”. This video was their final project in the Clark College, CGT 201 Video Web Production class, taught by my friend Chris Martin. Born with cerebral palsy, Craig Bond has lived an exemplary life where he has not let his disabilities define who he is.

Just be yourself…

CGT 201 is a required course in the Web Development AAT program at Clark College.

 

 

Clark College Arbor Day Celebrates Trees and Technology

VANCOUVER, Wash. – On April 9 at 11:00 a.m., Clark College will celebrate both the natural and digital worlds at its annual Arbor Day event, as it adds two new trees to the campus’s beautiful arboretum and unveils a new, student-designed website that uses digital technology to catalog that arboretum. The new online map will allow visitors to instantly access descriptions of most trees on campus through their mobile devices.

The mobile-friendly online map is the product of work done by students in Clark’s spring 2013 Web Design II class. The students worked with the college’s Campus Tree Advisory Committee to identify trees in the campus’s extensive arboretum, which includes such notable trees as a six-decade-old Scarlet Oak and 100 Shirofugen blossoming cherry trees donated to the campus by Japanese businessman John Kageyama in 1990. Students then GPS-tagged each tree and added it to the map with information about its genus and species. Additional students contributed to the project in subsequent quarters, with faculty from both the Computer Graphics Technology and the Computer Technology departments providing guidance.

“I look forward to the sight of Clark College denizens and those in the community at large walking across campus consulting their phones and tablets to find the answer to ‘What kind of tree is this?'” said Computer Technology Department Head Robert Hughes, who also teaches in the Computer Graphics Technology program. “Project-based client work has been a component of our graphics and web-related curriculum for a long time.  These types of experiences are helpful as our students move into the workforce.”

Clark College Arboretum

The Spring Clark College CGT 206 Web Design II project team that developed this app were:

Gus Torres: Instructor
Project Lead: Jaime Wright
Lead Designer: Marina Kaminskaya
Lead Developer: David Edenholm
Design Assistant: Julie Morrell
Development Assistant: Teri Talbot

Additional production contributions made by students Jake Brosius, Chris Masoner, and Christine Thompson.

Additional Faculty coordination and support by Bruce Elgort, Robert Hughes and Kristl Plinz.

More >

What People Are Saying

Back in the 1980s when I went to college, the only way you could learn about a professor was by word of mouth. Todays students use a site called “RateMyProfessor.com”. After each quarter, I cautiously take a peek at this site to see what ratings my students gave me and I was humbled to see these:

“The legends say he never sleeps…” You can’t hide in Bruce’s class: he gets to know you, and what you need to succeed. I have never met a more attentive teacher, he is almost always available to help any student. Never have I felt such a sense of community , or had so much fun in a classroom. The world needs more teachers like Bruce Elgort.

…

Bruce is my favorite teacher at Clark. He is funny, and he makes sure to pay attention to each student. He teaches a handful of classes, so choose him when you can! Always jokes around, but is really good at what he does and will drop everything to help you. even at 3 am on Twitter. Even on final projects. Beware: Will make you feel like family.

…

Bruce is literally my favorite teacher at Clark. He is great at demystifying difficult subjects, and keeping the tone of the class playful. He, is always available to help students with troubleshooting projects. I would recommend anyone in the CTEC program or on the fence about joining, to take one of Bruce’s classes.

…

Bruce always inspires you to push the limits of what you can do in his class. He is encouraging, helpful, and understanding. He knows the abilities of all his students, pushes the advanced ones and patiently works with the beginners. I feel he is on of those rare people who makes the lives of everyone around him better for being in it.

…

Bruce is a great teacher. He is more concerned about his students learning than just trying to trip them up on test. He is available practically 24/7. I e-mailed once at 2:00am and had a reply in 5 minutes. I wish he taught more of my classes.

…

Bruce is by far the best instructors I have had. Yes the classes he teaches are challenging due to subject matter but he does what ever he can to help. This quarter he was at a family event in Denver and when I needed his help rather than wait until he returned he just sent text back and forth with me for an hour to help me and answer my questions.

RateMyProfessor Reviews for Bruce >

Technology and Blind Students

Here’s a video my friend Andrew Pennington, a student at the Washington State School for the Blind made:

Here is a some more information about my recent experience with Andrew while teaching at Clark College that was originally shared on Facebook:

What a wonderful day it has been. My job shadow student from the Washington State School for the Blind spent the day working with me on class prep, code examples, a tour of the campus and then spent 2 hours in my PHP class. The students in the PHP class made him feel part of the class. He also shared with the class his plans for becoming a programmer and his plans to attend WSU. He was also very witty, which for those of you who know my PHP students, fit in perfectly

Another thing that truly struck a chord with me was that he has the same visual acuity as I do. Throughout the day I kept flashing back to myself at his age.

Again, what an awesome experience it was to host him at Clark College — Vancouver, Washington today.

You can also follow Andrew on Twitter.