Front and Center: Anna E. Story, RN, MS, MSN, ISM, '99

Anna Story

Take a look at the initials after Anna Story's name, and you'll see she knows success. Learn more about her accomplishments, and you'll understand that she knows how to attain her dream as well.

Currently, Anna is the Director of Continuing Education at Continuum Health Partners in New York City. Continuum is the umbrella organization for 5 NYC hospitals, 2 nursing schools and a host of clinics and doctor offices. Anna is an approved provider of Continuing Education for nurses, and she has the major responsibility of developing traditional workshops and online programs to meet the continuing education needs of nurses in the NYC Metro area as well as across the nation. Her website www.ceprograms.com supports that mission, and nurses can take online courses or register for traditional ones using the website.

Like many of our alums, Anna saw her capstone project as the start of a new venture. Reflecting on her Grad Center experience, Anna related, "When I attended Marlboro, I was a nurse, and I completed a capstone project that dealt with online continuing education. My website project was www.healthedonline.com, and I had hoped to launch a successful business in health care with it, but WebMD had a much bigger financial support and launched its successful site instead."

Never really wanting to give up, Anna found that if she worked for a large healthcare instititution, she might be able to sell her ideas. The Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing and the Long Island College School of Nursing are small Associate Degree Nursing Schools that have strong academic reputations for producing quality nurses. They are part of Continuum. In order for these small schools to increase enrollment in this nursing shortage, with space and resource limits, they wanted to add an online component to the program. Recognizing Anna's talents, the Dean asked Anna if she could help do it relatively inexpensively.

Anna shared how she accomplished all this. "Moodle is a free open source learning platform similar to WebCT and Blackboard. Using Moodle, I have, with the help of my assistant Erdem Ozden, created the Moodle courseware backend for the schools of nursing. On this platform we run the courses where students can access discussion board, chat, resources, post blogs etc. It is very well received by the students and enhances computer literacy among staff and students in preparation for working in hospitals that are becoming more digital with documentation."

Obviously, the folks at Continuum aren't the only ones that know a good thing when they see one. Anna recently presented a paper at the 5th Annual International Education Conference in Honolulu. That paper outlined these facts and demonstrated the ease and financial benefits of migrating to Moodle from platforms like Blackboard and WebCT.

With so much to her credit, one might think that Anna would ease back a bit on the throttle. Thinking that would be to under-estimate this dynamo. After completing her ISM, she obtained a Masters in Nursing Education, and she continues to teach as a professor at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY. And if all that weren't enough, she has authored a course entitled Computers in Nursing Education in their graduate nursing program.

Anna, you are an inspiration to all who believe in their dreams and a credit to Marlboro Grad Center. Take a well-deserved bow.

Try One, You'll Like It

Now is the time to expand your skills and strengthen your résumé with a class at the Grad Center. Registration begins April 16th for our next trimester that kicks off on May 4th. You may enroll on a single course basis. So grow with our popular Change Management course or learn those Marketing techniques you've been wanting. If you've had some web design experience and want to go farther, Designing with Web Standards is the course for you. And if you're a teacher or you're interested in online education,Facilitating Computer Supported Collaborative Learning will give you the knowledge and techniques to take your use of technology to the next level. Want to know more? It's easy, just visit www.gradcenter.marlboro.edu.

Open House a Virtual Success

Bethany Catron "chats" with an Open House visitor

Thanks to the good work of Associate Director of Admissions Bethany Catron and techno-wizard Elliot Anders, we held our first Virtual Open House the evening of March 27th. Prospective students from as far away as Brooklyn and as close as Brattleboro, joined us for the event. "Visitors" had the chance to "tour" the Grad Center and to get their questions answered about life here and the admissions process. In addition, they were able to chat directly about our curriculum and classes with Grad Center Director Kevin Bell (pinch hitting on our MBA) and Program Directors Mark Francillon (MSIE), Elaine Garofoli (MAT), Lisa Sieverts (MSM), Jen Kramer (MSIT), and Scott Lawrence (BSMIS). Thanks, also, to our student volunteers who were standing by to chat about their GC experiences: Jill Hart '07, Nathan Batts '07, and Meaghan Meacham '07. Based upon the highly positive feedback, look for more Virtual Open Houses being held.

April = Busy, Busy, Busy

It will be another packed month at the Grad Center as we continue to host open sessions for the public good. Check out the "GScene" and you'll note there's everything from users groups meetings to a book signing by former Marlboro professor, Joe Mazur to a screening of the film, The Future of Food. So get out of the house, come to the Grad Center where the action is, and enjoy these activities. For more information on these events, check out http://gradcenter.marlboro.edu/news/events.html.

Class Notes

Mike Hoefer, ISM '00, sent us this good news: "I have accepted the role of Director of Web Marketing for Hanover Insurance in Worcester, MA. Hanover sells personal and commercial insurance via independent agents east of the Mississippi. It is a large, publicly traded company (THG). About 2000 people work at the Worcester office. I will lead a small team within the Marketing Communications department and be the lead professional responsible for the Public Internet, Agent Extranet, and Employee Intranet. It is a great professional opportunity and allows me to bring my career to the next level. Although saddened that it may take us from the community we have called home nearly 13 years we know the ties will stay strong and that in the modern work world nothing is forever. The biggest irony in this all is that during my marketing class at MCGC, as an academic exercise, I did a Marketing Plan for Allmerica, which has be been restructured to Hanover Insurance Group. Many of you helped me in one way or another during this transition, thank you."

John Wills, SIM '03, updated us: "I have some news to share. In January, I changed jobs after 11 years at Monadnock Family Services - most recently as Information Services Manager. I now work as a Computer Systems Analyst for EMF, Inc., a small IT services firm based in Keene, NH. My duties range from break/fix repairs to managing implementation projects. Our territory is all of New England. I needed new challenges and this job sure provides that!"

Andrew Jackson, ISM '99, shared the following: "I 'retired' from Vermont Life Magazine November 30 and have (reason for quotes around retired) started my own consulting business for smaller and independent magazine publishers, including Website design focused particularly on the special needs of magazines. Details at www.Sensible-Strategies.com."

Erin Weisburger, MSIT '05, emailed us: "I've been working at the Office of Court Administration here in Manhattan since last June as a web consultant. I was recently brought on full time as the Assistant Web Developer on the Unified Court System's Web Team. Very exciting! Very busy! Needless to say, it's nice finally having some stability. Plus, there's something about the legal system that I find fascinating and I really enjoy being a part of it, even if I am just a web developer behind the scenes. Other than that, life goes on. We renewed the lease on our pint-sized apartment in February, hard to believe we've been here that long already. The dog is almost 3! He hit the "fat" level this winter, topping out at 95 pounds, so he's now on a doggy diet and getting extra time in the dog run (which means we're up and running at 6am every morning)! We joined the local Y and started eating healthier, making the switch to all organic foods. Along with the food switch, I've been making a huge effort at living a greener lifestyle in general. Living in such a densely populated area, it's hard not to notice the trash everywhere on the sidewalks, not to mention how much trash actually gets generated. So I'm trying really hard to reduce my own 'carbon footprint' and it feels great."

Badi Jones, MSIE, '06, reported: I just wanted to drop a line to let you know that a site I recently developed, http://www.dnscoop.com, has gone out of control. The site was featured on Digg last weekend (Friday), and had about 8000 visits on that day (would have been more, but I had to filter traffic to prevent the server from crashing). Digg traffic only lasts for about 2 days, so over the next week, traffic came from many other sources. Traffic stayed at about 5000 to 6000 visits per day for the whole week. This Saturday, the daily visit count was just shy of 10,000. Traffic for the last 7 days (Monday to Sunday), which is pretty much post-digg, totals up to 39,646 visits, with only 858 being coming to the site from Digg.com. This really shows how much influence social bookmarking sites like Digg.com have. Anyway. I'm still living in the Amherst, MA area while my wife, Amanda, finishes her Master's in Music at UMass. She will graduate this May, and we are planning to move back to Charleston, SC for a bit."

Career Opportunities

Academic Technology Coordinator
Marlboro College

We are seeking a full-time staff member to work with faculty to explore, devise, support, and thoughtfully integrate technology in support of teaching. The person in this position will assist in and expand the use of existing campus technology resources among faculty, as well as be a creative force in crafting related curriculum specific and campus wide initiatives.

Good communication skills, enthusiasm, and facility for technological problem solving are a must; specific experience in liberal arts higher education, web technologies (XHTML, PHP, et cetera), and an affinity for open source solutions helpful. A Master's degree is preferred.

This is a two year granted funded position, with the possibility that it will become permanent.

Please send cover letter, résumé, and three references to: Ian Kozak, IT Director, at iank@marlboro.edu or Marlboro College, PO Box A, Marlboro, VT 05344

Web Application Programmer
Brattleboro Tech Collective
Brattleboro, VT

The Brattleboro Tech Collective is a worker-owned and operated web development company, focused on workplace democracy and promoting a democratic society while supporting like-minded organizations in their work through developing websites and custom open source web applications. They primarily build Ruby on Rails and Perl web applications. They also roll out and maintain CMS-based web sites and do graphic design and HTML/CSS.

All worker-owners receive the same pay rate, all share equally in any remaining profit at the end of the year, and all receive identical raises as we grow. They operate entirely on the basis of consensus, with all worker-owners having equal input into decisions, and all expected to contribute actively and creatively to building the company.

An ideal candidate will have many of the following attributes:

• be passionate about working in a democratic environment
• have built and maintained complex applications
• have worked with Ruby on Rails, Perl, PHP, or Java Struts
• be comfortable communicating directly with clients
• be willing to engage with other worker-owners on an honest and personal level

If you are interested, please send your resume to info@brattcollective.com

For more information about the collective see http://www.brattcollective.com

Web Producer
Dartmouth College

Supports the Director of External Information Services in building and maintaining online services. Provides project management, project oversight and execution to achieve the strategic, creative, and editorial goals of web and interactive media communications.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Excellent communication, organizational, and project management skills.
• Knowledge of web development and design tools and techniques.
• In-depth knowledge of standards-compliant HTML/XHTML and CSS, web publishing software, web design tools, and content management systems.
• Knowledge of e-mail marketing tools and techniques.
• Understanding of user-centered design principles.
• Ability to organize, set priorities, and manage several projects at once with a minimum of supervision.
• Creative, team-oriented, and client-focused.
• Deadline driven.
• Ability to manage staff, vendors, and others in implementing projects.

Minimum Experience: Four years of experience in design, development, and implementation of web communications.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree, preferably in communications or information technology, or the equivalent.

For more information visit: jobs.dartmouth.edu

Search Engine Strategist
Website Publicity
Peterborough, NH

Full-time position in their Peterborough, NH office involving Pay-for-Performance Campaign development and management as well as support of organic search R & D activities in their E-Commerce Lab. The successful candidate will believe the customer is always right and will have the following skill set: Strong knowledge in:

• HTML
• CSS
• Access, SQL, or other database applications.
• Excel, including creating and interpreting charts.

A Solid Understanding of:

• Internet advertising, including Pay for Placement, banner advertisements, email and newsletters, and contextual advertising
• Internet visitor tracking
• Internet advertising metrics (Click Through Rate, Conversion Rates, Return on Ad Spend, Return on Investment)
• MS Access

Important skills:

• Excellent communication skills, including written communication. Marketing copywriting skills a plus.
• Ability to work without micromanagement.
• Have a high comfort level with team approach to problem solving and knowledge sharing.
• Excellent analytical ability.

PO Box 755, One Phoenix Lane. Peterborough, NH. 03458 :: 603-924-8222. 800-450-2818. Fax 603-924-8333

Director of Information Technology
Volunteer State Community College
Gallatin, TN

Volunteer State Community College invites applications for Director of Information Technology. Position is responsible for planning, directing and managing the information technology of the College. Instructional technologies, programming services, information architecture and computer security are key components of the position. Responsibilities include developing and maintaining educational delivery and course management systems for the College, plus design and maintenance of master classrooms and instructional computer labs. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related field required. Master's degree and seven-ten years' experience in information technology including five years in a management role are also required. Successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and the ability to express technological concepts to a variety of campus constituents. Working collaboratively with diverse groups including faculty, staff, and College/Board advisory committees is essential for this position.

For more information visit: www.volstate.edu