Alicia Estes Named Global Campus Employee of the Quarter

Photo by Caroline Chandler

Alicia Estes (center) accepts the Global Campus Employee of the Quarter award from Donald Judges, vice provost for distance education, and Jamie Loftin, assistant vice provost for distance education administration.

Alicia Estes has been named employee of the first quarter by the University of Arkansas Global Campus.

The Global Campus recognized Estes, a student engagement specialist, for outstanding service to faculty who use technology to actively engage students in large on-campus classes and to gauge student comprehension of complex course content.

"The success that we have is definitely not about any one person," Estes said. "It's truly a special team effort, and we're lucky to have such fabulous support and encouragement from each other and all the way up through the department. Everyone brings skills to the group and uses them together to be ambassadors of learning and technology."

Meeting the needs of faculty and students contributes to overall academic success, said Donald Judges, vice provost for distance education and head of the Global Campus. He recognized Estes' outstanding dedication to faculty and students at a recent staff meeting.

"Helping faculty solve technology issues in a way that addresses the underlying learning objectives takes not only technical skills, but people skills," Judges said. "That combination is rare, and Alicia has it."

Estes is part of the Learning Technology Support team, a branch of the Instructional Design and Support Services unit at the Global Campus.  Estes and her team provide on-demand technology support for faculty and students, both on-campus and online.

For example, Estes and others coach faculty one-on-one to integrate "clickers" into their classes at the beginning of each semester. Students in large classes use these hand-held devices to answer content questions electronically, allowing faculty to gauge instantly the comprehension of students about different topics. The devices can be used for lecture feedback, attendance and quizzes, but it also encourages student engagement and participation. The team also helps students set up their devices.

Shelly Walters, associate director of Instructional Design and Support Services and head of the Learning Technology Support team, said faculty appreciate that the team "will do whatever it takes" to help them.

"It's not just about the technology, but how they're using it," Walters said. "Because they work with students so much, they're able to talk with faculty about common challenges that students might face and propose strategies that will enhance learning outcomes."

The Learning Technology Support team members work to update the Teaching Innovation and Pedagogical Support website, review new technology applications, host outreach events, and connect students with Web-based textbook resources and content. They also conduct needs analysis to determine what initiatives would be beneficial for faculty development and student outreach.

The Global Campus awards the employee of the quarter honor to recognize outstanding achievement and accomplishments that relate to the unit's goals and the U of A mission. The other nominees for employee of the quarter were Noel Sharif and Lesley Speller.

The award winner receives a commemorative certificate and a monetary award.