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Vita

Summary

Alisa returned full-time as an English professor at Glendale Community College in fall 2019, where she teaches hybrid and online freshman composition, journalism and literature courses. She previously served a 4 year term as the Faculty Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Engagement from Fall of 2014 to Spring 2018 where she collaborated, coordinated, and strategized with the Instructional Designer, CTLE staff, eCourses faculty lead, Faculty Developers and served as the liaison with academic departments and other divisions/areas across the college.

Alisa spent 2018-2019 on a year-long sabbatical to learn more about “Supporting Data-Driven Decision Making With Educational Data Analytics Technologies.” A vital aspect of data driven decision making is Data Literacy for Teachers, which was the primary goal of her sabbatical, to empower herself to use data in the decision-making process, so that she could help support data driven decision-making at GCC using education data analytics technologies.

Previously Alisa served on a district committee where she helped guide leadership in open educational resources. Alisa served as co-chair for the Maricopa Millions Steering team, an OER district project where the goal was to save Maricopa Community College students $5 Million over 5 Years by radically decreasing student costs by offering low cost or no cost options for course materials. She served as an assistant chair/eCourses coordinator for the English Department, and still works with faculty to create and/or improve their online/hybrid courses. She also served as eCourses Faculty Lead for the college and headed the campus eCourses committee. She completed a research project on discussion tools in online/hybrid courses as a MIL Fellow (2012-13). And she briefly served as interim instructional technologist for the Title V grant at PC working with faculty to develop hybrid and online course modules. She also served as the chair of the CTLE Advisory committee.

In addition, Alisa previously worked as an advisor for the ELI 7 Things publication and still conducts webinars and in-person workshops on Online and Blended Course Design, Engaging Students in the Online Environment, and Anti-Racist Pedagogy for national organizations. She is a Quality Matters certified master reviewer and conducts QM reviews on hybrid and online courses in the district. She worked on a district learning grant that helped online and hybrid instructors infuse Challenged Based Learning modules into the freshman composition curriculum. In addition, Alisa worked previously with the National Center for Teacher Education (NCTE) as a technology trainer on two grants: The Achieving Technological Literacy in Arizona for Students and Teachers (ATLAST) and Student and Teacher Technology Transformation Teams (ST4).

This is Alisa’s 33rd year teaching. She taught 2 years at Deer Valley HS in Phoenix, 2 years at Westwood HS in Mesa, AZ, and 4 years at Central Arizona College before moving up to the Maricopa District. Alisa started at South Mountain CC in 1998, where she taught for 11 years, and she transferred to Glendale CC in 2009. Before starting her teaching career, she studied mass communications at Phoenix College. Later she changed her major and location and earned a B.A. degree in English Literature from California State University, Bakersfield in 1989, and a M.Ed. degree in English Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University in 1993.

In 2004-2005 Alisa took her first sabbatical to finish up her doctoral dissertation on the effects of hybrid courses on retention and student satisfaction. She finished her doctorate in Instructional Technology and Distance Education at Nova Southeastern University in 2006. She now enjoys teaching using a plethora of new technology tools, as well as training faculty how to use audio, video and other technology tools in the classroom.

Work Experience

English Professor, Glendale Community College

August 2009 – Present

At GCC, Alisa teaches online and hybrid freshman composition, journalism, and literature courses. She currently teaches Freshman Composition I & II online in the 8-week and 12-week format, JRN203: Writing for Online Media online, and ENH114: African American literature online. This year Alisa is serving on the Strategic Plan Design Team, Learning Communities Committee, and Writing Center for service and committee assignments. Alisa continues to help faculty convert traditional courses to blended and online environments.

Faculty Director, Center for Teaching, Learning & Engagement, Glendale Community College

2014 – 2018 (4 years)

As Director of the CTLE at GCC, Alisa helps to plan and coordinate with her staff all the professional development for faculty and staff. She also works closely with CTL directors and MCLI in the district to provide uniform FPG for all. Her specialty is in teaching with technology, development of online and hybrid courses, and she loves to help faculty integrate new learning technologies into their courses.

Interim Instructional Technologist for Title V Grant, Phoenix College

October 2009-June 2010

Alisa served as interim instructional technologist for the Title V grant at PC where she designed a semester-long training program: The Title V Mini-Grant Faculty Learning Cohort (Beta Bootcamp). The cohort consisted of a group of faculty from math, biology, chemistry, English, reading, and library science. The goal of the cohort was to learn theory and practice behind implementing technology into the classroom using a variety of different technologies.

English Professor, South Mountain Community Colleges

August 1998 – August 2009 (11 years)

As an English professor at South Mountain Community College, Alisa designed and taught all of the college’s hybrid and online freshman composition courses. Alisa served on a district committee, Ocotillo, a faculty-driven catalyst for addressing technology and learning at the Maricopa Community Colleges. She was one of 5 faculty assigned to conduct research on hybrid/blended courses and then later podcasting. Alisa served as podcasting specialist for the district providing a series of podcasting and vodcasting workshops throughout the year for the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI). Alisa’s interest in technology drove her to complete her doctorate in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in 2005. She also served as co-chair for the Instructional Technology Leadership Council (iTLC) at the district and co-chair of the College Technology Committee on her own campus.

English Professor, Central Arizona College

August 1994 – May 1998 (4 years)

Taught freshman composition and literature courses and coached cross country and track. Designed and taught the college’s first online ENG101 freshman composition course, and was involved in teaching one of the first learning communities at the college.

English Teacher, Westwood HS, Mesa Public Schools

August 1992 – May 1994 (2 years)

Taught high school English, Mythology and coached cross country, track, and JV girls’ basketball.

English Teacher, Deer Valley HS, Deer Valley Unified School District

August 1990 – May 1992 (2 years)

Taught high school English, regular and honors freshmen, and coached cross country and track. Was Jr class sponsor (Prom) and Multi-cultural club sponsor.

Education

Nova Southeastern University

Ed.D. Instructional Technology & Distance Ed, 2001 – 2006

Northern Arizona University

M.Ed., English Education, 1991 – 1993

California State University Bakersfield

B.A., English Literature, 1986 – 1988

Publications

Cooper, A., Chew, S., & Houston, A. (2020). Anti-Racist Discussion Pedagogy. Presented by Packback. Retrieved Steptember 3, 2020, from https://www.packback.co/resources/anti-racist-discussion-pedagogy-guide/

Cooper, A. (Fall 2012). What Role Will Traditional eReaders Play in the Future of Education? New Media Composition in Community Colleges. Computers and Composition Online. Retrieved December 18, 2012, from http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/english/cconline/

Podcasts & Videos

Bayne, G. (Producer) (2013, Aug. 8). ELI Podcast: Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). In ELI Podcast. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/blogs/gbayne/eli-podcast-learning-tools-interoperability-lti.

Cooper, A. (2013, Feb. 1) “What I Wish I Knew before I Started Teaching Online: How to be an Effective Online Teacher.” SCC Tech Talks 2013 Online video. YouTube. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.

Cooper, A. (December 15, 2009). Keynote: Student Engagement for the 21st Century Learner. Yavapai College Winter Institute. Prescott, AZ.

Presentations

Cooper, A., Chew, S., & Houston, A. (Mar 1, 2021) Everyday Radical Acts: Cultivating an AntiRacist Approach to Pedagogy. Virtual Innovations Conference. League for Innovation.

Cooper, A. (Jan 22, 2021) Integrating Antiracist Pedagogy into Your Classroom. OFAR Monthly Webinar. CCOER Comunity College Consortium for OER. https://www.cccoer.org/webinar/integrating-anti-racist-pedagogy/

Cooper, A. (Sept. 11, 2020) Anti-Racist Pedagogy in the Composition Classroom. Professional Development Webinars for English Instructors. McGraw-Hill Education.

Cooper, A. & Young, L. (2017, May 29) Saving Students Millions With Open Educational Resources (OER). NISOD 2017. Austin, TX. http://guidebook.com/guide/88219/event/15812606/

Cooper, A. & Young, L. (2016, Nov. 2) The Village People: Creating Infrastructure for OER Degree. 13th Annual OpenEd Conference. Richmond, VA.

Cooper, A., Menon, R. & Nielson, C. (2016, Oct. 14). Developing Digital Learning Materials to Better Engage Students in the Online Composition Classroom. TYCA West Conference. Las Vegas, NV.

Cooper, A., Rodrigo R. & Slovak, A. (2016, July 16) Online Writing Programs, more responsibilities for WPAs. Council of Writing Program Administrators 2016 Conference. Raleigh, NC.

Cooper, A. (2015, October 22) Maricopa Millions Project: Past, Present & Future. AAAA/AOAC/ASAA Conference. Laughlin, NV.

Cooper, A., Hamilton Taylor, A. & Twyford, D. (2015, March 25-27). Building an Engaging Online and Blended Faculty Development Plan. Academic Impressions. New Orleans, LA.

Cooper, A., Eyres, B., Jacobus, H. & Romirowsky, K. (2015, March 18). Ethical Issues for Beginning Researchers. Conference on College Composition and Communication. Tampa, FL.

Cooper, A. & Goodman, S. (2013, October 11) Make Peer Review More Relevant and Engaging by Doing It Online and Adding Asynchronous Discussion. TYCAWest Conference. Las Vegas, NV.

Baldridge, S. & Cooper, A. (2013, May 21) “Creating Experiential Learning Using Social Media.” Academic Impressions. (Online Webcast)

Cooper, A. (2013, March 28) “Student Engagement in a Changing World.” DFC Keynote. Southeast Community College. Lincoln, NE.

Cooper, A. (2013, January 17). Institutional Readiness for Implementing Blended Learning. Academic Impressions. (Online Webcast)

Cooper, A. & McGee, P. (2012, October-November). Making the Shift from Classroom to Online Course Design (Four Part Series). Academic Impressions. (Online Webinars)

Cooper, A. (2012, October). The Not-So-Distant Education – Blended Comp Courses that Rock! TYCA-West Annual Conference. Salt Lake Community College. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Cooper, A. & McGee, P. (July30-August 1, 2012). Blended Learning: Effective Instruction and Engagement Conference. Academic Impressions. Atlanta, GA.

Cooper, A. & Diaz, V. (March-April 2012). Blended Learning Program for Fairleigh Dickinson College (Webinars/F2F). Teaneck, NJ.

Cooper, A. & Glascoe, S. (March 2012). Software Tools for Managing Your Teaching Life. FEA State Conference. Grand Canyon University. Phoenix, AZ.

Cooper, A. (February 2012). Using Cloud-Based Technology for Learning and Engagement. Academic Impressions. (Webcast)

Cooper, A. & Young, L. (May & November 2011). Using Social Media for Teaching and Learning.  Academic Impressions. (Webcast)

Cooper, A., Diaz, V. & McGee, P. (July 2011). Best Practices in Blended Course Design. Academic Impressions. San Diego, CA.

Cooper, A. (June 2011). The Great Escape from LMS Lockdown. NMC Summer Conference. Madison, WI.

Cooper, A., Freeman, J. & McGee, P. (August 2010). Online Course Design. Academic Impressions. Denver, CO.

Cooper, A. & Young, L. (July 2010). Never Say Never: Saying “Yes” to Mobile Devices in the Classroom. Sloan-C Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium. San Jose, CA.

Cooper, A. (April 2010). Best Practices to Engage Students Online: Three Valuable Tools. 2010 Adjunct Faculty Association Spring Conference. Tempe, AZ.

Cooper, A & Rodrigo, R. (June 17, 2009). Teaching in the Wild Wild Web: Web 2.0 Technologies and Student Centered Learning. Sloan C International Symposium Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning. San Francisco, CA.

Cooper, A., Diaz, V., Freeman, J. & McGee, P. (December 2008). Online Course Design. Academic Impressions. Denver, CO.

Barrow, T., Cooper, A., & Rodrigo, R. (November 2008). Web 2.0 in Education. PodcampAZ, Tempe, AZ.

Cooper, A. (October 2008). Multimedia infused freshman comp. TYCA-West Annual Conference: Reaching Across Communities: Service in and out of the Classroom, Clarkdale, AZ.

Cooper, A. (May 2008). Using Web2.0 to harness collective intelligence and build community among students. 2008 Teaching & Learning with Technology Conference, Mesa Community College, AZ.

Cooper, A. & Diaz, V. (May 2008). Building community in online/hybrid courses through Web 2.0 tools. Sloan-C International Symposium: Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning, Carefree, AZ.

Cooper, A., Diaz, V., Hebert, C. & MacPherson, A. (January 2008). Your 2.0 Life: Models and methods to meet learners’ needs in a technological age. Educause Learning Imitative (ELI) Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX.

Cooper, A. & MacPherson, A. (March 2007). Using Web2.0 to harness collective intelligence and build community among students. 12th Annual TechEd, Ontario, CA.