” It is just amazing to see all the other colleges and universities across the nation are now copying Coastline [Community] College, right? They are the leaders and the innovators in this space. And what you are doing now is absolutely incredible.”
Laura Oatman, District Director, U.S Congressional Representative Harley Rouda (CA-48)
For this week’s Teacher Feature, we’re celebrating the innovative instructors that showcased their programs at Coastline College New Brand Launch and Innovation Expo on Friday, June 14th. The event not only showcased the innovations of Coastline’s current educational offerings but also how Coastline got to this point by highlighting the past innovations, the present, and future.
Coastline’s History of Innovation
With a history of innovation, it is no surprise Coastline employs innovative instructors and encourages expansive education. In 1976, when the college first opened, before the internet, Coastline professors were reaching students all over the nation with more than 100 physical sites. This was on the belief that we would be “The College Without Walls,” which lead to the college enrolling 18,500 students – the largest opening for any community college ever. Coastline laid the foundation in innovative teaching by offering telecourses, PocketEd courses to military and with Distance Learning initiatives. In fact, we were the first to provide military education in the palm of their hands with PocketEd. This pushed Coastline forward in being the leader in innovative education. The College has since received 20 Los Angeles-area Emmy Awards for Excellence in Instructional Television, numerous honors for military educational services, and more than 80 other national and international awards.
Who are some of our innovative instructors?
The expo itself hosted over 30 interactive “tables of innovation,” and gave the community a sample of what Coastline provides students. Booths included Cybersecurity demonstrations, digital media that focused on art, audio and design, courses and services offered to students.
Looking into a career of design and digital art? Attendees were first treated to different demonstrations at the Digital Media booth hosted by Professor Angela Gomez-Holbrook and Professor Hilda Baitoo of the Digital Graphics & Animation (DGA) Department. The tables showcased equipment from audio production classes; prospective students handled special items:
- Keyboard
- Mic and sound receiver – where they listened to original music created by past students
- Wacom tablet – By utilizing this tablet, students could draw their own unique designs
- 3-D Printer (from Digital Media class) – Aside from experiencing a 3D printer, attendees could take home their 3D designs.
Director Tobi West of the Cybersecurity Department designed a mock crime scene for digital forensics, which included take-home swag like shirts, notepads and more, displayed a Norse cyber attack map, and data analytics.
READY TO REGISTER? SIGN UP TODAY AND START YOUR CAREER IN CYBERSECURITY!
Interested in learning more? Coastline will be hosting an upcoming boot camp, GenCyber Girls Camp to Orange County middle school and high school girls. This camp is at no-cost and includes workshops, industry speakers, cyber competition and lunch served daily. Register now!
As one of the exhibitors, Legal Eagles from the Paralegal Program joined the Innovation Expo as well to answer curriculum questions, discuss academic activities and new trends in use of paralegals to reach underserved communities. Program Director, Professor Stephen Barnes innovates education in this realm by providing legal resources from students to the public as they learn by running Free Legal Clinics. The clinics are available to students, classified professionals, faculty, and alumni. These clinics provide consultation with a qualified attorney.
Welcoming attendees as well was Deborah C. Henry, M.D., Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences and Allied Health. Dr. Henry’s goal isn’t only educating students, but implementing projects into the curriculum that help real patients. Projects such as these were discussed and displayed at the booth, which included developing prosthetic for children in need, merging science and art, and offering work study programs at the Newport Beach Back Bay!
The event concluded with Coastline receiving several proclamations from U.S. Congressman, Harley Rouda – 48th District of California office, Laura Oatman gave a touching speech on how Coastline College assisted in her children’s academic journey.
“I have five kids that I raised here in Orange County they went to Corona del Mar high school and we were able to to take advantage of Coastline [Community] College to supplement and aid in their education. They were taking advance distance learning courses [like] mathematics and calculus so I am very familiar with this school. I love this school and they are truly an innovator in distance learning.”
-Laura Oatman – District Director, U.S. Congressional Representative Harley Rouda (CA-48)
Additional proclamations that were presented by representatives: Yajaira Lechuga from Senator Tom Umberg’s office (CA-34) district and Ryan Billings from Assemblyman Tyler Diep (CA-72)
Future Innovations of Coastline
The Innovation Expo may be over, but The Leader of Innovative Education is not stopping there. In the next year, the college plans on launching several new programs, degrees, and services such as an Associate Degree in Digital Forensics and Incident Response. Currently, limited classes are available, but the full degree is scheduled for Fall 2020. There was also a Future of Innovation table at the Expo interactively revealing what is lined up for Coastline’s prospective and current students. We hope you had a chance to check it out, but in the case that you didn’t, check out the following news:
- Associate Degree in Data Analytics – Spring 2020
- Certificate in Data Analytics – Fall 2019
- Cybersecurity Program for Homeland Security Professionals
- Financial Aid Chat Bot
- New Student Service building
- Online Gaming Degree
- Student Podcast
- Virtual Student Space and more!
About the Teacher Feature Series
Coastline College proudly highlights its renowned faculty through the Teacher Feature blog series. This week’s Teacher Feature highlights just some of the innovative instructors of Coastline College.
Enjoy learning about Coastline’s greatest? Check out the previously highlighted #TeacherFeatures. Your future instructor may be amongst the featured!