A technology service for students has moved, but college officials say the level of service will stay the same. About a month ago, the ongoing construction project on the Washington Street Campus forced the Center for Teaching and Learning Student Help Center to relocate from the first floor of the Lynn Library to the second floor.“We’re supposed to move back down to the first floor after the construction is over,” said Buster Bonjour, coordinator of the Student and Faculty Help Center.The change has created some problems for students who were accustomed to the Help Center’s old location. “Newer students aren’t having a problem finding the Help Center since emails have been sent out, but students from previous semesters are having issues finding us,” Bonjour said.On average, the Help Center aids 30 to 50 students and faculty members by phone, in person and by email each week, according to Heather Voran, a CTL instructor and director of Blackboard administrative and support services. The Help Center focuses more on problems related to students, while CTL focuses more on faculty, Voran said.The Help Center exists to introduce and instruct students in the proper procedures to interact confidently with ACConnect components and other software required for course assignments. The Help Center assists students who need to reset passwords or have trouble logging in, and it teaches students how to use ACConnect and Microsoft Office, Bonjour said.Gilbert Zamora, a student worker in the Help Center, said he likes helping students and making a difference. Zamora works from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. He said gets many students walking in asking basic questions about computers and needing help with Blackboard.“By working together, two people can figure out a problem better than one,” Zamora said. The Help Center is just one part of CTL. The college created the department to assist faculty with online course design and provide them with the tools they need for teaching their classes, Voran said.For the past two years, the CTL’s main focus has been helping faculty with Blackboard after it replaced the previous online teaching system.“Now that it isn’t new, the CTL is hoping to do more training and development in pedagogy (the study of teaching and learning) to teach faculty the best practices in instruction not just online but in person as well,” Voran said. Students can get assistance from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in 205 Lynn Library and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the fourth floor of the library. The number is 371-5992.
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