Getting to know you
By AACC 21st Century Center Staff
July 16, 2020
A podcast at a community college in Hawaii allows students to get to know their professors on a new level.
There are a billion (or so) podcasts available, featuring every topic imaginable. For students at Kaua’i Community College, one podcast really matters: Class Act.
Student workers in the marketing department create, produce and host Class Act, under the guidance of Marketing Director Gary Ellwood. That means the content is driven by students, for students.
Each episode allows students an opportunity to get to know professors at the college.
“Signing up for classes has always been like a blind date,” student and Class Act producer Patrick Traller said in a release. “You never know what is going to show up on the other end of the table. This is why we wanted to create an opportunity for students to get to know a little bit about professors before taking their class. In a way, it’s like adding a profile picture and biography to an otherwise blank profile.”
Episodes have included interviews with instructors of art, Hawaiian studies, biology, music, history and more.
“This is an incredible way for potential and current students alike to get to know instructors on a deeper level, outside the four walls of a classroom,” said student Ticannaf “Teak” Ruby Ano, the designer and host of the podcasts. “You get to hear directly how they teach, what classes are really like, what they love about teaching and how their path in life got them to where they are.”
To promote the podcast, the student team has produced and shot videos and shared them on the college’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, and on the college webpage.
“It was incredible to get to know these instructors outside of the formal classroom. I loved hearing about their passions and reasons for teaching on Kauaʻi,” said student Katie Jones, who directed and edited the video promos. “They were all so much fun and interesting! And the high production level we created added a strong professional feel to the videos.”
Episodes can be found here.