Part I. Personal Information and Demographic Data
Applicant Full Name / Nombre completo:
Raymundo Garza
Applicant Title / Título:
LMS Specialist
Institution or System / Institución o Sistema:
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)
Address for Official Correspondence / Dirección oficial donde recibe su correspondencia:
raymundo.garza@utrgv.edu
Mobile Phone / Número de celular:
956-590-3862
Work Phone / Número del trabajo:
956-882-6796
Track of interest / Área de interés:
Spanish track
Which platform do you prefer the Academy to be offered on? / ¿En qué plataforma prefiere que se ofrezca la Academia?
Cualquiera de las dos / Either one
Languages / Idiomas:
Fully Bilingual
Have teach an online course in the past three years / ¿Ha enseñado un curso en línea en los pasados tres años?:
No
Have taken an online course in the past three years / ¿Ha tomado un curso en línea en los pasados tres años?:
Yes
Have you been in charge of an instructional technology initiative / ¿Ha liderado alguna iniciativa de tecnología instruccional?:
Yes
Have you been in charge of a distance education initiative / ¿Ha liderado alguna iniciativa de educación a distancia?:
Yes
Years of experience in Higher Education / Años de experiencia en educación superior:
11-15 years
Gender / Género:
Male
Age Range / Edad:
31 to 40
Are you Hispanic / ¿Es usted hispano?:
Yes
Race Category / Raza:
White
Part II. Education
Highest Earned Degree / Grado más alto de educación obtenido:
MEd. in Educational Technology
College/University / Colegio/Universidad:
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)
Field/Major / Campo de estudio/Especialidad:
Computer Information Systems / Educational Technology
Other Degrees Earned / Otros grados obtenidos:
Instructional Design Certificate, E-Learning Certificate & Associate in Business Administration
Part III. Experience
Present Responsibilities (up to 150 words) / Resumen de responsabilidades (máximo de 150 palabras) *
My current responsibilities as an LMS Specialist are to manage the learning management system at our institution. I am responsible for the setup of integrations with other teaching technology tools. Keep the system up-to-date, and manage/monitor our storage and backup solutions. Archive and restore courses and organization. I play a crucial role in our support team, assisting other instructional designers, faculty, and students. Besides that, I provide professional development training for faculty to get familiar with our supported technologies.
Academic and Professional Distinctions and Honors (up tp 150 words) / Reconocimientos y premios académicos y profesionales (máximo de 150 palabras)
In 2021 our department received the Team Excellence Award for the hard work and dedication that each member did during the pandemic. Our department provided outstanding support to faculty and students during this difficult time when all faculty were mandated to teach using different online modalities. In the past, I have received other personal awards such as the Greatest Employee of the Month, 10 years of service recognition, and other academic honors.
Civil and Community Activities (up to 150 words) / Actividades civiles y comunitarias (máximo de 150 palabras)
– I have served the community in the VITA program assisting in completing individuals’ Income Taxes.
– I assist HETS in managing their learning management system and videoconferencing platform to deliver professional development opportunities to Hispanic-affiliated institutions.
Professional Goals (up to 150 words) / Metas profesionales (máximo de 150 palabras):
My professional goals are to grow my leadership skills to offer better service in my current position as an LMS Specialist and supervisor of the Help Desk staff.
Please explain what you expect to gain by participating in the H-LTLA (up to 150 words) / Explique lo que espera adquirir al participar en la H-LTLA (máximo de 150 palabras):
I am interested in participating in the H-LTLA program because I would like to learn from experts in educational technology and online learning. I want to improve my leadership skills and learn from other participants.
Part IV. Professional References
Professional Reference #1 (Include name, title, institution, phone, and email) / Referencia profesional #1 (incluya nombre, título, institución, número de teléfono, y correo electrónico):
Jessica Sanchez
Assistant Director – COLTT
jessica.m.sanchez@utrgv.edu
956-665-7376
Professional Reference #2 (Include name, title, institution, phone, and email) / Referencia profesional #2 (incluya nombre, título, institución, número de teléfono, y correo electrónico)
Francisco Garcia
Director – COLTT
francisco.garcia@utrgv.edu
956-665-4052
Professional Reference #3 (Include name, title, institution, phone, and email) / Referencia profesional #3 (incluya nombre, título, institución, número de teléfono, y correo electrónico)
Roberto Rivera
Instructional Designer
956-882-6790
roberto.rivera@utrgv.edu
Upload a letter from a president, chancellor, or administrator stating the nominee’s qualifications for the program, leadership strengths, and development opportunities. NOTE: If at the moment of sending the application you don’t have a signed nomination letter, please upload a document with the evidence that it is being processed (for example: a print screen of an email requesting the letter) along with the contact information of the person in charge of completing it. (Accepted format: pdf) / Someta una carta de un presidente, decano o administrador que indique las cualificaciones del candidato para el programa, sus fortalezas de liderazgo y oportunidades de desarrollo. NOTA: Si al momento de enviar la solicitud no tiene una carta de nominación firmada, por favor suba un documento con la constancia de que se está tramitando (por ejemplo: una pantalla impresa de un correo electrónico solicitando la carta) junto con la información de contacto de la persona encargada de completarlo. (Formato aceptado: PDF)
Part V. Initiative and Mentor
A letter describing a project that you will consider implementing at your campus or organization with the name of the Mentor of your preference. Your Mentor can be different from your references and should be a staff with experience in the area selected. The Mentor information will be submitted with the signature to confirm the availability to guide the implementation of your campus initiative. NOTE: If at the moment of sending the application you don’t have the signature of your Mentor on the project letter, please upload a document with the evidence (for example: a print screen of an email requesting the signature of your Mentor) that it is being processed along with the contact information of the Mentor. (Accepted format: pdf)* / Una carta que describa un proyecto que considerará implementar en su campus u organización con el nombre del mentor de su preferencia. Su mentor puede ser diferente a sus referencias y debe ser una persona con experiencia en el área seleccionada. La información del mentor se enviará con la firma para confirmar la disponibilidad para guiar la implementación de su iniciativa. NOTA: Si al momento de enviar la solicitud no tiene la firma de su mentor en la carta del proyecto, por favor cargue un documento con la evidencia (por ejemplo: una pantalla impresa de un correo electrónico solicitando la firma de su mentor) que se está procesando junto con la información de contacto del mentor (Formato aceptado: PDF)
Part VI. Statement of Purpose
1. From your perspective, what are the top three issues facing higher education today? Why? (no more than 300 words) / Desde su perspectiva, ¿cuáles son los tres principales problemas que enfrenta la educación superior hoy día? ¿Por qué? (máximo de 300 palabras)
In my opinion, the top three issues higher education is facing are:
– Making education affordable to students
– Preparing faculty to teach using innovative technologies
– Supporting students to promote Student Success
2. What are your own institution’s priorities and challenges with regard to leveraging instructional technology and distance education for the benefit of the entire organization? (no more than 300 words) / ¿Cuáles son las prioridades y los retos de su institución con respecto al aprovechamiento de la tecnología educativa y la educación a distancia en beneficio de toda la organización? (máximo de 300 palabras)
One of our current projects and priorities is to adopt a better learning management system. We aim to explore all the options available and select the best LMS that meets our needs and that best aligns with our faculty needs, our institution’s demands, and what students need to succeed.
3. If have the influence to instill change at your Institution, was one thing you could change, what would that be; and what is the unique aspect of your institution you would like to keep? (no more than 300 words) / Si pudiera influir para lograr algún cambio en su institución, ¿cuál sería? y ¿cuál es el aspecto único de su institución que le gustaría mantener? (máximo de 300 palabras)
The aspect I would like to change at our institution will be the efforts to help our students succeed in graduating and obtaining a career and better support our students to succeed through college. Technology should not be a barrier to success. One thing I would like to keep about our institution is that most of our students are Hispanic. I love this characteristic, and I think we should take more advantage of that and promote services and educational opportunities in Spanish, and prepare students to be bilingual and bicultural.