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GSEP Student Kathleen Plinske Receives Young Professionals Honor
Kathleen Plinske has a strong history of academics. She was enrolled in gifted programs for math, science, and language arts during grade school. At age 14 Plinske was admitted to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and physics in 2001 from Indiana University. Four days later she was hired by McHenry County College to assist online faculty with technology, and to teach Spanish.
This month, at 26, Plinske’s passion for learning has earned her a spot on the McHenry County Business Journal’s 10 Under 40 list. Honorees include up-and-coming young professionals under the age of 40 who have made a significant contribution to their profession, company, or community in Illinois.
In her role as coordinator of media development and technology training, Plinske is responsible for designing, developing, and offering technology training for all College employees, working individually with employees on special media projects, and researching instructional technology trends to enhance teaching and learning. When she started her employment, the College offered four online courses. Today there are more than 40 courses offered online.
In her quest to incorporate technology into each McHenry County College classroom, Plinske leads by example. As a Spanish instructor she is constantly searching for innovative ways to engage her students. “I teach in the evenings, and many students come to my class after working a full-time job,” says Plinske. “It’s sometimes a challenge to keep students engaged and motivated, but I’ve found technology to be an excellent tool to facilitate learning.” Plinske has used wireless handheld response devices, similar to the polling technology used in the “Ask the Audience” portion of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and created games in PowerPoint, provided interactive online exercises with instant feedback, and allowed students to create their own digital video presentations in class. Plinske knows that a semester has been particularly successful when students fill out course evaluations and answer the question “How could this course have been improved?” with a response of “If it never ended!”
Plinske continually tries to look for ways to improve what she does and is eager to learn. As a current student in the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology Educational Technology program, Plinske feels that every course she has taken thus far at GSEP in some way has challenged her to think differently about, and improve, the work that she does. For example, for an assignment for her Learning and Design course with Dr. Linda Polin, Davidson Endowed Professor, and professor of Education, students were asked to apply the theories they learned in assigned readings to a real-world “learning challenge” at their workplace. At the time of the assignment, the McHenry County College was preparing to change online course management software, and were looking for an effective way to train hundreds of faculty in a short period of time. Plinske examined this real-world challenge using Cultural Historical Activity Theory, and after collaborating with her classmates and Dr. Polin, designed a plan for faculty training, both face-to-face and online, which was implemented at the College with great success. “I have been incredibly pleased with the relevance of the courses and assignments in the program, and the amount of flexibility that we have as students to customize our learning experiences so that they are most meaningful to us,” comments Plinske.
With an open mind, Plinske has found it possible to learn from everyone and from every experience. One can bet that Plinske’s educational journey is far from over.
by Vanessa Jahn
