CSM Flex Day Schedule

8:00-8:30

Continental Breakfast

Location: Courtyard outside Theatre Building 3 (map)

Enjoy pastries, fruit, coffee and tea service, as well as the chance to connect with colleagues.

Register

8:30-9:15

1 flex credit hour

Welcome & Updates 

Location: Theatre Building 3 (map)

Our leadership team will share important college-wide updates to kick-start our day of learning together.

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9:15-10:15

1 flex credit hour

Keynote Address: The Questions We Must Ask Now: Students, Social Mobility, and the Future of Community College

Presenter: Laura Lara-Brady, Senior Program Manager at WestEd's Center for Economic Mobility

Location: Theatre Building 3 (map)

This Flex Day keynote will invite the CSM community to explore three urgent institutional questions: Who are our students now? What is college for when social mobility is the goal? And what does AI require of educators and institutions? The session will offer a perspective-shifting frame for understanding students’ lived realities, expanding definitions of success beyond completion and transfer, and examining AI as an equity, teaching, learning, accessibility, and workforce issue. Rather than offering simple answers, the keynote will help participants develop shared language and questions to guide deeper professional learning throughout the year.

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10:15-10:25

Break

10:25-11:55

1.5 flex credit hour

Seeing Students, Defining Mobility, Navigating AI: A Workshop for Shared Inquiry

Facilitators: Alex Lozanoff, Senior Program Manager at WestEd's Center for Economic Mobility

Location: Bayview Dining, Building 10 (map)

The follow-up workshop will help participants move from inspiration to shared inquiry by reflecting on student realities, identifying technology-related tensions and opportunities, and generating questions to guide CSM’s four-part professional learning series. Participants should bring a laptop or tablet during the workshop to engage fully in the interactive activities and shared resources.

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11:55-12:40

Lunch

Location: Bayview Dining Room, Building 10 (map)

Register

12:50-2:20
1.5 flex credit hours

Capacities, Not Checkboxes: A College-Wide Conversation About How Students Thrive 

Location: Building 10, Room 195 (map) and Zoom

Presenter: Chiara Ojeda, Dean of Language Arts

What does it take for a student to truly thrive — not just in a job, but in their life? This session draws on the NACE Career Readiness Competencies — a research-informed framework that, despite its name, describes capacities that reflect skills students can actualize to thrive in academic, civic, personal, and community contexts. In this session, faculty, staff, and administrators will explore them together. Where do we already see these capacities being built at CSM? What do they look like for students across different pathways? And what questions do they raise for how we think about student success? After a brief introduction to the NACE competencies, participants will engage in facilitated small-group discussion and whole-group reflection, leaving with new thinking and new questions to carry back to their work.

This session is open to all employees.

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Join Zoom

12:50-4:00

3 flex credit hours

Writing Prompts and Instructions for Gems in Google Gemini 

Location: Building 14, Room 105 (map)

Presenters: Zac Russi, Instructional Aide II; Sarah Auyeung, Learning Center Coordinator

*Space limited!  Register early. Note that this session is 3 hours long, with a 10-minute break in the middle*

In Fall 2025, California Community Colleges signed a deal with Google to provide faculty, staff and students with free access to Google Gemini Pro, NotebookLM, and various Google Career Certificates. In this 2-part, practical workshop, we’ll begin/continue developing a critical, transformative approach to generative AI, using the Gemini app to write/revise prompts and write/revise instructions for Google Gems (their brand of chatbot).

We’re all being inundated with AI/LLM apps and new functions to existing apps. Many students have spent the entirety of their college experience dealing with AI in one way or another. After these sessions, whether or not you plan on using it in your role, you’ll be able to offer guidance on critical usage of Google AI apps. This isn’t a Google or AI sales pitch, or a venting session. It’s easy enough to find arguments for and against AI use. What we’re offering is more of a practical class structure, where you’ll learn how prompting and chatbots work, and spend most of your time working in the apps. Come through ready to experiment with the software.

This session is open to all employees.

Register

12:50-2:20

1.5 flex credit hours

Supporting Student Mental Health: Personal Counseling Services Q&A 

Location: Building 10, Learning Center (map) 

Facilitators: Gil Perez, Personal Counselor; Makiko Ueda, Personal Counselor; Johnny Leon, Personal Counselor

Join CSM Personal Counseling Services for a chat to answer any questions you have about supporting student mental health including how to reduce mental health stigma and fostering inclusive environments, recognize and respond to distress expressed or exhibited by students, handle urgent or crisis situations, understand reporting protocols and procedures (e.g. CARES, Title IX, etc.), learn mental health resources available to refer students, and how to care for your own mental health to effectively support students. 

This session is open to all employees.

Register

12:50-2:20

1.5 flex credit hours

Calling All New Teachers! Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment from Day 1 (REAL Teaching Launchpad Series) 

Location: Zoom

Facilitators: Susan Khan, Professional Development Faculty Coordinator; TBD

Are you new to teaching, or in your first several years? This workshop series is for you! Join us for the chance to get to know other new faculty and to discuss how we create an inclusive learning environment from day one. We will use as our framework the REAL Guide, a self-assessment course design tool created by faculty, staff, and students here at CSM. After reviewing the "key principles" identified in the Guide and hearing about some time-tested strategies, we will break into smaller groups for conversation and sharing of strategies you can use in your first week of teaching, whether in-person or online. 

This session is open to all employees.

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Join Zoom

12:50-1:50

1 flex credit hour

Academic Senate Goal Planning for 2026-2027

Location: Building 10, Room TBD

Presenters: Daniel Keller, Academic Senate President

Calling all faculty! Come meet your Academic Senate officers, review what Senate accomplished in '25-26, and add your voice as we develop our Senate goals for the '26-27 academic year.

This session is open to all employees. 

Register

Join Zoom

2:30-3:30

1 flex credit hour 

Equity Centered Learning Opportunities (ECLO) Showcase

Location: Building 10, Room 195 (map) and Zoom

Facilitators/Presenters: Marisol Quevedo, Instructional Technologist; David Galvez, Director of Equity

This session will provide an overview of the ECLO work and projects that were completed the previous year. Participants can learn about the different ECLOS that are available that they can participate in. They will also get to learn more about how they can participate in the upcoming ECLO cohort #2. The ECLOs showcased address three core pillars of the Flex Day theme: AI literacy, holistic student well-being, and equitable program design.

This session is open to all employees.

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Join Zoom

2:30-3:30

1 flex credit hour

Access, Equity, Success: Burden-Free Instructional Materials at CSM 

Location: Building 10, Room TBD and Zoom

Facilitators: Ame Maloney, ZTC Coordinator; Jennifer Howze-Owens, Instructional Designer

What does “Burden-Free Instructional Materials” even mean? From CSM students to Academic Senate and the SMCCD Board of Trustees, our community is weighing in on BFIM. Join this session to learn about the intersection of policy, programming, and student impact of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) – burden‑free instructional materials – that support equity, access, and improved outcomes for all students.

This session is open to all employees.

Register

Join Zoom

2:30-3:30

1 flex credit hour

Writing Center Listening Session: Let’s Collaborate! 

Location: College Writing Center, Building 18, Room 104 (map)

Facilitators: Sarah Fama, Instructional Aide II, and Margaret McGugan, Instructional Aide II

Reading and writing are essential to teaching and learning across the curriculum and within the disciplines, but students enter our courses with a wide range of reading and writing abilities and needs. If you'd like to provide more reading and writing support to your students, or if you want to explore other ways to collaborate with the Writing Center, let's talk! 

At the Writing Center, we're planning workshops to support reading and writing across the college. Help us help you -- and your students. Whether you'd like to collaborate on a workshop tailored to a specific course or connected to a student support service, or just want to share the reading and writing skills that you'd most like to see addressed in Writing Center workshops, we're ready to listen!

This session is open to all employees.

Register

2:30-3:30

1 flex credit hour

Bulldog 101

Location: Building 10, Room 468 (map)

Facilitator: Manuel Alejandro Pérez, President

Get ready to dive into Bulldog 101! Join us for an exciting, year-long adventure designed to onboard and build community for all our new CSM employees. Each Flex Day, we’ll carve out special time to build connections, share insider tips, and discover how we can help you shine in your new role.

What to Expect:

• Fun Activities: Led by President Pérez, we’ll kick things off with engaging activities to break the ice and get to know each other.
• Mission & Values: Explore how CSM’s mission and values play a crucial role in everything we do.
• Community Building: Connect with fellow new employees and become part of our vibrant community.

Everyone’s invited, and we can’t wait to see you there. Let’s make this journey together and unleash the full potential of our Bulldog spirit!

This session is designed for new employees but is open to all.

Register

3:40-4:40

1 flex credit hour

Exploring Accessibility Settings on your Devices

Location: Zoom

Presenters: Alexis Delevett, Adapted Technology Specialist

The session reviews built-in and free or low-cost options for accessing and creating content on their devices by learning about text to speech, speech to text, magnification and alternate formats.

This session is open to all employees.

Register

Join Zoom

3:40-4:40

1 flex credit hour

Online Teaching Drop-in Hour

Location: Zoom

Facilitators: Julieth Diaz Benitez, Instructional Designer; Erica Reynolds, Instructional Technologist

Stop by and talk with members of the Distance Education Team about your Fall 2026 online or hybrid course. You will have an opportunity to get questions answered.

This session is open to all employees.

Register

Join Zoom

3:40-4:40

1 flex credit hour

Final Flex Day Reflections with Cabinet

Location: Building 10, Room 468 (map) and Zoom

Facilitators: Manuel Alejandro Pérez, President; Lauren Servais, Vice President of Instruction; Alex Guiriba, Vice President of Student Services; Gerardo Ramirez, Vice President of Administrative Services; David Galvez, Director of Equity; Alex Claxton, Dean of
Planning, Research, Innovation & Effectiveness; René Wong, Director Community Relations & Marketing

Join the executive leadership team for the opportunity to ask questions and reflect on the day. 

This session is open to all employees.

Register

Join Zoom

Asynchronous 

1-2 flex credit hours

Complete an SMCCCD Microcourse

Have you ever wanted to learn more about a specific topic related to teaching and learning but have limited time to commit? Are you looking for opportunities to learn in small doses on your own time?

We invite you to take advantage of the SMCCCD microcourses. These are self-paced, asynchronous learning experiences that focus on specific topics of interest. Each microcourse takes 1-2 hours to complete, and you can self-enroll at any time. Upon completion, you will receive constructive feedback and a digital badge. Microcourses may be counted toward Flex credits. Complete one during Flex Day for automatic flex credit.

Current microcourses available: 

• Accessibility Basics with PopeTech (2 flex credit hours)
• Reimagining the Syllabus (2 flex credit hours)
• The Easy Button: Recordings with Zoom and Panopto (1.5 flex credit hours)
• Ungrading: Part I (2 flex credit hours)
• Instructor Feedback (1.5 flex credit hours)
• Copyright in Education (2 flex credit hours)
• Revamping Your Course Introduction Video (2 flex credit hours)
• Path to Zero Textbook Course (ZTC) (2 flex credit hours)
• Introduction to Assistive Technologies (2 flex credit hours)