Day Six in America - 7 Feburary 2008

Housatonic Community College - 7 February 2008

I have arrived for my first appointment very early today. This is due to the fact that I got very, very lost in Hartford two days ago, and this, coupled with a left hand drive car, made it quite an experience. Housatonic Community College has no security, a bit like ours. I have decided to go to the Bridgeport public library to type this blog entry. Tonight, I have an arts opening to attend at the college, and will be home late. I have driven with, and have overtaken, many Steven Speilburg 'Duel' type trucks! A real experience. More about the Housatonic Community College later.

Day Five in America - 6 February 2008

6 February 2008 - The System Office - Connecticut Community Colleges



Tobi Krutt: Manager, Tech Tools and Training
email: tkrutt@commnet.edu

All the cross state community colleges of Connecticut have commonality in terms of systems. This is carried out at the Systems Office in Hartford. I visited Tobi Krutt at the systems office today. Tobi explained her role to me. She makes available common resources for teachers, and these are wide ranging from Camtasia videos for training on software applications, to common good practice guides on teaching.

Tobi and I started our discussion using the Shrewsbury College ILT strategy as a starting point. Tobi was interested in our minimum standards for staff skills. This is not as straightforward in the Connecticut Community Colleges, since lecturers are very unionised. Therefore, all minimum skills levels are negotiated very closely with the unions; it would appear that unionism is very strong here.

Tobi's role includes a significant input into faculty staff training. She develops, carries out and commissions training events for staff. Training, however, is voluntary, although it is well taken up. Tobi's target audience is all the faculty staff from all the 12 sister colleges in Connecticut, and there are approximately 3,000 staff. Tobi also develops new resources to help faculty staff with their roles and developing online resources is a significant part of her role.

Most of the colleges are operating using Windows XP, however, there are exceptions to this.

The VLE that the college uses is WEBCT Vista. The college's database system is linked up with this, and therefore all students can be automatically enrolled to basic courses which will help them with orientation of the system and basic IT literacy courses. Tobi is in the process of rationalising the common resources and she recognises that because most of the teaching staff are part time, there is a real need for good, accessible resources.

Faculty staff are using the Camtasia software in lots of different ways. For example, some will record work carried out as if on a blackboard; students can then revisit this lecture at times convenient to them. Some staff do Powerpoint presentations, and record these via Camtasia. This is very useful for students who wish to revisit their lecture. Tobi trains staff to do this.

All staff have access to Camtasia; Tobi has not experienced any issues with accessibility. Faculty staff are able to upload the movies recorded in Camtasia to their own WebCT area.

There is online training available to help staff to develop best practice. For example, "Integrating Best Practice in an Online Course".

There is good uptake in training, although not mandatory. Tobi believes in short, "quick hit" training movies, to get staff up and running fast. Staff are using Camtasia all the time now. Tobi's training catalogue includes how to utilise Second Life in education (and Manchester Community College have already leased part of an island for educational purposes!), Wikis, blogs, podcasting etc.

All students enrolled and staff at any of the 12 Connecticut Community Colleges have access to 'myComm.net'. On here there is a wealth of training materials and resources available to anyone with login access.

Tobi ensures a healthy training uptake using a variety of methods. Two tempters are giving out small gifts (like a pen drive) and ensuring that the delegates are fed!

Some teaching instructors will train students on how to access WebCT Vista and show them how to use certain features, e.g. bulletin boards. A 'student orientation course' is automatically generated for all learners who enrol. Students have access to their VLE from home. They have a 'single sign on' through MyComm.net.

Tobi can track who has been in. If it's apparent that there are areas of non activity from staff, due to unionisation and the fact that this is not mandatory, Tobi puts out a general announcement to remind ALL staff that the facility is there and that training is available. Out of 3000 staff, about 400 have checked out the orientation, and this is increasing by about 3% per term.

When WebCT was launched about 3 years ago, there were approximately 671 faculty using the system initially; now, there are 1,175 faculty using it system-wide. Utilisation of WebCT tends to be growing as a result of positive word of mouth.

A mentoring programme was launched a while ago, this attracted release time for those who volunteered. Tobi believes that this would not have been successful without that release time.

In terms of the types of courses, Tobi explained that there were 3.

• Fully online classes; students do not meet in a classroom
• Class based or 'web enhanced' classes, where students have normal classroom classes, but this is enhanced by online resources
• Hybrid classes; some in class but some online.

There has been a huge increase in fully online classes; Tobi showed me a graph showing a growth of 72% over 4 years of recording, for all the community colleges in the state. Some colleges had increased by nearly 400%!

All trainees that come for WebCT training receive a paper manual, and online resources, so that they can refer to lessons in a format of their choice.

Tobi works with a system-wide council, called the "Teaching and Learning", which is considering a new initiative, using SurveyMonkey. She is going to be asking the students to fill in a survey about what skills they'd like their teachers to have. She'll use this as a driver for increased training! She believes that this will be a real motivator!

Tobi is developing an online scheduler for staff training. As she manages the training for 3,000 staff, there does need to be a system to manage this. She's working with IT colleagues in order to complete this work. There is online registration for staff now and this is working very well.

Podcasts: There are probably about 52-100 staff making use of podcasts within their teaching and learning. Most of these are audio only at present. Podcasts are usually uploaded to WebCT Vista, thought they could be uploaded to other podcast delivery systems such as iTunes U.

Tobi is in the process of redesigning the faculty and staff training offer. She wants all resources to be linked to other related resources so that there is a clear pathway of training for staff, rather than lots of standalone products.

I asked Tobi how training was evaluated. This was difficult, and evaluation is a difficulty, due to unionisation. Tobi's training products are a resource only. Staff can get feedback if they wish, and many want this. If a member of staff wanted an assessment for their personnel file record, this can be done too. However, to define standards against which to evaluate is a sensitive issue.

Tobi and I talked about the courses that the students enrol on in the community colleges themselves. It was interesting to note that all courses are designed by faculty members; there is no national standard. In some areas, e.g. nursing, there are attempts afoot to ensure a common approach to the courses where these take place at different colleges.

Areas we can learn from:

1. Wide use of Camtasia movies to enhance learning
2. Orientation courses automatically loaded for new learners, including basic WebCT and IT training resources
3. Student records system link with WebCT for auto enrolment on courses
4. Extensive growth in fully online courses
5. Blended 'hybrid' online courses (with some classroom contact) in operation
6. Second Life presence
7. Podcasting using Itunes U
8. Rationalisation of all training offer, with clear progressions for all types of training from pedagogy linked training to ICT based training

Tobi's essential resources:

Essential Pre-Vista Skills for Faculty:
Technological Skills Comprehensive Guide Faculty
Desktop application tutorials
60 Second Vista tutorials
Current list of training classes available to faculty and staff systemwide (from IITT Course Cart)

Day Four in America - 5 February 2008

Capital Community College - Hartford

Carl Antonucci - Director, Library Services

email: cantonucci@ccc.commnet.edu

My first meeting today was with Carl Antonucci who manages the staff and day to day operation of the library at the college. He explained that his main mission was Information Literacy and that the college needed to comply with the NEASC (see standard 7) standards for library functions.

How does the college measure information literacy? They have devised library workbooks that are assessed by library staff and works as an information literacy assessment tool. There is an information literacy test before and after to measure the effectiveness of learning.

Most students are from poor backgrounds and schools in poorer areas do not have the resources to prepare students as well as they'd like. Therefore, many of the students come in without the necessary skills of independence to cope with the study at higher levels. In order to widen participation and have an impact on retention, the college has opened a 'black and latinos men's centre' which was part of the 'Achieving the Dream' project. This was a grant to help with retention.

Carl explained that a common curriculum is being developed between the 5 colleges that are offering nursing. This seems to be one of the biggest differences; there is no common curriculum within the state or the country. It is down to the staff within the colleges to agree to develop common practice. Carl explained that if a high school teacher wanted to transfer to another state, they would probably have to take the relevant courses within the state in order to meet the criteria for the post! It is difficult to transfer qualifications and it is up to the receiving institution as to whether they'll accept them.

Capital College has 1,800 FTEs. Lots of these students do information literacy courses; there are also a lot of ESL (ESOL/ EFL) students, particularly Hispanic.

Carl demonstrated 'Info Anytime' a fantastic resourse, available 24/7 to help students with research issues. They can access online chat with a librarian in order to be pointed in the right direction. Also, there is access to 'MyComm Net', which is a rich resource with online learning support, study skills/research guides, WebCT (their VLE) and information about financial aid, amongst many other things.

Jacqueline Phillips - Director, Welcome Center
email: jphillips@ccc.commnet.edu

Jacqueline heads up the 'Welcome Center', which was formed 7 years ago in order to retain students and improve retention. Jacqueline explained that the Welcome Center was an 'open door' to the college. Before, there was no such thing. This was now a 'one stop shop' to deal with anyone who walks in, and deals with enquiry right through to the classroom. The Welcome Center gives potential students everything that they need.

Jacqueline explained two initiatives, Student Orientation and the workshops that take place. Student Orientation happens one week before classes start and is like an 'assembily'. During this, students can catch up on missing documentation, financial advice, carpark, expectations of the course, meeting the Deans, they have a motivational speaker and registration also takes place. The workshops are like mini versions of this in smaller groups and are focussed on the expectations of the faculty.

The Welcome Center does high school tours, and workshops with students, and develops strong partnerships with the community. One particular interesting strategy was to buddy college students with 5th graders and offer one credit to do so. This helped the transition process from school into college. Other initiatives include the 'Concast' programme. This is state funded and its goal is to increase retention and graduation. 50 learners come in, in the summer to do a 6 week bridging course and Jacqueline explained that all learners stay!

There is an academic alerts system. If students are presenting with difficulties, early warning letters are sent home outlining the issues and what the expectation are. There is a typical 50% resonse to these letters. Personal tutoring is not mandatory, unlike ours.

Ray Hughes - Acting Academic Division Director

email: chughes@ccc.commnet.edu

Ray explained that students who do not come up to the required standard in their placement tests (like our initial assessments), can only access 'development programmes'. About 90% of all students need to access development programmes before they can access credited programmes, as the college has an 'open enrollment' status. Credit courses last for 2 years and are full time. Typically, students take 4 courses, worth 3 credits each. If a student is a 'high flyer', they can do 15 credits.

Ray and I spoke about funding, and he explained the difference between continuing education (where students pay) and community college education (where there is funding from the state). There is an allocation given to the college, from the Connecticut state. The amount that is given depends on the number of equivalent FTEs. The college does try to augment the amount of money that it gets, through fees. If the college comes in over FTE target, they get more money!

Adjuncts (Part Time fixed term contract teachers 'instructors') are paid approximately $34,000 per annum. If recruitment goes down, funding would drop, but at present, there is no issue with lack of retention or achievement. It was apparent that many of the college staff weren't saddled with the worries and woes of the funding issues that UK colleges are.

There is a high reliance on adjunct teachers. I asked about teaching observations. It is apparent that this is done, however, I'm not sure whether this is a college wide initiative. Ray said that this happens if there is a promotion opportunity for an adjunct. Full time teachers are required to teach 4 classes (12 hours) per week, with an additional 3 hours of responsibility!

Ray Hughes (left), Jacqueline Phillips (right)


Glisma Pérez-Silva, MS - Learning Disabilities Specialist

email: gperez-silva@ccc.commnet.edu

Glisma has a background in special education. She explained that after the age of 21, people with special educational needs want to come to college, and the law (ADA) allows them to come to college under the section 504 rehabillitation law. It's part of the civil rights of the individual. Glisma sees her role as an advocate for people with special needs. The law states that the person can seek reasonable accommodations and they need to disclose any disability for these to be taken into account. It has to be the student who discloses, not a parent or anyone else. Glisma is then required to review documentation to prove that the learner needs special accommodations. The expectation is that the accommodations are 'reasonable'. Whatever accommodations are given, the student is still required to meet the requirements of the course; the course content does NOT change. A confidential disclosure letter is then sent to the professors to alert them to the fact that accommodations have been agreed. If it is ascertained that, for example, a laptop is needed, this has to be provided by the student. There is no pot of money for this from the college.

To begin with, only 35 students disclosed, but due to positive PR, now there are 70. The student body is tolerant of physical disabilities and sees peers with a disability as no different to others. This is due to the laws of America that have been in place for the past 25 years. Equality of service has been in force for this length of time already.

If there is an issue with behaviour, the Dean of Student Services deals with this; if it is a serious matter in the classroom, security is called immediately and students can actually be arrested by on site community police officers. Training in discipline control is not something that is ordinarily given to staff.

Glaisma's team find getting information from schools very difficult. If information is needed, the student themselves have to request it from the school due to the law on confidentiality.

Poor performance is tackled in 3 stages; a warning, followed by a probation period, and then suspension. Also, the majority of students study with financial aid; this is compromised if there are issues with performance.

The Career Centre within the college focusses on students developing skills in resume writing and identifying potential employers. They also provide a job fair where companies are invited in and mini interviews can take place.

Service Learning is a new strategy where learners gain credits for working in the community. This is a big movement within America in terms of contributing to the community. Students aren't paid, but earn credits. This is something that a student would elect to enrol on.

Glaisma stated that every student receives learning in, 'Introduction to Software Applications.' This is especially beneficial for older learners.

Childcare is limited for learners with children, and it is an expectation that students will make their own arrangements. There is a service within the college, but it has limited hours. Students pay for this service.

There is a 'lunch lecture' service. This is where lecturers or outside speakers give talks on interesting subjects during the lunchtime (12-1pm)

Glaisma does presentations about disabilities to staff within the college, in order to help them understand what it's like to work with a population with additional needs.

There are many distance learning opportunities. This is a growing area and there is a real demand for it.

Marie Basche - Acting Director, Academic Success Center
email: abasche@ccc.commnet.edu

Marie works in, what I would call, a basic and study skills centre. She has a caseload of support tutors, who are professional. At the Success Center, there is a Math Center and a Writing Skills Center, and these are 'drop in'. This support is entirely voluntary, however, 27% of students do come into the centre, which is open, airy, professional looking and fresh. Marie has software called 'Tutor Track' in order for her to analyse what support is being given where. There is a 1 hour per week, per subject amount of support that can be allocated to a typical student, and this is increased if there is a learner with special needs. Marie uses surveys to ascertain the effectiveness of support; she sees this as the most reliable measure. The math center is open 60 hours per week, and the most difficulties are with mathematics, the same as the UK. It appears that low levels of basic skills are an issue for those in the US too.

One of the main aims is to get the learners to take responsibility for their learning and to become more independent. They want independent, active learners.

Dr. Jai E. Smith - Director of Student Activities

email: jsmith@ccc.commnet.edu

Jai is the equivalent of our enrichment coordinator, but the difference is that the student body is really very much encouraged by Jai to become part of the student Senate! There are so many different initiatives which develop the students' management skills; they have an office, a board room, games rooms, television rooms, sports teams and those that are successfully voted for are given a small budget to spend on the activity that has been elected. In order to be elected, the student needs to get a petition of 50 signatures and this is carefully monitored.

As we walked around, it was clear that the learners knew and respected Jai. He clearly had a rapport with them and this was part of the strength of the work. The whole of one floor has been given over to students and their management of enrichment programmes!

Learning Opportunities for us so far...

1. Robust assessment of information literacy skills
2. Active development and assessment of information literacy skills
3. Widening participation; the Black and Latino Men's Center
4. College in the middle of the town
5. Courses offered to businesses for upskilling in ICT
6. InfoAnytime real time chat study support
7. One stop shop for enquiry thru to classroom - the Welcome Center
8. Student Orientation for whole college intake
9. 5th Grade buddying system from college students
10. Early warning letters sent to students with potential performance problems
11. Strong emphasis on basic skills within development programmes and through success center
12. Excellent disclosure rate for learners with disabilities through positive promotion
13. On the spot security if needed from telephones from classrooms
14. Specialised Careers Center
15. Service Learning initiative across America
16. Lunch lectures of interesting topics
17. Excellent enrichment take-up

Day Three in America - 4 February 2008

Manchester Community College.

Today was the start of the shadowing work for real. My visit was to Manchester Community College in Connecticut. (Manchester).

All the colleges in Connecticut are part of the Connecticut Community Colleges, a type of consortium. I have already learned that all courses are 'centre devised' and centre credited. There are opportunities for transfers to be made, for example, if a student wanted to move to another college in Connecticut, however this will work if both institutions recognise each others' credits. There are compact arrangements made with sister colleges, and there is an inspecorate of the colleges in the state; this is once every 10 years and not as horrific as OFSTED from what I can gather. They are called the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Meeting one - Dianne K McHutchison - Coordinator, Institutional Advancement
email: rmchutchison@mcc.commnet.edu

Dianne explained that her role was about supporting students who may not be able to afford courses (students, in the main, pay for their courses). Students in this category apply for funding and this is mainly for books, which can cost, on average, $300 per semester.

I asked Dianne if Connecticut colleges were typical of US colleges, and she said that they were. Traditionally, students are 18-20 years of age, which is much younger than previously, which was typically 28-29. Dianne explained that this was now the college of 'first choice'. In America, there used to be somewhat of a stigma attached to community colleges. In the past, these colleges where where students went if they went to university, but 'partied too much....' Parents would typically send them back to community colleges to catch up! Now, however, the college is the first choice institution. A lot of PR work with the community has been done to ensure that it is seen that way.

In terms of quality, the college looks at its graduation rates to determine how well the institution is performing. Dianne explained that it is difficult to define 'student success', since many students move forward a lot, but may not graduate (similar to distance travelled, but they do not capture this in any way). At present, if graduation rates go down, there are no repercussions; this, however, is set to change.

The college does a lot of work with feeder institutions. They put on 'transfer fairs'. This is managed by admissions. Other institutions come into the college twice per year and this is a very successful event. They also go out to schools. I noted that there was building work going on and Dianne explained that the trend in America now is to build high schools attached to community colleges. These schools are for those who don't necessarily do well in regular schools; it works really well, and many students transfer seamlessly to the community college.

Interesting that they have the same issues with smoking!

The college also puts on 'Open House' events. This are for all high schools and parents of students at the schools. All courses are represented, and typically 4,500 people attend. The college always feeds the parents and students with snacks, and they see this as a 'carrot' to get them in... it works! At the same time, the college is able to plug its 'credit free' courses to the parents. There are a number of these, things like cookery, arts etc.

Dianne explained that sometimes, there were problems with students going onto university, but their credits not being recognised, and therefore there are compact arrangements in place with local universities to address the problem. It does depend on the receiving institution as to whether the credits are recognised.

In Connecticut, the governing offices of the colleges work together to ensure that the courses on offer are rationalised and not duplicated. All the presidents (principals) of the colleges meet regularly to exchange ideas etc.

The college is also struggling with decreases in funding, and therefore there is a huge emphasis on fund-raising. Many presidents are guaged on their ability to raise funds. Funds are used for scholarships and enrichment activities, e.g. bringing arts and music to the students into the college.

Carl Ochnio - Director of Career Services
email: cochnio@mcc.commnet.edu

Carl explained that 'Job Fairs' were started 19 years ago. This is where local employers are invited into the college to recruit graduates and the local public, who are also invited to attend. It's open to the whole community and takes place on a Saturday. The statistics are impressive; 67% of people that came to the job fare were recruited! There are benefits to the college in doing this; firstly, it gets people onto the campus. The job fare attracts 2-3000 people! It's now an annual tradition. This year's job fare was announced 2 weeks ago, and already 40 companies have signed up! The college partners with the local newspaper to advertise. The employers are charged a small amount for the running costs of the job fair; this does not put them off and they are really keen to pay. It saves them advertising and interviewing etc. It costs the college $20-30K to run the event; all covered by the employees. Click to see the link for the Manchester Community College job fair.

Audrey Letizia - Coordinator of Annual Giving
email: aletizia@mcc.commnet.edu

Audrey spoke to me about two areas of her work, firstly about how anyone who has graduated from the college is invited to join the alumni for a small annual fee or lifetime membership. They then receive benefits; a magazine twice per year the college, and other alumnis and also are kept in contact with the college. This is good because relationships with the college are maintained for a long time! Audrey has had to work really hard to grow the numbers, and this is picking up though incentives such as a 'free year's membership' to grow members. Audrey stated that it was about 'keeping connected'.

The other aspect of Audrey's job is to manage donations to the college. Any relationship with the college is approached for donations. A panel is convened to decide how to spend the donations and these are usually on a variety of things, examples given were assistive technology, cultural diversity festival, excursions and resources. Special recognision is given to those who donate to show appreciation and small gifts given, e.g. a calculator or umbrella.


Left: Audrey Letizia, right: Dianne McHuchison

Joe Navarra - Counselor
email: jnavarra@mcc.commnet.edu

Joe explained that his role was varied; he is involved in traditional counselling (e.g. if students have emotional issues and problems with relationships and family), career counseling, transfer advice and course advice. He is also significantly involved in working with learners who have disabilities or certain difficulties.


We discussed the levels of disability at the college. Joe explained that the college had an open admissions policy, one where if you pay your $20 fee, you can join the college. The college also has a rigorous assessment process, for math and English skills. If students fall below a certain level, there are limited courses that can be recommended.

Joe explained that in the US, the schools have excellent support for learners with difficulties and/or disabilities, however, they are also given unrealistic expectations regarding coming into a community college. This is a source of tension since the colleges do not want to set students up to fail. Personal care is not provided by colleges; the expectation is that this is paid for by students themselves. There is an American Disability Act that governs how colleges operate.

Joe explained that physical access in the colleges was very good, and this isn't an issue. Wheelchair users do not have issues with accessibility. All buildings are required to meet standards set by ADAAGS. Just as we are careful to use language in the correct way, so are Americans.

From talking to Joe, I was able to establish that this community college offered a similar programme to traditional sixth forms, but these were almost like going 'back to school'. Students come in and choose pretty much what they'd like to do; an example would be English, math, history, phychology. There are poor levels of basic skills too; about 60% of applicants are below the level that is expected of them! Functional skills are poor in the US too!

I asked Joe about exam concessions; these are decided by him. He was surprised to hear that in our country, the awarding body (who is regulated by a government body) will decide on the exam concessions. In fact, everyone that I spoke to today was surprised to hear about the national standards for qualifications. Whilst they had heard of A-Levels, they hadn't heard of the other level 3 qualifications that we offer in the UK.

In terms of tutoring, this is OPTIONAL! Students can choose to visit a tutor, but there is a stigma attached to this, as it is seen to be the strugglers that need this. When I explained our system of mandatory tutorials, he was really surprised and couldn't belive the level of support that our students get. Their retention rate is about half ours! I explained that it was suicide to us, if our retention rate fell, due to funding. Again, Joe was able to reinforce that this measure is going to start to be taken a lot more seriously in the US soon. MCC uses a system of successful student peer mentoring to buddy struggling students.

Just as we have students who come to college under duress from parents (child benefit / EMA) so do the US colleges; healthcare insurance (family) expires for children when they cease full-time education. There is a pressure for students to continue therefore. Full-time education is 12 hours per week in the MCC.

The academic calendar is divided into 4 semesters. These are modularised, so that if a student wants to join mid year, they can. They simply wait for the next sememster to start. They also have the option to do a fast track sememster that runs over 6 weeks on a Friday PM and Saturday.

MCC only has a very small pot for support... literally only $2,000!

SUMMARY
STRENGTHS...

1. Centre devised qualifications allow the college to play to its strengths.



2. Active and effective fundraising for less wealthy students



3. Excellent community links



4. Good PR; college has changed its perception to a 'first choice' college



5. Excellent contact with students who have progressed



6. Exceptional employer engagement through recruitment fares



7. Effective student peer mentoring system



8. New build for high-school attached to community college

Day Two in America - 3 February 2008

Today, Sunday, was a day of firstly going to 'Bagelicious'. My host family, Sam (who works at Naugatuck Valley Community College), his wife Sharon and their son Andrew, took me to the Bagel bar. I had to drive; it was my first 'driving lesson' in my hire car. I had an onion bagel (toasted) with creme cheese and olives. It was very good. I would recommend a diet of bagels to anyone, but you have to get them here. The ones in the UK are not good by comparison!

In terms of driving, so far, so good. I didn't kill anyone! I've learned a lot about the driving rules, and the 4-way stops.

I did nearly drive (right turn) to the left lane, but we straightened up immediately. I went shopping with Sharon, for food that I might want during my stay. The supermarket was 'stop and shop'.

The obligatory photos of me American shopping...

After Bagelicious, home, then Target for a Tracfone. I can call anyone from this cell phone in the US and it's a lot less expensive. However, I cannot phone the UK, so it's good old Skype for that.

More driving lessons. We went to New Haven, to the train station, as I will be driving there to get the train to New York at the weekend.

Day One in America - 2 February 2008

I left for America from Birmingham international at 9:45am, on KLM to Amsterdam. Once in Amsterdam, it was relatively painless to get to my connection flight. I had a window seat for the American flight, all set with my iPod Nano, magazines, tissues (for my cold) and my camera...

As you can see, I look a little tired in this shot. Thanks to my colleagues for having a leaving 'do' the evening before!

Connecticut River

I arrive at Bradley International Airport, Hartford, and Sam meets me at the airport. There are tight security measures, and I have to give two fingerprints and a photo in order to get past border control. The airport is small and I pick up my Hertz hire car. As I am tired, Sam drives back.

I'm stopping in Cheshire, a beautiful colonial town; very quiet. Streets like the photo here:

Sam and Sharon's house

More pics of Connecticut: