Sterling Silver Award
Tom Lyons
Senior Instructional Designer
Employee of the Month - May 2012
“Tom makes teaching online easier. He clearly, professionally, and promptly answers all my questions about Angel, never making me feel stupid or a waste of his time. He handles all questions technological; not once has Tom ever said, ‘that's not my job.’ His directions make complicated processes seem easy, and his sense of humor helps me keep my perspective. Tom often works early and late, replying to my emails at 7 a.m. or 9 p.m., but today takes the cake. I wrote him at 7:55 this morning—a Sunday—and he researched my question and replied with a screen capture within 10 minutes. Wow! His extraordinary conscientiousness and professionalism deserve special recognition and serve as a model for all of us communicating online.”
Kim Johnson, English Instructor, English and Modern Languages
“Since I started teaching for NIC in 2001, Tom has been an incredible mentor and asset in developing and managing my online courses. He responds to questions and resolves problems promptly, and his relaxed demeanor has a calming effect on those of us who tend to get a bit excited about technical problems! One fall - the weekend before school had even started - he interrupted his Sunday plans to help troubleshoot my issue. He truly deserves this award! We couldn't do it without him!”
Amy Flint, English Instructor, English and Modern Languages
“It is with great pleasure that I nominate Tom Lyons for the Sterling Silver Award. I have worked with Tom for many years and feel that he is well deserving of this award. Tom is one of those unique people who, through his welcoming attitude, sense of humor, and professional competence, has added considerably to the quality of our professional community and has made online learning more accessible to both faculty (by assisting them in their courses and course creation) and students (by helping to facilitate the availability of online courses). Tom is truly a great asset to this college!”
Alan Lamb, AIST/Sociology/Anthropology Instructor, Social and Behavioral Sciences
“I have worked with Tom Lyons for years, and very closely since Internet classes began being taught. I have never met an individual so knowledgeable and helpful at the same time. He basically taught me how to use WebCT because I barraged him with questions when I first began teaching online, and not once–NOT ONCE—did he ever show frustration with me. After a year or so of teaching online, I partnered with Tom to create a course to teach other faculty how to teach online. During the time we worked together, I think we initiated 70 or 80 faculty to online instruction. Tom was never anything but professional, creative, and kind, working weekends and evenings A LOT. If anyone deserves this Sterling Silver Award, it would be Tom Lyons.”
Fran Bahr, Art Instructor, Communication, Fine Arts, and Humanities
“I would like to nominate Tom Lyons for the Sterling Silver Award. Tom is one of the most knowledgeable, capable, and patient people at NIC. His expertise in all types of educational technology is famous, of course, but more importantly he is a scholar and a teacher of teachers. In all of his work, he focuses on best practices in teaching and learning, helping faculty across the curriculum to make their courses clearer and more effective in the ways that we teach and reach students. Most importantly, he is incredibly kind and nonjudgmental of those of us who make repeated mistakes without fail, replying to emails and phone calls instantaneously and patiently. He is a lifelong learner, a teacher, a high tech wizard, and especially a good friend to all here at NIC.”
Laurie Olson-Horswill, English Department Assistant Chair and English/Humanities Instructor, English and Modern Languages