University of Wisconsin Stout | Wisconsin's Polytechnic University

Sharon Giroux

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Sharon Giroux teaches in UW-Stout’s Hospitality and Tourism department. She loves what she does, loves the challenges and the opportunity to rise to the occasion. In fact, she said her favorite course is “whatever she is teaching at the moment.” Sharon started the Gaming Management certificate program which is now a minor. She teaches Gaming Management, Psychosocial Issues in Gaming (in this class, she uses a forum format and hopes to hold it in other venues), and Casino Operations—she did a faculty internship at Lake Tahoe to prepare for that class. In Tourism for Persons with Diabilities and Casino Tourism, her students research topics and publish booklets on their results. In the latter, students work on cultural, economic and psychological impacts of gaming.

To help students understand, she tries to remember what Sherry Post from LTS said about not presenting them with a “wall of words.” This is especially true of her online classes, but she keeps it in mind for all classes. She uses demonstration, and assures students there are no stupid questions. Sharon believes strongly that 1) it is not what you become but what you overcome that counts; and 2) we don’t make mistakes, we learn lessons.

In her classes, Sharon uses many real examples and tries to connect her experience or the students’ experience to the subject. She applies their projects to real life. “Students know I work hard and care about what I do,” she said, “and that reinforces that we are always on equal ground.”

As far as innovations are concerned, she noted that she spent all last year converting courses to online versions as well as teaching a full load with overloads. The online versions demand innovation; the forum approach mentioned earlier is an innovation she used to build community among her online students. She commended ASK5000 for their invaluable help with her efforts.

Finally, Sharon said that the certificate program includes off-campus students. She calls herself an “academic missionary” because anyone can enroll in the program and take courses. That kind of activity builds bridges among people, the university and the community.