Eric Cameron

In this session, I will walk you through my interview with "David Jeffries" with Agile Therapeutics, a biotech company offering a remote data analyst role. We settled on a salary, discussed health benefits, and I even negotiated extra vacation days for myself.

The only problem? David doesn't exist and neither does the job. David is a scammer impersonating a hiring manager, and if you have applied for jobs online lately, you may have run across this scam. We will discuss the ways scammers find us, the scammer's playbook and the warning signs to look out for, where companies like Microsoft and Zelle can do better to protect the innocent job seeker, and the motivations of the scammers.

The aftermath of the story? I managed to get Zelle to shut down one of their money mule accounts, but unfortunately, his teams account and his fake domain are still up and running.

Our students have so many responsibilities. Many of them, if not required to do so, will not put as much time as we'd like into our classes. In STEM classes, that can spell disaster.
I have had success at Passaic County Community College with embedded tutors, with a few twists. First, we try to find students who recently took the class with us (rather than a professional tutor with a higher-level degree). Second, we get them to attend our lectures and be part of the class community, someone the students see and interact with. Third, the tutors schedule weekly workshops with the students, of which students are required to attend a number during the semester.
The combination of working with peers in a low-stakes environment has led to strong results. Among the questions I will answer: How do these tutors get paid?, How do I mitigate complaints about the workshops and busy schedules?, Is the success causation or correlation?, and How much work does the faculty member have to do?

This hands-on session bridges science and technology by introducing participants to digital fingerprint analysis. Following a demonstration by a science faculty member on how to lift latent prints, attendees will learn how to scan those prints into fingerprinting software, enter data into a database, and search for potential matches. The session highlights the real-world applications of biometrics and the role of computing in forensic investigation.

In any computer class that is designed to teach application software, common problems arise. How do you demonstrate software and keep everyone on the same page with you? How do you keep it at a level so you don’t lose the less skilled students, while not boring the more experienced students? How can you be sure they aren’t just surfing the Internet and tuning you out? This session will focus on how I found using group work yields better work from students, while also bearing other, unexpected results.

This presentation highlights PCCC’s innovative learning community that pairs CIS 101: Introduction to Computers and Information Systems with ESLR 004: Advanced ESL Reading. By enrolling a cohort of ESL students in a reserved CIS 101 section and thematically linking both curricula under the theme “Participating in the Computer Revolution,” students build college-level technology and research skills while advancing their English proficiency. Integrated assignments (such as biographies of computer pioneers, website classification, article summaries, and PowerPoint presentations) support both courses simultaneously, fostering language development alongside technical competency. Beyond academics, this learning community strengthens peer support networks, encourages lasting friendships, and has led to increased student interest in CIS majors and certificates, demonstrating the program’s success in engaging ESL students and guiding them toward continued achievement in computing.