cynthiasite

I use a sociological approach in my intro to literature courses, which I typically teach in the spring semesters. In each class, a section of the readings are devoted to socioeconomic class and labor issues and in each class my students struggle to understand what "class" really means. Most are quick to identify themselves as "middle class" without, I suspect, knowing for a fact whether or not they actually are "middle class." It just sounds like the "right" thing for Americans to say.

This is why I was thrilled to discover the New York Times graphic How Class Works. In addition to allowing users to enter their own information to see where they rank in comparison to other Americans, the site teaches students that four factors are commonly used to gauge wealth: occupation, education, income, and wealth.

My colleague Chris Conzen, our Director of Campus Activities, sent the following information about the Student Online Readiness Tool (SORT) to me. This site allows students to assess their comfort and ability to succeed in an online environment. Chris notes, "from what I hear, this is especially useful for non-traditional learners who are more likely to believe they may not be able to handle distance learning, but who also may benefit the most given the smaller windows of time they traditionally have to attend classes."

Might be a useful tool to ask your online students to complete, or at least review at their leisure, prior to the start of your online courses!

Last year, I discovered Gel.

Not THAT kind of Gel. The conference/open learning project called Gel, which stands for "Good Experience Live," in NYC.

The website's "about" page describes Gel as "a conference and community exploring good experience in all its forms -- in business, technology, art, society, and life. Instead of focusing on just one thing (design, technology, user experience, business, etc.) like many conferences, Gel touches on many things. This challenges attendees to find, and learn from, the patterns that underlie good experience, even in disciplines vastly different from their own."

Make Internet TV is a project conceived by the Participatory Culture Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit based in Worcester, MA, with a goal to provide open-source tools and services that give people ways to engage in their culture.

Make Internet TV offers an easily comprehended guide, with step-by-step instructions, for shooting, editing, and publishing videos online as well as how to ensure that you have an audience for your videos. The guide starts with a primer about equipment and walks you all the way through promotion of your video creations.

Enjoy!

I discovered the free online whiteboard called Skrbl last spring and have been wanting to share with colleagues. Seems like it could really prove useful for distance ed faculty who teach in the areas of math, science, or the arts. 

Skrbl is described on its website as a "simple and easy online multi user whiteboard" that lets you text and sketch with others online. You can also share files and pictures via Skrbl.

Looking to use podcasts in your online classes, but not sure how to get started? Check out these resources: 

• Rehberger, Dean. "Using and Understanding Digital Audio in the Classroom." http://english.ttu.edu/Kairos/11.2/topoi/rice/workshops.htm

• Cooper, Alicia. "Coop's Word on Podcasting & Blogging." http://soul4real.wordpress.com:80/ or http://drcoop.pbwiki.com/

• Mitsuma, Kunio. "Delivering Audio & Video to Students." http://faculty.kutztown.edu/mitsuma/faculty/general%20interest/podcast/
  
  
• Richardson, Will.  Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin Press, 2006.

• Krause, Steve. Broadcast Composition :  Using Audio Files and Podcasts in an Online Writing Course. C&C Online, Fall 2006. http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/krause1/index.html

I'm in Washington, DC, on April 27-30 to attend the AFT-NEA Higher Education Joint Conference: Building Alliances for Higher Education and the Public Good.

As Adjunct Coordinator for the Faculty Association, of course, I'll be attending several sessions on representing and advocating for contingent faculty. Unfortunately, one of the adjunct workshops I'd love to attend is being offered at the same time I'm presenting, but I'll make it to two other sessions.

For my All College Day workshop on effective online teaching, here are my notes and materials to facilitate discussion and here's are my DE discussion forums so that you can share your good ideas and thinking. Currently I'm sitting & listening to Chuck's keynote & I'm blogging... because I'm a Gen Xer who goes nowhere without her laptop. Below are some of the websites Chuck cited (click "read more"):

In today's New York Times (2.10.08), Nicholas Kristof has an op-ed piece titled "When Women Rule." In it, he argues that while the U.S. hasn't yet had a woman leader, history proffers a number of examples of successful women rulers. In the democratic age, however, we see fewer examples of successful women leaders.

The challenge, he asserts, is that qualities associated with leadership, when viewed in women, are seen as negative--but when viewed in men are seen as positive. "A woman can be perceived as competent or as likable, but not both," Kristof writes. While men are encouraged and rewarded by promoting their own successes, "...when women highlight their accomplishments, that's a turn-off."

Well, the big news at Suffolk this semester is that the college has decided to adopt Desire2Learn as its primary course management system. You can read the last college brief about the training and migration plan here: http://raven.sunysuffolk.edu:8081/CollegeBriefs/CB72.doc.

That said, I've seen and dabbled with Desire2Learn, and I personally am THRILLED about the new system! It's fabulous. I've used SLN a little, and I've taught dozens upon dozens of sections of 4 different courses in Bb, and I've created this entire site using Drupal to host my composition class here at Suffolk. So I'm quite familiar with the benefits and drawbacks of each system, and I'm excited by what D2L will enable us to do. It has plenty of features that Bb and the others do not, and I'm eager to explore it more fully. Stay tuned for updates about D2L at SCCC.