Faculty Development News This Week:


Teaching


--Book on Community College Teaching


Honored But Invisible: An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges,
by W. Norton Grubb (Routledge1999).


"This book examines the nature of teaching, and the institutional forces that shape it, in community colleges. These colleges include the most diverse students and the most varied subjects of any form of education in the U.S. Unfortunately, both they and the teaching within them are often invisible."


Honored But Invisible: An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges


--Using Blogs to Exhibit Class Projects


This link suggests ways of using blogs to manage project communication.


Publishing a Project Weblog


--What is Blogging?


Blogging--What Is It?


--Principles of Adult Learning


Pedagogical principles relating to adult learners.


Principles of Adult Learning
--Positive Feedback


This article by Alfie Kohn was published in Young Children, September 2001;
and, in abridged form (with the title "Hooked on Praise"), in Parents Magazine, May 2000. Although Kohn is talking about teaching young children, the psychology of rewarding students with a perfunctory "good job!" response is no different for youths than adults. Kohn argues that we, as educators, should think twice about handing out this type of feedback.


Here is a quote to entice you to read the rest of the article:


"The reason praise can work in the short run is that young children are hungry for our approval. But we have a responsibility not to exploit that dependence for our own convenience. A "Good job!" to reinforce something that makes our lives a little easier can be an example of taking advantage of children's dependence. Kids may also come to feel manipulated by this, even if they can not quite explain why. "


Read the entire article:


Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job"


--The Rise of Cell Phone Cheating in the Classroom


This article appeared in the December 2, 2003 issue of The Christian Science Monitor.


A Call to Curb Cell Phones in Class


--Scholar Activists


How to make a difference as a scholar-activist.


Professors Who Profess

Software / Design Tools


--HTML Tutorial


Interested in learning HTML? Check out this site:


Netstrider


--Microsoft Blogging Tool


Go ahead: register and get a free blog site to start work on!


The Spoke


--New Age Keyboarding


Q-Pointer is voice enabled software that allows you to voice enable any program (net browsers, word processors, photo editing--yes, any software)! You simply speak to click, surf, dictate, and keyboard using a headset.


Q Pointer Keyboard


--Float Images Tutorial


Floatutorial takes you through the basics of floating elements such as images, drop caps, next and back buttons, image galleries, inline lists and multi-column layouts.


Floattutorial


--Learning Objects Portal


This site is a gateway to learning objects resources.


Learning Objects Portal


--Advanced Distributed Learning


"In November 1997, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) launched the Advanced Distributed Learning
(ADL) initiative. A major collaborative ADL partner and presenter at the Kick-Off Meeting was the Instructional Management Systems (IMS) Project, a consortium of government organizations, over 1,600 colleges and universities, and 150 corporations. The purpose of this project is to develop an open architecture for online learning."--Center for International Education, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.


ADL


--Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)


What is GEM?


GEM is


"... a consortium effort to provide "one-stop, any-stop" access to the substantial, but uncataloged, collections of Internet-based educational materials available on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites.


... a consortium of 400 + organizations and individuals who support the goals and mission of the GEM Project.


... a set of metadata standards and technical mechanisms that provides efficient, simple access to educational materials.


... The Gateway, a searchable, browseable catalog of metadata records for resources from GEM Consortium members Internet sites."


To find out more:


GEM


--National Learning Infrastructure Initiative(NLII)


What exactly does NLII do?


"The NLII organizes its work around key themes chosen annually from the larger domain of the transformation of teaching and learning with technology. The NLII has begun plotting this domain space visually in a series of concept maps to gain higher-level views of the relationships between themes. Working with the NLII Planning Committee, the NLII identifies emerging themes, tracks their development, and prioritizes work for each year on selected themes. Key themes change as they mature into the mainstream and new ones are identified. The NLII model uses a framework for action that organizes the key themes according to the interrelationships and interdependencies among the forces affecting behavior associated with the role of technology in transforming teaching and learning. The framework represents the complex interplay of agents, technologies, roles, communities, and principles, reflecting the sociotechnological context of decision-making on today's campus."


Interesting site.


NLII

Culture and Trends


--The Library as Temple


Read a passage from this article:


"The library is also not just functionally important to communities all over the world, but a library itself is the embodiment of enlightenment values in all the best sense of that. A library is a temple to the notion that knowledge is not just for the elite and that access should be low cost if not free, that doors should be open. Investing in libraries monetarily, spiritually, intellectually, legally is one of the best things we can do for our immediate state and for the life we hope we can build for the rest of the century."


Read more:


The Anarchist in the Library


--m-learning


This European Commission site is thought-provoking an disturbing on a number of counts. Here is what the Homepage says about the site's mission and purpose:


The products and services in development are designed to capture the interest of young adults (16 to 24) who are not currently taking part in education or training and to assist them in the development of life long learning objectives. The learning themes focus on subjects of interest to young adults, e.g. football and music, and the modules include activities designed to develop aspects of literacy and numeracy. m-learning's target audience includes young adults who are unemployed, under-employed or homeless.


m-learning

Online Communities


--Phantom Authority


This article explores many of the issues involved in the creation and maintenance of an open, online community.


Interesting reading.


Phantom Authority


--Wikipedia


What is Wikipedia?


"Wikipedia is a multilingual project to create a complete an accurate free content encyclopedia. We started in January 2001 and are currently working on 180096 articles in the English version."


Visit the site:


Wikipedia


--Slashdot


--World Summit on the Information Society


Even if you can not travel to Geneva for the 2003 conferee, you can visit the site.


World Summit on the Information Society


--

Blog Grab Bag




--Blogging at Harvard


Read about the Blogs at Harvard Initiative.


Blogging Comes to Harvard


--Blogging at Stanford


"As multidisciplinary work becomes more and more important to the sustained success of Stanford University, the tools available from ITSS must be better able to support such work.


Weblogs are an excellent tool for supporting multidisciplinary teams, which is one of the reasons why we're considering creating a Blog service for all Stanford faculty, staff and students."


Read more:


Stanford ITSS Blog Project


--Top Twenty Definitions of Blogging


This is a list of blog applications.


Top Twenty Definitions of Blogging


--Internet Mapping


"A project to create a comprehensive graphical representation of the internet in just one day and using only a single computer has already produced some eye-catching images."


Internet Mapping


--Workplace Rituals


An interesting perspective on the culture of work.


Rituals of the Workplace


--Online History Sourcebook


Online texts for ancient, medieval, and modern history. A history film archive is also available.


History Sourcebook


--Voice of the Shuttle (VoS)


"Started in 1994 as a suite of static Web pages, VoS has now been rebuilt as a database that serves content dynamically on the Web. "


Recommended.


Voice of the Shuttle


--Teacher Xpress


This education resources portal is managed by a robot!


TeacherXpress


--Virtual Tour of the Concorde


It is the end of an era for the Concorde passenger jet, but you can still take a virtual tour of this magnificent plane.


Take the tour:


Tour the Concorde

Until next semester!


Blog editor

Faculty Development News This Week:


Faculty Development at Inver Hills


--Faculty Roundtable


Are you seeing more student behaviors that are interfering in how well your classroom climate is working for you and your students? This roundtable will begin a discussion about how we can effectively build a classroom framework that is respectful to students and to ourselves.


You are invited to a Faculty Roundtable:


Classroom Civility: Using Your Syllabus to Create a Positive Classroom Climate


Wednesday December 10, 2:00 p.m.


Conference Room B


Panel participants:


Anthony Collins


Judy DeBoer


Connie Manos-Andrea


Barbara Read


Kathy Schur


--Salon


In the tradition of a French salon, you and a guest are invited to engage in discussion with Ed Juers,retired IHCC sociology and criminal justice instructor, who will speak on "Power and Self-Interest in Politics."


Thursday, December 18, 4-6 p.m.


LOCATION: Wells Lanes Eatery and Pub, 365 Concord Street N.,
South Saint Paul (please note the location change).


This event is sponsored by the Faculty Development Committee.

Grants


--CTL/MNSCU Grant Applications


Do you have an interesting teaching / learning project in mind? Well, read on.


The Center for Teaching and Learning in the Office of the Chancellor offers opportunities for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities faculty and staff to apply for funds to enhance teaching and learning on system campuses.


The CTL Grants are available through the Learning That Lasts program with support from The Bush Foundation and the Office of the Chancellor. Applicants may choose to apply electronically or via the mail.


Proposals are due by January 22, 2004, for projects beginning in July 2004.


Proposal guidelines for CLT Grants available online at CTL GRANTS or by calling 651-649-5740.


APPLY!


This is the second notice for this grant opportunity.

Educational Games/Design


Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 (TM) software is now available for free download from www.alias.com/mayaple. Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 offers almost every feature found in the full commercial version of Maya Complete(TM) 5 including an industry-leading set of modeling, animation, rendering and effects tools.


Check it out:


Alias


--Video Game Research


This is an international journal of game research. Here is what the journal's Homepage says:


"Game Studies is a crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year at www.gamestudies.org. Our primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games. Our mission - To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming."


Game Studies


--Icon Design


Learn about the "rhetoric of icons".


Icon Design


--Icon Museum


ICONography is an independently curated exhibition exploring the computer icon (desktop or other) as "a defining element of the entire construction of computational culture, and one that resonates strongly with the place of the computer icon in the syntax of world history."


ICONography is "curated" by Patrick Lichty, independent artist, writer and curator, and is hosted by Turbulence.org.


Iconography

Students


--How to Combat Plagiarism




The New Plagiarism


--Hispanic College Fund


Read the mission statement:


"The Hispanic College Fund, Inc. (HCF) is a private non-profit organization founded in 1993 to develop the next generation of Hispanic business leaders in America by awarding scholarships to deserving Hispanic students. HCF accomplishes its mission by securing the funds needed to award financial assistance to students seeking to afford a higher education in academic disciplines leading to careers in business."


Hispanic College Fund


--Millennials: The Next Generation


This article appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


Millennials


--Managing Millennials


This article is an excerpt from Connecting Generations: The Sourcebook by Claire Raines.


Managing Millennials

Teaching


--Microsoft Word as a Teaching Resource


"Word 2003 offers customizable features that support the steps of the writing process: prewriting, composition, revision, and publication. Word 2003 also contains tools that enable the collection and assimilation of research data into your students' writing."


On request, Adam Colwell, tech services, can load Word 2003 on your computer.


Teaching the Writing Process with Microsoft Word 2003


--Microsoft Instructor Resources


There is a section for college teaching.


21st Century Tools for Teaching and Learning


Learning Objectives


This is Bloom's taxonomy as a rubric for learning objectives.


Bloom's Taxonomy


--Education for the 21st Century


Interesting article on education trends.


Educating the 21st Century Citizen


--Research and Creative Activity


This is a special issue on the scholarship of teaching.


Research and Creative Activity


--Looking for Insight into Teaching


How to apply cognitive theory in student self- analysis papers.


Looking for Insight into Teaching


--The Scholarship of Teaching


This article provides an overview on the scholarship of teaching.


The Scholarship of Teaching


--Humor in the Classroom


Laughter in the classroom for stress relief and mood creation.


For more ideas:


Laughter Therapy

Blog Grab Bag


--PowerPoint: The Pros


Why PowerPoint is a good thing in the classroom.


Learning to Love PowerPoint


--Society for the Return to Academic Standards


Here is the mission statement for this Web society:


"Provide information and support for a return to academic standards in higher education. The widespread use of the student evaluation of teaching (SET) data as a control device has caused grade inflation and course work devaluation. SFRTAS encourages research on faculty pander pollution, dysfunctional aspects of SETs, misuse of SET data by administrators, dishonesty of students on SETs, invalidity of SET information, denial of due process from use of SET, defamation, impression management, post-tenure reviews, disappearing tenure, and reasons for grade inflation. "


Interested? Then check out:


Return to Academic Standards


--Incorporated Subversion


This is an education weblog.


Incorporated Subversion


--Using Blogs in Education


Weblogg Ed


--Ed Blogger Praxis


Find examples of education blogs.


Ed Blog Praxis


--Blogs in Education


This is a spatially organized chart of the ways blogs can be used in education.


Some Uses of Blogs in Education


--Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer-Enhanced Education (IMEJ)


Read about IMEJ:


"IMEJ is a prototype for an interactive multimedia electronic journal edited and produced at Wake Forest University. The goals of IMEJ are to provide a peer-reviewed forum for innovations in computer-enhanced learning, to serve as a model and testbed for an electronic journal with a high level of multimedia and interactivity, and to advance the acceptance of electronic publication as a legitimate and valuable form of academic discourse. "


Interactive...Journal of Computer-Enhanced Learning


--The Morphing of the American Academic Profession


This article offers an assessment of the restructuring of academic employment in the United States.


The Morphing of the American Academic Profession


--The War on Higher Education


This is article by Stanley Fish appeared in the November26, 2003 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.


The War on Higher Education


--Teaching and Learning on the Web


This site offers 796 examples of online instruction.


"JUST HOW CAN THE WEB be used for something more than surfing, chatting, making money, or idly wasting time? Can it provide an environment for learning? We found that people learn well from examples, so we created for our faculty this collection of the ways the web was being used in different disciplines. "


Visit the site:


Teaching and Learning on the Web


--ProjectCool Media


Offers free tutorials on Web design.


ProjectCool Media


--Blue Web


Award winning educational sites in all subject areas. Updated weekly.


Blue Web


--Literary Resources


This is a comprehensive collection of Web sites devoted to literature and the humanities.


Literary Resources on the Net


--Web Teaching Guide Bibliography


This page contains a Web teaching bibliography linked to Amazon.com for book purchase and/or a Web version of the reference where available. The bibliography is organized by subject.


Web Teaching Guide


--Transforming e- Knowledge


This book is "a manifesto on e-knowledge" published by Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). The entire book is available online.


Read this passage from the Foreword:


We cannot predict the future, but we do sense that we have the power to shape it. So we need to take time to reflect: on what those possible futures are, which are the more desirable, and what it takes to realize them. The authors of this book set out to help us with that process. On every page you will find them striving to express the ways in which e-systems can be exploited, the benefits they could yield, and what we all, individuals and organizations together, must now do.


Transforming Knowledge


--Web Portals and Higher Education


This is an entire book on Web portals, and it is available online for free from EDUCAUSE.


Web Portals and Higher Education


--The future of books in the digital age


Umberto Eco, the Italian novelist and scholar, gave this speech in Alexandra, Egypt on November 1, 2003. The speech appears in Al-Ahram, a Cairo weekly journal, the 20-26 November issue.


Vegetal and Mineral Memory: The Future of Books

Until next week.


Blog editor

Faculty Development News This Week:


Course Evaluations


--Templates for Course Evaluations


Interested in designing your own course evaluation to use in your classes?


The Office of Educational Assessment (OEA), Washington University, offers templates for a variety of course evaluations. OEA is nationally recognized for its services in course evaluation, testing, and test scoring services and provides a variety of evaluation and assessment services to the Washington University community and outside agencies.


Course Evaluation Forms


--"Friendly Course Evaluations"


This article suggests having each student write a letter to a friend about your course as a course evaluation method. According to the author, this open-ended method provides useful information on what students have learned and what they thought of the course.


Friendly Course Evaluations

Pedagogy


--"Cognitive Apprenticeship as Pedagogical Strategy"


"Cognitive apprenticeship is a method for teaching cognitive skills that eschews the use of abstract terms in favor of making concepts visible— showing rather than telling. This teaching method can be applied to the uses of classroom discussion in a variety of settings."


Read the article:


Cognitive Apprenticeship


--"How Students Learn"


How to nurture and maximize classroom learning.


How Students Learn


--"Introducing Active Learning with Movie Clips"


This is a QuickTimePlayer presentation.


Introducing Active Learning


--"Information Literacy as a Liberal Art"


This article provides a pedagogical approach that "equips people not only with a bunch of technical skills but with a broad, integrated and critical perspective on the contemporary world of knowledge and information."


Information Literacy


--"Critical Thinking Strategies"


How to moderate critical thinking in the classroom or in panel discussions.



Critical Thinking Strategies


This is a 38-page PDF file.


--"The Right to Know"


Academic freedom in class discussion.


The Right to Know


--Developing Discourse Communities around the Scholarship of Teaching"


"The scholarship of teaching can flourish only with the development of communities of scholars who share, critique, and build upon each other's work."


Developinging Discourse Communities


--"Keeping Teachers' Voices in Balance"


How to choreograph a student-centered class discussion.


Keeping Teachers' Voices in Balance

Students


--Managing Student Behavior


For a thought-provoking view of student responsibility in the classroom, read one professor's letter to his students:


Integrity


--Humor in the College Classroom


This article is from the journal Community College Week:


Humor


--Classroom Management


This is a power point presentation on "tips for a great community college class."


Classroom Management


--Creating Inclusive College Classrooms


What is an inclusive classroom?


"Inclusive classrooms are classrooms in which instructors and students work together to create and sustain an environment in which everyone feels safe, supported, and encouraged to express her or his views and concerns. In these classrooms, the content is explicitly viewed from the multiple perspectives and varied experiences of a range of groups. Content is presented in a manner that reduces all students' experiences of marginalization and, wherever possible, helps students understand that individuals' experiences, values, and perspectives influence how they construct knowledge in any field or discipline."


Read more:


Inclusive Classrooms

Teaching Methods


--Using Case Studies in Teaching


Case-based teaching allows students to develop skills in analytical thinking and reflective judgment by reading and discussing complex, real-life scenarios. The articles in this Web site explain how to use cases in teaching and provide case studies for the natural sciences, social sciences, and other disciplines.


Case Study in Teaching


--Creating Effective Learning Climates


The articles in this Web site address issues to assist instructors improve the learning climate for all students.


Creating Effective Learning Climates


--How to Have Positive Race, Class, and Gender Dynamics in the Classroom


Some suggestions for handling, race, class, ethnicity and gender issues in the classroom.


Classroom Dynamics


--Cognitive Apprenticeship


This article is available on the National Teaching and Learning Forum (NTLF) Web site. The NTLF has a wealth of information on all aspects of teaching and learning. Although this site is subscription-based, there is some free material available.


Cognitive Apprenticeship


--"Educating in Fractal Patterns"


This article suggests that college instructors should think of education in terms of fractal patterns. Thought-provoking.


Educating in Fractal Patterns

The Blog Grab Bag


--The Center for Working Class Studies.


This is "the first center of its kind in the United States devoted to the study of working-class life and culture. The CWCS creates social spaces for civic and academic conversations on working-class life and culture and its intersections with race, gender, and sexuality and serves as a clearinghouse for information on working-class culture, issues, and pedagogy. More than an intellectual project, the CWCS is also engaged with the broader society, providing assistance in creating a culture of organizing and education within working-class institutions and society"


The Center for Working Class Studies


--Capital and Class


Capital and Class is a mailing list on research teaching issues related to Marxist political economy.


Capital and Class


--National Jobs for All Coalition


"The National Jobs for All Coalition is committed to building a new movement ffull employmentent at livable wages. This goal unites a diverse group of otherwise divided, single-issue constituencies. The Coalition includes individuals and organizations with a wide range of interests--workers', women's, children's and seniors' rights, civil rights, and economic justice."


National Jobs for All Coalition


--Think Tank: The Economic Policy Institute


The Economic Policy Institute is a "nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy. EPI was established in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Their mission is to provide high-quality research and education in order to promote a prosperous, fair, and sustainable economy." Free mailing list available.


The Economic Policy Institute


--Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History


The Web site People with a History provides an online guide to
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history.


People with a History


--Web Is Dead


A play in two acts.


Web is Dead


--Mental Multivitamin


This is a daily blog for "readers, thinkers, autodidacts."


Mental Multivitamin


--Radical Innovation and Social Software


This is a blog devoted to community intelligence and social software.


What is social software?


"Social software allows us to create new social groupings and then new sorts of social conventions arise. ... And this new software will support David Weinberger's notion of enabling groups to form and self-organize rather than have structure or organization imposed.... Social software reflects the "juice" that arises from people's personal interactions. It's not about control, it's about co-evolution: people in personal contact, interacting towards their own ends, influencing each other. But there isn't a single clearly defined project, per se."


Intrigued? Then visit:


Radical Innovation and Social Software Blog


--Cyber Times Navigator


"Navigator is the home page used by the newsroom of The New York Times for forays into the Web." Designed for reporters and editors, this selective list provides briefly annotated links and is updated frequently. Covers areas such as search
engines, sites with materials for journalists, reference sources, telephone directories, online publications,politics, New York, commerce, entertainment, and sports.


This site does require free registration.


CyberTimes


--PLoS: Public Library of Science


PLoS "is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource." PLoS offers its searchable and browsable PLoS Biology journal as an "open access" publication such that "everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere -- to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and
otherwise use."


PLoS


--Recall: Search The [Internet] Archive


Find old Web sites, view earlier versions of sites, and dig up information about the people and places of the Web of "long ago. "Recall is a search engine at the Internet Archive that indexes the text of over 11 billion pages. The archive
has pages dating back to 1996 through the present day. The About page provides extensive search tips.


Recall


--The Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute (WBTI)


Do you have a bully in your life? Read about this Web site:


"The dual mission of this organization is to raise societal awareness of ... health-endangering work place psychological violence" and to create and communicate long-term, research-based solutions for individuals, employers and public policy makers. The site offers a definition of the phenomenon of workplace bullying, a report on abusive workplaces, bullying studies tutorials for targets and their families, legal remedies, a list of employment attorneys, proposed anti-bullying laws and ordinances, and links."


Bullying Institute


--OneLook: Reverse Dictionary


OneLook offers a new reverse-dictionary service at
Reverse Dictionary. Recall's reverse dictionary allows you to enter a word or group of words describing a concept and get results consisting of related words.


--IDEAS


IDEAS is "the largest bibliographic database dedicated to economics and available on the Internet. Over 200,000 items of research can be browsed or searched, and over 110,000 can be downloaded in full text." Useful for public policy and finance issues as well as pure economics.


IDEAS


--Libraries Change Lives Award


This United Kingdom site celebrates the value of libraries to people and their communities. Take a look at previous award winners and ask yourself why our own library here at Inver Hills isn't celebrating its effects on people's lives this way every year, with college-wide recognition?


Libraries Change Lives


--The Memory Hole


This is a list of videos from the Congressional Research Service. As you may know,
Congressional Research Service videos and reports are not generally available online unless members of congress have linked them on their websites, but they're available free if you request them from your representative.


Memory Hole has preserved 300 CRS reports at The Memory Hole. The widely ranging topics of videos and reports include bioterrorism, immigration, social security reform, AIDS in Africa, the CAFE Standards, child support enforcement, identity theft, etc.


This is a wonderful resource.


--New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy


This third edition is freely available from Bartleby and is searchable and browsable. Entries have internal links to related concepts, so it's easy to explore a topic more fully.


Dictionary of Cultural Literacy


--Open Archives Forum


The Open Archives Forum offers a free online tutorial for beginners who want to do work by way of open archive methodology "The essence of the open archives approach is to enable access to Web-accessible material through interoperable repositories for metadata sharing, publishing and archiving." This tutorial is an introduction to the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting.


OAF Tutorial


--Virtual Eco-Sphere


This site invites you to "build an ecosphere without getting your hands dirty." Choose your soils, plants, and animals, and then watch the simulation to see what happens.


Virtual Ecosphere

Until next week!


Blog editor

Faculty Development News This Week:

Faculty Development News This Week:

Faculty Development News This Week:

Faculty Development News This Week:

Faculty Development News This Week:

Faculty Development News This Week:

CTL at Inver Hills


--Faculty Roundtable: Panel Discussion on Handling Difficlut Student Behavior

Faculty Development News This Week:


Teaching Resources


--The Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education


This site is intended to make the U.S. Department of Education more accessible to teachers.


The Teacher's Guide


--The Center for Futurism in Education


Education for the twenty-first century? Here is the mission statement for this Israeli site.


The Center for Futurism in Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was established by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Ben-Gurion University in order to "advance and foster paradigmatic changes in the Israeli education system. Guiding the Center's activities is the understanding that:


a. Current educational paradigms cannot provide answers to the challenges posed by the recent rapid transition to a post-industrial (or post-modern) information society and those serious answers to these challenges require the readiness to try out radically new educational paradigms.


b. The new suggested educational paradigms, processes, models and curricula should be based on macro-strategic thinking. Such thinking should rely on one hand on the understanding of the implications of the post-industrial information revolutions for education and on the other hand on a coherent, operational set of humanistic values."


Visit the site:


The Center for Futurism in Education

Think Tanks: Conservative, Centrist, Liberal, and New-Age


--The Center for Democracy and Technology


This organization works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. Read the mission statement:


"The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media".


The Center for Democracy and Technology


--CIRCLE


CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement,
promotes research on the "civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25."


CIRCLE

--The Heritage Foundation


The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute. All thirty of Heritage's policy issue pages feature "archived research, expert contact information, and links to related interactive products."


The Heritage Foundation


--The Brookings Institution


This is the think tank utilized by the Bush administration.


The Brookings Institution


--RAND


Non-profit research and analysis institute. Although centrist to conservative, recommended for reliable data.


RAND


--The Wandwaver Solution


The Wandwaver Solution is "a proposal and an unbudgeted plan for revolutionary change in the university (as an instrument of higher education around the world). While the change is revolutionary in scope, it can be achieved through well-defined, well-tested evolutionary processes, which minimize the costs of transformation while still carrying out essential functions." Associated with George Mason University, Virginia.


The Wandwaver Solution


--The Electronic Policy Network


"....Our goal is to improve collaboration and dialogue between policy and grassroots organizations, and to promote their work to journalists and legislators.
Moving Ideas posts the best ideas and resources from leading progressive research and advocacy institutions, as well as promotes high-quality websites and publishes original content. We hope to strengthen democratic participation by providing a more inclusive and intelligible debate about the issues that shape our world."


The Electronic Policy Network


--The Russell Sage Foundation


This is a liberal think tank focusing on research in the social sciences.


The Russell Sage Foundation


--The Urban Institute


The Urban Institute" measures effects, compares options, shows which stakeholders get the most and least, tests conventional wisdom, reveals trends, and makes costs, benefits, and risks explicit." Recommended.


The Urban Institute

E-Learning


--The Virtual University Gazette


The Virtual University Gazette is a free monthly e-mail newsletter and webzine for practitioners and students of distance learning. It announces new programs, jobs in distance learning, and news of new events in virtual learning


The Virtual University Gazette


-- Distance Education: The Wellspring


This site is useful for ideas and resources applicable to E-learning.


Read the mission statement:


"The Wellspring is a collaborative project from Instructional Systems Inc. and members of the Teachers College, Columbia University community. It is devoted to the needs of Distance Educators using the World Wide Web to deliver post-secondary courses to their students. Our primary focus is on Web-based asynchronous courses, many of which are available from ISI, but most of the topics in the Discussion Forums and Reading Rooms are broadly applicable to Distance Learning regardless of delivery mechanism. We frequently add new readings and links to this site, so we encourage you to visit often. The threaded discussions in our Discussion Forums and chats in our Seminar Sessions feature continually evolving conversations that go where you take them."


The Wellspring


--World Lecture Hall


This site contains pointers to pages created by faculty worldwide who are using the web to deliver course material. The site is useful for ideas in course content as well as graphic design models.


World Lecture Hall


--E-Learning Task Force


Eighteen members of Estrella Mountain Community College took eight months (November 11, 2001 - June 2, 2002) to conduct a broad investigation into the best practices related to learning with technology.


Here is their report:


E-Learning Task Force


--Pedagogy and E-Learning: Learning Circuits Blog


Want to read a rant against E-learning?


Here you are.


We Are the Problem

Blog Grab Bag


--Journalism: The American Journalism Review News Link


This page enables you to go to a number of online newspapers and journals classified by geographical region and type. The left sidebar also enables you to go to a number of other Internet resources.


News Link


--Cross-Disciplinary / Multi-Disciplinary: Critical Thinking Rubric


This critical thinking applications site is sponsored by Washington State University.


The Critical Thinking Rubric


--Economics / Sociology/ Political Science: The Digital Death Rattle of the American Middle Class: A Cautionary Tale


This thought-provoking article is from CTHEORY, an international journal of theory, technology, and culture. C-Theory publishes articles, interviews, event-scenes and reviews of key books. Free mailing list available.


Digital Death Rattle


--Art / Graphic Design: netbaroque


Abstract: "Voice place of disappearance, Naxsmash traces a subjective topology built from a breath inside a screen. Nascent +/- destructive, a sense of place mediates, from behind the screen, an experience of the uncanny and surrreal. Some notes on the strange experience of online and performance installation in the wake of traumatic memory."


Huh? Neat graphics and audio, though!


Naxmash Project


--English/ Linguistics/ Cultural Studies: Word Spy


Word Spy! is "devoted to recently coined words and phrases, and to old words that are being used in new ways. These aren't stunt words" or sniglets, but new terms that have appeared in newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites, and other recorded sources."


Word Spy


--Nursing and Public Health : DIPEx: Personal Experiences of Health and Illness


On this British site"you can watch, listen to or read [patient] interviews, learn more about the illness and its treatments as well as where to find support and more
detailed medical information for a variety of diseases including hypertension, several cancers, epilepsy, and congenital heart disease. Some of the information is
specific to the British healthcare system."


DipEX


--Forensics: Interactive Investigator: Your Introduction to the World of Forensic Science/Detective Interactif: Une Introduction aux Sciences Judiciaires


Here is what this site provides:


"You will be able to obtain general information and anintroduction to the main aspects of forensic science from database on the subject. You can also explore a Historical Cabinet containing actual evidence gathered from crime scenes throughout this century." Includes a timelina bibliographyphy, and a game in which you can "use your newly acquired knowledge to solve a heinous crime." This site is sponsored by the
Virtual Museum of Canada. Available in English and French.


Forensic Science

--Nutrition


The Nutrition Information and Resource Center (NIRC) at Pennsylvania State University "provides links to sites and materials relating to various nutrition topics,
including general nutrition information, nutrition for various age groups, fitness and sports nutritionutritionion for chronic disease states, and nutrition for people with
limited resources. Also includes bibliographies, and links to nutrition news and community resources."


Nutrition


--Journalism and Public Relations: Spin of the Day


Public relations, propaganda, and media spin revealed.


Spin of the Day


--Cultural Studies: Japanese Tea Ceremony


This Web site,TeaHyakka, presents articles and information about the Japanese tea ceremony. It features sections on the history of the tea ceremony, the tea room, traditional Japanese fabrics, and philosophy. Also includes a directory of tea ceremony classes and related links. In English and Japanese.


Japanese Tea Ceremony


--Civic Engagement: YES!


The Web site for the Positive Futures Network and its magazine, Yes! The Journal of Positive Futures,"provide articles and resources dedicated to "supporting people's active engagement in creating a just, sustainable, and compassionate world." The site includes articles from the magazine, classroom materials, and discussion and resource guides on topics such as voting, democracy, and activism." Searchable.


Yes Magazine


--Psychology / Heath Science: The American Institute of Stress


Just in time for end-of-term blues and the holiday season:


Why is There More Stress Today?


Visit the Web site of the American Institute of Stress:


The American Institute of Stress


--Intellectual lark: How are Legos Manufactured?


This site provides a virtual tour of the manufacturing process of Legos. Macromedia plug-in required.


Lego Factory

Until next week!


Blog editor

**Image Credits
"Lego Man,"www.nytrium.net/ack/ imagevieil.htm

Faculty Development News This Week:


Faculty Development at Inver Hills


--Salon: "Revival and Family Nationalism"


Dr. Richard Nelson, history, is the facilitator-speaker for the next Inver Hills Community College Salon, Wednesday, 19 November, 4-6 PM, Heritage Hall 203.


Read Richard's abstract:


Families and nations, the classical Greek dramatists insisted, are entwined with ambition and war. Modern families continue to be entwined with economic ambition, nationalist aspirations and war. Perhaps, therefore, family values is the place to reflect on the sources of those revolutionary political and religious movements which promise to transform the world.


I will explore this possibility by looking at the Civil War and Reconstruction as a form of family national revival. To do so, I will consider a first family of the early republic, The Thomas family of Portland, Maine. Not only did the father wed capitalism with religion in the great awakening associated with Jacksonian Democracy, but his sons added nationalism to a great revival movement that began in the 1850s and led to Civil War, then spread over the whole country afterwards. One son, Henry, led black soldiers and worked in the Freedman's Bureau to build a new black peasant society of virtuous citizen farmers. At the same time, his brother, William, initiated a scheme to create a northern kingdom of Swedes from Maine and Southern Canada to the Pacific Ocean. Not only were they motivated by family duty and honor to square wealth with public service, but they believed they could create a rebirth of national identity by northern and southern versions of Reconstruction around family ideals. The defeat of both dreams by World War I marked the waning of the great family national revival of 1850-1917. Racism and fear of foreign influences and people filled the vacuum left by disappointed dreams of national revitalization.


Does the 19th century pattern of family national revivalism persist today? Is the Kennedy era of Camelot, the Reagan Revolution and the younger Bush administration a single family national revival movement? Is it waxing or waning? What can we expect from either case?


This salon is sponsored by the Inver Hills Faculty Development Committee


--Faculty Roundtable:" Stress and How to Manage Yours"


Dr. Kathleen DeDeyn is the speaker for the next Faculty Roundtable, Tuesday, November 18, 12:00-1:00 PM, Conference Room B, Student Center. A light luncheon will be served, so RSVP by clicking on Comment below.


The Faculty Roundtable is sponsored by Shannon Marting, Active Learning Advocate, and Colette Wanless-Sobel, CTL Liaison. Funds are provided by CTL/MNSCU.

Pedagogy


--Motivating Today's Students


This is an article from ERIC, Educational Resources Information Center.


Motivating Today's Students


--Teaching in the Twenty-First Century


This article from The Gazette,the newspaper of Johns Hopkins University, considers teaching for today's student demographic.


Teaching in the Brave New World


--Active Learning


This article looks at student resistance to active learning.


Do Students Want to Be Active?


--Experiential Learning


This article discusses the pluses and minuses of experiential learning.


The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Using Experiential Learning in the Classroom


--Learning-Centered Paradigms


This article discusses the support faculty need to achieve learning-centered classrooms.


Read the article:


Providing Support for Faculty Who Wish to Shift to a Learning-Centered Paradigm


--Promoting Critical Thinking


This article provides a rubric for designing assignments and course curricula to promote critical thinking.


Essential Elements of Lessons Designed to Promote Critical Thinking


--Critical Pedagogy


What is critical pedagogy?


"Critical pedagogy takes as a central concern the issue of power in the teaching and learning context. It focuses on how and in whose interests knowledge is produced and 'passed on' and view the ideal aims of education as emancipatory."


Critical Pedagogy


--Active Learning and Adult Students


This article is from the Web site The Center for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials, American Council on Education.


Innovations...Active Learning and the Adult Student


--Teaching Reasoning


This site features resources to promote the teaching of reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving across the curriculum


...Teaching Reasoning

-- Book: Teaching and Learning in College


Teaching and Learning in College: A Resource for Educators,4th edition, Gary S. Wheeler, editor (2002); 199 pages; $39.95


Read the review on this book:


Teaching and Learning in College: A Resource for Educators


--Journal: Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and of Learning


The purpose of the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL) "is to develop an electronic community of those interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning."


Read more about JoSoTL:


The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Distance Education and the Internet


-Online Collaborative Learning


"This is a web site devoted to world's best practice in online collaborative learning in higher education, and related topics: here you'll find links to online articles, books, journals, and other relevant information. We hope that the information provided here will be of use to researchers and practitioners working in this area." this site is sponsored by Central Queensland University, Australia.


Online Collaborative Learning in Higher Education


--Blended Learning Models


"The term blended learning is used to describe a solution that combines several different delivery methods, such as collaboration software, Web-based courses, EPSS, and knowledge management practices. Blended learning also is used to describe learning that mixes various event-based activities, including face-to-face classrooms, live e-learning, and self-paced learning. Unfortunately, there's no single formula that guarantees learning..." Here are some guidelines on how to choreograph your learning activities.


Blended Learning


--On Ramp


This site includes links to valuable information databases, articles, and resources in the education, distance learning, and the Internet. Highly recommended.


On Ramp: Social


--e-Learning Guild


Here is what the Web site says about this organization:


"The eLearning Guild is a Community of Practice for designers, developers, and managers of e-Learning. Through this member driven community we provide high-quality learning opportunities, networking services, resources, and publications. Community members represent a diverse group of instructional designers, content developers, web developers, project managers, contractors, consultants, and managers and directors of training and learning services who work in corporate, government, and academic organizations. All members share a common interest in e-Learning design, development, and management."


Interested? To find out more, click on The Learning Guild


--E-Learning Guru


Here is this site's motto:


"Life is short. Have fun, learn, and have fun helping others learn."


Intrigued? Visit the site.


The E-Learning Guru

Creativity


--"Creativity in Science and Engineering"


Although this article focuses on creativity in science and engineering, it is applicable to all disciplines. Here is what the author says about his purpose:


"The purposes of this essay are to (1) quickly examine some of the personality traits that are associated with unusual creativity and innovation and (2) to criticize management and educational techniques that penalize or discourage creativity. The way to increase the productivity of creative people is simple: give them resources ...and stand out of their way!"


Creativity in Science and Engineering


--"Creative Conversations...."


This article considers the cultural and organizational contexts of creativity, along with the characteristics that comprise a creative individual or institution. Useful article, despite emphasis on economic necessity of creativity.


Virtual Value: Conversation, Ideas, and the Creative Economy This is a 28-page PDF file.


--"Welcome to the Ideaopolis


How to build intellectual capital. Again, although this article speaks from an economic development perspective, this time for urban communities, it is an interesting discussion on building creative and dynamic communities of all kinds.


Ideopolis This is a 42-page PDF file.


Technology and Community


--The Gurten Knowledge Letter


"The Gurten Knowledge-Letter is a free knowledge management newsletter to help you better manage your knowledge and to stimulate thought and interest in subjects such as Knowledge Management, Learning, Creativity and the effective use of Internet technology. " Free online subscription.


Gurten Knowledge Letter


--Cyber Community-Building


"Communities in Cyberspace is devoted to exploring new forms of social organization and the changing concepts of community as social groups develop within computer networks. Contributors examine changes in the nature of personal identity, social organization and the connections between real-world communities and their extensions in cyberspace."


Visit the site:
Communities in Cyberspace

The Blog Grab Bag


--Gender and Sexuality


This online journal publishes texts which address gender studies and queer studies, with a particular focus upon discussions of sex, gender, sexual identity and sexuality in cultural practices.


Gender and Sexuality


--Combating Heterosexism and Homophobia in the Classroom


For a perspective on how to achieve sexual diversity and sexual orientation equality in the classroom, read the article:


Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia.


--Edsitement Humanities Site


Sponsored by the National endowment for the Humanities, this site is a rich resource
for the humanities.


Edsitement


--National Library of Education


United States federal government's resource center for education information.
Searchable archives.


National Library of Education


--National Academic Advising Association


This site focuses on advising as an integral part of the academic experience. Publications are not available online, but keyword searches will provide some theoretical and methodological approaches.


National Academic Advising


--Art on the Web


This site offers art history links, 19th and 20th centuries. Searchable.


19th and 20th Century Art Links


--Case Studies for Business


This is a free educational resource for students, teachers and lecturers of business studies. The Times 100 brings business studies theory to life with case studies on real companies, written by leading business studies textbook authors and linked to all exam specifications. Click here for more information about The Times 100.


Times 100


--World Economic Forum


"The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues,engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship." Pro-business in orientation.


World Economic Forum


--Historical Research


This site provides guidelines on how to conduct historical research.


Doing History: A Guide to Historical Research


--ESL Resource


ESL comprehension Web site. Offers special features such as a sound effects library.


Randall's ESL Cyber- Listening Lab

Until next week!


Blog editor