Faculty Development News This Week:

Active Learning


--Case Study Methodology


"It is now documented that students can learn more effectively when actively involved in the learning process (Bonwell and Eison, 1991; Sivan et al, 2001). The case study approach is one way in which such active learning strategies can be implemented in our institutions. There are a number of definitions for the term case study. For example, Fry et al (1999) describe case studies as complex examples which give an insight into the context of a problem as well as illustrating the main point. We define our case studies as student centered activities based on topics that demonstrate theoretical concepts in an applied setting. This definition of a case study covers the variety of different teaching structures we use, ranging from short individual case studies to longer group-based activities. Examples of different styles of case studies are given at the end of this guide."


Case Study Methodology


Recommended.


--"Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking"


This article is from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation, Washington DC. (1994).


"Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking"


--Learning Materials in a Problem-Based Course


Here is a list of the principle aims of this site:


"To integrate knowledge and skills from a range of multidisciplinary modules
To acquire knowledge through self-study
To teach students how to work in groups and manage group projects
To improve and develop transferable skills of students
To develop problem solving skills of students
To encourage self-motivation, curiosity and thinking
And finally, to make learning fun!"


Problem-Based Learning


Recommended.

Pedagogy


--Constructivism


This site offers resources for constructivist pedagogy.


Constructivism


--Introduction to Teaching Strategies


Thirty different teaching strategies are available here for download.


Introduction to Teaching Strategies


--"The Case for Holistic Learning"


This article is from Changemagazine,28 February 2003.


"The Case for Holistic Learning


--"Academic Rigor in the Open-Door College"


This article is from Innovation Abstracts,30 August 2002.


Academic Rigor in the Open-Door College


--"How to Give a Talk"


This article addresses how to be an effective academic speaker.


"How to Give a Talk"

Trends


--"Education Department Will Accept Electronic Signatures for Release of Students' Documents"


This article is from the 22 April 2004 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.


"Electric Signatures"

Academic Culture


--"A Culture for Academic Excellence"


"In the context of higher education, striving for high quality is not a new strategy. Institutions have always held academic excellence and high quality as the highest goals. Achieving these goals was easier in a time of abundant resources and favorable demographics. The environment has changed. Institutions are facing decreasing enrollments and revenues while costs and competition for students are increasing."


"A Culture for Academic Excellence


--"Academic Culture and the Development of Professional Identity in the Professoriate"


This article is an 8-page PDF file.


Academic Culture

Service Learning


--Online Political Collaboration


Click on the microphone to access the audio file.


Online Political Collaboration


--"Creating a Personal and Political Culture of Engagement in Higher Education"


This article is from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.


Creating a Personal and Political Culture of Engagement in Higher Education


This is an 11-page PDF file.


--Center for Democracy and Citizenship


"Here you will find democracy. In both theory and practice. The work of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship began in 1989 and draws on a rich heritage of people and institutions doing public work to achieve things of lasting importance. As a part of the University of Minnesota, the Center for Democracy and Citizenship draws on the very best principles of academic excellence and scholarship."


Center for Democracy and Citizenship


--"The Humanities and the Public Soul"


This article is from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.


The Humanities and the Public Soul


This is a 15-page PDF file.


--The Democracy Collaborative


The Democracy Collaborative" undertakes integrated activities aimed at leveraging the resources of higher education institutions in support of democratic renewal, civic participation, and community building."


The Democracy Collaborative


--The Civic Mission of Schools


"Written and endorsed by a distinguished and diverse group of more than 50 scholars and practitioners, The Civic Mission of Schools summarizes the evidence in favor of civic education...; analyzes trends in political and civic engagement; identifies promising approaches to civic education; and offers recommendations to educators, policymakers, funders, researchers, and others."


The Civic Mission of Schools


Recommended.


--The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE)


"Since 2001, CIRCLE has conducted, collected, and funded research on the civic and political participation of young Americans. CIRCLE is based in the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs and is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Carnegie Corporation of New York."


CIRCLE




--The Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning


"The Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (MJCSL) is a national, peer-reviewed journal consisting of articles written by faculty and service-learning educators on research, theory, pedagogy, and issues pertinent to the service-learning community."


The Michigan Journal of Community Service L:earning

Students


--"Duke University Cuts Out 8:00 AM Classes"


This article is from CNN.com, 19 April 2004.


Duke University Cuts Out 8:00 AM Classes


--Lessons That Last: The Teachers Students Remember


This is a video from MNSCU / CTL. To view it, see Shannon Marting, Active Learning Coordinator, Heritage Hall 303.


--"Student Motivation, School Culture, and Academic Achievement"


This article is a publication of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, February 1992.


Student Motivation


This is a 28-page PDF file.

Online Learning


--Online Role Playing


Click on the microphone to access the audio file.


Online Role Playing


--Online Activity Formats


This site offers " comprehensive strategy for integrating the incredible power of the Internet with student learning. The strategy was first developed by Tom March in the summer of 1996 and developed since."


http://www.web-and-flow.com/help/formats.html">Online Activity Formats

Blog Grab Bag


--Native American Web Sites


This is a rich resource on American Indian history and culture.


Native American Web Sites


--SWITCH: Interface Software as Cultural Production


SWITCHis "the new media art journal of the CADRE Laboratory for New Media of the School of Art and Design at San Jose State University. It has been published on the Web since 1995. We are interested in fostering a critical viewpoint on issues and developments in the multiple crossovers between art and technology. Our main focus in on questioning and analyzing as well as reporting and discussing these new art forms as they develop, in hopes of encouraging dialogue and possible collaboration with others who are working and considering similar issues."


SWITCH


Recommended.


--Open Office Org.


What is Open Office.org? Read the mission statement:


"To create, as a community, the leading international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format."


OpenOffice.org


--Drupal


"Drupal is an open-source platform and content management system for building dynamic web sites offering a broad range of features and services including user administration, publishing workflow, discussion capabilities, news aggregation, metadata functionalities using controlled vocabularies and XML publishing for content sharing purposes. Equipped with a powerful blend of features and configurability, Drupal can support a diverse range of web projects ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven sites."


Drupal.org


--gnovis


Read the mission statement for this journal.


"As Georgetown University's peer-reviewed journal of Communication, Culture and Technology (CCT), gnovis strives to foster innovative research and design, reward scholarly excellence, and celebrate the exploration and understanding of technology as it both shapes and is shaped by political, economic, social, and cultural actors and institutions. gnovis seeks to place disciplinary paradigms into dialogue with each other, illuminating the clarity and contradictions therein and the manner in which they are codified into our social fabric. "


gnovis


--Association of Internet Researchers


"The Association of Internet Researchers is an academic association dedicated to the advancement of the cross-disciplinary field of Internet studies. It is a resource and support network promoting critical and scholarly Internet research independent from traditional disciplines and existing across academic borders. The association is international in scope."


Association of Internet Researchers


--Web del Sol


So what is Web del Sol?


"Difficult to explain, unless first conceived in terms of goal and organization. WDS is a collaboration on the part of scores of dedicated, volunteer editors, writers, poets, artists, and staff whose job it is to acquire and frame the finest contemporary literary art and culture available in America and abroad, and to array it in such a manner that it speaks for itself."


Web del Sol


--Test Your Sensitivityy to Disgust


This is a psychology test posted on BBC.com.


Disgust Sensitivity Test


--Create an Online Bulletin Board


This free utility allows you to create an online bulletin board.


Quick Time

Until next week!

Blog editor

Faculty Development News This Week:

Faculty Development at Inver Hills


--TLTR SHOWCASE: Tuesday, 20 April, 11:30-2:30, Hertiage Hall 203


The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) Showcase, sponsored by the campus TLTR Committee, will feature faculty and staff demonstrations of learning technology applications and projects. The event is an excellent opportunity to see effective integration of technology and the curriculum at Inver Hills. All faculty, staff and students welcome.

Topics planned :


e-Folio, D2L, Digital Photography online course and skills, Blogs, Streaming media,
Graphing data activities, Scientific data collection, GIS, Map making, Screen capture
videos using Camtasia, Media equipment available, Macromedia Breeze, Using Word Macros, Library databases and breadth of use, Electronic course packs of database articles, PowerPoint as a mind tool, Business Plan Pro, and off-campus access options.


The first fifty people who attend will receive a free deli box lunch.


The committee welcomes your participation in the showcase as well as your suggestions. For further information, contact Mark Peterson or James Deacon. You can also send your ideas to TLTR.

E-Learning


--Strategies for Designing Online Courses to Engage Student Learning


This article is from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.


Strategies for Designing Online Courses


--The Theory and Practice of Online Learning


This book is available online, and you can download the entire book for free.


The Theory and Practice of Online Learning


This is a 454-page PDF file.


--"Logging on for a Degree"


This article is on community colleges offering online associate degrees.


"Logging On for a Degree


--"Implementing Activity-Based E-Learning Learning"


This article is addresses how E-learning and active learning complement and enrich each other.


Implementing Activity-Based E-Learning


--"Community in Online Classes


This article discusses ways to nurture an online community.


"Community in Online Classes"

Game Research


--Web Site: Game Research


"Game Research, a Danish site translated into English, "attempts to bring together knowledge on computer games from the areas of art, business, and science."


Free newsletter available.


--Game Culture


This site is devoted to academic gaming.


Game Culture


--"Up, Up, Down, Down"


Question:


What does Up, Up, Down, Down, Left-Right, Left-Right, BA Start signify?




My thirteen year old son, Elliot, translated this gaming mantra for me: It is the cheat code for Contra and other games for the original Nintendo Entertainment System.


Read more about the place of gaming in American culture today.


Game Research


--"The Muse of the Video Game"


This article from the International Game Developers association) considers the place of the humanities in video games.


"The Muse of the Video Game


Gaming references acquired from HeadSpace J, a blog on technology and education.

Learning Technology


--CCCC 2004 Wiki Proposal


Read the Welcome page:


"Hi! Welcome! Teaching Wiki aspires to be a community for college-level faculty. We imagine our primary audience to be faculty who are interested in writing instruction, perhaps technorhetorians but (as we invoke the wiki way here), we invite all college faculty and instructors to be wikiteachers with us."


CCCC 2004 Wiki Proposal


--Virtual Games for Real Learning: Fast, Cheap, Effective"


"This paper documents our observations and experiences in the use of a games-based methodology using email. It provides background information, a brief description of three of our current collection of 15 games, player reactions and additional findings based on participant responses. It provides an overview of the issues to consider when designing and facilitating email games."


Virtual Games for Real Learning


Recommended.


--Newsgaming.com


Newsgaming is "a word ...coined for describing a genre that is currently emerging: videogames based on news events. Traditionally, videogames have focused on fantasy rather than reality, but we believe that they can be a great tool for better understanding our world. Since newsgaming is so new, it has to find a voice of its own. Therefore, most of our games will be in part experimental."


The game currently posted is titled Madrid.


Go ahead, play!


Newsgaming.com


This article is from Educational Technology & Society 5 (1) 2002, ISSN 1436-4522.


--"Integrating Learning Technology into Classrooms: The Importance of Teachers' Perceptions"


This article considers instructors' perceptions on E-learning.


"Integrating Technology...."


--"Learning Objects and Study Skills"


"Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) as a technology are simultaneously new and yet also embody aspects of learning that are ages old. It could be argued that amongst the first RLOs were text inscriptions, on various media, used by people other that the original author to help them understand a particular aspect of human activity. The current interest in RLOs suggests that they are yet another new form of learning technology and, according to some, and have the potential to transform both the processes of learning and the institutions that are responsible for the management of learning. As ever, claims for the potential of new learning technologies to radically change the ways in which we support our learners, must be treated with caution. If we are to realize the potential of RLOs to offer new ways of supporting learners and avoid yet another cycle of unfulfilled promise, the so called Groundhog Day phenomenon (Mayes, 1995), we must give careful attention to how conceptualizese this technology and the ways in which it may affect learning processes."


"Learning Objects and Study Skills"

Pedagogy


Supporting Flexible Learning Opportunities"


This article focuses on the importance of facilitation.


"Supporting Flexible Learning Opportunities"

--E-Learning Portfolios


This paper discusses E-portfolio applications.


E-Learning Portfolios


This is a 68-page PDF file.

Blogging


--Advanced Blogger


Advanced Blogger is Chapter 6 from the book Essential Blogging: Selecting and Using Weblog Tools (O'Reilly,2002), ISBN: 0-596-00388-9.


Advanced Bloger


This is a 32-page PDF file.

Service Learning


--CommUnity of Minds


"CommUnity of Minds is a Weblog style Manila Site. The focus is on problems and (hopefully) suggestions for solutions to those problems. Its motto is: We each view reality from our own unique perspective, only a community of minds can show us the truth. So the CommUnity of Minds' site features a lot of different writers. We don't seek consensus at CommUnity of Minds. We seek perspective. For contributing editors this means if your article or essay is problem focused or perspective focused it will probably go here. Many of the writers featured here are not synergic scientists. Their words are published to give us the big picture of the whole. This site is thus more controversial."


CommUnity of Minds


--Community Problem Solving


This is a project at Harvard University.


Community Problem Solving


--Community Problem-Solving Dialogues


"Community problem-solving dialogues bring diverse groups into dialogue around mutual problems. The structured Community Think Tank documents its focused exploration of actionable options. Other dialogues found here served more to pose problems, share rival interpretations, and initiate a process of mutual inquiry among people who needed to talk."


Community Problem-Solving Dialogues


--Cool Tools for Change


This site, sponsored by theLBJ School of Public Affairs, offers free and low cost resources for online services.


Ideal for non-profit and low-budget community organizations.


Tools for Change


--Community Solutions


This is a conflict resolution service for communities and individuals.


Community Solutions


--Community Problem Solving Circles


"Circles are not a solution to all problems, but they demonstrate a fundamentally different approach, a missing piece of social technology to tap into the power and resources of unstructured or informal community capacity."


This site is offered by the Minnesota Department of Corrections


Community Problem Solving Circles


--Individual Community Problem Solving


Ideas for integrating community problem solving in college curriculae.


Individual Community Problem Solving


--Community Networking.org


"Low-cost computer networking to build and strengthen communities."


Community Networking.org


--Problem-Solving


This site is sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ontario, Canada.


Problem Solving

Students


--"When Our Students Don't Respect Us"


This article is from The Chronicle of Higher Education,5 January 2004.


"When Our Students Don't Respect Us


--"Success Story"


This article profiles students who have gone to community colleges to take technology programs and follows them through to their employment. Although the bias is clear here for community college education vs. a four year liberal arts education, it is interesting reading.

The article is from the site Pathways to Technology,an onlresourceirce of the National Science Foundation and the American Association of Community Colleges


"Success Story.


--"Dearth of Men Felt at Colleges Across the Country"


This article is from Daily Californian, University of California, Berkeley, 19 November 2003.


Dearth of Men....


--Institute for Community Inclusion


This site is "committed to developing resources and supports for people with disabilities and their families, fostering interdependence, productivity, and inclusion in school and community settings. ICI programs carry out this mission through training and consultation, services, and research...."


Free mailing list available.


Institute for Community Inclusion

Multi-Media Applications


--DFILM Moviemaker


"In 1999, DFILM launched the MovieMaker, which let users create a short animated cartoon on a website and email it to their friends. MovieMaker was extremely viral - each person who received a movie would in turn create and send movies to 4 or 5 additional friends. As a result, the application became phenomenally popular, with over 2 million users creating movies in just the first month it was online. MovieMaker won several major web awards, was praised in places like the New York Times and Newsweek, and it was licensed to companies like Yahoo!, Sam Adams Beer, MisticTeas and the Sierra Club for use on their own sites."


Try the Beta version!


DFILM

Blog Grab Bag


--Newspapers in the Digital Age


This article is from the University of South Carolina, Annenberg, Online Journalism Review. Free subscription available to this newsletter.


What Newspapers and Their Web Sites Must Do to Survive


--The Internet and American Life


Read this report from the Pew Research Center to find out how Americans make use of the Internet and with what frequency.


This is a 16-page PDF file.


--The Risks Digest


This is a moderated forum on the risks to the public in computers and related systems.


The Risks Digest


--MoveOn.org


"MoveOn is working to bring ordinary people back into politics. With a system that today revolves around big money and big media, most citizens are left out. When it becomes clear that our "representatives" don't represent the public, the foundations of democracy are in peril. MoveOn is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice. Our nationwide network of more than 1,700,000 online activists is one of the most effective and responsive outlets for democratic participation available today. "


MoveOn.org


--"Compensation Models in Distance Education: National Survey Questionnaire Revisited"


This article considers compensation issues in distance education.


Compensation Models


--"Women's Studies, Student Learning, and Technology"


This article explores how online technology can complement feminist pedagogy.


"Women's Studies...."


--Ogg Vorbis


What on earth is Ogg Vorbis?


Ogg Vorbis is a "completely open, patent-free, professional audio encoding and streaming technology with all the benefits of Open Source."


Ogg Vorbis


Ogg Vorbis Logo

Until next week!


Blog editor

Image sources: (1) "Bird in Tree" : http://www.riniart.org/mainframe.php?s=4; (2) Ogg Vorbis logo: http://www.vorbis.com/

Faculty Development News This Week:


Pedagogy


--"Liberal Education in the New Century"


This article considers the liberal arts in the twenty-first century.


"Liberal Education"


This is a 12-page PDF file


--"Credibility of the Web: Why We Need Dialectical Reading


"Credibility of the Web"


Recommended.


--Book: Research Strategies


Research Strategies: Finding your Way through the Information Fog, Second Edition, by William Badke, is available online.


Research Strategies

Active Learning


Active Learning with PowerPoint


This site provides an "online tutorial that suggests ways faculty can use PowerPoint as a medium to support active learning. The tutorial includes sections on active lecturing, active learning strategies and their delivery via PowerPoint, creating and using effective handouts, using PowerPoint to play in-class games, and using PowerPoint for formative assessment."


Active Learning with PowerPoint


"The Ethics of Learner-Centered Education"


This article is from Change magazine, 2000.


"The Ethics of Learner-Centered Education"


Recommended.


--Active Learning in Library Instruction


Here is a bibliography on active (cooperative) learning in Library instruction.


Active Learning...Library Instruction


--"Cooperative Learning"


Read the introduction to this article:


"The use of active learning strategies, such as cooperative learning, is growing at a remarkable rate. Professors are incorporating cooperative learning to increase students' achievement, create positive relationships among students, and promote students' healthy psychological adjustment to school. This monograph is about how college faculty can ensure that students actively create their knowledge rather than passively listening to the professor's. It is about structuring learning situations cooperatively at the college level so that students work together to achieve shared goals."


"Cooperative Learning"


--One Word, Little Time


This link is on free writing.


Try it!


One Word

Service Learning


Deliberative Democracy.Net


"Deliberation is an approach to decision-making in which citizens consider relevant facts from multiple points of view, converse with one another to think critically about options before them and enlarge their perspectives, opinions, and understandings.
Deliberative democracy strengthens citizen voices in governance by including people of all races, classes, ages and geographies in deliberations that directly affect public decisions. As a result, citizens influence--and can see the result of their influence on--the policy and resource decisions that impact their daily lives and their future."


Deliberative Democracy

Online Learning


--Drupal.org


"Drupal is an open-source platform and content management system for building dynamic web sites offering a broad range of features and services including user administration, publishing workflow, discussion capabilities, news aggregation, metadata functionalities using controlled vocabularies and XML publishing for content sharing purposes. Equipped with a powerful blend of features and configurability, Drupal can support a diverse range of web projects ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven sites."


Drupal


Recommended.


--"Nine Rules for Good Technology"


This entry is from the blog Carving Code 3 April 2004.


"Nine Rules"


--Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI)


"This resource provides links to more than 60 vocabulary sources."


TASI


Recommended.


--Using the Internet to Conduct Research Surveys


"Internet-based surveys, although still in their infancy, are becoming increasingly popular because they are believed to be faster, better, cheaper, and easier to conduct than surveys using more-traditional telephone or mail methods. Based on evidence in the literature and real-life case studies, this book examines the validity of those claims. The authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using e-mail and the Web to conduct research surveys, and also offer practical suggestions for designing and implementing Internet surveys most effectively."


Conducting Research Surveys...the Web


This is a publication of the RAND Corporation. The book is downloadable and free.
Multiple PDF files.


Recommended.

Students


--"Before College, a Taste of the Real World"


This article is from The New York Times.com, New York Region.


Before College""


--"The Relationship Between Achievement, Goal Orientation, and Coping Style: Traditional vs. Non-Traditional College Students."


This article is from The College Student Journal, March 2003.


Traditional vs. Non-Traditional College Students


Recommended.


--"Unemployment of College Grads Surpasses That of High School Drop Outs"


This article is from Economic Snapshots, an online publication of the Economic Policy Institute.


"Unemployment of College Grads"
Recommended.


--Curriculum Coherence and Transfer Issues: "Why Do I Have To Take This Course?"


This article is fromPeer Review, a publication of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, March 2000.


"Why Do I Have To Take This Course?"


Survey: How Well Do You Communicate with Students?


The authors of this survey "studied communications between faculty and students, and they identified effective skills in initiating and responding to students' comments. They suggest that faculty ask for student feedback on their listening and communication skills about three weeks into a course, and they offer the instrument below for this purpose. You might like to use it in this way, or merely as a list for self-reflection."


How Well Do You Communicate with Students?

Library


--Progressive Librarians Guild


"Progressive Librarians Guild was formed in New York City on January 1990 by a group of librarians concerned with our profession's rapid drift into dubious alliances with business and the information industry, and into complacent acceptance of service to an unquestioned political, economic and cultural status quo."


Progressive Librarians Guild


--Social Responsibilities Roundtable of the American Library Association (SRRT)


"SRRT has worked effectively to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for civil and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today."


Social Responsibilities Roundtable


--Library Juice


"Library Juice (ISSN 1544-9378) is a biweekly online magazine for librarians, library and information science students, and other interested people. It includes discussions, commentary, announcements, humor, web links and news affecting the library world. Much of the material is about librarianship as the servant and protector of the public sphere; intellectual freedom and social responsibility as central to the profession. Library Juice is not a discussion list but a digest of material from a variety of sources. Much of the material comes from individual contributors; you are welcome to submit articles of between 200 and 7500 words."


Library Juice

Blogging


--UTHINK: University of Minnesota Blog Initiative


The libraries at the University of Minnesota have just gone live with UTHINK, a blog initiative that assigns a blog to all students and faculty.


UTHINK


--"Publishing a Project Blog"


This article is from InfoWorld, 28 March 2003.


"Publishing a Project Blog"


--Sharing Knowledge in Organizations Through Blogging"


This article is from re.engage, 8 March 2004.


"Sharing Knowledge”

Blog Grab Bag


--The Bio-Web


"Your source for Molecular and Cell Biology-Bioinformatics-Technology news and online bio-resources.”


The Bio-Web


--African Studies Internet Resources


"Columbia University's collection of African Studies Internet Resources is an on-going compilation of electronic bibliographic resources and research materials on Africa available on the global Internet, created under the purview of the African Studies Department of Columbia University Libraries."


African Studies


--Technorati


"Technorati is a conversation engine. It tells you what's being said, right now, about every blog or site that has something to say -- and says it so well that others point to them. Search for the "cosmos" of any page, and Technorati lists every other page that has linked to it in the past 24 hours, ranked by freshness or authority. It shows the contextual text surrounding the inbound link, its age, and other helpful facts. There isn't another search engine like it."


Try the Beta version.


Technorati


--Association of Knowledgework (AOK)


"AOK is organized in the same way we want your workplace to be -- an environment without cultural, political, professional or structural boundaries; where workers and managers at all levels can think together, drawing on the rich and diverse backgrounds, training and work experience previously confined to the information silos and narrowly defined jobs of the former Industrial Age."


AOK


--Innovation Tools


"The Innovation Weblog is a meta-index of the latest innovation trends, news, technology, resources and viewpoints. It covers topics including innovation research and best practices and strategies, innovation management, business use of Weblogs for ideation and collaboration, and much more! This blog is updated frequently, so be sure to check back here often for the latest updates."


Innovation Tools


--"Seeing the Ordinary as Extraordinary"


This article is by a former National Geographic photographer.


"Seeing in the Ordinary as Extraordinary"


--The Long Now Foundation


"The Long Now Foundation was established in 01996** to develop Clock and "Library" projects as well as to become the seed of a very long term cultural institution. It has been nearly 10,000 years since the end of the last ice age and the beginnings of civilization. Progress lately is often measured on a "faster/cheaper" scale. The Long Now Foundation seeks to promote "slower/better" thinking and to foster creativity in the framework of the next 10,000 years."


The Long Now Foundation


--Mapper: ACME Laboratories


Enter a zip code or the name of a city, and see what comes up on screen.


Mapper


--Business Search Engine: SmealSearch


"SMEALSearch is a niche search engine that searches the web and catalogs academic articles as well as commercially produced articles and reports that address any branch of Business. The search engine crawls websites of universities, commercial organizations, research institutes and government departments to retrieve academic articles, working papers, white papers, consulting reports, magazine articles, and published statistics and facts."


Smeal Search


--National Science Digital Library (NSDL)


"NSDL is a digital library of exemplary resource collections and services, organized in support of science education at all levels. Starting with a partnership of NSDL-funded projects, NSDL is emerging as a center of innovation in digital libraries as applied to education, and a community center for groups focused on digital-library-enabled science education."


NSDL


--Journalism.org


"The project pursues the aim of clarifying standards by bringing journalists together to decide for themselves what their purpose and aims are. It sponsors, with the Nieman Foundation at Harvard, The Committee of Concerned Journalists, which has called journalists to a period of national reflection through a series of nationwide public forums and a landmark report on the purpose of journalism. It produced The State of the American Newspaper project, a landmark series of magazine articles on the profession edited by Gene Roberts. It conducts an annual review of local television news, which is published by the Columbia Journalism Review. It also produces a continuing series of content studies on press performance. "


Journalism.org


--Arts and Letters Daily


This portal links to interesting articles.


Arts and Letters Daily


--Boing Boing


This portal advertises itself as a "directory of wonderful things."


Boing Boing


--Engaging Business Students in Online Research....


"This presentation illustrates the information literacy approach for undergraduate, adult and MBA courses at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA. Emphasizing the value of librarian-faculty partnering, the presentation explores techniques for engaging undergraduate and MBA students in using business databases for research and for applying critical thinking skills to assignments. Also discussed is how the assignments are crafted around the ACRL Competency Standards for Higher Education. Included are examples of business research assignments for use in upper division and MBA-level organization theory and strategic management courses and a sample student paper. The lecture was presented at the October 24, 2003 Academic Business Librarians Exchange (ABLE) South/ Southern California Instruction Librarians (SCIL) program entitled: “Designing and Assessing Student Business Research Assignments: Strategies for Business Faculty and Librarians."


Although this presentation is directed toward graduate students in business, it also has applications to undergraduate students as well.


Engaging Students in Online Research....


--Cyber Economics


"This website is designed to support courses in both macro- and micro-economics. By clicking on the Table of Contents, one can access information on a variety of topics. Each of these contains links to other explanations."


Cyber Economics


--"How India is Saving Capitalism"


This article is from Salon.com. To read the entire article, you can acquire a free day pass or subscribe.


"How India is Saving Capitalism"


--Drive the Mars Rovers!


Do you want to take a spin on Mars?


This site is associated with the NASA Mars 2004 project and provides a Flash Macromedia virtual ride on the Mars rovers.


Mars Rovers

Until next week!


Blog editor


Image credits: www.spacedaily.com/news/ mars-general-00j1.html

Faculty Development News This Week:


Conferences


--Hawaii National Great Teachers Seminar: August 8-12, 2004.


"Hawaii National Great Teachers Seminar is a high energy summer retreat that brings teachers together to learn from each other and exchange teaching innovations and solutions to teaching problems. Click on the links above and explore our website to discover how the seminar can revitalize your approach to teaching!"


Great Teacher


--"Recruiting, Retaining, and Advancing Faculty of Color: Call for Proposals"


18-21 November, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.


Here is information about the conference, using the 1998 program notes:


"The recruitment and retention of faculty of color remains one of the most difficult challenges facing American higher education. Research findings--whether qualitative or quantitative, whether numerical or narrative--demonstrate that American Indian, African American, Latino, and Asian Pacific American faculty comprise, at most, 10% of the faculty, and many describe experiences of racial and ethnic bias in the workplace. Research findings suggest that there is a need to focus on changing the higher education workplace environment to further embrace the value of a racial and ethnically diverse professoriate in order to sustain the viability, vitality, and growth of our institutions in an ever-changing social environment."


"Despite present legal challenges, which must be considered in addressing problems within the workplace environment, a proactive stance toward solutions and strategies is crucial. On October 18-20, 1998, over 300 faculty, administrators, and students from 36 states participated in a national symposium entitled "Keeping Our Faculties: Addressing the Recruitment and Retention of Faculty of Color in Higher Education." The symposium was sponsored by the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities."


"The Keeping Our Faculties Symposium provided an arena for stimulating dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and policy makers aimed at generating useful strategies for increasing faculty diversity on college and university campuses. This executive summary distills information from the presentations of several symposium speakers with particular focus on their recommendations. Ideas emerged from the scholarly work and practical experience of the 15 plenary speakers and from the 28 concurrent session presenters. Not only are presenter remarks on barriers and strategies highlighted in this document, but results from symposium attendees participating in small group discussion tables and in an interactive keypad technology session will be presented. More information on the symposium is available in the symposium proceedings."


Abstracts are due May 14, 2004. For more information, go to ...Advancing Faculty of Color

Government Reports


--The Effectiveness of Educational Technology


"The No Child Left Behind Act calls for the U.S. Department of Education to carry out a national study of conditions and practices necessary for technology to be used effectively to improve teaching and learning. The legislation calls for the study to use rigorous scientifically based research methods to provide evidence of effectiveness."


This is from Ed.Gov.


Evaluation and Research Reports

Faculty Development


--"Reflecting on Leadership"


Although this report is directed toward leadership in the library profession, it has campus-wide applications.


This report is a publication of Council on Library and Information Resources,
December 2003.


Reflecting On Leadership


This is a 61-page PDF file.


Recommended.


--"Creating a Culture for the Scholarship of Teaching"


This article is from Inventio, 2 (February 2000).


Creating a Culture for the Scholarship of Teaching


--"Developing Discourse Communities Around the Scholarship of Teaching"


This article is from The Carnegie Chronicle, 8 (October 1999).


"Developing Discourse Communities..."

Students


--eLearners Advisor


"The eLearners Advisor is a quick survey that asks you questions related to earning an online college education. Your answers are instantly reviewed to evaluate your readiness for online education."


It is free, too.


eLearners Advisor


--"Knowing Your Students


This is Chapter 4 from Instruction at Florida State University, 4th edition (2002).


Knowing Your Students.


This is a 6-page PDF file.

Active Learning


--"Using Active Learning in the Classroom"


This is Chapter 8 of Instruction at Florida State University.


"Using Active Learning in the Classroom"


This is a 27-page PDF file.


Recommended.


--Collaborative Learning: Collaborative Learning Environments Sourcebook


"This book is a resource for academics and students who want to develop collaborative learning environments (or communities of practice) in which people work together to create new knowledge while learning new skills. See also the background info about the book. "


Collaborative Learning Environments Source Book


Recommended.


--Cubing


Cubing is "a technique for swiftly considering a subject from 6 points of view. The emphasis is on swiftly and 6."


This is from theLearning Assistance Center, Saint Mary's University, Texas.


Cubing


--The Cubing Tehnique


More about cubing from California State University, Northridge.


The Cubing Technique


Recommended.


--Cubing


Even more cubing from Tracy Duckart's Instructional Website, Humboldt State University.


Recommended.


Cubing


--Dialogue Journaling


This site from the National Center for ESL Literacy Education focuses on the social aspects of E-portfolios in education.


Dialogue Journaling


Recommended.

Web Site Design


--Metadata


Metadata provides great advice on Web site construction.


Metadata?

Online Course Design


--Quality Assurance for Online Course Development


This is from Oregon State University.


Quality Assurance


--"Technology Integration as a Transforming Teaching Strategy"


Although this article is directed to K-12 curriculae, it is applicable to postsecondary education as well.


This article comes from techLearning, 1 March 2004.


...Transforming Teaching...


I acquired this reference for this article from The Kept-Up Academic Librarian, 31 March 2004.


--"The Top Ten Blunders in Developing E-Learning"


This article is by Joeseph Ganci, Dazzletech


"The Top Ten Blunders...."



This is a 38-page PDF file.


--"First Principles of Instruction"


The author,David M. Merrill, Utah State University, suggests there are five components to good learning:


*Good learning is problem centered.
*It activates previous experience and knowledge.
*It relies more on demonstration than on telling.
*Learners should be required to use their new knowledge of skill to solve problems.
*And it should integrate new knowledge or skills into everyday life.


First Principles of Instruction


This is a 28-page PDF file.


--"Rival Approaches: Faculty- Led? Institution-Led? Keys to Success"


This article on the best approach for online course development is from the blog Xplana, a community of technologists and educators writing about technology and education.


"Rival Approaches"


Recommended.

Blogging


--Blogs Across the Curriculum


Read the introduction to the site:


"My name is Pattie Belle Hastings, and I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Interactive Digital Design Department at Quinnipiac University. I am also an artist, designer, and author. At some point in the near future, I'll provide a list of links to some of that work."


"I consider this site to be a first draft or beta version, so if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or links, please send me an email! Like all beta versions, I am sure there are bugs and typos. Look for corrections in the updates.""


Bogging Across the Curriculum


Recommended.


--"Campus Communication and the Wisdom of Blogging


This article is from Syllabus Magazine, 31 March 2004.


"...Wisdom of Blogging"

Wikis


--"Five Winning Ways People are Using Wikis Across University of Britsh Columbia


"The resulting spirit of adventure has led to a wide range of applications across campus. Here are five ways wikis are being used by staff, faculty and students at UBC."


"Five Winning Ways"

Blog Grab Bag


--"Living Math"


Here is the introduction to the article"


"In the last several years, Jean Lave and Valerie Walkerdine have developed searching analyses and critiques of mathematics education, particularly in their books Cognition in Practice (Lave, 1988) and The Mastery of Reason (Walkerdine, 1988). Despite their many differences, they share a compelling view of mathematics not as an abstract cognitive task but as something deeply bound up in socially organized activities and systems of meaning. The influence of their analyses has been growing steadily as educational researchers have looked for conceptions of cognition and learning that locate knowledge in particular forms of situated activity and not simply in mental contents (Brown, Collins and Duguid, 1989). Their work has also been part of an increasing interest in the ethnographic study of everyday mathematics (Leap, 1988; Saxe, 1991), the shared construction of mathematical knowledge in school (Newman, Griffin and Cole, 1989), and the relationship between school activities and the rest of life (Carraher, Carraher and Schliemann, 1985; Resnick, 1987; Scribner, 1986). Their understanding of mathematics as fundamentally a sociological phenomenon is a striking turn, holding out the hope for an analysis of math -- and perhaps of schooling and learning in general -- that includes homes, workplaces, and aspects of social relations that structure knowledge and learning across the whole of an individual's life. "


Living Math


--Dictionary of Occupational Titles


Do you know what a foxing cutter is?


Well, a foxing cutter makes shoes by "{cutting} uncured rubber strips to specified lengths for use as foxing with electrically heated knife (hot knife): Places tray-filled parallel strips on worktable. Cuts rows of strips into equal lengths with diagonal ends for firmer bonding, using sample or judging length from experience. Swabs strips with benzine to restore adhesiveness for assembling to footwear. Sets tray of cut foxing on assembly line or stacks them on table. "


Find out about other occupations.


Dictionary of Occupational Titles



--Managing Information in Digital Age


The National Science Foundation's (NSF) workshop on the future of digital library research has published its final report, which is available online:


Knowledge Lost in Information


--How to Build a Personal Library with Free Web Resources


Do you need to replace some classics in your home library? Well, you can do so for free online!


Find out more:


How to Build a Personal Library


--Full Free Text.com


"FreeFullText.com provides direct links to over 7000 scholarly periodicals which allow some or all of their online content to be viewed by ANYONE with Internet access for free (though some may require free registration). The issue(s) which are available for free are indicated for each title on the alphabetical periodical lists. The design of this site is optimized for users seeking specific articles for which they already have the citation. If some of the articles you need are not available for free online, you may obtain them for a fee through a document delivery service, such as Pinpoint Documents. If you wish to "search" for articles on a particular topic, please use a bibliographic database such as PubMed. This site does not attempt to list ALL periodicals on the Internet, only those which offer free full-text content. Titles will be removed from this list if they cease to offer any free full-text content."


Full Free Text.com


--Library of Congress Research Tools


This is a treasure trove of research applications.


Library of Congress Research Tools


--The Uses of Failure


This article is from TechCentral Station.


"The Uses of Failure"


--Annals of the History of Computing


This journal is subscription-based, although some articles are available online for free.


Annals of the History of Computing


--Webreference.com


"One of the oldest and most respected Web development sites (since 1995) WebReference.com, one of the Web sites created by Athenia Associates and now owned by Jupitermedia Corp., is about the Web and Webmastery. From browsing to authoring, HTML to advanced site design, we'll keep you in touch and informed."


WebReference.com


--Science Port.Org


Try out this Beta version.


"The SciencePORT.org Databse contains actually 640 worldwide Sites/NewsFeeds."


Science Port


--Free Stuff from Learning Circuits


"This is the place to sample training software, calculators, cool Web services, and other helpful workplace tools. All demos, trials, and tools are FREE, so check them out and come back often to see what's new. Some of the tools require registration."


Free Stuff


--Tiny Apps.Org: Small is Beautiful


TinyApps.Org provides "a guide to very small software for your PC. Virtually all of the programs listed here are free of charge and for use under Windows."


Tiny Apps


--WorkRave


"Workrave is a program that assists in the recovery and prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). The program frequently alerts you to take micro-pauses, rest breaks and restricts you to your daily limit. Please refer to the feature comparison for a complete list of features, and how the program performs with respect to other programs on the market. The program runs on GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows. "


Free download.


WorkRave


--Cartagio


Cartagio Enterprise" provides the tools you need to focus on the task at hand and efficiently capture and manage your online research. Add documents, client correspondence, images, data files etc. to your web projects, record job billing statistics, encrypt sensitive material and effortlessly collaborate...."


Download is free for three weeks.


Cartagio


--Earth as Art


"A series of Landsat satellites have imaged the Earth's surface for nearly thirty years, providing data for applications in business, science, education, government, and national security. The Landsat satellite currently in orbit is Landsat 7. The U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center in South Dakota is the primary receiving station for Landsat 7 data, and it distributes these data to researchers around the world."


This site is from the Library of Congress.


Recomended.


Earth as Art


--"Parrot's Oratory Stuns Scientists"





This African Grey parrot, N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words.


This article is from BBC News, United Kingdom edition.


"Parrot's Oratory Stuns
Scientists"

Until next week!


Blog editor

Image credits: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3430481.stm