Summer Reading...Driftin' Away

When was the last time you read a book? No, not a text book for class, but a book, just for fun? I hope you said recently, because, I, personally, love to read.

Getting lost in a book is one of life’s purest joys. Where else can you start reading on your porch and suddenly be transported to a different place and time? Only in a book. And what a better time to enjoy a book than the lazy, hazy days of summer…

This leads me to the technological side of reading. Sure, you can go to the library and take a book out for a period of time. Or you can go to a store and purchase one and own it forever. But, in the year 2011 there is no need to actually carry a book around with you.

Owning a digital reader, like a Kindle or a Nook allows you to have many different books, magazines or newspapers loaded on your device, which you can take anywhere. Not only can you download a digital book to your reader, but smartphones and iPads also have the same capability. You normally can purchase these books from Amazon.com for the Kindle or Barnes and Noble.com for the Nook. This is great for those that normally purchase their books.

But for the library user, Barnes and Noble is already allowing books to be downloaded from library sites free of charge. Following close behind is the Kindle, owned by Amazon. Keep an eye out at your local library website for this to come to fruition.

And, however you choose to enjoy your book - digitally or book-in-hand, hope you have some great summer time adventures!

A Bright Future Ahead

Graduation is upon us, and now is the time of year when many college graduates celebrate their hard work and success in earning their degrees. This year, there is more cause to rejoice. The outlook for the job market appears to be stronger in each industry area compared to last year. In addition to the job growth, it has also been reported that salaries are approximately 3.5% ahead of last year as well.

Are you a graduate looking to start your career? If so, you may want to attend a career fair as more and more employers are participating in these fairs to recruit and hire. It is still a very competitive market today. It’s important to start applying early, network, and follow up after interviews.

Being open to new opportunities may move you into a direction you haven’t considered before. Evaluate your skills and think about how these skills are transferable to multiple types of industries. Don’t close yourself off to opportunities because you are set on working in a specific industry, market your skills in various sectors, and that will leverage more possibilities for you to jump start your career path post graduation.

The Harvest Is Ready, But the Workers Are Few

Many postsecondary faculty may be missing out on a valuable opportunity to enhance their pedagogical practices. I was reading an article about a Syracuse professor who initiated a “do not text policy” in his course. The policy warned students that the professor would stop teaching and dismiss class if the professor saw any student texting during class. The implementation of the policy was motivated by frequent accounts of students texting and gaming during class lectures. After a student sitting on the front row showed a blatant disregard for the professor’s policy and sent a text message, the professor, adhering to his policy, walked out of class. The professor sent a statement to his students and his dean to explain his actions. He expressed frustration with the lack of respect among students and threatened to end his tenure at Syracuse University. Many bloggers seem to side with the professor about the blatant disrespect of students, but perhaps, there is a greater issue looming.

For instance, the class meets in a lecture hall where the professor provides philosophy lectures to students. This learning format violates everything we know about information processing and the characteristics of the Net Generation. Information processing theory suggests that we have limited working memory to process information. This assertion suggests that students are not likely to process lengthy class lectures in the time allotted. In fact, students may experience cognitive overload if an attempt is made to process an entire classroom lecture during a single class session. Years of experience with the lecture format have likely taught students that lengthy classroom lectures can place excessive cognitive demands on the human brain. These demands usually exceed the capacity confines of human brain function. Therefore, it is possible that students do not expect to benefit from course lectures. This perspective might explain why students engage in activities such as texting and gaming during class lectures.

To further put the behavior of contemporary college students into perspective, we must identify and acknowledge the unique characteristics of the Net Generation. Contemporary research on the information economy suggests that contemporary college students should be self-regulating life-long learners, who are capable of strategic learning. The Net Generation fits this description as evidenced by the phenomenon of texting. This phenomenon shows us that the Net Generation is strategic in finding new ways to communicate. Texting provides evidence that the Net Generation is strategic in creating what appears to be new language conventions. Strategic behavior is also seen in this generation’s strong interest in gaming. Such behavior might be viewed by Generation Xers and Baby Boomers as a young person succumbing to the temptations of instant gratification and unending pleasantries.

I believe that most students would agree that texting and gaming in class shows brazen disrespect for university faculty; however, our postsecondary institutions might consider strategies to actively engage our students in strategic learning—a style of learning that is consistent with the behavior of contemporary college students. Colleges and universities might also be wise to explore the utility of mobile phones and texting devices in the learning environment.

Who is RecycleBank?

An individual has the power to change the world. A united community is more powerful than the sum of its parts. The world is at its best when none of its elements go to waste. More importantly, RecycleBank is group of passionate people that makes these things happen every day. 

And it’s all through one pretty simple approach: You take small actions. They give you everyday rewards. The world gets greener.

Whether you pledge to use less energy, increase your at-home recycling or even just learn how you can increase the green in your home and neighborhood, they’ll reward you through grocery store savings, drugstore coupons, and discounts on the brands you buy every day. This way, you reap the rewards of not only brightening your community and helping your environment, but also truly benefit from meaningful savings. More ->

Subjective Grading with Objective Criteria

I envy those instructors who teach math, science, computer science, or other courses where criteria are objective and relatively easy to assess. 2 + 2 = 4. The student gets it right, or not. Even with English grammar and spelling, the instructor can grade with quantitative criteria, counting mistakes and correcting errors.

It's not that easy, in my opinion, when the subject is music, art, television or film. Beauty, being in the eye of the beholder, can be a "C" in one instructor's gradebook but an "A" in another one. How does one make a subjective experience like grading art an objective one? There is no perfect answer but one can apply quantifiable criteria in the form of a rubric. In a Blackboard class, the rubric is called a grading form.

Here's an example. I teach a class in video post-production; video editing in other words. In examining a student's work I can break down grading into performance-based criteria derived from accepted practice in the field. Applied to a grading form, the rubric can look something like this:

You may note that the points value adds up conveniently to a maximum of 10. I could add more criteria, and increase the range of possibilities that separate an "A" from a "B" and so on. But the main thing this does for me is impart some objectivity to what is primarily a very subjective experience: grading something artistic.

Having a rubric such as this, and sharing it with the students also increases clarity of expectations, which can't hurt.

Rubrics can even be created to combat lethargy or complacency in class. Criteria for participation could include "punctuality," "listening attentiveness," "follows directions," "teamwork (for collaborative situations)," and "technological distractions (put that smartphone away!)". In whatever way you wish to use rubrics, they can be a huge assistance in grading a student's work and in setting expectations.