Cool academic resources: Media rich

More educators are incorporating wikis and blogs into their classes. Web spaces are great places to share syllabi, lesson plans, and handouts. Research shows students expect it. Furthermore, they have a great potential “fun factor.” These formats allow for embedding video, pictures, links, audio and more. Web-enhancements, whether through LMS (like Angel) or through free Web 2.0 tools, efficiently share supplemental, and/or media rich material.

Here’s a list of both highly academic and fun resources. Check them out and share with students.

• PsychCentral has 10 great free videos on the teen brain, the paradox of choice, eating disorders and more.
• The Guardian: UK lists the 50 Greatest Arts Videos of all Time (on Youtube that is)
  
• In case you haven’t’ seen Randy Pausch’s inspirational and relevant “last lecture,” it’s deeply moving and amazingly upbeat.
• For history buffs, Howard Zinn’s Peoples history of the United States – animated video. 8 ½ min long.
• Oculture’s 70 signs of intelligent life on YouTube a collection of first rate videos.
  
• For political science/ journalism applications, Seymour Hersh (Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist) on covert operations in Iran.
• for biology/ botany - a time lapse video of fungi and slim molds (short and oddly compelling)
  

Recent publications re: Adjuncts

The Chronicle of Higher Education has recently published several articles related to adjunct instructors. In "We're not your colleagues" a former full-time faculty member and administrator returns to campus life as an adjunct and sees things diferently; and, "The Price of Gas Fuels Tough Choices for adjuncts" brings up a perhaps unforeseen effect of rising gas prices. See also:

• Inside Higher Ed "Will Adjuncts Pay to be Certified?"
• Inside Higher Ed "For Adjuncts, Progress and Complexities"
  
• Allyn Bacon "adjunct online links library"
  

Also, when asked what advice they had for new part-time teachers, a collection of veteran adjuncts from several departments offered the following:

1. go to in-services and departmental meetings, to get key information
2. seek out your dean and communicate - if you plan a field trip, trip to the library or move/reschedule class for any reason, let your dean know.
   
3. give every student a syllabus on the first day
   
4. read the KCKCC "Adjunct faculty handbook"

Teaching with embedded video

Our campus community has an impressive online video presence.

In fact, in the most recent online video to go "viral," you can see a Fort Hays debate coach lose it and moon for rebuttal. One of our own acts as the voice of reason and calm. You may have seen it on network news. YouTube pulled the video, but it's up on Live Leak, viewable at Boing Boing (It is intense - contains very coarse language and, as I said, an exposed rear-end).

The Strawberry Fields Community Garden Project, produced by the school's economics club in conjunction with the Strawberry Hill Home association, shows community involvement and applied, active learning. It features Dr. Medhi Shariati, as well as several students you see in the halls or in class. It's the featured video this week to your right.

The music department represents us with class through many videos of the Blues Devils. Different musicians and musical genres show up. Sometimes the camera is on a tripod, and sometimes on the shoulder of someone in the back of the audience, but the obvious sense of fun makes them worth checking out.

The track team also shares video to assess and improve performance.

See the growing list of examples of our excellence at the forefront of online shared video.

Gearing up: Resources and Suggestions

On syllabi, include your name, the textbook title, and dates of exams and activities. The master syllabi templates aren’t finished products – they need specific info. Check out Dave Knopp's insightful 1 page paper re: student vs. faculty expectations of a syllabus. .

Email students ASAP. Sending a mass email is easy.Your class "group" has already been created in Groupwise. Go to the address book and enter the 4 letter abbr. for your department and scroll to your class. Attach syllabus or other materials.

Get to know the Academic Resource Center (ARC).Tutoring isn’t just for struggling students. Bookmark these links and share them - repeatedly, in email, on syllabus, and every chance you get:

• The Reading and Writing Center
• The Math Tutoring Center
  

Learn where the library is and plan a tour ASAP: Contact the main desk at 7650.

Make an effort to break the ice, build community and establish trust. If you’re interested in fresh ideas re: icebreakers, check out one of KCKCC’s first wikis. Build community throughout the semester.