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Monday, January 24, 2011

Scholarships available for 2011 American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Conference

Professional nonfiction writers can apply for a scholarship from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Educational Foundation to cover the cost of attending the 40th Annual ASJA Writers Conference in New York City, April 30-May 1.

Three scholarships are available for writers in the following categories: blogging, nonfiction article, and nonfiction book. The scholarship will cover registration fees for the full conference, including the Continental Breakfast, keynote luncheon and cocktail reception, and one 30-minute mentoring session with an established, professional writer specializing in the scholarship recipient's area of expertise.

The deadline for applying for an ASJA scholarship is February 15, 2011. Winners will be announced no later than March 15, 2011. Learn more
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Faculty Focus: Be Efficient, Not Busy: Time Management Strategies for Online Teaching

By Deborah A. Raines, PhD

Online teaching redefines the faculty member’s schedule. The feeling of being a 24/7 professor can lead to frustration. Managing one’s time as an online teacher can be a challenge. As the popularity of online education continues to grow, teaching faculty need to develop effective time management behaviors to be efficient and not just busy. Here are ten strategies I like to use:

1. Roll call – Take attendance on the first day. A simple discussion board with a response of “I’m here” alerts you to who has not found the classroom site as well as provides documentation of the students’ presence in the course which may be required for the registrar or financial aid records.

2. Syllabus quiz – Give a syllabus quiz during the first week. This quiz provides an opportunity for students to experience the online testing environment and provides an incentive for students to read the syllabus and other important information.

3. Ask the class – Create an “ask the class” discussion area in each module/unit. This is a place for students to ask general questions (similar to raising your hand in class and asking a question) and encourages students to respond to each other.

4. To-do list – Create a to-do list as the first item in each module. This item provides an introduction to and guidelines on how to approach the material in the module. Clear directions significantly reduce confusion and provide time management suggestions to the student.

5. Establish rules and expectations – Disseminate clear and consistent rules and expectations such as when to turn in assignments, the beginning and ending date of units, turn-around time for responses to questions or feedback on assignments. If everyone knows the rules and expectations from the beginning of the course, it reduces the time needed for continuing clarifying these important topics. A message sent to students the week before the beginning of the course is a great opportunity to introduce these rules and establish the rigorous standards of the course.

6. Private office – Create a dropbox or private journal function for students to communicate with you on confidential matters. Using a private office within your online course removes course specific communications from your general e-mail and provides on-going documentation of your conversation with the student.

7. Roadmap to success – Write a clear and concise document of student expectations, responsibilities and accountability for learning. This document addresses items such as the policy on late work, how to get technical help, netiquette, the flexibility and mobility of online learning, technical requirements, and finally how to access university resources such as the library and the writing center.

8. Take advantage of tools and technology – Use online tools within the course management system such as student tracking, testing automation, self-grading or rubrics added to assignment dropboxes, to increase your efficiency. In addition, external tools such as a wiki, Google tools, a spreadsheet, or a database tracking system all can increase your efficiency. In general, handle each item only once—if you open an item, do something with it, don’t just peek and plan to come back later.

9. Establish a routine – Set your schedule. Get in the habit of going to your online courses at consistent times and know what you are going to do while at the course site. For example early Monday morning I check for unanswered questions or items in my private office, but I don’t enter the discussion at that time or grade assignments. Alternating time throughout the week (i.e. Monday in the morning, Tuesday in the afternoon and Thursday in the evening) increases the likelihood of being present when different groups of students are online and supports the asynchronous nature of most online learning courses.

10. Don’t re-invent – Use existing resources. There are a number of quality learning activities available on the web. Sources such as MERLOT (http://www.merlot.org) and YouTube (http://youtube.com) are potential resources. Using these resources can reduce the time needed to develop similar materials.

Hopefully with these strategies, instructors can enjoy the convenience and creativity of online teaching without feeling overwhelmed.

Deborah A. Raines, PhD , RN, ANEF, is the director of Scholarship of Teaching at The Center for Teaching and Learning, Florida Atlantic University.
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Applications being accepted for 2011 TAA Publication Grants

Applications being accepted for 2011 TAA Publication Grants

TAA is currently accepting applications for grants of up to $750 to cover expenses incurred in publishing already accepted print academic journal articles and books including academic journal page costs or university press subventions; the cost of preparing artwork or other charts, diagrams, or images to be included in accepted journal articles or academic books; and journal reprint costs.

Authors can apply for publication grants of up to $750 to cover expenses incurred in publishing already accepted print academic journal articles and books including academic journal page costs or university press subventions; the cost of preparing artwork or other charts, diagrams, or images to be included in accepted journal articles or academic books; and journal reprint costs.

Grants are also available for expenses incurred as a direct result of research leading to publication of a book or article, including:

•Interlibrary loan costs, or computer time costs incurred in the analysis of data, leading to publication of academic print materials.


•Costs of single photocopies of source materials for research related to the publication of an article or book.


•Costs of secretarial (copying and/or delivery) services incurred in the preparation of academic print materials.


•Cost of permissions incurred in the preparation of academic print materials for reprinting images, quoted material.
Grant funds are also available for costs incurred by the author for textbook projects, provided the textbook is not realistically expected to yield royalties sufficient to recover the costs for which the grant is sought.

How to Apply:
•Download a PDF form @: http://www.taaonline.net/publication_grants/grantsform_7_10.pdf and mail to:

TAA Executive Director Richard Hull,
3241 Heather Hill Lane,
Tallahassee, FL 32309-2307
TAA has up to $7,500 available for making TAA Publication Grants in 2010-2011. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. The grant period runs from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. Grant applications for the first half of 2010-2011 are due by December 1, 2010. Grant applications for the second half of 2010-2011 are due by May 1, 2011.
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100+ Online Resources That Are Transforming Education

Yury Lifshits is working on algorithms and prototypes of new services at Yahoo! Research. Before that he was teaching university courses in the U.S., Germany, Russia and Estonia. He blogs at yurylifshits.com and publishes his teaching materials at yury.name/teaching.

Education technology has become a busy space in recent years. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates continue to push the envelope with enormous philanthropic gifts toward education reform; Blackboard.com was traded at a $1 billion plus valuation; and Google is putting millions into education tech sites like KhanAcademy. At Mashable, you’ve read about social campaigns for education, gaming in education and free educational resources.

With so many startups on the scene, it is easy to get lost. Fortunately, most innovation is centered around a short list of fundamental ideas. In this post, we’ll walk through nine clusters of education tech companies.
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DCC Web Archiving

Alex Ball, Digital Curation Centre, UKOLN, University of Bath
DCC STATE
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Titles in DU CTLAT January 2011


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Diverse Issues in Higher Education: HBCUs Tapped for New International Program

January 21, 2011 by Charles Dervarics

With an eye toward the global economy, seven historically Black colleges and universities will participate in a new national initiative to help HBCUs expand their international programs and partnerships while enhancing global learning activities on their own campuses.

The universities were named to the new Creating Global Citizens: Exploring Internationalization of HBCUs project, jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the American Council on Education (ACE). After conducting a competition among Black colleges, ACE announced the winning participants Jan. 21.

The seven participants—Dillard University, Howard University, Lincoln University of Missouri, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Savannah State University, Tuskegee University and Virginia State University—will work with an ACE project team to review their current international programs and explore new ideas.

While there are no monetary grants to the institutions, university leaders will have access to technical assistance and will travel to conferences to talk with experts and each other about effective strategies.

“It’s an opportunity to interact with people who can help develop the best ideas,” said Wanda Lester, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina A&T. While the university already has an office of international programs and several partnerships, “We want to do more,” she told Diverse. “No matter where you are, you’re in a global society.”

Because of financial need, many HBCU students cannot participate in study abroad programs, she said. Yet in recent years, North Carolina A&T has launched “mini” study abroad programs, typically focused on service learning during spring break. Expanding these programs is one potential item on the university’s agenda for this program, she said.

Dillard University already has a well-established student and faculty exchange with post-secondary institutions in Chile, China, India and Germany, President Marvalene Hughes said. Yet this program will generate broader discussions among Dillard faculty about how to infuse international trends into courses on its New Orleans campus, she said. Hughes is particularly interested in adding a global perspective to courses in mathematics, economics, space studies and other scientific disciplines.

With this program, “We will be able to advance to a higher level in internationalization,” she said.

The seven were selected from among 36 HBCU applicants, said Christa Olson, ACE director of international initiatives. The fall 2010 competition was open to all four-year accredited HBCUs with undergraduates, or 82 institutions. The high level of response from HBCUs was “a good indicator of the strong interest and commitment of the HBCU community in addressing this issue,” she told Diverse.

All completed written applications, after which 14 semi-finalists participated in extensive interviews. HBCU experts were among those on a review board evaluating applicants.

Once the seven participants conduct an audit of their existing international partnerships, they will develop strategic plans to enhance their offerings.

“We believe that once they complete this process, they will be better able to locate external and internal funding that can help them implement their plans,” Olson said.

The U.S. Education Department is providing $357,976 for the initiative, while ACE is providing matching funds of $191,479.
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Inside Higher Ed: The Sinking States

January 24, 2011
States are spending more than $79 billion on higher education in 2010-11, a decline of 0.7 percent from last year, according to a report being released today by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers.

While a cut of less than 1 percent might seem like a relief, given the magnitude of some of the cuts public higher education systems have faced in recent years, the report contains plenty of danger signs for the future. More than $2.5 billion of the total state spending on higher education came from the federal government in the form of stimulus funds that have now run out. Over two years, state support is down nearly 2 percent -- in a period when the same economic downturn that has left state coffers empty has also spurred enrollment increases in much of public higher education, and greater demands for financial aid. And plenty of states are talking about additional cuts for 2011-12.

"There are a lot of question marks right now and the revenue shortfalls in many states are casting a long shadow," said James C. Palmer, professor of educational administration and foundations at Illinois State and director of the study. "I don't see any indication that the states are pulling out of the recession."

Indeed, in recent weeks, California's Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, has proposed cuts in state support of 18 percent cut for California State University; 16.4 percent for the University of California; and 6.5 percent for community colleges. In Texas, a draft state budget is provoking outrage because it would close four community colleges. And in Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, last week proposed budget cuts for higher education that include a reduction for four-year colleges and universities of 20 percent, and cuts of 50 percent for community colleges.

The report by Palmer notes that the national average "masks considerable variations across states." Thirty-two states reported declines in state support for higher education for the year, with drops ranging from 0.3 percent to 13.5 percent. Another 16 states saw gains, from 0.2 percent to 24.7 percent. (Two states saw no change.)

Notably, however, there were six states where the percentage losses were in double digits: Missouri (down 13.5 percent); Delaware (12.4 percent); Iowa (12.2 percent); Minnesota (11.7 percent); Arizona (11.6 percent) and Oregon (10.8 percent). Only one state reported a double-digit increase: Wyoming (up 24.7 percent).

While states use different financial procedures to support higher education, the Illinois State-SHEEO study is considered the definitive source on state appropriations, with consistent rules for what is counted (state funds for operating support and student aid) and what's not (funds for building projects and tuition revenue). Federal research grants (a significant budget line for research universities) aren't counted, but the federal stimulus "stabilization" funds -- which were intended to support the operations of public schools and colleges -- are included because they support the same purposes as general state appropriations for higher ed.

While the stimulus funds continue to have a major impact this year, that impact is declining. Thirty states are spending stimulus funds on higher education support this year, compared to 43 last year. (States had some latitude on how much of the stimulus funds to spend in which year, and on the split between K-12 and higher ed.) The national proportion of total state funding for higher education nationwide that came from the federal stimulus funds (as opposed to state monies) declined to 3.5 percent this year, from 6.0 percent last year.

The following tables show changes in state support over one, two and five years (with the stimulus funds not in the base from five years ago), and the totals provided in state support for higher education this year.

Changes in State Support for Higher Education, 2010-11, over 1, 2 and 5 Years http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/24/states_make_more_cuts_in_spending_on_higher_education

State Support for Higher Education, 2010-11
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/24/states_make_more_cuts_in_spending_on_higher_education

— Scott Jaschik

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