Part 1
Part 2
Thursday, July 8, 2010
MakeUseOf.com: 4 Best Sites To Get 10GB Free Online Backup & Storage
In today’s digital world, our entire life — both work and home — are tied to computers. Hard disks are unpredictable and are prone to failures leading to data loss. Research shows that every year 43% of computer users lose valuable data. The best way to hedge your data storage risk is to store critical data on the cloud.
Cloud storage services offer paid monthly subscriptions either for unlimited storage or for hundreds of gigabytes of data. Most of us do not have that much critical data to backup and therefore it would be a total waste of money. And for those of us who have data which cannot be stored using the 1 or 2GB free space offered, we have a list of four of the best free online storage services that offer free space of more than 10GB.
ReadWriteWeb: Top 10 Presentations About the Real-Time Web
On the eve of ReadWriteWeb's Real-Time Web Summit we want to give you a better sense of what we're going to be unconferencing about tomorrow. For those of you that can't make it to New York City to attend the event, you'll be able to follow some of our activities on our summit stream page.
From the number one presentation, which has been viewed 10,000 times, to the tenth most popular, which has been viewed 600 times, all these presentations are less than 9 months old. They explain how companies can use the real-time Web to get ahead, and how media outlets can situate themselves to be the first to report breaking stories. Also explained in great detail is how designers are planning to use the real-time Web in the future. If you know of any presentations we left out, please leave a link in the comments below. And have fun tomorrow!
ALA Store: Boomers and Beyond: Reconsidering the Role of Libraries
Boomers and Beyond: Reconsidering the Role of Libraries
Edited by Pauline Rothstein and Diantha Dow Schull
Item Number: 978-0-8389-1014-6
Publisher: ALA Editions
Price: $55.00
Moodle Moot Austin - August 1st-3rd 2010 - Austin, TX
Pre-Conference Moot Workshop
August 1, 2010
Facilitator: Michelle Moore, Chief Learning Officer Remote-Learner
Time: 8 am - 4 pm
Cost: $99
Requirement: Laptop
Course Limit: 24 participants
Realize the possibilities of Moodle in this one-day pre-conference Moot workshop, held on August 1st, designed for new Moodlers. Participants will first take part in a guided tour of Moodle's key features and tools. Then, we'll shift gears and provide every participant with their own sandbox course and step-by-step training on how to begin to construct your own Moodle course. Along the way, we'll share ideas and strategies for effective online learning activities.Topics for this one-day workshop will include:
- Creating and editing the Moodle profile
- Hands on experience with the assignment, choice, forum, quiz and resource modules
- Defining course settings
- Using topic summaries and labels to customize your course
- Creating resources to link to web pages as well as electronic files
- Building assignments, quizzes, and discussion forums
***Note, if you have materials you would like to use as you start to build your Moodle course, please bring them (in an electronic format) as you can use them when we add sample activities.***
The Chronicle of Higher Education: There's Something Good Happening in Texas
By Marybeth Gasman
As the majority of my research pertains to historically black colleges and universities, I constantly watch what's going on with these institutions. I have a Google alert on the term HBCU as well as the individual institutions so I can stay up to date. By and large, news stories tend to be negative when they are about HBCUs—a fact about which I have written a peer-reviewed article and about which I have spoken publicly. I think some of the media attention is a bit more balanced as of late—a bit—but it could still be better. That said, there are so many positive stories about HBCUs that we rarely hear because no one covers them. I thought I'd write today about an HBCU in Dallas, Texas, Paul Quinn College.
Most people wrote the institution off a couple years ago, but it, and its president Michael Sorrell, are survivors. The school is located in a low-income area of Dallas and has roughly 150 students and a tiny endowment. It lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools a while back and fought in Federal District Court to regain it; the institution received an injunction, which reinstated accreditation until the case goes to trial next year.
That said, the story of Paul Quinn College's fight to survive (and thrive) is a great one. I spent the day talking with the institution's president and one can't help but be completely inspired by his enthusiasm about the college and the community in which it exists. He doesn't claim to be perfect and knows that some may take issue with his methods and leadership, but you can't deny that he is turning the small school around in a big way. Let me offer some examples.
—President Sorrell recently secured a $500,000 gift from the Meadows Foundation (the largest single donor gift in the past 10 years for the college).
—The school achieved candidacy status with the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools this past April.
—President Sorrell and his leadership team completed $1.5 million in capital improvements.
—The institution had a $1 million surplus in FY10; and a $500,000 surplus in FY09.
—President Sorrell reconstituted the board of trustees, bringing in more people who have access to wealth and a greater vested interest in the institution.
—The institution revamped its Web site, revealing a new motto and outlook ( http://www.pqc.edu/ ). Check out the motto: "Leave places better than we found them; lead from wherever we are; live lives that matter; and love something greater than ourselves. What do you do?"
—President Sorrell turned the unused football field into an urban-farm partnership with PepsiCo and is selling and donating food to the local community and using it in the dining halls. He did this because there are no grocery stores within five miles of the school and none of the Texas grocery chains would put one in the area when asked by the college.
—President Sorrell recently secured a $1 million gift to demolish 10 abandoned buildings that have been an eyesore on the campus for decades.
There are those who think many of the small HBCUs will "die off." The research on dying colleges tells us that this is likely for some, especially those without dynamic leadership, a willingness to be innovative and fresh, and supportive alumni. Fading away may be the reality for some HBCUs, but I certainly hope not. HBCUS—all of them—are historic treasures. They are African-American cultural institutions with rich histories, especially those like Paul Quinn College, which was started by African-American members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I think we should do everything we can to solidify the place of HBCUs, especially when there are people who care about the future of HBCUs at the helm.
That said, alumni of HBCUs, black communities that have benefited from them, and anyone else who cares about their rich history of providing opportunity for all students, need to step up and support HBCUs. Consistent support, helps HBCUs to avoid what my good friend Nelson Bowman (the director of development at Prairie View A & M University) calls "crisis fundraising." HBCUs need friends every day, not just on rainy days.
And one last thing: I hope to see more young leaders, like Sorrell, become presidents of HBCUs. Many HBCUS need more energy and new ideas. I am hopeful that young people will step into these leadership positions because about every other week a young African American e-mails or calls me to tell me that's his or her dream. How can we make that happen?
Innovative Educators Webinar: Empowering At-Risk Probationary Students: Appreciative Advising Inside and Outside the Classroom
Thursday, August 5 / 1:00-3:00pm EDT
$345.00
Presentation Overview Institutions across the country have struggled to create initiatives that lead to increased retention rates for students on probation. This webinar will focus on two initiatives at the University of South Carolina – one focused on individually advising students and the other a special section of University 101 - that focus on empowering students to achieve good standing. The first is a programmatic initiative focused on helping students on probation and/or financial aid probation to devise and implement an academic plan for success. The Academic Centers for Excellence (ACE) employ graduate students to serve as academic coaches for students experiencing academic difficulty. We will explain how ACE coaches translate the Appreciative Advising theory to practice. In addition, you will learn how a special section of University 101 was created for students who had failed University 101 the previous semester and/or students who were on academic probation. Learn how the six phases of Appreciative Advising were infused throughout the curriculum and intentionally embedded into the design of the course.
Objectives
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Participants will:
1.Understand the theoretical infrastructure behind Appreciative Advising, including the six phases of Appreciative Advising: Disarm, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, and Don't Settle.
2.Learn how to infuse the six phases of Appreciative Advising into one-on-one meetings with students on probation as well as in a University 101 setting.
3.Receive suggestions about how to start either or both of these Appreciative Advising-inspired at their own campuses.
Who Should Attend?
Academic advisors, advising administrators, student affairs professionals, Vice-Presidents of Student Affairs, student affairs leaders, University 101 instructors, University 101 coordinators, retention coordinators, academic coaching professionals, etc.
Who Are the Speakers?
Education & Student Affairs Program housed in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies at the University of South Carolina. Prior to her appointment at the University of South Carolina in August, 2007, she served as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs & the Medical Scholars Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. She earned her doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995.
Dr. Bloom served as the 2007-08 President of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). She received the NACADA Outstanding Advising Administrator Award in 2005 and University of Illinois' Campus Academic Professional Excellence Award in 2007.
Dr. Bloom has co-authored two books. The first book, Career Aspirations & Expeditions: Advancing Your Career in Higher Education Administration, was released in 2003 and co-authored by Nancy Archer-Martin. The second book, The Appreciative Advising Revolution, was released earlier in September 2008 and is co-authored by Bryant Hutson and Ye He. Her research interests include appreciative advising, academic advising, career paths in higher education administration, leadership, and change management.
Claire Robinson has coordinated the effort at the University of South Carolina to offer individual academic coaching on campus. Working with graduate students who serve as ACE Coaches, she has built partnerships across campus to increase the intentionality of each coaching session. Using the Appreciative Advising framework, Claire has presented at several institutions and conferences on the coaching approach, as well has working to get the ACE program CRLA level three certified. Claire also teaches two sections of a freshmen seminar course, including a general section and an academic recovery section working with students on probation. Currently she is the Assistant Director of Academic Success Initiatives, working with the Academic Centers for Excellence (ACE).
Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Grambling’s President Orders Review of School Spending
July 6, 2010
GRAMBLING, La. – Grambling State University's (GSU) new president has hired the former president of Virginia's largest historically Black university to review “every dime” of GSU's budget.Dr. Frank Pogue said Dr. Marie McDemmond and two members of her staff also will check the qualifications of Grambling's accounting staff.
Last week, a state audit found that, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, the university bought stock with money supposed to be used for buildings and grounds and lost $1 million on the deal.
The purchase was made six months before Pogue arrived on campus as interim president.
McDemmond was president of Norfolk State University for eight years and is credited with strengthening its finances.
For his part, Pogue on Thursday pledged to restore confidence in GSU's finances. “I am going to try very hard to establish a culture of accountability,” Pogue said. “We're going to restore the integrity that we simply must have when dealing with state funds.”
Pogue, when asked to respond to a suggestion made Wednesday by state Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, that the state consider additional oversight of GSU's finances, said that he would welcome added support, though he believes GSU has the building blocks for a successful accounting operation in place.
“Any time we can get special assistance to improve the way we do business and be more responsible to students, we welcome assistance,” Pogue said.
“There is a very good role for a system office to play. We have some good people here now. The whole idea is to surround them with the support services and assistance they need.”
Pogue, whose first official day as GSU's president was last Thursday, cautioned that a turnaround in GSU's accounting will not come “overnight.” He said he's still in the process of digesting a decade worth of accounting and finance information.
Pogue has notified GSU's chief accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, of the results of the state audit.
“We have shared with SACS our understanding of the history that led to where we are today,” he said. “We have not had a question raised in any way that our anticipated positive result (re-accreditation) would be in any way damaged by this.”
Dr. Belle Wheelan, the commission's president, said Thursday the commission will include the results of the audit when weighing whether to re-accredit GSU in December.
Inside Higher Ed: How to Test Writing
July 8, 2010
The College Board has revamped the tests used by students at many colleges to either place out of introductory composition or earn credit for the course. The changes involve an additional type of essay -- more research-oriented and less philosophical -- as well as shifts in the multiple choice questions.
The changes follow modest dips in recent years in the number of students taking the tests (last year the figure was 35,000), as many colleges have rejected the idea of using a standardized test for writing placement and credit. While some college officials said that the College Board's move was a step in the right direction, others said it did not go far enough and predicted that skepticism would grow of evaluating writing competence through tests.
The tests in question are the composition portion of the College Board's College-Level Examination Program, known by its acronym, CLEP. Currently there are three tests used for composition: English composition with essay, English composition, and freshman college composition. They will be replaced by two college composition tests, one with multiple choice questions and essays, and one in which colleges can create and score their own essays.
The changes "are meant to bring the exams more in line with the way composition is taught these days," said Marc Singer, associate director of CLEP. He said that as the College Board saw declines in CLEP participation, it conducted surveys of composition instructors and then did follow-up interviews to get a better sense of what experts thought might be missing.
Several of the changes involve a greater emphasis on context. In the old tests' multiple choice questions, "there might have been a sentence and we asked, 'What is wrong with this sentence?' " Singer said. Now the questions will generally be "more passage-based, with the questions addressing the use of language and rhetoric in context." In examples released by the College Board, many feature multiple questions about passages.
The other major change -- also focused on context -- concerns the essays. The old tests featured one essay, and it fit the general model people associate with standardized writing tests: a prompt says something philosophical, to which test-takers must respond. This essay format is continuing in the new test, and the example released by the College Board features this prompt: "There are no challenges so difficult, no goals so impossible, as the ones we set for ourselves."
But the second essay being added will show "research skills" and the ability of a student to "look at a couple of sources and to synthesize the material into a coherent essay," Singer said.
In the example provided, students are asked to write about copyright issues and are given short excerpts from two articles -- one generally defending copyright regulations and one arguing for more open access to information -- and told to discuss the issues, citing the essays appropriately.
Singer said that the College Board hopes that the changes will increase the number of colleges participating in CLEP for placement or credit granting.
The ACT, the College Board's testing rival, does not have a test equivalent to CLEP's composition exams, but some colleges use ACT scores for placement, and the testing entity has seen a slight increase in their number (although the data don't specify whether the writing scores or other parts are being used). The ACT also is reporting significant increases in the number of colleges, generally two-year institutions, using its COMPASS placement exams, but the data are again across all disciplines and not just writing.
Among leading composition experts, enthusiasm for standardized testing in writing has long been minimal and the reaction to the CLEP changes was lukewarm.
Doug Hesse, professor and executive director of writing at the University of Denver, said that the shifts made sense within the framework of what a standardized test can do. "Any writing test that includes more actual writing is going to be a better test, provided the prompts are well-designed and the scoring guides are smart," he said. "That makes me feel better" about the new tests, he added. Denver does not currently use CLEP to award credit or place students, and while Hesse said he would study the new test, he doubted that policy would change. He said that from a scan of the comments on the e-mail lists of writing program administrators, it appears his colleagues are also dubious of starting to use CLEP.
He said that there are "unavoidable limitations in the kinds of writing skills" that can be demonstrated in these kinds of tests. "It's better to have students write than to complete multiple choice exams, if you want to evaluate writing," he said.
While Hesse gave some credit to the College Board, Les Perelman, director of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was more critical. MIT does not award credit based on CLEP and Perelman's views on writing tests are summed up in a forthcoming volume, where his essay is called "Mass Market Writing Assessments as Bullshit."
He noted that while the College Board expects praise for adding a new form of essay, it is keeping the style of essay many educators find to have little value. "The first essay is the same kind of general argumentative stupid one-sentence prompt that is used on the SAT writing section," he said. (Perelman regularly coaches students on how to write laughingly poor essays that nonetheless appeal to the College Board's scoring rubric and win top ratings.)
After reviewing the College Board's sample questions, he also said they showed problems. For instance, one question asks what the letters "n.p." mean in a term paper: "(A) the source has several publication dates; (B) no page number for the quotation is available; (C) the quotation is from section n.p. of a source.... (D) a new paragraph begins here in the quotation; (E) the quotation is from section n.p. of the Constitution."
The correct answer is "no page," but Perelman said that's true only under the style guide of the American Psychological Association. Under the style guide of the Modern Language Association, "n.p." has a different meaning (no place of publication, or no publisher) and someone would use "n. pag." to indicate the lack of page number. Perelman said he didn't know why the College Board should decide which style guide was superior. More broadly, he questioned why quizzing students on such matters was a good way to judge whether a freshman could skip an introductory composition course.
"These kind of details are now handled primarily by word processors," he said. "Students should be learning more important things than fourth-level differences between the two citation styles."
Singer of CLEP said that officials realized that there could be differences of opinion on the best style guide. But he said that "a student should be able to figure out [the answer]. You're not going to spend your life in MLA-world."
Generally, he also said that skeptics of testing may not see the value in helping students earn more college credit based on past work, measured through testing.
The skeptics of CLEP, Singer said, can be found at "a lot of schools that are saying that you need to be branded with the experience that the school is all about." But he said that "on the other hand, there's an opposing force, which addresses the economic realities of schools' budgets and students' budgets and ability to finish, so another group of schools is saying what's the best way to maximize our dollars." And those colleges are finding that letting students demonstrate competency sufficient to skip the introductory writing course has its benefits, he said.
For some new students, "it's a confidence-builder" to obtain credit or advanced standing on the basis of a good CLEP score, he said. "The test is not meant to teach anyone anything, but to see if there is something they have picked up on their own. They want to come in with some validation for what they have learned -- that goal [of a college degree] is a little closer and they see they can do it."
— Scott Jaschik
Council for International Exchage of Scholars Webinar: Crafting Your Fulbright Project Statement
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 (2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT)
The Baton Rouge Advocate: State Colleges Adjust to New Funding Formula
http://www.2theadvocate.com/
Louisiana’s college systems must now decide if they will change any of the campus funding distributions as allocated by the state’s performance-based funding formula for higher education.
The state Board of Regents on Wednesday formally approved the “performance-based funding” formula distributions, which reward community colleges for growth and punish both regional and historically black universities.
But the Regents caveat is that each college system — the LSU, Southern, University of Louisiana and the Louisiana Community and Technical College systems — can tweak dollars among campuses within their own systems.
The Legislature had intervened to limit the negative impacts of the formula, which bases 25 percent of its dollars on performance measures such as graduating more students, by implementing campus-by-campus funding amounts into the state budget legislation.
But Gov. Bobby Jindal line-item vetoed those efforts, allowing the formula to fully proceed.
Under the formula, Southern University’s main Baton Rouge campus, which suffers because of enrollment losses, stands to lose $2.66 million, a nearly 6 percent decrease in state funds.
But, as a community college, Southern University at Shreveport would gain an extra $1.76 million, a 25 percent jump in state funds.
So new Southern University System President Ronald Mason Jr. could opt to shift some of those dollars between campuses.
Southern Board Vice Chairman Darren Mire of New Orleans said such discussions already are under way, although no final decisions have been made.
Likewise, Southeastern Louisiana University would have $1.73 million taken away, a 2.6 percent dip, because of the formula. But the University of Louisiana System may be able to give the Hammond-based school a break by taking some of the gains away from other UL System schools.
UL System President Randy Moffett did not respond Wednesday to phone and e-mail messages.
The Board of Regents — the state’s higher education policy and coordinating body — also moved ahead with cutting $17.6 million from its budgets, most of which will come from Regents-sponsored programs like the Louisiana Gene Therapy Consortium, the Louisiana Library Network and from college nursing education and faculty recruitment in the Healthcare Workforce Development program, or Healthworks.
The only change is the Board of Regents decided to limit the cut to LOUIS from $2.73 million to $2.23 million, leaving the program with $500,000 in “bridge” dollars to survive while other funding avenues are sought.
LOUIS is the state’s LSU-based higher education library network, primarily for sharing library resources digitally and online.
The cuts to LOUIS had started a grassroots movement to limit the elimination of Regents funds.
LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope was among those issuing statements on the matter.
“Faculty at all institutions are gravely concerned that the proposed (LOUIS) reduction will make both teaching and research not only difficult, but impossible,” Cope wrote Wednesday. “In the interest of economy, professors and instructors have been encouraged to turn increasingly to electronic resources.
“The elimination of those resources will leave many adrift in a large sea of potential knowledge without any rudder, sail, or even craft.”
Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Joe May said LOUIS is critical to the academic accreditation of the state’s two-year colleges.
Regents board members said the hope is the state’s college systems will pool dollars together to keep funding the library network.
July 1, 2010 by Jordan Blum
Louisiana’s college systems must now decide if they will change any of the campus funding distributions as allocated by the state’s performance-based funding formula for higher education.
The state Board of Regents on Wednesday formally approved the “performance-based funding” formula distributions, which reward community colleges for growth and punish both regional and historically black universities.
But the Regents caveat is that each college system — the LSU, Southern, University of Louisiana and the Louisiana Community and Technical College systems — can tweak dollars among campuses within their own systems.
The Legislature had intervened to limit the negative impacts of the formula, which bases 25 percent of its dollars on performance measures such as graduating more students, by implementing campus-by-campus funding amounts into the state budget legislation.
But Gov. Bobby Jindal line-item vetoed those efforts, allowing the formula to fully proceed.
Under the formula, Southern University’s main Baton Rouge campus, which suffers because of enrollment losses, stands to lose $2.66 million, a nearly 6 percent decrease in state funds.
But, as a community college, Southern University at Shreveport would gain an extra $1.76 million, a 25 percent jump in state funds.
So new Southern University System President Ronald Mason Jr. could opt to shift some of those dollars between campuses.
Southern Board Vice Chairman Darren Mire of New Orleans said such discussions already are under way, although no final decisions have been made.
Likewise, Southeastern Louisiana University would have $1.73 million taken away, a 2.6 percent dip, because of the formula. But the University of Louisiana System may be able to give the Hammond-based school a break by taking some of the gains away from other UL System schools.
UL System President Randy Moffett did not respond Wednesday to phone and e-mail messages.
The Board of Regents — the state’s higher education policy and coordinating body — also moved ahead with cutting $17.6 million from its budgets, most of which will come from Regents-sponsored programs like the Louisiana Gene Therapy Consortium, the Louisiana Library Network and from college nursing education and faculty recruitment in the Healthcare Workforce Development program, or Healthworks.
The only change is the Board of Regents decided to limit the cut to LOUIS from $2.73 million to $2.23 million, leaving the program with $500,000 in “bridge” dollars to survive while other funding avenues are sought.
LOUIS is the state’s LSU-based higher education library network, primarily for sharing library resources digitally and online.
The cuts to LOUIS had started a grassroots movement to limit the elimination of Regents funds.
LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope was among those issuing statements on the matter.
“Faculty at all institutions are gravely concerned that the proposed (LOUIS) reduction will make both teaching and research not only difficult, but impossible,” Cope wrote Wednesday. “In the interest of economy, professors and instructors have been encouraged to turn increasingly to electronic resources.
“The elimination of those resources will leave many adrift in a large sea of potential knowledge without any rudder, sail, or even craft.”
Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Joe May said LOUIS is critical to the academic accreditation of the state’s two-year colleges.
Regents board members said the hope is the state’s college systems will pool dollars together to keep funding the library network.
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