EduDemic: April 11, 2012

EduDemic

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• If You Had 100,000 Twitter Followers, Would You Tweet Differently?
• A New Way To Let Students Securely Access YouTube EDU
• No iPad? Check Out The New Edudemic Store!
• 5 Ways To Use StumbleUpon In Education
• The April Issue of the Edudemic Magazine Is Ready To Rock
• Mobiles4Learning 2012: An All-Star #EdTech Integration Summit
• Why We Don’t Need More Students To Take Computer Programming Classes

If You Had 100,000 Twitter Followers, Would You Tweet Differently? Posted: 10 Apr 2012 01:07 PM PDT This one's sort of an open question that's been kicking around the Twittersphere. A few popular education tweeters (@willrich45, @stumpteacher, @mcleod) had a brief discussion about this very question today but I wanted to invite others to participate.

A New Way To Let Students Securely Access YouTube EDU Posted: 10 Apr 2012 11:55 AM PDT YouTube is easily one of the most powerful Web 2.0 tools for the classroom. However, it had a big stumbling block: inappropriate or unrelated content. YouTube EDU solved a big part of this by creating a curated area for educational content.

No iPad? Check Out The New Edudemic Store! Posted: 10 Apr 2012 10:00 AM PDT We took your requests to heart and spent the last month building the Edudemic Store. It's a digital marketplace for all things Edudemic. From books to curricula (coming soon) to the Edudemic Magazine, it's all available for instant download.

5 Ways To Use StumbleUpon In Education Posted: 10 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT Do you need another time-sucking website that will entertain, educate, and enhance your day-to-day life? Of course you do! Lucky for you, there's StumbleUpon and it's more than just another LOLCat-powered site. It's actually useful for education!

The April Issue of the Edudemic Magazine Is Ready To Rock Posted: 10 Apr 2012 08:29 AM PDT The April issue of Edudemic Magazine for iPad is here, combining the Edudemic magic with iPad magic to create an entirely new Edudemic experience.

Mobiles4Learning 2012: An All-Star #EdTech Integration Summit Posted: 10 Apr 2012 08:00 AM PDT There's an education summit happening later this month that packs an all-star lineup of people sharing best practices, learning about new tools, and figuring out the future of education technology integration.

Why We Don’t Need More Students To Take Computer Programming Classes Posted: 10 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT Google's Eric Schmidt recently wrote a piece endorsing the push to teach computer science to all students in Britain. But that's not quite right.

EduDemic: April 11, 2012

Inside Higher Ed: Everybody’s Worried Now

 

April 11, 2012 - 3:00am   By Kevin Kiley

EASTON, PA. -- A year ago, the notion that Smith College -- with a $1 billion endowment, high student demand, and frequently cited educational quality -- was raising existential questions, particularly about its economic model, seemed a fairly radical notion.
But an idea that seemed striking in the past -- that elite liberal arts colleges might have to make significant changes in the next few years if they are to remain relevant (or present) in the current educational market -- is now the hottest topic in the sector.
A conference this week here at Lafayette College entitled “The Future of the Liberal Arts College in America and Its Leadership Role in Education Around the World,” drew more than 200 college administrators, including about 50 college presidents, out of an invite list of U.S. News and World Report’s list of top national liberal arts colleges. Judging by the turnout, the discussion, and the fact that several other conferences addressing these questions are scheduled over the next few months, it’s clear that the questions are on everybody’s mind.
But even among the fairly homogeneous group represented here, there was significant disagreement about how pressing the economic challenges are and the best ways to tackle them. And liberal arts college administrators still seem reluctant to adopt some major ways of cutting costs that other sectors of higher education have adopted.
And the solutions administrators did offer, many of which have high up-front capital costs, such as increased collaboration through technology, might not be options for the many less-wealthy liberal arts colleges (generally not represented here) that are facing some of the most immediate threats.

Paying the Professorate
In his opening talk Monday night, Lafayette President Daniel H. Weiss laid out four major challenges facing liberal arts colleges -- affordability, public skepticism about the value of a liberal arts degree and college in general, decline in the share of U.S population who fit the demographic patterns of students who traditionally attend liberal arts colleges, and questions about how to incorporate technology into the college and serve a generation of students that is increasingly networked -- most of which was addressed in various forms throughout the day Tuesday.
But talk about the cost of educating students at liberal arts colleges, and potential ways of decreasing those costs, dominated Tuesday’s presentations. And when it comes to the costs of educating students at liberal arts colleges and what costs get passed on to students and families in the form of higher tuition, nothing seems to weigh on presidents’ minds more than what they pay professors.
Several studies have shown that the cost of educating students has increased dramatically over the past few decades, primarily because the cost of highly educated labor has increased. Efficiency gains in other industries have tended to come from replacing employees with technology, or making those employees more efficient through technology. But those improvements haven’t dramatically affected liberal arts colleges, which pride themselves on student-faculty interaction. As a result, the amount that such institutions are charging has gone up over the years.
In one presentation, Suzanne P. Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer at Swarthmore College, created a composite picture of 12 institutions with an administrator speaking at the conference. At that composite institution, faculty salaries increased 35 percent between 2000 and 2010, and 40 percent when benefits were included. Over that time period, educational costs, which includes faculty salaries, increased from 48 percent of the budget to 51 percent.
Unlike other sectors, particularly research universities and the for-profit sector, liberal arts colleges have not sought to use technology to increase productivity in instruction, principally by increasing the student to faculty ratio. Faculty members at research universities teach lectures of 500 students at a time, and online for-profit providers might have thousands of students assigned to each faculty member. But Welsh’s composite college had a student-faculty ratio of about 11 to 1.
At liberal arts colleges, the low student-professor ratio is part of their identity and a point of pride, and they are reluctant to abandon that, citing a potential decrease in quality. “We haven’t had any disruptive technology that changed the professor/student mix at our universities,” said Jill Tiefenthaler, president of Colorado College.
Brian Rosenberg, president of Macalester College, said liberal arts colleges exist at the nexus of “quality, distinctiveness, and social purpose.” If colleges are going to continue to attract students and survive, they are going to have to “deliver a better and better education.”
For that reason, the concern about a decrease in perceived quality looms large. Presenters pointed out that “quality” at such institutions has historically been measured by inputs, such as how much is spent on a program or faculty-student ratio. But liberal arts colleges and higher education institutions in general are bad at measuring outputs, specifically educational gain. Finding a way to show that instructional efficiency initiatives do not decrease quality will be a major challenge over the next few years if institutions want to drive down cost.
The concerns over decreasing quality also came up when conference participants talked about the possibility of increasing teaching loads for faculty members at liberal arts colleges. Among the institutions represented here, many require faculty members to teach only two classes a semester, compared to three or for at other types of institutions (or less privileged liberal arts college). While the topic came up a couple times in presentations, presidents did not press the idea, saying that shifting away from research and other responsibilities would decrease quality.
Catharine Bond Hill, president of Vassar College, noted that there might be room to make faculty more productive by making class time more valuable, such as by using new educational technology programs to teach lower-division programs and concentrating faculty time in high-touch seminars.

Collaborating for Cash
Technology is one area where presenters and attendees seemed genuinely divided about utility. Kevin Guthrie, president of Ithaka, a research organization that encourages the use of technology to disseminate scholarship, presented on potential ways technology could transform liberal arts institutions over the next few years, such as using computer-guided programs to teach hybrid courses across institutions.
But immediately following Guthrie's presentation, Williams College President Adam F. Falk argued that the principal reason for adopting technological innovation should be for educational improvement, not just productivity gains. “College education isn’t simply about most efficient or innovative means of delivering content,” he said, arguing that the engagement component of what colleges like his do was over all more important. “It’s hard for even the best student s to learn on their own.” Falk’s presentation was warmly received by the crowd.
But not every institution has the luxury to not seek productivity gains in the next few years, particularly those liberal arts colleges who didn’t make the invite list. Many of those institutions are facing greater scrutiny on costs, families who are less willing to pay high prices, and climbing discount rates that are eating into their budgets.
Eugene M. Tobin, program officer for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation noted in his talk Monday night that collaboration is one way that colleges could potentially use technology to cut or maintain costs without harming quality.
By partnering with one another, or with other types of institutions, liberal arts colleges could offer classes or programs that would be too expensive for any individual institution to offer. Languages, which have been cut from many colleges in recent years due to low demand, have often been cited as a place where these types of programs could easily be adopted. But presidents also noted other areas ripe for collaboration, such as upper-level electives in most majors, where on-campus faculty might not have the particular expertise a student seeks.
But, as with technology, there was some debate about where to set the bar to consider something a success. Some college presidents said that simply improving quality while maintaining costs would be enough of a reason to start such programs, while others were clearly more interested in ways to cut costs.
Audience members noted that the only way the use of technology could significantly reduce costs if it results in fewer educated workers needed to deliver education, and many presidents are not willing to reduce faculty rolls, so there won't be significant reductions in cost.
If that reluctance is true, then it becomes important for liberal arts colleges to make the argument to the public that investing in liberal arts colleges -- either in subsidies or tuition -- is important, a topic that is on Wednesday's agenda.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/04/11/lafayette-conference-shows-concern-about-liberal-arts-colleges-economic-future#ixzz1rs1octNC
Inside Higher Ed

Inside Higher Ed: Everybody’s Worried Now

Tegrity Showcase FREE Archived Webinars

http://www.tegrity.com/showcase

See how instructors are using Tegrity to connect students to course content.

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Global Humanitarian Summit: This Weekend!!!

Global Humanitarian Summit: This Weekend!!!

We look forward to seeing you this weekend (Fri. April 13th to Sun. April 14th) at the 2012 Global Humanitarian Summit at Emory University, Atlanta.

We encourage you to visit www.imvc.org to view the full program and line-up of speakers, exhibits, film screenings, workshops, and children's activities.

Go to "Venues & Parking" tab on the left of the website for details on venue locations, free parking, and interactive maps of Emory campus.

The below outline may help you when you are looking at the program, since there are so many things going on simultaneously to choose from.

Finally, we encourage you to forward this info out to as many friends, family, listserves, blogs, calendars, etc, as you can think of, so they can be a part of the movement that has attracted over 500 speakers, exhibitors, and performers from around the world to converge on Emory's campus this coming weekend to showcase their humanitarian projects, ideas, and creative voices.   As stated earlier, Dr. Hasan and Kimberly Crockett will be presenting, demonstrating and having dialogue about their initiative "the Fuel Efficiency Stove". If able pease come and give support, Saturday April 14th, between 1pm -3pm. 

No admission fees, no pre-registration required, so join us for a jam-packed weekend of fun, productive, and meaningful humanitarian-centered festivities 

for ADULTS and CHILDREN.

Sincerely,

Neil Shulman

Faculty Chairman, Global Humanitarian Summit

Associate Professor, Emory University

PREPARE TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE EVENT & CONNECT WITH OTHER LIKE-MINDED FOLKS

ADVICE from the organizers: Select IN ADVANCE from the wide variety of sessions you’d like to attend…Make your time count!

SOM = School of Medicine : 1648 Pierce Dr., Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322 

WHSCAB = Woodruff Health Sciences Administration Building : 1440 Clifton Road, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322 

HARLAND = Harland Cinema, in the Dobbs University Center (DUC) : 605 Asbury Circle, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322

GRAND EVENTS:
Plan to attend 4 grand events in WHSCAB Auditorium:

*Opening Night Entertainment / Connecting with Speakers & Exhibitors (Fri. 7-10pm)

*Opening Morning Brief Presentations by Many Profile Humanitarians / Networking Opportunities / Entertainment Finale (Sat. 8:30-10:30am)

*Evening of Humanitarian Entertainment (Sat. 7-10pm)

*Closing Performances & Key Note Presentation by Barbara Marx Hubbard, 1984 U.S. Vice-Presidential Candidate: “Humanity's Shift to the Age of Conscious Evolution” (Sun. 7-9pm)

SESSION TRACKS

CHOOSE FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF SIMULTANEOUS SESSIONS

PEACE IN THE WORLD BETWEEN RACES, SEXES, ETHNIC GROUPS, ETC
-Helping Humans Get Along With Humans (H - Sun. 11am – 6pm / SOM 110)

-“AD King: Behold the Dream…Brother to the Dreamer” The life and legacy of MLK’s brother

followed by discussion with MLK’s niece (Sat. 4:30pm - 5:30pm / SOM P178)

-“Free China: The Courage to Believe” The remarkable personal stories of government

 crackdown on Falun Gong followers  (Sun. 3:30pm – 4:30pm / SOM P178)

INCREASING THE FINANCIAL BASE-LINE OF THOSE WHO HAVE THE FEWEST RESOURCES

-Homelessness, Poverty, & Substance Abuse (D: Part 1 – Sat. 11am – 2pm /      SOM 130)

-Ending Homelessness in Atlanta (M-4 – Sun. 12:30pm – 2:30pm / SOM A170)

-Economic Development (D: Part 2 – Sat. 2pm – 6pm / SOM 130)

-Innovations for Supporting a Non-Profit (M-1 – Sun. 1pm – 2pm /   SOM A153)

-“A Journey to Help Humanity” (India)  (Sat. 4:30pm - 5:30pm / SOM P178)

THE MEDICAL ARENA

-Public Health & Community Development (E – Sat. 11am – 6pm / WHSCAB)

-Disability to Ability (G-2 – Sat. 2pm – 5pm / SOM A153)

-Health Care Access (I – Sun. 11am – 6pm / SOM 120)

-Medical Missions (L – Sun. 11am – 3pm / HARLAND)

-“The Healthcare Movie” Why healthcare in the U.S. and Canada are so different (Sat. 1 – 2:30pm & Sun. 3–5:30pm / SOM A170)

HELPING THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD

-Empowering Youth (F – Sat. 11am – 6pm / HARLAND)

-Education (J: Part 1 – Sun. 11am – 4pm / SOM 130)

-Youth Empowerment: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask (M-3 – Sun. 1pm – 3pm / SOM P190)

HOLISTIC, INSPIRATIONAL, & CREATIVE OUTREACH

-Creativity, Wellness, & Inspiration (B – Sat 11am – 6pm / SOM 110)

-Laughter For Wellness (G-3 – Sat. 3pm – 4pm / SOM A170)

-Music & Arts: Alternative Tools for Socio-Economic Transformation (G-4 – Sat. 4pm – 5pm / SOM A170)

-Inspired Wellness (K – Sun. 11am – 6pm / WHSCAB)

-Theatre Diversity as Humanitarian Outreach  (M-5 – Sun. 3pm – 4pm / SOM A153)

-“Health & Healing Using Natural Foods”  Discussion to Follow (Sat. 11am – 12noon / SOM A153)

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

-Environment & Sustainability (J: Part 2 – Sun. 4pm – 6pm / SOM 130)

-Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles (M-2:  2 –3pm / SOM P178)

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

-Enlightened Power: The Influence of Women as Change-Makers  (G-1 – Sat. 1pm – 3pm / SOM P178 & P190)

-“Pink Smoke Over the Vatican” Women's rights in the Catholic Church < Movie Screening, Documentary> Discussion to Follow (Sat. 11am – 12:30 / SOM A170)

-“Tree Widow” A widow opens her home to displaced & battered women instead of giving in to her sexual demons (Sun. 5pm – 6:30pm / SOM A153)

HUMANITARIANISM: THE BIG PICTURE
-Big Picture Humanitarianism (C: Part 1 - Sat. 11am – 3:30pm / SOM 120)

-Barbara Marx Hubbard: Closing Key Note -- Humanity’s Shift to the Age of Conscious Evolution (N: Key Note – Sun. 7 – 9pm / WHSCAB)

HUMANITARIANISM IN ONE’S PERSONAL LIFE

-Humanitarianism in Personal Relationships (C: Part 2 - Sat. 3:30-6pm / SOM 120) 

 

OTHER ATTRACTIONS:

EXHIBIT AREAS:

Take some time to peruse the exhibit areas:

*Connect with a wide variety of Non-Profits and Volunteer Efforts

  exhibiting in School of Medicine and WHSCAB Building

*Purchase books on humanitarian topics and connect the authors (at the

  Barnes & Noble book table in the School of Medicine, and at individual

  exhibit tables)

*View the large-scale museum-style touring exhibits in the upper plaza of

  WHSCAB (upstairs from the auditorium)

*Walk the Butterfly Peace Path labyrinth outside of WHSCAB

KIDS CORNER:

Bring your children to fun and meaningful interactive Performance & Exhibits at the Dobbs University Center (“DUC”) -- lower level, across from the post office - inside Faculty Dining Room & outside Terraces (Sat & Sun 11am – 5pm)

*Children must be accompanied by a care-giver

ENTERTAINMENT:

*Clown Doctors Lspaguetti, Raviolli, Risoquita from Brazil (Canto Cidadao) will roam the events all weekend, interacting with attendees and spreading joy to all

*the Seed & Feed Marching Abominable marching band (Sat. 10:30–11am / WHSCAB)

*Mills Senior Guitar group performance (Sat. 11am -2pm / School of Med)

*A diverse range of performances will be seen during the Grand Events in WHSCAB (especially Sat evening)

Global Humanitarian Summit: This Weekend!!!

CHEA 2012 Summer Workshop

CHEA 2012 Summer Workshop

Dillard University Library Book Sale Final Day Flyer April 13 2012

http://www.slideshare.net/ccharles/dillard-university-library-book-final-day-sale-flyer-april-13-2012

Dillard University Library Book Sale Final Day Flyer April 13 2012

EduDemic.com: April 12, 2012

EduDemic

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• How Android Tablets Could Fit Into Your Classroom
• Does Your School Use Windows XP? Microsoft Ending Support
• 3 Reasons The Future of Learning Will Be Online
• Whoa! Google+ Just Got A Totally New Design
• The 50 Best Sources of Free STEM Education Online
• Collaborize Classroom Launches New iPad App: Get It A Day Early Here
• The 20 Biggest Reasons You Should Read
• The 25 Best Places To Take Free Online Computer Science Classes
• How To Find Out What Professors Actually Make

How Android Tablets Could Fit Into Your Classroom Posted: 11 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT With the many different types of technology kids are exposed with today, teachers are trying to keep up in their classrooms. Many teachers have used laptops, iPods, iPads and numerous software applications to keep students engaged in their lessons.

Does Your School Use Windows XP? Microsoft Ending Support Posted: 11 Apr 2012 01:00 PM PDT If you're using computers that have resisted the temptation to upgrade to Windows Vista or Windows 7, listen up.

3 Reasons The Future of Learning Will Be Online Posted: 11 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT In recent years, more education professionals have noticed the benefits of online learning. Such programs allow students to comprehend a subject matter in a structure that can be more convenient for their learning styles. Time constraints for online learning programs are different than in the traditional classroom setting.

Whoa! Google+ Just Got A Totally New Design Posted: 11 Apr 2012 08:48 AM PDT Pardon the 'Whoa!' in the title but that is literally what I said when logging into my Google+ account this morning. It's, well, totally different. Same features but an all-new layout.

The 50 Best Sources of Free STEM Education Online Posted: 11 Apr 2012 08:15 AM PDT Colleges, universities, and other educational forums in your community can be excellent places to learn more about a variety of STEM topics, but there is also a wealth of educational material available on the web for those who prefer to learn at their own pace or take a more individual approach.

Collaborize Classroom Launches New iPad App: Get It A Day Early Here Posted: 11 Apr 2012 07:30 AM PDT Popular learning platform Collaborize Classroom has just announced a new iPad app that's further proof that tablets are likely the future of classroom communication.

The 20 Biggest Reasons You Should Read Posted: 11 Apr 2012 06:45 AM PDT Passionate readers generally enjoy more finely-tuned brains than those who prefer more passive (though not lesser) activities, so anyone hoping to improve their minds both psychologically and cognitively might want to think about taking up the habit of regular reading.

The 25 Best Places To Take Free Online Computer Science Classes Posted: 11 Apr 2012 06:40 AM PDT These days, computers dominate our lives, providing the platform by which we work, play, and communicate with others around the world. As such, knowing how to work with and engineer these often quite complicated systems is a pretty solid skill to have in the modern workforce.

How To Find Out What Professors Actually Make Posted: 11 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT Are you curious about how much a university professor makes? Wondering what they made a few years ago and if salaries have gone up or down at your alma mater? The Chronicle of Higher Education has a new tool out that answers just that question.

EduDemic.com: April 12, 2012