Assistant professor Laurin Kier spreads the word about her Kindness Project by blogging
After hearing about the tragic shootings that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., assistant professor Laurin Kier knew she had to do something to help. In her Global Experience class this spring, Kier assigned her students a semester-long project that would reintroduce goodness to campus and the community. “As a sociologist, I can say sociologists look at the world differently, not as rosily,” she said. “Frankly, I think we live in a mean culture, and I wanted to bring about a cultural change through this project, so we can move more towards kindness and away from individualism.” FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreMoodle Show and Tell: Computer science professor Duke Hutchings
In its new Moodle series, Moodle Show and Tell, Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) highlights Elon faculty who have constructed especially useful, helpful, or unique Moodle pages for their courses. This week, TLT is featuring Duke Hutchings, assistant professor of computing sciences, and his personalized ISC 111 course page with its structured layout and Google Doc integration. “Mostly, I adapted a strategy on the Moodle site I’d already been using with developing my own webpages,” he said. “Also, I’m an expert in human-computer interaction and usability, so understanding that the most frequent information goes at the top [of a page] and the most essential and recently used information goes at the top [of a page] is just a natural process for me.” FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreAnne Simpkins’ Life Drawing class presents Evolution of Life Mural
Anne Simpkins, associate professor of art, asked her Life Drawing class to create a mural that depicted the evolution of life. But, after her class of 14 students began communicating and collaborating with one another to complete the project, their final product portrayed not only literal evolution but the developing process of collaboration as well. By challenging her students to recreate the concepts of evolution and history, Simpkins was able to teach her class about life drawing and teamwork in a unique way. “In a lot of ways, the skill of life drawing is a practice-based thing just like learning to hit baseballs or figuring out how to use computers,” she said. “Just like anything, the more you do it, the better you are, and by working on this mural, it provided a vehicle for that practice that was varied and exciting and different.” FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MorePrezi or PowerPoint? Students see advantages to both
Today, classroom presentations can take on diverse forms due to the influx of presentation programs available for students. With so many options, how do you know which one is right for you? Elon students share which presentation program they prefer out of the two major options: Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreMoodle Show and Tell: English professor Paula Patch
In its new Moodle series, Moodle Show and Tell, Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) will highlight Elon faculty who have constructed especially useful, helpful, and unique Moodle pages for their courses. This week, TLT is featuring Paula Patch, lecturer of English, and her personalized ENG 110 course page with its structured layout, helpful widgets, and interesting photos. “I am something of an information junkie,” Patch said. “I like to share what I read, see, and hear. My Moodle page is designed for sharing more than for storing information.” FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreMeet Brent Smith
He manages video production projects, serves as a liaison between video stakeholders across campus, reads tons of books, and even brews his own beer. Brent Smith, Teaching and Learning Technologies’ newest staff member, is a jack-of-all-trades. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreFaculty use technologically advanced spaces to benefit students
As Elon’s campus as a whole is learning how to use new technologies, our classrooms are getting smarter, too. Many are now equipped with the technology to enhance the learning experience, and some faculty members on campus are utilizing these advancements to improve the communication of feedback and expand learning beyond the classroom. Here is what those professors had to say about using technologically advanced classrooms. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreFive tech tips for graduating seniors
As May 25 rapidly approaches, our to-do lists as graduating seniors are quickly growing. We must remember to pick up our caps and gowns, order our graduation invitations, mail those invitations, perfect our résumés and cover letters, apply for jobs and graduate school programs, negotiate contracts, accept admissions offers, search for housing, and last but not least, finish (and pass) all of our spring classes. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreElon students consult RateMyProfessors.com before registering for classes
RateMyProfessors.com, the largest online service for professor ratings, provides feedback on approximately 1.7 million faculty members teaching at about 8,000 schools in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. While on Rate My Professors’ website or mobile application, students are free to generate comments about their professors and institutions, and in turn, the service tallies those ratings to give professors, colleges, and universities average scores. With 749 recorded professor ratings, Elon’s faculty averages a score of 3.68 out of 5. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read MoreStudents highlight online summer courses as opportunity to get ahead
With the summer quickly approaching, it is hard to decide what to do to fill you summer free time. You could apply for internships, just get a summer job close to home or take summer courses. If you choose to follow the academic route, Elon’s summer courses are split into two sessions and classes are offered both here on campus and online. To find out more about online learning, I talked to a few students about their experiences. Here is what they had to say. FollowShare on Tumblr
Read More