[ED-TECH] Blackboard Manager position is open

Blackboard and Ed-Tech list members,

If you know anyone that you think would be a good fit, the Blackboard Application Manager position at the University of Miami is open. Applications will be taken through Sept 17 or, if not filled by then, until the position is filled. The position is posted at http://www.miami.edu/careers as position #030745. The official title for the position is "System Analyst (Blackboard)." 

UM is a Blackboard managed hosted school of 15,000 students, with 15,000 unique users per week on our Blackboard Learn 9.1 SP 8 system. We started with Blackboard in 1999 and have the Enterprise/Community system. We are looking at adding Collaborate and Content Management. We use Blackboard almost completely for web enhanced courses, not distance learning.

If someone is interested in providing excellent service to an amazing faculty and student body, this may be the opportunity that person is looking for. Thanks for sharing it with anyone you know who might be a good candidate.

Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement Center
Information Technology
University of Miami, FL
bill.vilberg@miami.edu
786-250-2255

[ED-TECH] 9-11 and Relating what you learn to your life by journaling

Ed-Tech List Members,

Our first year students were entering first grade on this date in 2001, when the Twin Towers came down. Most of us lived it, moment by moment. They probably didn't understand what was happening back then, and now,, for many of them, it is history.

One rule of learning is that if something relates to you personally, you learn it better. Experiential learning permanently anchors things. I remember the lack of airplanes in the sky. I remember helping a faculty member from California, caught here with no way to teach his class back there. I remember our students gathering in the UC Lounge, staring at the TVs. I remember the images on TV of the disappearance of the buildings, the people running from the debris field, the posters of missing people, and the digging for survivors.

My brother, Dr. Vilberg, teaches Psychology in upstate Pennsylvania. At the end of every unit/chapter/topic he has his students write in a journal (electronic on Blackboard) "How does this material relate to me, my family, my life, or my experience?" That simple act, which takes no class time, entwines the material with the students' lives and experiences. The material has meaning to them that it would not have otherwise. Their learning is enhanced.

Try asking your students to relate the course material to their lives. Have them write about it. Have them share it with you, and you provide some brief feedback. You may be amazed at their ability to do this and how much it enhances their learning. You might think that this can only be done in a discipline like Psychology or Sociology, but you would be wrong. Whether you ask them or not, students are drawing associations between what you teach and what they have experienced. Getting them to write about that can help both you and them.

Want to use Blackboard for this Journaling activity? Here are some videos and handouts to get your started. 

How to Create a Journal (video with audio):  http://goo.gl/XkV1p

How to Comment on a Journal Entry (video with audio): http://goo.gl/TH5Dc

Other Uses for Journals (pdf handout): http://goo.gl/P1MwO

Blackboard Interactive Tools, including Journals (pdf handout): http://goo.gl/bc7PU

You can also call 305-284-3949 (8-3949 on campus) 9-5, M-F, for assistance from our Blackboard service desk.

Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement Center
Information Technology
Richter Library, Room 325
bill.vilberg@miami.edu
8-3944 or 305-284-3944

[ED-TECH] Capitol Steps on campus Wednesday Night

The Capital Steps is an amazing political satire group. They combine skits and songs that mock both the right and the left. You can check out their humor at http://www.capsteps.com to see if you enjoy it as much as I do.

I first heard them live in 1999 in Washington, D.C. Since they will be here at UM, and tickets are FREE, I encourage everyone to attend their concert on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 7:30 pm, Gusman Concert Hall, University of Miami. 

Tickets are available at the ticket window at the University Center. Show your Cane Card for a free ticket. 

Bill Vilberg