August 2005

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Technology & the Pseudo-Intimacy of the Classroom: an interview with Jerry Graff

Posted July 25th, 2005 by Michael Roy, Middlebury College
1 Comments | 11167 Page Views
Graff's interest in 'teaching the conflicts' as a way of rescuing higher education from itself has recently been replaced by a profound worry that higher ed is becoming increasingly irrelevant to American culture. We checked in to see what role Graff thinks technology might play in these unsettling times.

Interspace: Our Commonly Valued Unknowing

Posted July 25th, 2005 by Michael Joyce, Vassar College
0 Comments | 4469 Page Views
This thoughtful and somewhat irreverent essay explores the tension between the experience of hypermediation and the ancient need for "interspace," "a space of comity, the constant readjustments, accommodations, and affordances, the measured motion among several interests," as a foundation for thought and human coexistence.

Copyright 101

Posted July 25th, 2005 by Richard Lanham, UCLS
0 Comments | 13285 Page Views
The pervasiveness of digital media has so altered the nature of authorship and ownership that questions of intellectual property have become matters of core concern for our students and our contemporary culture. Lanham argues that these issues require an academic response, and that a basic course in copyright, "Copyright 101," represents a first step in this process.

Using Technology in Learning to Speak the Language of Film

Posted July 25th, 2005 by Patricia O'Neill and Janet Simons, Hamilton College
0 Comments | 6473 Page Views
The availability of relatively cheap and easy-to-use digital technologies now makes it possible to teach film and other media topics using the methods of film and multimedia production. This approach engages students in the language and process of making media and provides them with a critical awareness of how different technologies shape the messages that they communicate.

The Dangers of Just-In-Time Education

Posted June 10th, 2005 by Michelle Glaros, Centenary College of Louisiana
0 Comments | 6600 Page Views
The core characteristics of liberal arts education -- critical thinking, broad academic interests, and creative, interdisciplinary knowledge -- provide students with the intellectual flexibility to successfully negotiate shifting career paths. Training students in the latest software applications at the expense of teaching them critical, creative problem-solving skills ill prepares them for long-term success in the just-in-time labor market.

 

Ancient Cities in Cyberspace

Posted June 14th, 2005 by Robert M. Royalty, Jr., Wabash College
0 Comments | 3607 Page Views
The traditional humanities seminar focuses on the "major research paper," which in the college setting is based on the scholarly article. What if we changed the model? After using digital images via PowerPoint in lectures and building course websites for his students, Bob Royalty started to think more about students creating rather than just using these resources. Royalty changed his focus to developing original student research while testing the uses of digital technologies in a travel course, including weekly a digital media lab and a ten-day trip to Turkey.

Discussion Boards in the Seminar Classroom

Posted May 28th, 2005 by John Ottenhoff, Associated Colleges of the Midwest
0 Comments | 6583 Page Views

Discussion Boards have become ubiquitous and are in some respects a "low-tech" application these days, but the full potential of this resource should not be underestimated. John Ottenhoff describes his experiences and shares some interesting conclusions about the way discussion boards can enhance class discussion and shape students' sense of authority.

Educause Learning Initiatives (ELI)

Posted June 13th, 2005 by John Ottenhoff, Associated Colleges of the Midwest
0 Comments | 2655 Page Views

Our friends at Educause continue to try to provide some content about teaching and learning with technology. The latest ELI (Educause Learning Initiative) resources are a mixed bag. 

Teaching & Learning Interchange: Pedagogy in Practice Case Studies

Posted July 15th, 2005 by Rachel Smith, NMC: The New Media Consortium
0 Comments | 4537 Page Views
Link: 
http://www.teachinginterchange.org/vcs.html
Designed to provide a view into classroom practices that effectively integrate both subject matter content and teaching standards, these case studies have been crafted by a team of experts for new teachers. Content focuses on teaching strategies, curriculum development, and best practices. The site is intended for new teachers and students in teacher education programs.

Robert Bechtle Retrospective & the Pachyderm Project

Posted July 5th, 2005 by Michael Roy, Middlebury College
0 Comments | 4639 Page Views
Link: 
http://www.sfmoma.org/bechtle/

The San Francisco Museum of Modern's Art (http://www.sfmoma.org/ ) retrospective on the work of Robert Bechtle explores Bechtle's life and work through videos of the artist working in his studio, as well as photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, and other primary source materials from his personal archive. A gallery of artworks zoom-enabled for closer inspection shows highlights from the artist's 40-year career. Accompanying the show is a nifty web application that provides access to a wide range of multimedia materials. This application is a preview of some of the new features that will be available in the 2.0 version of Pachyderm Project (http://www.nmc.org/pachyderm/index.shtml) which is a project being managed by the NMC (http://www.nmc.org)

The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

Posted June 9th, 2005 by Rachel Smith, NMC: The New Media Consortium
0 Comments | 2687 Page Views
Link: 
http://www.davidrumsey.com/
The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection includes over 11,000 maps, all available online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South American maps and other cartographic materials.

North by South

Posted June 6th, 2005 by Sam O, Longsight Group
0 Comments | 2613 Page Views
Link: 
http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/

The North by South webpage explores multiple dimensions of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural South to Northern cities. Epic in scale, monumental in its long-term social and cultural impact, the Great Migration stands as the largest internal movement of people in the history of the United States.


Western Civilization Webography

Posted June 1st, 2005 by John Ottenhoff, Associated Colleges of the Midwest
0 Comments | 3167 Page Views
Professor T. Mills Kelly, Associate Director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and several colleagues have created an impressive  Webography with student reviews of resources for western civilization courses.

How to cite this work

. "August 2005." Academic Commons Issue Name (Spring 2008): 14 March 2010. <http://www.academiccommons.org/>.