Education Commons^™

Women Of African Descent: Persistence In Completing A Doctorate, Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

This study examines the educational persistence of women of African descent (WOAD) in pursuit of a doctorate degree at universities in the southeastern United States. WOAD are women of African ancestry born outside the African continent. These women are heirs to an inner dogged determination and spirit to survive despite all odds (Pulliam, 2003, p. 337).This study used Ellis’s (1997) Three Stages for Graduate Student Development as the conceptual framework to examine the persistent strategies used by these women to persist to the completion of their studies.

An Estate Dilemma - Inaccessible Assets Hiding Behind Passwords And Encryption, Douglas J. Henderson

DOUGLAS J HENDERSON

Every person living in the modern world holds valuable assets, data, or information in digital mediums. Digital mediums include not only digital hardware storage mediums in personal possession (like external hard drives and internal hard drives within laptop and desktop computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones, and the like), but also those only accessible through a network. Because so much is held in digital mediums, when an individual dies or becomes incapacitated, another person must know how to access the incapacitated person’s digital assets and other important information (this person is known herein as the ‘Responsible Party’). There are potential …

Statement By The Provost, Robert Brown

Dr Robert Brown

No abstract provided.

Leadership And Innovation Program, Connie Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

No abstract provided.

Dr. Connie's 6 Keys To Becoming A Successful Learner, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

I have learned a great deal about students by teaching and advising learners at the University of Nebraska. The fact that I was working on my Ph.D. on a part-time basis while being employed full-time broadened my knowledge about how to be a successful learner. My professional and personal experiences in the world of higher education have enabled me develop some powerful insights on what it takes to be a successful learner. I would like to share my insights with as many people as possible, so here are Dr. Connie’s 6 Keys to Becoming a Successful Learner:

South Of The Border: A Librarian’S Service Experience In Nicaragua (Poster), Debbie Morrow

Debbie Morrow

I spent eleven days in May 2012 in Estelí, Nicaragua, as a volunteer member of a presenter team offering a workshop to engage Nicaraguan college students and faculty in learning concepts of sustainable and relevant innovation and development. The program, the Applied Global Innovation Initiative (AGII) at Grand Valley State University, has been evolving since 2004 in an ongoing relationship with La UNAN, the Nicaraguan national university system. Nicaragua, at the base of the socioeconomic pyramid, is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. AGII’s vision statement reads, “Empowering people to change their world with their resources.” Their mission states, …

Altruism Trumping Privacy Hipaa, Privacy, Big Data Set Benefits, Douglas J. Henderson

DOUGLAS J HENDERSON

The United States Government must administer a publicly held cloud networked Big Data Set of Private Health Information (PHI) in order to utilize Big Data Analytics and allow free data mining of such PHI so that the health care industry can operate most cost effectively while also meeting the health care needs of the aging United States populace with the highest quality of care.

In The Loop: One Librarian's Experiences Teaching Within First-Year Learning Communities, Nancy Frazier

Nancy Frazier

Unique as snowflakes, learning communities are formed in countless ways. Some are designed specifically for first-year students, while others offer combined or clustered upper-level courses. Most involve at least two linked courses, and some add residential and social components. Many address core general education and basic skills requirements. Learning communities differ in design, yet they are similar in striving to enhance students' academic and social growth. First-year learning communities foster experiences that have been linked to academic success and retention. They also offer unique opportunities for librarians interested in collaborating with departmental faculty and enhancing teaching skills. This article will …

It's Time To Connect: Twitter For Educational Purposes, Mutuota Kigotho, Helen Doyle

Mutuota Kigotho

The expansion of the internet has enabled a free flow of information allowing the connection between educators and students where knowledge can be shared both ways. This growth in technology has led to an explosion in the use of social media. Data indicates that Twitter is one of the most common social media tools used by 25-54 age-group. Learning how this tool is used for educational purposes is useful in the area of higher education as most of the university students fit within this cohort. In this paper we look at the history and exponential growth of Twitter as a …

Faculty In The Mist: Ethnographic Study Of Faculty Research Practices, Marilyn R. Pukkila, Ellen L. Freeman

Marilyn R. Pukkila

A report on ethnographic research on college faculty research and teaching methods, with their use of information resources, library services, technology, and academic IT support.

Beyond Dogma: The Role Of "Evolutionary" Science And The "Embodiment" Of Archetypal Energies, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

At individual and collective levels (locally, nationally, and globally), humanity is currently entertaining many challenges and opportunities for growth. In my view, these challenges and opportunities are connected to Energy shifts that are taking place on the planet, and the inability of some to move beyond dogma in relating to these Energy shifts. By its pre- and proscriptive nature, dogma fosters limiting beliefs that often interfere with how best to relate to these Energy shifts as vibrational beings in an evolving, vibrational world. Here, I want to briefly identify some of the limiting effects of dogma, and the role of …

Business Issues In Online Education, Stephen Schiffman

Stephen Schiffman

What are the key business issues institutions are trying to solve in sustaining and growing their online programs? What “value-adding” attributes of online education are as perceived not just by individual learners but more generally by customers and markets? These are some of the topics explored in the report “Business Issues in Online Education” (forthcoming in Elements of Quality Online Education: Engaging Communities, Volume 6 in the Sloan-C series) funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and based on my conversations this past year with over 50 interviewees at 25 online programs at eleven prominent not-for-profit higher …

Aln Business Models And The Transformation Of Higher Education, Gary Miller, Stephen Schiffman

Stephen Schiffman

The ways institutions have structured their initial innovation with online learning vary greatly. Initial business model decisions present different challenges in terms of how institutions will integrate online learning. This paper looks at several common business models and the opportunities and challenges that each presents to institutions that want to fully integrate online learning.

Business Models For Online Learning: An Exploratory Survey, Karen Vignare, Christine Geith, Stephen Schiffman

Stephen Schiffman

Despite the rapid growth in the adoption of online learning, there is a dearth of detailed information on effective business models, business strategies and effective practices on which to build sustainable online education programs. A survey instrument was developed as an initial attempt to define business models and business strategies for online learning. The survey results yielded some interesting data about which online learning financial models seem to have more or less "control" of which business functions. The sample was a convenience one and as such will require further filtering of data. It is also clear that more needs to …

Identifying Successful Business Strategies For Distance Learning, Christine Geith, Stephen Schiffman, Karen Vignare

Stephen Schiffman

Despite the rapid growth in the adoption of distance education, and asynchronous learning networks in particular, there is a dearth of detailed information on effective business models, business strategies and effective practices on which to build sustainable online education programs. What has been published on the business side of online education tends to focus on the costs and economic models, the growing for-profit sector, and new organizational approaches such as spin-offs and virtual university consortia. There are very few detailed, descriptive studies focused on the business models, strategies and effective practices of online education in U.S. degree-granting institutions.

Altruism Trumping Privacy Hipaa, Privacy, Big Data Set Benefits, Douglas J. Henderson

DOUGLAS J HENDERSON

The United States Government must administer a publicly held cloud networked Big Data Set of Private Health Information (PHI) in order to utilize Big Data Analytics and allow free data mining of such PHI so that the health care industry can operate most cost effectively while also meeting the health care needs of the aging United States populace with the highest quality of care.

Stepping Into Higher Education From The Vocational Education Sector In Australia: Student Perceptions And Experiences, Sarah E. O' Shea Dr, Pauline Lysaght A/Prof, Kathleen Tanner Dr

Professor Sarah O' Shea

It is not unusual to hear study in the vocational education sector referred to as a ‘stepping stone’ into further studies in the higher education environment. What this pathway entails for those who choose it is not immediately clear however. This article reports on research conducted with a small cohort of students who arrived at an Australian university with advanced standing or credit transfer based on their studies in the vocational sector. A narrative inquiry approach highlights the voices of these participants drawn through stories of their individual experiences of the transition to higher education. Recommendations related to structural and …

Value Change, Right Wing Visual Rhetoric And The ‘Fear Game’: The Discursive Transformation Of The Tourist Image Of Switzerland, William Feighery

William Feighery

No abstract provided.

Engineering South Of The Border: A Librarian’S Experience In Nicaragua, Debbie Morrow

Debbie Morrow

I will spend the first half of May’12 in Estelí, Nicaragua, as a volunteer member of a project to teach product innovation and development skills to students and faculty of the Nicaraguan national university system. The two leaders, Engineering and Business faculty members from GVSU, require no special expertise or language skills for volunteers, but are excited at the prospect of having a library professional among the support group in this year’s seventh annual iteration of the program. I look forward to sharing what I learn about engineering and academics in a culture eager to develop.

Assessing Value From The Digital Collection End-User: The Western Writers Series Digital Editions Experience, Thomas Hillard, Rick A. Stoddart

Rick A Stoddart

How end-users and stakeholders value a digital collection is one of the most compelling questions in library assessment.This presentation reports on a series of interviews with stakeholders and potential end-users of the digital collection “Western Writers Series Digital Editions.” These interviews were undertaken to determine in what ways these digital humanities materials might be used by scholars and incorporated into their research process. Interview participants were identified through scholarly citations and works cited lists. The outcomes of these interviews are supplemented by additional interviews with the editors of the original print editions of the Western Writers Series, as well as …

Assessing The Strategic Credibility Of Special Collections, Erin Passehl, Rick A. Stoddart

Rick A Stoddart

In this time of often precarious funding at many colleges and universities, any case that can be made to illustrate how a department strategically fits into the overall university mission is not only worth merit, but an essential survival technique. This “strategic credibility” within the university is a vital form of currency in determining institution-wide resources prioritization, collaboration opportunities between organizational units, and overall direction of departments. This paper presents a case study of academic special collections in the Northwest and examines the methods these departments use to demonstrate value to the university. This paper considers how well do special …

Assessing Value From The Digital Collection End-User: The Western Writers Series Digital Editions Experience, Thomas Hillard, Rick A. Stoddart

Tom J. Hillard

How end-users and stakeholders value a digital collection is one of the most compelling questions in library assessment.This presentation reports on a series of interviews with stakeholders and potential end-users of the digital collection “Western Writers Series Digital Editions.” These interviews were undertaken to determine in what ways these digital humanities materials might be used by scholars and incorporated into their research process. Interview participants were identified through scholarly citations and works cited lists. The outcomes of these interviews are supplemented by additional interviews with the editors of the original print editions of the Western Writers Series, as well as …

The Future Of Intellectual Access In The Academic Library, Thomas L. Walker Ii

Thomas Walker

The presentation was given as part of the Learning Commons Project at Old Dominion University.

You’Re Doing More Than You Think: Acknowledging The Small Victories In Assessing Digital Literacy Instruction, Rick A. Stoddart

Rick A Stoddart

Savor The Word To Reinforce Vocabulary In The Content Areas, Ezra Stieglitz, Varda Stieglitz

Ezra L Stieglitz

Success in the content area is determined mainly by the degree to which students master important concepts. This grasp of concepts is the major goal of instruction in all the content areas regardless of the modes of presentation such as reading from a textbook, viewing a filmstrip, or listening to a lecture. Along with concept development, the subject matter teacher must recognize the importance of words, whether printed or spoken, to content area learning. Words and content are inseperable. As Allington and Strange (1980, p. 143) state, "identifying a set of key concepts is primarily a task of identifying the …

Effects Of A Content Area Reading Course On Teacher Attitudes And Practices, Ezra Stieglitz

Ezra L Stieglitz

Efforts have been made during the past 10 years to develop the teaching skills of secondary teachers In the area of reading. Not just those designated as reading specialists but other secondary teachers have been called upon to devote more attention to reading skill development in their classes.

"Thinking" In A Deweyan Perspective: The Law School Exam As A Case Study For Thinking In Lawyering, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

As creatures of thought, we are thinking all the time, but that does not necessarily mean that we are thinking well. Answering the law school exam, like solving any problem, requires that the student exercise thinking in an effective and productive manner. This Article provides some guidance in that pursuit. Using John Dewey’s suspended conclusion concept for effective thinking as an organizing theme, this Article presents one basic set of lessons for thinking through issues that arise regarding the approach to a law school exam. This means that the lessons contained here help exercise thought while taking the exam — …

The Learning Commons As A Locus For Information Literacy, Sharon Weiner, Tomalee Doan, Hal Kirkwood

Hal P Kirkwood Jr

Many institutions of higher education are designing spaces to facilitate learning. Libraries have created information or learning commons to support this activity. This article draws from the literature and best practices to explore this new direction. Academic libraries have focused on student learning and the teaching of skills and strategies that develop information literacy competency. Although there is an assumption that learning commons facilitate student learning, there is a need to more closely connect this new environment with information literacy and pedagogy and to demonstrate its merits in enhancing learning. A basic premise is that each learning commons that is …

Balancing Yin And Yang, Roger Clark, Angela Lang

Roger D. Clark

The first three-quarters of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at …

Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

Adoptions today increasingly include contact between adoptive and birth families. What do these "open adoptions" look like? How do the participants feel about them? This article, based on part of a longitudinal study that first examined adoptive parents' perceptions of their infants' open adoptions seven years ago, explores the parents' reactions now that their children are school age. This qualitative descriptive research revealed changes in the openness in the adoptions over time and identified four dimensions along which open adoptions vary. Findings showed parents' enthusiasm for the openness in their adoptions, regardless of the type and extent of openness. Implications …