Civic Engagement and value of college education

Civic engagement and value of a college education with liberal arts courses in increasingly important to employers.  A case for liberal arts degrees and courses suggests both may increase civic engagement after graduation. Additionally, employers want broadly educated college graduates a new survey reveals.   Using digital media in all courses with a focus on popular culture, justice and equity may enable students to see the relevance of everyday experiences in courses as well as promote civic engagement.  The Pew research center also reported how digital media suggests  electronic ways in which citizens engage in politics and community.   Political activity is growing online but “slacktivism”  remains a challenge.  Still the completion of at least  some college courses provides citizens with speaking and writing abilities, making them more likely to speaking public and contact legislators.

Massachusetts CC Advising Conference

 Massachusetts Community College Advising Association conference

Friday, June 14^th from 8:30 – 3:30 at North Shore Community College . Diane O’Hearn and Shane Hammond will  be conference presenters.  Contact Anna or Julie if you would like to attend.  MCCADA Registraion Form 2013 and MCCADA Session Descriptions .

MOOCs, retention, and more challenges

Recent stories about MOOCS and San Jose State were in the news.  San Jose State professors pushed back against EdX, one of the top three providers of MOOCS.  An open letter from Professors at San Jose State to Professor Michael Sandel to request he take a stand on how some public universities may use MOOCs to force curriculum and content onto their professors and classrooms.  Professor Sandel responded supporting San Jose State professors, suggesting that his MOOC on Justice and Philosophy was never intended to replace face to face classroom discussions.  Another report by Todd Tauber suggest that students are bored in online courses and that  MOOCs have less that 5% retention rate, even though thousands sign up for the course, raising the question, if MOOCs can ever really replace institutionally designed online courses and web enhanced courses. Finally, Georgia Tech and Udacity have made an agreement to offer a master’s program in computer science and questions about the the quality of the potential program has been raised.

Grading, machine scoring and more

Recently the news has described the challenges to machine scored essays.  One group suggests that machine scoring can not do what human professors and teachers can accomplish.  Others suggest that robo-readers can accurately score essays and writing. Other articles discuss the role of humans in grading differently, and more inclusively. Another sources discusses the pros/cons of grading with letters/numbers. Ultimately, the decisions about how to grade and whether machines can grade essays will be with college professors for some time.

MOOCs: Retention rates, challenges, and more

A recent NY Times article, reminds us that MOOCs {Massive Open Online Courses]  and their usefulness for credit bearing degree programs still may remain illusive.  While the article rates the usefulness, the interaction with the ‘star’ professors, the variability in course content, the retention rate is still dismal.  The author also indicates for many of the MOOCs he enrolled in, the student to professor and the student to student interaction was poor.  Additionally, Amherst College  rejects joining EdX, one of the three major MOOC providers, and questions MOOC viability for  transfer for credit into their curricula.  A further NY times blog questions the potential high costs of MOOCS>

Dealing with Trauma

In the wake of Boston Marathon tragedy,  some of these resources may be helpful for discussions in classes or offices.  The American Psychological Association provides a series of helpful strategies on a number of topics and is easily searchable.  The APA has several suggestions for Managing Traumatic  Stress.  Other sources, such as Massachusetts Government help center has suggestions and links for helping children. Some experts suggest that you turn off media especially around children.  Turn off the news  Additional information regarding serving returning veterans may also be helpful.  Center for Study of Traumatic Stress provides helpful information for anyone working with or living with vets. Psychological First Aid is a useful reminder handout. The Pew Research Center also provides research about military personnel transitioning to civilian life.

Understanding Vets in Community Colleges

Professional Development Day for GCC faculty and Staff, will be held on Friday April 12.  Agenda Staff Development Day April 12, 2013  Program will be in the GCC Dining Commons   8:30 am – 4:00 pm.  From military service to college campus life:   Reintegration challenges for returning veterans

Competency Based Education

Will competency based education do away with the traditional credit hour?  Recently the federal government approved a liberal arts associate degree fully competency based program at Southern New Hampshire University and other locations.  Others explore how such a change may influence the traditions of 15 week semesters and three credit courses.  Colleges are beginning to experiment with more and different combinations of course delivery.  MOOCs continue to influence the course delivery and colleges of the future may look very different than today.  Yet, recent information about coursera, one of the three MOOC companies, suggests that contractual elitism guides them in turning away most collaborations with colleges and universities.

Workforce Development

Professional Development Opportunity:  March 22, 2013  New England Workforce Network Conference  ‘We are all in this together”  Middlesex Community College, Bedford MA Flyer: NE Workforce Conference  Please contact Alyce directly StilesA@gcc.mass.edu,  (413)-775-1607 for funding for this conference.

CC Online courses: widens achievement gap

More recent reports suggest that online courses may widen the achievement gap.   Online students are less likely to achieve a degree.  Black students, male students, younger students, and students with lower grade-point averages are most susceptible to attrition in online courses.  Skill sets of students enrolling in online courses.  Columbia University’s Community College Research Center researchers examined 500,000 courses taken by more than 40,000 community and technical-college students in Washington State.  Yet Ivy League colleges are seeing increasing enrollments in online courses.