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My project Idea and about me

I’m a level 2 PhD student in the Molecular, Cellular and developmental biology program here at the GC. I am currently working on a characterizing a population of cells in one of the mammalian (altricial rodents) auditory brainstem nuclei (a specialized region of the brain). By characterizing I mean that I’m trying to ascertain the role and function of these cells as the animal grows and develops hearing. Last semester was my first time teaching and I think it was a great experience especially while taking the first core ITP class at the same time, so I was able to garner some perspective on at least the pedagogical references.

To get straight to the project ideas, I am only going to really mention two of them since after some consideration I think these are the more relevant and interesting of the three I initially mentioned in class.

1. To develop an interactive online system for the average science graduate student to use in teaching. There should be a way for students to asynchronously post assignments and comments and work in groups with instructor involvement and direction. I want this to be specific to the needs of teaching undergraduate science classes, since the needs are somewhat different from the humanities.

These needs include detailed guidance and visual aids and models for understanding concepts in empirical science (multimedia and internet based resources) with directed examples of problem solving while not losing sight of the big picture (think of zooming out in a Prezi) of either the core of the subject or the current state of science in that particular field. Almost all introductory science classes have a laboratory component which is great for hands-on demonstration and practice of applied science, but I feel like systems like blackboard do a poor job of allowing the smaller lab sections of say 20 students to interact and build a community and work together to solve problems. This is virtually impossible when these same students are lumped into a giant group of 400-500 for the lecture component of the same course. I found that students usually form groups and work together of their own initiative but the lack of guidance of an instructor lends to the development of more coping mechanisms than actual learning and hinders their progress not just in the class but in subsequent classes that require salient knowledge of the fundamentals taught in these introductory classes. I want to build and set up this system primarily with the student and instructor in mind and have it transferrable for almost any introductory science class. I definitely do agree with Bill Pelz that students can teach themselves alot with the right guidance as i have observed and attempted last semester.

2. To tell the entire story of progenitor cell differentiation and the roles in auditory function in my current research project in a multimedia animation

This might sound pretty self-explanatory. No?

I study these cells that are kind of like stem cells, meaning they are like very young cells that I don’t know what kind of cells they will gradually become. What I do know so far is the possibilities of different cell types into which they gradually differentiate. There is a big debate in the field as to the origin of some glial cells (the support or non-brainy/neuronal cells which make up the white matter in the brain and spine) and since these cells tend to grow and change throughout life and are vital for continued neuronal function (everyone likes a working brain right?), I think it’d be awesome to actually visually show in an animation what my research will show: specifically where they come from, what they do and what they become and where they go in the auditory structures in the brain. It would be great to make it a platform that someone can add or build to so that if you wanted to you could trace the lineage of a particular cell type in one part of the brain, back to it’s origins during part of development (say embryonic week 2). I believe something like this has been done on small simple scales for the whole brain of other model organisms in biology like c. elegans (worms) and drosophila m. (fruit flies), but not in mammals. It would be like creating a cellular map of part of the auditory brainstem. This is clearly a less well defined idea than the former, but it’s still another idea.

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Reading Response – Online Learning

There were several different issues that this weeks readings got me thinking about, so to try and delineate them in this post, I attempted to separate them under different titles:

Thoughts about dimensions of collaboration and communication;
For those who are pro face to face teaching, and more anti-online learning than pro-online learning, there seems to be a fundamental lack of trust in the idea that the internet really does facilitate collaboration. There seems to be a kind of dark cloud of skepticism hanging over those who resist the idea of online learning (which I found very prevalent in the Cac.o.phony post and discussion that followed) that online collaboration and communication (through blog posts, chat rooms, discussion boards, talk pages, etc) is somehow less “real” than in person communication. I found this dark cloud of skepticism most obvious as a) Skeptical that students can really, actually feel engaged with their professors and colleagues through written communication, b) Skepticism that students are actually collaborating in “productive” ways, and c) Skepticism that students can be trusted to learn anything in a self-directed manner. And I think all of this skepticism seems to be rooted in the idea that anything that happens in “meatspace” is a more real, longer lasting, and more trustworthy thing than something that happens in the virtual world.  And I think one of the biggest hurdles in understanding how successful online learning happens is that for people (whether they be students or professors) that are engaged in online dialogue or conversation, whether it be through a chat room or comment stream after a blog post, the communication is real, and people are actually engaged in it. If they were not engaged, they simply would not participate at all in the dialogue. And I think that students CAN be trusted to be self directed in their learning…I think there is an underlying assumption that if you can physically SEE a student in class every week, then you can better access their engagement than if you must rely solely on what they write on a blog. As was pointed out in the readings, the self-directed nature of many online learning models may not suite EVERY student – because ultimately, students will only get out of an online course what they put into it –and I think, based on my own experience and the readings (especially in the Ugoretz and Pelz articles) a good online learning environment, with an intentional collaborative approach from the instructor will encourage student engagement, not hinder it, and in many instances, encourage more student engagement over a longer span of time than the overage lecture-hall style course would.

The view of Collaboration in Academia:
It also seems as though the kind of collaboration the internet makes so beautifully possible is not the kind of collaboration that is always valued in academia – I think this goes back to older, top down teaching models, the whole idea that the student is an empty vessel that the teacher must fill with knowledge. In different ways, each of the readings this week showed how the internet can facilitate collaboration between students in asynchronous learning, such that the students are learning from each other in really powerful ways. And I feel like that kind of interaction and peer to peer learning is encouraged much more at the elementary and high school level, but not nearly as much in the college level, and then almost not at all in graduate level work, because so much emphasis is put on being individual, self-reliant thinkers, and collaboration is somehow seen as a weakness, or academic crutch.

Being an architect of Online Learning:
I really liked the Bill Pelz article, as he laid out (very systematically) specific ways a professor can structure online learning assignments to effectively engage students in course material, self directed projects, and collaborative learning. But it did leave me wondering two things (and this is from the mind of somehow who wants to build an online learning environment):

1)   are there any studies done in how much of a difference the actual physical/aesthetic/layout of the GUI (grapics user interface) has on people’s engagement with course/learning material?

2)   does anyone know of resources that discuss or compare successful vs. non-successful learning enviornments from a GUI point of view?

 

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Reading Reflections

Bravo Bill Peltz for so clearly articulating the ways that students can learn beyond a static and didactic approach. I appreciate how he embraces a Dewey- type of teaching philosophy. And as a trainer, I love the inclusion of ice-breakers as a way to generate a community learning space that can be owned by students/participants.

On the CaCophony website, the following quote grabbed my attention, “The faculty do seem to feel as though they are teaching and reaching many of their students… this, it seems to me, is the most you can really hope for from a program that’s taught entirely online.” This thought process seems  contradictory to the approach that Bill Peltz so clearly articulated and what the NSD website suggests on how online techniques can be effectively used to teach in many classrooms and in fact ARE being used across the country (as some of the folks comment on the same Cacophony post). The resistance captured in Luke’s post I think reflects an existing opinion that is reflective of an “old school” mentality that, and someone please comment if I’m you think differently, is especially pervasive among most school leadership (I’m thinking those who comprise the IRB, the Provost and Dean’s Offices).  While I do think the future of technology in classrooms and in research has only yet begun, I think one of the roles that we (those who are interested in new media technology for pedagogy and research) are going to need to be well enough versed in the pros and cons of this pedagogical approach to defend it and to educate existing leadership in the many institutions that we may belong to now and in the future. There is a comfort in practicing what we know and are accustomed to that. As being interested in pushing the envelope to use new media (gaming, mobile devices, blogs, social networks, etc.) for teaching/learning and research, we are challenging a very old institution and we can hope that we be met with an open mind. For example, I think Joe’s comments are particularly well articulated as reasons for online course. I think that what online pedagogical approaches offer are a way to build from what we know works and what doesn’t with traditional f2f approach as well as online approaches to continue to build something that offers the best learning environment and practices for students, and I agree that the question for now  should be HOW, not IF, we should be using online tools for educational and research endeavors.

 

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Good Magazine & Coding

I came across two articles recently, one that discusses a toy that came out intended to teach coding to students for $25.

The other piece discusses free coding camp options -free ways to learn code online.

Happy coding…

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Chrissy’s Project Idea

Hi All,

 

My project idea is still up in the air a little bit.  I’m a level three student, so I’m trying to get my dissertation together which is somewhat theoretical and focusing on different thought or logic systems produced by participating in a certain discourse or practice.  My dissertation will likely focus on how the being a patient in psychoanalysis, and thus being an active participant in the kind of thinking required for that practice can be seen in sociologists academic work that is not explicitly psychoanalytic.  My larger idea would be to bust up interdisciplinarity to a certain degree such that we have a new inter-, beyond (the idea of) discipline(s).  This is applicable to this class in terms of the way technology shapes thought processes.  In fact, this came up in class on Thursday when Michael said “we can model behavior in terms of logic”.  This was in reference to the IT flow-chart and how logics shape decisions. Well, I’d be interested to see how we might trace these new logics we are learning in this class into our academic work – not in the tangible evidence of adding in technology into our work, but in how the extended use of certain technologies shapes our logic systems and how we make our arguments.  If someone has ideas on how to make this into a project for the class I’d be super excited.

Since, for now, I’m not seeing a way to do that I’d like to think about another project I am working on which is a website for an on going workshop series on pedagogy.  For now, there is not much on there except menus for where content will go, and I am currently doing it through opencuny. As you all probably know most GC students start teaching in their first or second year with no training.  Sociology students are organizing a day long workshop on March 2nd, open to all, to help teach each other what we know about teaching.  We are planning to have follow up meetings with small groups matched up at the conference that meet monthly, and then to have another workshop in the Fall.  This would continue for years to come, and hopefully will generate enough push for sociology to develop a 3 credit pedagogy class for its students.  I would like to make a website that pulls together the workshop registration and survey data that needs to be collected (for the grant we may get), has a social network aspect for support, and has a wide array of materials sort of like Perdue’s OWL.  This website would be by and for primarily the sociology students at the GC, but would hopefully extend itself and serve as a resource for the GC as a whole and maybe eventually be used as widely as Perdue’s website.

 

Any feedback on either idea would be much appreciated.

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Matthew K. Gold et al @ Friday Forum

The Ph.D Program in English at the CUNY Graduate Center is hosting a Friday Forum panel event with Matthew K. Gold, editor of Debates in the Digital Humanities, on Friday, February 17th at 4:00 PM

Panel Topic: Debates in the Digital Humanities: Issues from the recent University of Minnesota Press collection
Featuring Moderator: Matthew K. Gold (Graduate Center and New York City College of Technology);  Panelists: Steven Brier (Graduate Center); Charlotte (Charlie) Edwards (Graduate Center); David Greetham (Graduate Center)

Debates in the Digital Humanities brings together leading figures in the field to explore its theories, methods, and practices and to clarify its multiple possibilities and tensions. Together, the essays—which will be published later as an ongoing, open-access website—suggest that the digital humanities is uniquely positioned to contribute to the revival of the humanities and academic life.

“Is there such a thing as ‘digital’ humanities? From statistical crunches of texts to new forms of online collaboration and peer review, it’s clear something is happening. This book is an excellent primer on the arguments over just how much is changing—and how much more ought to—in the way scholars study the humanities.”—Clive Thompson, columnist for Wired and contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine

“I look forward to the day when anxieties about the disruptive nature of ‘digital humanities’ fade into memory and the innovative methods, theories, and approaches championed by those who have contributed to this valuable volume are respected across academia for their rigor and utility. This book will go a long way toward clarifying the debates within and about digital humanities.”—Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of The Googlization of Everything—and Why We Should Worry

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Knight News Challenge Grants

The Knight News Challenge is a good example to consider regarding scholarship that happens outside of NEH/NSF/NEA funding. Which is to say Alt-Ac. Or to put it another way, it is entrepreneurial. It is almost “scholarly business.” They also have a semi-transparent review process.

Today, Knight Foundation is announcing the details of the revamped Knight News Challenge, offering funding for the best new innovations that digitally inform and engage communities.
For the first time, the challenge will be offered three times this year, in short, more focused rounds, as a way to better mirror the pace of innovation.
Themed “Networks,” round one is our search for ideas that leverage and maximize the impact of the best existing media platforms to convey news and information.
Applications for funding for the first challenge will be accepted Feb. 27 – March 17.
Read more about it on KnightBlog.org.

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Doodle Poll

Please visit this poll and select which two days you would like to be the motivator for the readings. Please select two days for the semester. Each week will have two or three motivators. If the week already has two people signed up, consider choosing one of the others. Three is the maximum

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Wikipedia Article – Group Assignment

The early mid-term assignment will be to rewrite your blog posts from last semester into articles for Wikipedia, being careful to cite each sentence of summary to the page in the original text. We will be using the posts on Lessig’s Free Culture, Benkler’s Wealth of Networks, and Experience and Education.

You will work collaboratively in three teams.  You will be encouraged to keep their conversation on Wikipedia talk pages and not in meatspace. The fact that you will be working off of a blog post that you did not author yourself, adds an additional dimension to the collaborative authorship.

The blog posts are summaries of the readings along with interpretations and discussion questions. You will have to separate out the opinion from the summary. (Eg maintain NPOV and No Original Research).

These are the pages on Wikipedia:

Use book articles like these as models for your work:

Check in points:

  • February 16th: write work plan on the article talk page.
  • February 23rd: Begin initial contributions. Contributions should be cited.
  • March 1st: Article finished as a draft. Peer review takes place. Final citations put in place.
  • March 8th: Article Due

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Hadassah’s Projects

During the course of the semester, I’d like to focus on two-three projects, each of which relates directly to work I do as a socially-engaged artist and community organizer.

One is the production build and structural planning of a Conference site & its collaborative technologies, and the other is preparing for a Drupal site development and mainframe.

Continued…

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