New technology enhances online learning

October 28, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

It used to be that anyone who wanted to listen to UIS Biology Professor James Bonacum's lecture had to actually show up to his class. But now, his lectures are just one of several educational podcasts available on UIS's own iTunes store.

UIS content has been available through iTunes U since 2006, which meant that students and faculty had to log in to access audio content. But this year, podcasts are now available for everyone on or off campus via the iTunes store, easily found by searching “UIS.”

This puts UIS with some impressive company, said Munindra Khaund, multimedia education coordinator for ITS. “UIS is now listed alongside Berkely, Cambridge, MIT, Stanford, Yale, museums, and [other] public media organizations,” he said.

So far, the most popular downloads come from Professor Michael Cheney's course, “The Beatles: Popular Music and Society.” Other features include a column for UIS “Staff Favorites,” programs from public radio station WUIS, recordings from the ECCE Speaker Series and “Illinois Springfield Originals,” original work created by UIS faculty staff and students.

Khaund says that the growth of UIS podcasts, from a single course in the fall of 2005 to the thirteen now widely available, shows how well its been received by students.

“I continue to receive requests from students who would prefer to have course-related content delivered via podcast,” he said.

The podcasts can also be used as a recruiting tool for UIS now that its content is available for everyone, Khaund added. But he also stressed that iTunes won't be replacing the buildings on campus anytime soon.

“We provide the means of sharing course content with students in a manner that helps our students learn more,” he said. “[But] technology is a tool and podcasting is not going to replace classroom instruction.”

Online portal opens possibilities

Classroom technology became easier this year in another way with the introduction of the my.UIS portal, which boasts a single sign-on feature for many student needs.

“Before my.UIS, students had to login to Blackboard and then again if they wanted to check their DARS report and again if they wanted to check their grades or their student account,” said UIS Director of Education Technology, Tulio Llosa.

“With my.UIS, students just need to sign in once and can navigate their way easily to the applications they most use.”

Perhaps more exciting, Llosa said, is the customizable features for students my.UIS home pages. Users can design their portals to feature yahoo accounts, RSS feeds or other websites they frequent.

Llosa added the portal is still a work in progress, with new features still to come, such as easier eDoc distribution and announcement listings.

“We are hoping to convert email distribution lists such as 'campus announcements and UIS Student - Official Information DL' to portlets,” Llosa said. “So when an email is sent to them the message goes to the portal instead of the inbox.”

But the customization of portals is what Llosa says could unlock my.UIS's greatest potential. “Maybe we should hold a contest for most innovative student portal design,” he said.

For a guide on making the most of your my.UIS page, go to this link.
http://bit.ly/uE26z

UIS's iTunes store can be found at http://itunes.uis.edu

Researcher examines online class effectiveness

October 28, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

In a presentation to UIS faculty and staff, research specialist Bill Bloemer called on his colleagues to further develop research into the effectiveness of online courses.

The number of students taking UIS courses online has grown steadily throughout the years, Bloemer said, to the point where now almost a third of the school's student body takes classes only online.

Furthermore, more than half of the student body took all their classes on campus five years ago. Now, only a third are strictly on-campus students, while the other third takes a combination of on-campus and online courses.

“When I look at that, two things come to mind,” Bloemer said. “One is that this institution is uniquely positioned to do real research into the [effectiveness] of online education. There aren't many places that do it like we do... We really do have experience and numbers here.

“And the other thing that occurs to me when I look at these numbers is, 'Oh my God, I hope this is working.'”

Because the online courses have helped increase enrollment for UIS, Bloemer said the university must ask whether it is effective, rigorous teaching. Online courses are often perceived to be lighter or easier than their on-campus alternative.

In preliminary data, Bloemer showed the grade point average of on-campus students as lower than online-only students. But several variables could go into this, including the level of student taking the course as well as the subject and level of the course itself.

On a larger scale, the research asks whether one can predict if a student will struggle in a certain kind of class more than another will.

Ray Schroeder, director of the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at UIS, added to Bloemer's call for reasearch.

“You see what rich data is available,” he said. “I think the implications here are significant. This may be useful certainly for programs, program coordinators, student support. There are many ways we can go at this.”

MAP Grant Resotred

Money promised to students, source of funding still unclear

October 21, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

Photo by Andrew Mitchell Protestors from Lewis University display their homemade signs outside the State Capitol Building on Oct. 15. Students from several universities in Illinois travelled to Springfield to make their voices heard by state legislators.

The rallying cry to reinstate funding for the Monetary Award Program, the higher education financial program also known as MAP, came to a climax Thursday as hundreds of students descended on the Capitol, holding up signs and shouting, “We need MAP!”

Their shouts were not ignored; later that day the Illinois Legislature passed an appropriation of $205 million to fund MAP grants for the spring semester, providing money for about 138,000 students, including 827 at UIS.

But questions remain about how the state will pay for grants. Lawmakers have given no word as to where the $205 million will come from, and reports show the state’s deficit in the billions.

Unexpected Crowd

For Student Government Association Members Derek Felix and Jaime Casinova, the rally of students from colleges and universities all over Illinois satisfied them in a very big way.

“It’s a lot bigger turnout than I expected,” said Felix in the Capitol, while other students waved home made signs inside and out. Casinova said even while he helped organize the statewide coalition among other colleges, he didn’t realize he struck a collective
nerve.

“It started out with somebody going, ‘Hey, we’re putting together a bus,’ and I thought, ‘That’s great.’” he said. “Then the same university later said, ‘We’ve got two buses coming for sure.’ We said, ‘Awesome! We’re just happy with a bus.’ Suddenly … there were more universities saying [they had] five buses committed. I mean, committed and paid for … I was just amazed.”

Outside of the Capitol, Governor Pat Quinn joined the students in rallying. Earlier in the week, he traveled to the major state universities to drum up support for the program.

“This was really an inspiring display of demonstration, of grassroots democracy,” he said. “I am really proud of the students of Illinois, and their universities and colleges [and] how they came together, not for profit but for a cause they believe in.”

The stopping of MAP grants would have put a dent in university enrollment, with over 18 percent of the UIS student body receiving grants.

“I think that holds potential to literally invert our enrollment record,” Felix said.

It painted a worse picture for smaller universities. Owen Kerschner, a junior from Knox College in Galesburg, said a more than a 20 percent of Knox students accepted MAP grants, including himself.

“I’ve got a twin brother at UIUC,” he said. “It’s tricky enough [for my parents] sending two kids to college at the same time.”

Concerns still linger

But problems still linger for Illinois’s finances. Even as state leaders almost unanimously agreed to reinstate MAP grants for spring, they acknowledged that they didn’t know how they would pay for it.

Last year, the state hit a record high in budget deficit, over $3 billion. Some critics have balked at Quinn’s approval of a spending program without a clear sense of where the money will come from.

Earlier, Quinn suggested an added tax on cigarettes to pay for MAP. House Republicans proposed a tax amnesty, essentially waiving penalties for late income or sales tax payments.

Quinn did not say whether either or any other revenue source would be used, but said in regards to amnesty, “I’m going to look at that. The basic line is that you can’t use amnesty to get to heaven.”

Regardless, Quinn said that the MAP funding was a matter of setting priorities for the budget, with college educations being high on the list.

Still, some wariness remains. “[We’ll work on this] one day at a time,” Quinn said. “We’ll work on next year when next year comes.”

Best Album [of the week]

October 14, 2009

Best album: The Big Pink - "A Brief History of Love"

At first glance, one might want to compare the English electro-rock duo, the Big Pink, to the '80s one-hit wonder [Soft Cell]. But be warned, there is "Tainted Love" and then there's the Big Pink's black leather, grainy photographed version of love. For their video, "Velvet," we get a more shots of scantly-clad women tied up than a Boy Scout handbook. For the video, "Dominos," we see ice sculptures of naked women explode into snowflakes around the band. Sounds edgy? Sounds uninviting? Well, here's the trick -- "Dominos" has one of the catchiest, most confident choruses of the year. And the rest of their debut album, "A Brief History of Love," lives up to the swagger and cockiness of its singles.

Now that Trent Reznor has put Nine Inch Nails on hiatus, the Big Pink's debut record should fill the void for catchy hard-rock laced with a bracing shot of electronica. From the hypnotic title track to the radio-ready hooks of "Tonight," the Big Pink show that while their image might go for the darkest corners of love, their music shoots for the stadiums. It's one thing to name a song, "At War With the Sun." It's an something else entirely to sound like they could put up a good fight if they needed.

-Andrew Mitchell

Students given chance to “come out” on Quad

Published: October 14, 2009
The Journal

Photo by Melissa Conrad Students in the LGTBQ community added graffiti to the free-standing closet door. Members of the campus comunity were invited to “come out of the closet,” as gay, slesbian, bisexual, transgender or straight ally.

The LGBTQ community at UIS had originally planned to make their National Coming Out Week a celebration of self-pride. But when three current students were charged with attacking two others on campus, allegedly because of their sexual orientation, it gave their week an added sense of purpose.

That could explain why the dance music was playing a little louder during their “Speak Out!” event. Community members and supporters were encouraged to walk on a small stage and pass through a door, effectively “coming out of the closet,” again, with a handful of people cheering them on in the process.

Covered in graffiti and messages of support, the door stood as a symbol of solidarity, said LGBGT graduate assistant Sarah Hale.

“We worked so hard on building it,” she said. “This past month, everyone said, 'There's no way you're going to get it to stand and not blow over.' But we did it.”

Freshman History Major Henry Borgard said building and painting the door alone were acts of solidarity against the attacks.

“The first thing I did with the graffiti was put the newspaper down,” he said, referring an issue of “The Journal,” with the faces of the three accused attackers on the front page. “The first thing we did was cross their faces out.”

Hale said she planned on bringing the door out for other events on campus and repainting it red every year, so a new group of students can make their mark on it.

At any rate, the community said they both felt a surge support after the weekend. Hale said the rally on the Monday following the attack, which they did not plan, and the statement of support from Chancellor Richard Ringeisen added purpose to their week

“It was an incredible thing to be a part of Monday night,” she said, “reclaiming campus and saying we're not going to stand for this kind of behavior.”

Borgard agreed; “Having something like this is basically our way of saying, 'You can't shut us up. You can't make us sit down and be quiet.' Just because this happened doesn't mean we're not going to do 'Coming Out Week.'”

Book published on life of Illinois politician

Published: October 7, 2009
The Journal

While people like former Governor Rod Blagojevich represented for many the worst aspects of Illinois Politics, historian Robert Hartley focused instead on one of Illinois's most beloved politicians, Paul Simon during a presentation Thursday morning.

Hartley recently published a book about Simon's life and legacy, titled, “Paul Simon: The Political Journey of an Illinois Original.” For many young people, Paul Simon's career is a distant memory. Before he died in 2003, he served in various political offices, starting in Illinois House of representatives in 1955 until his retirement from the U.S. Senate in 1997.

Still, he remains a relatively underrated figure in Illinois history; “When I told one of my good friends from the newspaper business that I had written a biography … of Paul Simon,” Hartley said, “his first comment was to ask if my next book was going to be about Art Garfunkel.”

From the podium in the Brookens Auditorium, Hartley shared stories of Simon's past, showcasing the politician’s unique dedication to public service.

“[He was] not perfect, because frankly, I don't know of any who are perfect or have been,” Hartley said, “but he was about as close as anyone could get.”

Hartley told of Simon's early work as a southern Illinois newspaper reporter and editor, including an incident where he helped shut down two houses of prostitution by visiting them and writing about the experience in the first person.

“Oh yes, he escaped with his virtue intact,” Hartley said.

Simon continued writing columns even as he rose to prominence as the politician with horn-rimmed glasses and bow tie, and even though he declared himself to be a loyal Democrat, he had no problem criticizing prominent members of his party, as he did in 1979 with a column titled, “Why I Support Kennedy.”

In it, Simon criticized the leadership skills of then president, Jimmy Carter and threw his support behind Ted Kennedy. Kennedy would get crushed in the primaries, but Simon never wavered from his support, which Hartley said showed a man who was true to his beliefs.

Simon would also found and be the first the director for UIS's Public Affairs Reporting program before he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 and a Senate Seat in 1984. He would also unsuccessfully run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1988.

Throughout it all, Hartley says, Simon was a unique politician in that he showed a visible determination to act on his principles, take unpopular positions and explain them in his own words via his written work.

Before there were any meaningful campaign finance laws, Simon would report his spending for public scrutiny, while others did not. UIS Junior English major, Ashleigh Hall, said that was the most impressive thing she learned about Simon.

“He reported his spending when he didn't have to,” she said. “I think most people wouldn't do that if they didn't have to.”

Hartley said it's just one example from, “a public life worth imitating. His political story is as current as a Twitter message.”

Senate looks at Master Plan

Published: September 30, 2009
The Journal

The proposed location for the new Public Safety Building and Child Care Center is once again up in the air according to a report from SGA President Matt Van Vossen to the Campus Senate.

According to Van Vossen, the building’s current proposed location on the UIS Campus Master Plan, along Vachel Lindsay Drive and across the street from townhouse courts Pennyroyal and Foxglove, benefits from being along the university's utility lines.

But the UIS police would still like to consider another location that would allow for more access points.

“The police chief wants to be at a point on campus where squad cars can go in multiple directions,” Van Vossen said. “It's just a matter of utilities.”
A potential spot, he added, is along Shepherd Road, where the Master Plan says a golf driving range will be built.

Also announced at their Campus Senate Meeting were words of support for two university related controversies. In response to UIUC president Joseph White resigning his post in December, Senate Chair Tih-Fen Ting and Provost Harry Berman, spoke kindly on how he is handling his exit.

If White had stayed on until the end of January, he would have been entitled to a retention bonus of roughly $475,000. But his decision to leave earlier in December, Ting said, shows he's considered the financial strains of the University.

“I think that's a great gesture,” Ting said, “As an individual faculty member, I'm very sorry to see that he has decided to resign because I don't think that his very limited involvement with admissions actually constitutes a cause for his removal.”

Ting also said at their next meeting, Friday, Oct. 9, the Senate would bring up a resolution to strongly urge Governor Pat Quinn and the legislature to restore MAP grant funding in advance of a planned rally at the Capitol protesting the cuts.

Business closed with the reconsideration of a resolution passed at the previous meeting, adding three members to the athletic committee. After words from the Faculty Athletics Representative, Marcel Yoder and discussion amongst the senate, a 15-2 vote was passed to keep the committee at its original membership and not add three members.