Meeting Info
The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Health Administration and Policy will be offering five online courses this winter.
The Winter 2020 schedule is currently live and you can begin to register for courses on Monday, October 21st.
Session Dates: January 2 -24th
SOCY 101-01 –Basic Concepts in Sociology (SS) –Cozart–Online
SOCY 201-01 –Social Problems in American Society (SS) –Knisley –Online
SOCY 353-01/GWST 353-01 –Marriage and the Family (SS)–Cozart–Online
SOCY 355-01/GWST 355-01 –Sociology of Gender (SS) –Salisbury –Online
SOCY 374-01 –Drugs and Alcohol in Society –Hemmis –Online
]]>Have a favorite healthy, whole foods based recipe to share?
Join fellow UMBC colleagues in the creation of a new community-inspired cookbook: UMBC Eats.
A healthy lifestyle begins with cultivating better healthy daily habits. It’s never too late to start or renew our commitment to healthy eating.
We invite you to be part of the change….submit your recipe by October 31st!
Submit your recipe HERE
]]>One in four students take some of their courses online, and two-thirds do so at a public institution in the same state where they live (Allen, Seaman, Pouline, & Straut, 2016; Allen & Seaman, 2017). In early November, UMBC celebrates National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) with a series of lunchtime conversations. Topics include:
Hybrid or Online? Learn about the Alternate Delivery Program
Attend this information session to learn more about the Alternate Delivery Program. Ask specific questions related to the ADP Course Designer Track Call to Participate for Spring/Summer 2020. Previous ADP alumni will be on hand to share their experiences!
Universal Design for Learning, Accessible Content & Bb Ally
The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) promote the approach that everyone -- with and without disabilities -- can benefit from accessible course materials. Learn about the key foundational concepts of UDL and what tools are available at UMBC to make your course materials more accessible to students.
Does Your Bb Course Spark Joy? Go Ultra!
Marie Kondo's tidying up method applies to more than just our homes -- we can apply it to our course designs as well. Join our faculty, instructional technology staff, and instructional designers to learn about sparking joy in your Blackboard courses with Ultra.
Lights, Camera, Action! Lecture Capture with Panopto
Panopto is a lecture capture and video delivery system that lets faculty easily create online videos for their classes. Learn how to start using Panopto to record lectures and tutorials, embed active learning, create student video assignments, and support a flipped classroom.
Open Educational Resources Support Student Access, Equity
A recent faculty survey of OER usage at UMBC revealed that many want to know how to find, evaluate, and use openly licensed course materials to increase student access and reduce textbook costs. We wrap up National Distance Learning Week with a focus on Open Educational Resources: Learn about OER use cases, resources, professional development, and talk with faculty who have adopted OERs. Stay after the lunchtime panel to see a demo of the Maryland Open Source Textbook (MOST) Initiative to discover how faculty can find easy-to-adopt, high-quality OER.
Please RSVP: A light lunch will be provided for in-person sessions.
Can't make these National Distance Learning Week sessions? Try these virtual events!
The History of National Distance Learning Week and the U.S. Distance Learning Association
Microlearning in the World of Distance Learning
--
References
Allen, I. E., Seaman, J., Poulin, R., & Straut, T. T. (2016). Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Oakland, CA: Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/onlinereportcard.pdf
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Oakland, CA: Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/digtiallearningcompassenrollment2017.pdf
The Manager of Gallery Learning is responsible for Identifying, training, scheduling and evaluating gallery teachers, specifically the volunteer docents(approximately 70), part-time educators(8) and museum associate(1). S/he identifies program and training needs and employs best practices in adult learning to support these educators in their gallery teaching. S/he reports to the Director of Education.
Leads group of volunteer docents in order to ensure that programs are implemented with a high level of quality by:
]]>The views expressed in this article are the views of the author.
Many consider former Vice President Joe Biden to be everything that’s wrong with politics. He is dated, in every sense of the word. His reputation is marred by decades of gaffes, political incorrectness, and all-around concerning behavior. He brings nothing new to the table, but markets himself on a sense of “stability” and “electability.” He has the personality of a plain bowl of oatmeal and the tact of that boisterous uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.
Joe Biden is old. Old old. He would be 77 at the time of the inauguration, making him a good seven years older than the oldest president to date, Donald Trump (sworn in at 70). Physical age aside, he’s been in the game for a while. Biden served as the Delaware senator for six consecutive terms, from 1972 to 2008, when he stepped down to run for vice president alongside Barack Obama. In 1972, he was the sixth most junior senator ever elected; by 2008, he was the fourth most senior. He served as Vice President of the United States for eight years. He’s been around longer than turkey-necked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and resident Capitol poltergeist Senator Orrin Hatch.
Political scandal and controversy are nothing new to Biden. During his first campaign for presidency in 1987, he falsely claimed to have marched in the Civil Rights Movement, lied and exaggerated his success at law school, and plagiarized several speeches.
When he ran again for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination, the same lack of filter and tact caused him trouble. Biden referred to fellow candidate Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” and boasted of his support among the Indian-American community, saying, “I’ve had a great relationship. In Delaware…you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.” Clearly, many people have found these comments upsetting, but Biden simply issued an acknowledgment and non-apology in each case, saying he did not mean to be offensive.
Of course, his verbose and off-the-cuff comments don’t only cause him trouble on the campaign trail. New York Times journalist, James Traub, remarked that “Biden’s vanity and his regard for his own gifts seem considerable even by the rarefied standards of the U.S. Senate.”
Just this past Thursday, at the LGBTQ town hall, he made a joke about coming out and offered several strange and irrelevant comments regarding stereotypes about the gay community, such as “We talked about this in San Francisco, it was all about, you know, gay bathhouses. It’s all about round the clock sex … c’mon man!”
Of course, no analysis of Joe Biden would be complete without mentioning his lack of respect for personal space. Prolonged hugging, sniffing hair, touching foreheads — Biden’s done it all. SNL’s made skits about it. Multiple times. Within the past year, eight women have accused Biden of engaging in inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact. While Biden has acknowledged these allegations, he continues to issue a very firm non-apology each time, stating that he regretted making anyone feel uncomfortable but “I’m not sorry for my intentions, I’m not sorry for anything I’ve ever done.”
Joe Biden is not electable. He doesn’t have the championed youth support of Bernie Sanders, the extensive track record of Kamala Harris, or the likeability or cohesive policy of Elizabeth Warren. The makeup of Congress is evolving. When Biden took office in 1972, there were 17 female and 27 non-white representatives; today, there are 127 female and 114 non-white representatives. Additionally, ten current members of Congress identify as members of the LGBTQ community.
The past midterm elections clearly showed that the Democratic party is looking for a change. The congressional freshman class of 2018 is the most diverse ever elected, with the youngest female representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), first two female Muslim representatives, Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and the first two female indigenous representatives, Deb Haaland (D-NM) and Sharice Davids (D-KS).
Joe Biden has none of these traits. He is an old, white, stagnant member of the government who is just another politician who has overstayed his welcome. Compared to the politics of his fellow candidates, his history and conviction are weak. At best, Biden is a good standard, middle-of-the-road candidate. But those politicians don’t win elections anymore. The presidential candidate we need is someone who has a strong personality, good leadership skills, clear policies and the ability to excite the country into voting. Joe Biden just isn’t it.
]]>UMBC Intramural Race Series will be offering two races this semester. The first race is a 3K Monster Dash that will be held on Wednesday, October 23rd, starting at 12:15PM.
The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the Fall semester and beyond. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply. (Search for TSC Student Consultant.) The application will be open until October 25th.
We're specifically looking for students available to work during the following hours:
Technology Support Center (TSC) student consultants are the first points of technical contact for the UMBC community and those who do well often go on to work in other areas of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Minimally, consultants are expected to provide initial triage and support for a wide range of information technologies including accounts, hardware, instructional technologies, networking, software, telecommunications, and basic web development.