Bill Shewbridge, director of UMBC’s New Media Studio, spoke to Urbanite about the role technology plays on campus and in the lives of students.

“There is a tendency to think that students are digital natives,” says Bill Shewbridge, the director of the new media studio at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). “But uploading a picture to Facebook doesn’t make you a producer, much less an informed consumer.”

A television producer-turned-professor, Shewbridge discovered this after embarking on UMBC’s digital storytelling project eight years ago. To tell digital stories—short videos, usually for a particular class, that combine scriptwriting, interviewing, and research—students first needed to be taught video editing, audio recording, and image processing. Now, UMBC offers a multimedia literacy lab, a one-credit course taken concurrently with another class, where students learn those skills.

The article, “The Wired Campus,” appeared March 30 in Urbanite.

Six Flags NJ

Student Events Board

Saturday, April 28th

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 8:00am

All Guests = $35.00

This installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series features Northern Arizona University sophomore Alex Gaynor, a student ambassador of sustainability who spearheaded a Free Compliments initiative on his campus. Originally posted on the university's Green blog, Gaynor shares how a simple compliment can spark a better day and a healthier campus. We hope to see questions and feedback in the comments area! Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

February 3, 2012

As a student ambassador of sustainability at the notoriously green Northern Arizona University, I am regularly exposed to the ideas of sustainability. This exposure and the large sustainability community involved has moved me to think in depth about the next level of campus sustainability. There is only so much that can be achieved by a core group of green students that are dedicated to sustainability. I imagine a healthy campus where there is no division between the green students and student athletes, Greek life, ROTC students, etc. Our mission is thus to creatively include the uninvolved. Based loosely on the ideas expressed by Volkswagen’s Fun Theory, we strive to find ways to “preach to the non-choir.” The first initiative currently in play is known as Free Compliments.

While it is, in our eyes, largely an experiment, the idea is sound. The idea, on its most basic level, is that a compliment while walking to class early in the morning might spark a better day and a healthier campus in the long run. A healthier campus, ideally might lead to a more sustainable campus. Secondarily, we have developed a space in which open conversation is encouraged and people can find out about other campus sustainability news and information.

"...a compliment while walking to class early in the morning might spark a better day and a healthier campus in the long run. A healthier campus, ideally might lead to a more sustainable campus."

As the project has moved on, other personal benefits have developed. For example, I’ve been told some very moving things and been involved in some very moving conversations with people I would never have otherwise conversed with. This last Wednesday, one fellow (whose name I wish I knew) waltzed up and started with, “Hey man, I have dealt with anxiety and depression my entire life and…” We were thinking "oh no, we are making people depressed." To our surprise, he then finished with, “it's stuff like what you guys are doing that helps me deal with it.” Things like this, which are not uncommon, are what make it so easy to meet the sunrise every Wednesday and battle the chill of Flagstaff’s winter.

This week, the project entered Phase II. Phase II means we have free hot beverages for students on their way to class who have their own reusable container. While the free beverages were not emptied this week, the word is spreading! We are hoping that there is greater public participation as weeks progress.

Alex and his fellow student ambassadors of sustainability battle the cold to spread goodwill.

The result: Lots of smiling faces.

Last week Google released a sneak peakof their new automobile.  The video features Steve Mahan, a legally blind man, using the car to run his daily errands. His first stop of course is Taco Bell.

In 2010, Google announced a two year project to develop its own self-driving car. Although the company is not providing full details on the technology, the video mentions the use of radar and laser sensors.

What does this car mean for the the future of the auto industry? How will it change the rules of the road? And most importantly, would you feel safe enough to drive to Taco Bell in one?

  Friday, April 6, 12:00 - 1:00pm PUP 367
    
    James Bessen is a scholar who studies the economics of
    innovation and patents. He has also been a successful innovator and CEO of a software company. Currently, Mr. Bessen is Lecturer in Law at the Boston University School of Law and Fellow at the Berkman Center on Internet and Society at Harvard.
    
    Bessen has done research on whether patents promote
    innovation, how and why innovators share new knowledge, and
    on how firms developed new skills and technical knowledge
    during the Industrial Revolution. His book, Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk (Princeton 2008) with Michael J. Meurer, highlights the problems caused by poorly defined property rights (“patent notice”).
    
    In 1983, Bessen developed the first commercially successful
    “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” PC publishing program, founding a company that delivered PC-based publishing systems to high-end commercial publishers. Intergraph Corporation acquired the company in 1993.
    
    Get in on this opportunity to "chat" with James about the things he learned in business that seemed at odds with what he learned in the classroom (patents, sharing knowledge, the high cost of learning on the job, etc.)  He'll also discuss his recent research on this topic.

Are you looking for an internship with a world-class health club organization where you can actually learn something while you help people change their lives? We must warn you. We are only looking for energetic, positive people who know how to have fun. You must love fitness and truly care about people.

Positions include:

Accounting – work with our Accounting Team to gain experience in accounts payable and receivables and financial reporting.

Human Resources – learn and receive experience with recruiting and interviewing procedures as well as the administrative tasks involved in our HR department.

Marketing – work along side our Marketing Director in the implementation and planning of our television, social media, internet and print campaigns. Assist with charity functions and community events.

Information Systems – unique opportunity to work with our in-house IT/Web support team learning the key performance indicators (KPI's) of the fitness business and how to use them. These KPI's can be extrapolated to other businesses as well.

Corporate Wellness – learn from our team of health educators as you gain experience in the marketing and implementation of our employee wellness programs for some of the leading companies in Baltimore.

Benefits:

Great working environment

Complimentary Health Club membership

Opportunity to establish valuable career contacts.

Valuable experience related to your career.

Inclusion in all company social events, of which there are many!

Pre-requisites:

Currently enrolled in accredited college and pursuing a degree in Business, Health Education Computer Science, Marketing, Sports Management, Kinesiology or Exercise Science.

Proficiency in all Microsoft applications

Please send resume or contact Andrea.wanner@brickbodies.com