CIS and ePortfolio

CIS ePortfolio Cohort

Today was the first meeting of the CIS ePortfolio cohort that is being sponsored by LaGuardia’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The main purpose of the faculty group is to research the best ways in which the CIS department can integrate ePortfolio into the Introduction to Computers course (CIS 100). The CIS 100 course is a required course for many of the academic programs at LaGuardia, and as a result, is a perfect class in which to reinforce the technical principles of ePortfolio.

I was asked to participate in this ongoing seminar because, I had taken a lead in researching ways in which digital portfolios can be used to enhance the performance of students in technical disciplines. Continue reading “CIS and ePortfolio”

WAC’ed at Baruch

Baruch and LaGuardia faculty
Now before you think that I am involved with something out of the Sopranos I just need to state that that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I met with a group of faculty members today from LaGuardia and Baruch to discuss issues surrounding the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program that both schools have initiated. Selected faculty members from both schools have been meeting all year long to discuss how WAC, also referred to as Writing in the Disciplines (WID), can impact students and faculty in transformative ways.

The discussions that we have engaged in during the group sessions have honestly been some of most interesting conversations that I have had in while. I had been fighting the flu all week so I was very glad that I was up to attending. The opportunity to directly interact with a faculty cohort from a sister CUNY institution, and to discuss our different approaches to pedagogy, has helped me a great deal in thinking through the restructuring of the curriculum for the LaGuardia New Media Technology degree.

LaGuardia Web Standards Committee

Creating web standards for the implementation and management of web content is a topic that more and more companies are having to face. LaGuardia is current struggling with this issue and is proactively working to address the problem. One of the solutions that the LaGuardia IT department is investigating is establishing a Content Management Systems (CMS) to assist in the management of website updates and presentation. I mention this because today I attended a meeting to look a some of the Content Management Systems (CMS) that LaGuardia is considering. Continue reading “LaGuardia Web Standards Committee”

An Oberlin event: Out on the town with old friends

It is rare that Ski and I get a chance to go out. For better or worse, this is just something that you get used to once you have kids. However, Mike Sorrell, an old friend of mine was in town and invited us to a special dinner concert that Oberlin College was holding at The Birdland Jazz Club. The invitation only event was hosted by the new president of Oberlin, Marvin Krislov, and featured the Oberlin Jazz Septet. Since I hadn’t seen Mike since our graduation from Oberlin almost twenty years ago, I made it a point to ask my moms to watch the kids for a few hours. I wanted to catch up with an old college buddy, and being a cheapskate, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to take my wife out at the same time. Continue reading “An Oberlin event: Out on the town with old friends”

3rd Annual New Media Conference: Coldfusion Guru confirmed

Coldfusion Guru: Michael DinowitzMichael Dinowitz, head of the NYC Coldfusion Users Group and owner of the House of Fusion (http://www.houseoffusion.com) will be presenting at the LaGuardia 3rd Annual New Media Conference. Outside of Abobe, there are few evangelists as dedicated as Michael to the spread of the Coldfusion language and the strengthening of the community. Michael has co-authored many of the best selling CF web application construction kits and videos. Continue reading “3rd Annual New Media Conference: Coldfusion Guru confirmed”

3rd Annual New Media Conference: Adobe is coming

Ali Hanyaloglu, Adobe Sr. Solutions Engineer discusses CS3

The planning for the 3rd Annual LaGuardia Community College New Media Technology conference is underway and Adobe has confirmed their attendance. The team from Adobe presented last year at our conference to a packed house and we are excited to have them back again. Adobe has agreed to present at both the morning and afternoon sessions. The morning session is going to focus on the creative and design applications in CS3 while the afternoon session is going to highlight the new CS3 video apps. Continue reading “3rd Annual New Media Conference: Adobe is coming”

Interns are a good thing!

The Interns

The Fall II semester is underway and I am already swamped. In addition to the two courses that I am teaching, and planning for the LaGuardia New Media conference in the spring, I also have to redesign the web sites for the New Media program and the CIS Department. Both sites need a serious update and there was no way that I could have completed the job by myself. Luckily I was able to get an intrepid band of interns to volunteer in assisting me to plan, design, and implement the new sites. Continue reading “Interns are a good thing!”

ePortfolio Capstone Research team: 1st week

Today was the first meeting of the LaGuardia ePortfolio Capstone research team. The purpose of the research group is to help develop a list of best practices for capstone courses at LaGuardia. I am fairly comfortable working with ePortfolio because I was part of the original research team and helped to flesh out some of the technical solutions that were needed to move the project forward. I was honored to be asked to participate in this new research effort. While we will be looking at capstone courses from LaGuardia as a whole, I think that many of the issues that we will be investigating in this research will also directly help me improve some of the course work within the New Media program. Continue reading “ePortfolio Capstone Research team: 1st week”

New Media Capstone course

Since being appointed the Program Director for LaGuardia’s New Media Technology degree I have started to make revisions to the overall curriculum. One of my priorities is in establishing a more effective capstone course for LaGuardia’s New Media program. The final capstone course in the major, the New Media Project Lab, is being restructured to better prepare students for transfer to a four year university or for employment. During the past semester I have focused heavily on developing new Continue reading “New Media Capstone course”

Thoughts on ePortfolios

My feelings on ePortfolio continue to evolve and adapt as new technologies and instructional schools of thought are developed. I am very lucky in the sense that Eportfolio is heavily tied into all of the courses in the New Media Technology Program. Within the New Media Program students are encouraged to develop digital expressions of their learning throughout their time at LaGuardia. Since professional portfolios are a mainstay in the New Media field, the development of a student centered ePortfolio is a natural and progressive step.

The development of a ePortfolio helps my students to think more intensely about their career goals and aspirations. Since the field of New Media Technology is rapidly expanding and morphing almost monthly, students are, Continue reading “Thoughts on ePortfolios”