Tag: CUNY

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CUNY SPS here I come!

SPS Faculty and Staff

Not many people know this yet, but starting in the Fall of 2013, I will be taking over the Academic Directorship of the Communications and Media (B.A.) program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS). It is a four year online degree program that offers an interdisciplinary focus on issues related to communications and the convergence between new and traditional media.

I had my first meeting today with the Deans and the other Academic Directors at SPS. In truth, I was a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reception that I received from everyone. I was offered the position a few month back and jumped at the opportunity because I believe that online programs are destined to play a big part in the future of education.

I was very happy and excited to meet my new colleagues and I look forward to helping them enhance an already amazing series of programs.

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The Periodic Program Review, or I’m down with PPR!

PPR

Every five to seven years academic degree programs in the CUNY system have to undergo a process called a Periodic Program Review (PPR). The PPR is an in depth look at the academic major under review from a programmatic,  institutional, and industry wide perspective. The ultimate goal of the PPR is to begin an honest review of the program effectiveness which will then be used to help to guide the evolution of the major for the next five to seven years. Because I am the sole full time New Media faculty member, the research and drafting of the report for the LaGuardia New Media Technology program became  Continue reading “The Periodic Program Review, or I’m down with PPR!”

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LaGuardia Online/Hybrid Teaching Seminar

The above video is from a brief overview that I gave to some of my colleagues at LaGuardia Community College. I was asked to talk about some of the work that I am doing in converting my lectures from a traditional classroom environment to an Online/hybrid setting. This Online/hybrid seminar is a year long group discussion sponsored by LaGuardia’s Center for Teaching and Learning to assist faculty into making the transition to online instruction.

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Just look at what the CAT dragged in!

In the fall of 2008, Peter Katopes Vice President of Academic Affairs at LaGuardia Community College) appointed me to the CUNY wide Committee for Academic Technology (CAT). I was asked to act as LaGuardia’s representative on all issues pertaining to the use of advanced technology in support of pedagogy. This assignment required me to attend monthly meetings and frequent sub-committee sessions to vote on issues of how technology should be adopted throughout CUNY. In addition to helping to support CUNY’s overall vision, I acted as LaGuardia’s liaison  to the CAT committee to insure that LaGuardia interests were fully represented. My involvement as a member of the CAT group required me to serve as a member on the CAT sub-committees for Blackboard and ePortfolio. I would like to believe that my participation was extremely valuable on these sub-committees due to my experience as LaGuardia’s initial Director of ePortfolio and my work with vendors like Concord and Blackboard to link disparate systems to support ePortfolio.

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Presentation: The 4th Annual CUNY Gen-Ed Conference

Yesterday I presented at the 4th Annual CUNY Gen-Ed Conference as part of a group of faculty focusing on ways in which cross campus communication can be improved between community colleges and senior institutions. As part of the year long seminar with colleagues from LaGuardia and Baruch, we decided to share our research and discussions by presenting at the Gen-Ed Conference. I have previous discussed this faculty seminar in one of my earlier posts. The conference presentation was memorable for me in that it was the first time in which my wife and I were able to present together.

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Times are a’ changing!

 

change-roadsign

I just found out that LaGuardia is going to be reorganizing the Computer Information Systems (CIS) department by merging the existing CIS programs with other departments throughout the college. The purpose of the reorganization is to improve overall departmental efficiency. The plan hasn’t been fully explained yet, but it was made clear that the students should not be impacted by shift since the majors will not be phased out, merely repositioned to other departments. We were also notified that the existing faculty will continue working for the college, we will just be teaching our courses in different departments.

All I can do for now is to keep teaching and keep a positive attitude. Change is always difficult. I know that better than some. But just like I tell my students, as long as you keep your skills up and work hard, you should never have to worry.

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ePortfolio Conference Planning

ePortfolio Conference Planning

I am starting to stress out just a little bit. You see over the next couple of days I have a series of presentations that I am giving at a major national conference LaGuardia is hosting. The conference, “Making Connections: ePortfolios, Integrative Learning and Assessment“, is on the topic of ePortfolios and how they can be utilized to assess student and institutional growth. Continue reading “ePortfolio Conference Planning”

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Hail Ceasor!!!

Now before you go telling me that I spelled the word “Caesar” incorrectly, let me explain. I woke up this morning to a ringing telephone. The wife and kids had gone to Easter service with my mom so I was actually able to sleep in late for a change. And as much as I love my mom, not even she can make me step inside of a church. But that is a story for another time. Anyway, the ringing phone woke me up. I hate waking up to the phone. Needless to say I was pissed. I was all set to flip out on whatever telemarketer had the balls to wake me up this early in the morning when all of a sudden I hear……

“Rock……what’s up my brother? It’s your boy Ceasor!” Continue reading “Hail Ceasor!!!”

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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.