You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Academic’ tag.
It’s free!
I ended my last post with hoping that iPad works with Blackboard. It does, and I give it a solid B+/A.
I have used my iPad for reading my textbooks, accessing both my courses, opening all the links, folders, assignments, discussion boards and everything else that I need on Blackboard. By clicking on “Quick View”‘, I can create and reply to threads on Discussion Board. I am not sure if Quick View is something that needs to be enabled by the instructor. Both of my courses have that option. If you do not see it on the lower left side of the menu bar below Tools, ask your instructor to add it.
If you plan to post a long DB entry, I do not recommend typing directly into the comment box. The scroll feature with the comment box does not work on the iPad. If your entry is long, you cannot see all of it – only the amount of text that fits in the comment box is viewable. So, if you want to see what you wrote in the first paragraph and you are already on paragraph four, you cannot see or access paragraph one. It is there; you just cannot see it. You can click preview post and view it that way, but you cannot edit it unless the portion that needs to be edited is in the comment box. This is a bit hard to explain, so you may have to find out the hard way yourself.
As I said I would do in my last blog post, I purchased the Pages app for $9.99. It permits me to create a Word-type document, edit it, save it and seamlessly email it to myself so I can download it to a computer and then upload it into Blackboard. It is not as difficult or convoluted as it may sound. There is no “desktop” on the iPad and I have not yet found a way of uploading my saved Pages document directly into Blackboard. I also have not mastered “copy and paste” yet. It is kind of hard on a touchpad.
An added benefit to the Pages app is that I can open all Word documents in Blackboard – even Word 2007. Without Pages, I could open some but not all of them. Now, any Word document that otherwise does not open in Blackboard opens automatically in Pages. I am still undecided about buying the Numbers (Excel) app. I was able to open an Excel spreadsheet on Blackboard without it.
I am typing this blog post in Pages and I will email it to myself, download it to my desktop and copy the text into WordPress. The reasons are the same as for Blackboard – the comment box issue and my copy and paste issues on iPad. As an aside, The SPS Community Blog looks great on the iPad. But, posting comments to someone else’s blog entry does not work. Take care of that please, WordPress people?
Dr. Helft graciously commented on my last post and offered to look into making Blackboard more accessible to the iPad and spreading the word among faculty. In a follow-up email, she expressed some issues with the current version of Blackboard but advised that those would be addressed in the next upgrade. Thank you Dr. Helft. I am sure that the iPad will be used much more frequently with Blackboard and I am sure that by the time the next Blackboard version is available, it will be completely user-friendly with iPad and other tablets. Maybe even an app version will be ready.
Does anyone use an iPad or another tablet with Blackboard? How do you like it?
Mary Casey is a student in the MS in Business Leadership and Management program at CUNY School of Professional Studies and is an alumnae of Lehman College. She is an administrator for a university in NYC. She loves to travel and wants to see as much of the world as possible. Mary hopes to get more comments on the SPS blog than she received on the community/political blog that she created and maintained from 2002 to 2004.
All the time I went to school, from 1st grade through college, I loved school supplies. The best part of late August was buying the new notebooks, loose leaf binders, pens, markers, protractors and everything else that went along with the new school year. Of course, all the new toys needed a nice home and the highlight was the new book bag. My love of school supplies carried over to when my kids went through school, although everything was more expensive, fancier and complicated.
When I started SPS last year, I bought e-textbooks and printed out the chapters one by one so I could read them while I commuted to work. Although the e-textbook was less expensive, I didn’t have to carry a heavy book, and I was spared the ordeal of trying to sell it back at the end of the semester. I spent a lot of time, killed a lot of trees and went through many ink cartridges.
At the end of the spring semester, I decided to buy a tablet. After some research, I learned that the online textbook vendor had an app only for the iPad, so that is what I purchased. I tried it with Blackboard and found that it was useful only if the instructor enabled “Quick View”. So, at first I used it mostly for email and web surfing.
I quickly discovered the joys of downloading e-books from the public library and caught up on all my fun summer reading – everything from the Peoples’ History of the United States to the Stieg Larsson trilogy to trashy summer novels. I downloaded a bunch of classics for free (the complete works of Shakespeare, the Canterbury Tales, The Divine Comedy and many other books I owned but were lost in a fire years ago). Have you tried to check out a classic from the library recently? They are dusty, they smell and the pages feel funky.
Last week, I took the plunge and downloaded my fall textbooks. It took a little trial and error and there are limitations on how many chapters can be downloaded at one time (I bought the cheaper wireless-only version of the iPad and not the 3G model), but it worked! I began reading my Economics and Marketing textbooks off-line while commuting to and from work. When I don’t feel like reading on the bus, I can do the USA Today crossword puzzle without an Internet connection via its app.
Although typing on the iPad takes some getting used to, I will download the Pages app for $9.99 and see if I can delay replacing my ancient and slow iBook.
Many critics call the iPad an expensive toy, a frivolous waste of money and a glorified smartphone. However, it has made my life so much easier and I can’t imagine going to school or doing business without one. Can you?
Now, lets hope it works with Blackboard . . .
Mary Casey is a student in the MS in Business Leadership and Management program at CUNY School of Professional Studies and is an alumnae of Lehman College. She is an administrator for a university in NYC. She loves to travel and wants to see as much of the world as possible. Mary hopes to get more comments on the SPS blog than she received on the community/political blog that she created and maintained from 2002 to 2004.
The recent Eurozone sovereign-debt crisis has caused a serious dilemma for not only the weaker economies of the European Union within the Eurozone, but also the stronger ones. Germany, the fifth largest economy in the world and one of the leading EU countries has played a big role in the attempts to solve this crisis, which has put it in a bit of a rough position in its internal political sphere in regards to bailouts for countries like Greece, Portugal and Ireland, and the possibility of future default, yet has also given it an advantage in influencing the economic policies of weaker Eurozone countries who are dependent on bailout money. After many deliberations amongst EU leaders, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was approved, which will replace the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) upon its expiry in June 2013.
The ESM is meant to safeguard financial stability within the Eurozone and provide assistance to Eurozone member states who are experiencing financial distress. Starting in June 2013, all new sovereign bonds will include a Collective Action Clause (CAC), which will enable creditors to pass a decision, based on a majority vote, to change the terms of payment through application of a standstill, an extension of maturity or an interest-rate cut/haircut in the case of insolvency. The purpose of the ESM is essentially to make default less risky for creditor countries. The problem is that this doesn’t solve the problem of the heavily indebted economies of Greece, Portugal and Ireland and their subsequent affect on other, stronger Eurozone economies such as Germany.
One obvious flaw in the ESM is the fact that it’s just not enough to fix the problem; the fund amounts to €700 billion, allowing for a €500 billion loaning capability, of which each member country will contribute €80 billion each in annual installments that begin in 2013 while the rest will be made through guarantees, direct purchases of government bonds in the primary market or what Wolfgang Münchau has called “callable capital” – when shareholders supply the depleted fund with new capital – a highly unlikely scenario. A mere €500 billion will not cover the debt problem of Greece by itself, let alone that of Ireland, Portugal and other countries teetering on the brink of a debt crisis such as Italy and Spain whose economies simply cannot afford to be further burdened with bailouts for another member state. Furthermore, the ESM fails to tackle some of the most pressing issues regarding the restructuring of the financial systems of all the Eurozone countries that are suffering financially, something that is needed if this crisis is ever going to be settled in the near future.
Eurozone countries with AAA ratings, which are limited to Germany and France, have devised a get-out-of-jail-free card of sorts: the privilege to not have to actually put up the cash for the fund but simply give a guarantee. This will certainly work to their advantage but that at the same time will work toward the demise of the weaker economies, who do not get such a privilege, which seems likely to produce those awful long-run effects that any economics student is so often advised to avoid. It is understandable that Germany and France do not wish to be burdened with the debt of the fiscally irresponsible, if it can be said that simply, yet nonetheless, a customs union/partial economic-union bears with it certain responsibilities and certain burdens, a fact that is always in direct competition with the social welfare programs of the participating countries and thus, will produce a political nightmare for those involved. But if Germany and France allow this circle of debt to continue (Italy backing Spain backing Greece backing Portugal backing Ireland, etc.…) at some point, the bubble will burst and they will be forced to fork over the money and commit political suicide or let the whole Eurozone economy collapse. In the meantime, speculation may kill any chance that the weaker countries have of digging themselves out of the hole, only deepening the problem even more. As an example, Portugal’s government bond rating went from an A- to a BBB after the announcement of the ESM in March, pushing Portugal ever closer to the abyss of dire insolvency.
This does not mean that the ESM is a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s a step in the right direction, but it fails to promote stability amongst Eurozone countries and burdens those who are already on the brink of financial collapse. Countries whose fiscal problems have led them to the point where they must tap into the ESM will be forced to follow “pro-cyclical budgetary policies”, whose tactics of budget cuts and tax increases may not necessarily work to the advantage of the country in question. Another reason that this might cause problems is the fact that a decrease in the money supply of any given country produces a rise in interest rates and a subsequent appreciation of the currency. The last thing that any debt-stricken Eurozone country needs at the moment is an increase in the Euro, which is too strong for many of the weak countries to handle. Of course, the CAC allows for interest rate cuts, but these must be approved by a majority vote, and speculation damages must be taken into consideration; if investors start pulling out due to interest rate cuts, this would also increase the problem.
Another suggestion that has seen some media time has been that of a single European Bond that would replace all national debt in the Eurozone. This prospect was heavily advocated by Wolfgang Münchau in an article for the Financial Times; the flexibility that would be offered by such a mechanism, including the option to be sold and traded on secondary markets could provide an alternative to “cross-country transfers”. Alas, this option might be an even more difficult sell on the internal political scene since combining Germany and France’s AAA bonds with those of the less fortunate is not something that either of the former would be too keen on, and in fact, the idea was shot down by the German Finance Minister in 2009.
Unfortunately, the Eurozone is between a rock and a hard place. Germany’s economy is running strong but the struggling economies of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy are in dire need of a revamp. The most important thing for the EU to do right now is to jump in to the gritty task of restructuring the failed financial and economic systems of these countries and demand that the government’s of these countries make a serious effort to stabilize, organize and amend their economic and financial infrastructures in a way that will help them to work their way out of the crisis slowly (Buiter et al.). This will be no easy task and will demand the active participation of all debt-ridden Eurozone countries. The future may seem bleak but at some point, the Eurozone countries will be forced to a point where they will have to stop “muddling through”, as Münchau calls it, and take a decisive action. Just what this action may entail remains to be seen.
Nina Michael is in her junior year in the BS in Business program at CUNY School of Professional Studies. Nina has been all over the world and loves traveling; she currently lives between Italy and New York where she works as a professional English teacher and translator. She loves languages, food, coffee, wine and a good book; she is also a first-rate bartender.
As each of us navigates our respective CUNY SPS programs, we have almost certainly constructed opinions of the benefits and drawbacks inherent in online learning. Overall I have been extremely pleased with the Online M.S. in Business Management and Leadership Program and would assert that any losses derived through the online learning experience are far outweighed by the gains. As with any program in its infancy stage, changes and adjustments are administered to optimize the program for the betterment of the students, the faculty, and the university.
If you are like me, you’ve engaged in conversations about your program with fellow classmates. Topics of discussion may have been the possibility of student-professor communication gap, the necessity of taking prerequisites, the difficulty of managing a challenging school workload, or perhaps none of these issues. What is indispensable is that students give constructive feedback to the professors and the University. This substantive feedback is crucial in improving the totality of the online learning experience at our University. One student’s comments may not possess the impetus to nudge an issue in a different trajectory but there very well may be other students who share a similar need, criticism, or suggestion.
Last semester a certain professor requested that each student upload his or her photo as part of the initial “introduction assignment” with points attached for completing the task. It turns out that the photo-from-students directive was derived from students who had submitted the suggestion. As anyone in an online program can attest to, fellow students are merely names that we see constantly and post responses to continually. They are never individuals who sit in the adjacent row; this is not a traditional classroom setting nor is it intended to be. We rarely meet the person behind the name; what does this “name” look like? There is always a cognitive gap that we subconsciously fill in with details. So the photo suggestion helped to bridge the name-person gap, and it was the product of student feedback – although not every professor requests this.
As our program’s maturation process continues, we all play a role in that progression. The program will not remain static but will evolve over time. Without our presence the program would not exist. Sooner than later, in the scheme of life, we will become alumni to our University. It is incumbent upon all of us to maximize our experience and help facilitate the necessary adjustments that will make our program a valuable and enjoyable endeavor for current and future students.
John Brigantino is a graduate student in the Master of Science in Business Management & Leadership Program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. He enjoys writing, non-fiction books, traveling and the many cultural and leisure experiences Manhattan has to offer.
Employers are coming around. More and more HR practitioners are realizing that college graduates from online programs, especially those who studied online through a well-known, “brick and mortar” college with a strong reputation, are just as qualified as their counterparts with traditional degrees. According to a SHRM poll released in August 2010, 19% of HR professionals surveyed “strongly agree” and 68% “agree” online degrees are viewed more favorably today than five years ago.
It’s up to students and graduates to show & tell prospective employers how their online credentials add up. Think about these tips when you’re putting together a resume and overcoming objections in a job interview:
1. Talk up the Tech. Explain the format of online courses, and how the necessity of developing and using social media skills makes you ahead of others in areas of emerging technology. By interacting regularly in a virtual context, you’re prepared to connect within today’s global marketplace that may be solely web-based.
2. Diversity and Global Perspective. Since faculty and classmates are many times located outside of your geographical area, you have exposure to a more diverse group of ideas and mindsets. You’re learning and engaging within a global environment, which is a perspective that transfers well to any professional environment.
3. Online does not equal easy. Not everyone can be successful in online classes. Self-discipline, self-motivation and time-management are crucial. Learning how to juggle competing life, family, work and school priorities is very valuable in the professional world. The amount of reading is intense as well, so having the ability to remain focused and proactive with required assignments also develops naturally for an online learner.
4. Communication skills are top-notch. Because so much of online coursework is discussion-based with fellow classmates and instructors, students sharpen and expand written communication skills throughout their program – not just in writing-based courses and research projects.
5. You are CUNY. The School of Professional Studies is part of the nation’s leading public urban institution. It is important to point out the CUNY’s prestigious faculty, excellent scholarly reputation, as well as the full accreditation by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Associations of Colleges and Schools in 2010.
Companies and organizations are becoming more aware of the value of online degrees, and web-based learning is becoming more and more prevalent. It will be up to you – online students & alumni – to properly market these competencies and perform up to those expectations.
Have you heard any objections from employers to your unique online education? I invite you to comment with these challenges. I also hope you’ll share some more ideas about how you think SPS students can articulate your outstanding online qualifications.
Shannon Gallo is the Manager of Career Services at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. When she’s not helping others achieve their career dreams, she’s cheering on the West Virginia Mountaineers.
In today’s corporate world, people are hired and fired on a daily basis. There is a transient nature to this ever-evolving process; I may be here today but could be gone tomorrow. People attempt to stitch together the semblance of a career while trying to maintain the perception of loyalty to their current employers. We often remain vigilant to the next position possibility, and the reasons are numerous, but often these reasons are rooted in consistent themes: an opportunity came along that I just cannot pass on; I have a desire for more money, and I deserve it; my manager is simply unrealistic, unreasonable, and unbearable – it is just time to go! Regardless of these valid motivations, one consistent reality remains unchanged; we are each CEO of our own company: Me, Inc.
In a sense, we are all just free agents in an ever-changing job market paradigm. But as free agents we each carry certain notable attributes along with us, many of which are intangible. It’s incumbent upon each of us to ask ourselves: What do I want my brand to be? What are the qualities of my brand that differentiate me from my competition? Everything matters: our educational level attained, our ability to communicate in verbal and written form, our choice of wardrobe, and our ability to work and play well with others.
We have sufficient control over most of these. What we do not have control over is the manner in which they are perceived, and perception – in marketing – is everything. The best approach to mitigate this reality is to contemplatively observe and critically analyze each segment of our brand: Me, Inc. More than likely we are stronger in certain areas than in others, and can strengthen our shortcomings to become a more formidable brand overall.
Utilizing LinkedIn or writing a blog are channels to market oneself and assist in constructing a solid foundation for the mosaic that composes who we are as individuals. Gaining new expertise, developing new capabilities, increasing our colleague set, and constantly reinventing ourselves as a brand are critical in the process of brand strengthening. The sooner we begin viewing ourselves as individual brands, the better positioned we will become in reaching success in whichever career path we find ourselves on.
John Brigantino is a graduate student in the Master of Science in Business Management & Leadership Program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. He enjoys writing, non-fiction books, traveling and the many cultural and leisure experiences Manhattan has to offer.
Have you heard your cellphone ring in the last couple of days? Do you have a “house phone”? Do you even use ringtones for calls anymore? I know I cannot answer yes to any of these questions. With the rise of smartphones over the last few years there has been a decline in actual telephone usage, not that we didn’t see that coming. But why have we become so dependent on them and so quickly as well? Having had a smart phone in one form or another for over four years now I don’t know if I could ever go back to a “normal” phone ever again, nor do I think those types of phones that we once knew will ever be back on the rise again. The new smartphones are great with all the helpful apps – whether it’s an iPhone, Blackberry or another type of device. But with the gain of all this new technology in our phones, have we lost the actual point of a phone to begin with- talking to people?
I have to admit, I am a lover of the Blackberry Messenger feature and texting people who are all over the world and country – but even my own mother would rather text me before she’d call me up. And we live in the same house! Don’t get me wrong I do occasionally get a phone call here or there but I feel as though we as a society have moved away from hearing someone’s voice. Even with the rise in emailing over the last few years I have been wondering if we will remember what people actually sound like versus just what we think they do. Personally I have always been one to be attached to my phone or computer as if it were the last day on earth, but this past week for one of my classes we had to keep a media diary for one day of how much time we spent using different products. Whether it was our cellphones, computers, checking emails, or talking on the phone. I was more than surprised by the results that I received by the end of the day. I spend about 10 hours combined on all of my devices – though not continuously. I cannot speak for anyone but myself but I think I need to do something that doesn’t involve technology. For starters I have been keeping up with actually reading books in print and not from a device and yesterday I decided that I was going to try a new recipe a friend have given me.
Do you think you spend too much time consumed by technology? What about actually calling someone up today? In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, surprise someone you love with a phone call and let them hear your voice!
Louise Marie Russo is currently an undergrad at The School of Professional Studies majoring in Communication and Culture. She enjoys traveling, cooking, baking, photography as well as volunteering. Her goal one day is to work with a non-profit organization advocating for the homeless population of New York City and one day publishing a book of photography.
When we look around we can see culture and many aspects of it. Since attending the CUNY School of Professor Studies and being in the process of going for a B.A in Communication and Culture, I am learning a great deal about culture and how it shapes us and the world around us. Culture is something that we are all a part of in some way and it molds our personalities and our lives. Culture can involve something as simple as the clothes we wear all the way to our daily routines. It makes us who we and what we are. Sometimes we don’t even realize that what we do and don’t do is because of our culture. Culture and diversity go together and aides us in sharing our world with the people around us. Growing up and reaching adulthood, our culture is shaping who we are, we are exposed to it as a young age and our personal beliefs and goals may transform but our culture will always be with us, somewhere.
Since taking classes about culture, I started thinking about how diverse New York is and much how much culture there is in this state. I enjoy seeing so many ethnic groups all joined together in one place. It is amazing to have the opportunity to get to know people for who they are as human beings. When looking around, I am able to see and speak to individuals from other parts of the world. They share their heritage with me and I share mine with them as well. I think that differences in culture bring people together and it shows us that although we are different, we are the same in many ways. Taking a little time to get to know people that don’t share your beliefs and customs is imperative; it makes other more aware of the differences that we all share.
Culture is a enormous part of the world today and it has had lasting effect on the world. Culture can be taught to us at a young age but it also can be picked up by our surroundings and our environment. Taking culture targeted classes has educated me about the impact that culture has on the world. Before reading and learning more, I never really thought about culture. But now I am able to see the bigger picture of how unique different cultures are.
I think it is great to praise diversity and to get to know people outside of our culture. When I walk around my neighborhood, I can observe different people all coming from different backgrounds and holding true to their cultures. Living in a state with such diversity, where the people are all dissimilar helps to understand the true meaning of culture. I am eager to take more Communication class at the CUNY School of Professional Studies and gain more knowledge about the world around me. I encourage you all to try to meet new people with different cultures, share your ideas with them and bring the world closer together, because deep down we are all the same.
Amy Bolick is a Communication and Culture major at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. She enjoys reading, traveling and writing. Her goal is to one day be an author of children’s books so she can educate children and teach them life lessons.
