Author: Scott

Hawaiian green sea turtle by Dr. Donald B. MacGowan

Welcome Back!

First off, we hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing, sun-drenched break, and is all refreshed for the home stretch of the term.  Just a few things today…

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The OpenLab Launch!

Don’t forget about the OpenLab Launch, which will be this Thursday, April 19th. We’re terribly excited to have as our guest Jim Groom, a pioneer in instructional technology, with a “specific focus on curricula, pedagogical and technologically enhanced projects.”  That means–in less acedmic-speak–he’s a leader in creating and using digital academic platforms like the OpenLab.  And he’s a great speaker!   And there will be snacks!

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Featured Assignment:  My Infinity

In Jonas Reitz’ always interesting calculus course, his students are working on a project called ‘My Infinity.”  Here’s how Jonas describes the project:

We are embarking on a part of the course that deals with infinity — that is, with sequences (infinite lists of numbers) and series (infinite sums of numbers).  We are studying this idea in a rigorous mathematical way, but it is a concept that is important in many non-mathematical areas – religion, philosophy, art, and many more.  Almost every child, from shortly after they learn to count, has some idea of infinity.

To do this Jonas’ students are creating pages with personal descriptions, narratives and images that represent non-mathematical notions of infinity.  Check out Anthony Valdez’ here.  And yes, I think we all agree we would be better human beings if Jonas had been our Calculus teacher.

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Featured Tutorial:  Using Screen Options

As I remembered just this morning as I accidentally deleted a post, WordPress has a convenient way to recover revisions and older drafts of a page or post.  In newer versions of WordPress, however, that feature is hidden in the default setting.  To access it (and several other screen options), click the ‘Screen Options’ button in the upper right of the dashboard.

When that opens, you’ll see a set of options, one of which is ‘Revisions.’  Click that, and beneath your main post or page box you’ll see a list of various drafts appear.  Clicking on any of them will allow you to view, compare, or restore that draft.

Very simple, but a bit tucked away, so easy to miss!

As always, contact us with any questions.

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Featured Event:  “Blogging Inside and Outside the CUNY Classroom”

In CUNY Digital Humanities news, the Grad Center will be hosting a free event called “Blogging Inside and Outside the CUNY Classroom” on Tuesday, April 17th at 6 in room 5489.  Our friends Kevin Ferguson (Director, Writing at Queens, Queens College), Luke Waltzer(Assistant Director for Educational Technology, Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, Baruch College) and Mikhail Gershovich (Director, Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute; Coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum, Baruch College) will all be speaking and leading discussion.

(Image by Nikchick via Creative Commons)

As the term starts its inevitable wind-down, just a few reminders this week, and a best wishes for the upcoming break!

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OpenLab Launch Update

As mentioned before, the official coming out party for the OpenLab will take place on the 19th of April.  We’re terribly excited to have as our guest Jim Groom, a pioneer in instructional technology, with a “specific focus on curricula, pedagogical and technologically enhanced projects.”  That means–in less acedmic-speak–he’s a leader in creating and using digital academic platforms like the OpenLab.  And he’s a great speaker!   And there will be snacks!

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Featured Assignment

Earlier in March, Sandra Chang offered her students an interesting discussion topic concerning an issue that’s dear to us all–the question of copywright and ownership of online materials.   You can read the whole post here, but of particular interest is an article on photography and tumblr, which deals with how easy it is to share images on the internet.

Tumblr’s “reblog” function, which allows a user’s followers to repost a particular entry to their own Tumblr page, offers photographers a certain level of feedback on their images because they can track who likes their work and where it is shared. Reblogging makes Tumblr an “interesting social gauge of what the public is interested in,” says Weinberg.

Reblogging can also make photographers a bit queasy, however, because once an image is reblogged they essentially lose control of how and where their work is displayed. A particular entry can easily bounce around from Tumblr to Tumblr as users reblog it. Sacha Lecca, a Rolling Stone photo editor who maintains his own Tumblr, recently posted photographs he took on the set of amusic video shoot for The Strokes. The images were picked up by Tumblr blogs set up by Strokes fans, and from there his post “blew up,” he says, and was widely reblogged.

With Tumblr, he says, he is “embracing what has changed about photography. . . . The trade-off [of relinquishing control] is that it allows people who wouldn’t normally see my work to see it, and that’s all that’s really important to me. It may not be necessarily how I want my work to be seen, but at least they’re seeing it and appreciating it for some reason.” One of Pfluger’s images has more than 2,000 reblogs and comments.

These are critical questions for artists in the digital age, but their also critical for student and faculty users of the OpenLab, especially when we post our work, presentations, powerpoints, etc, in a public setting.  And don’t forget to check out Dr. Chang’s student comments!

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This Week’s Tutorial:  Google Maps Plug-in

Our Google Maps plug-in allows users to embed google maps into posts and pages.   If you’ve used wordpress in other settings before (wordpress.com, for example), you’ll want to look through this tutorial because the embedding process might be a little different than you’re used to.  A little different, but very simple.  You can learn more and see the tutorial here.  And as always, contact us with any questions!

Image by Steve Velo via Creative Commons.

This week we’d like to start by mentioning that our very own Elizabeth Alsop, OpenLab Community Team Member and all around wonder, has accepted a tenure track position in the great state of Kentucky (doubtless singlehandedly causing Kentucky’s ongoing NCAA tournament success).  We’re terribly sorry to have her leave us, but are also excessively proud of her.   Congratulations, Elizabeth!

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Upcoming Workshops

Just as a reminder, there is an evening OpenLab workshop for students on Wednesday of this week (the 28th).   It will be held at 6pm in 540A in the Library.  Hope to see you there.  Please RSVP to be sure to have a spot.

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Featured Assignment:  The OpenLab Investigates The OpenLab

We very much encourage you to follow the assignment Matt Gold has given his Introduction to Poetry Class.  Not only is it an interesting project in its own right, but you soon might find yourself involved:  Professor Gold’s students will explore other class sites and will leave comments on posts and pages they find interesting.  If you are a student or professor, please write back–we love to see dialogue between courses on the OpenLab, it’s one of the key unique elements of our platform.

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Featured Tutorial:  The Rotating Gallery

The Rotating Gallery is a simple plug in that allows a user to have a (you guessed it!) rotating gallery of images appear in one of the sidebars of their site.  Each time a visitor refreshes or visits a new page, the image will change, giving them an appealing overall sense of the site activity.  Here’s a screenshot of the final result:

MORE THAN 2000 USERS!

We here at the OpenLab promised ourselves we wouldn’t brag every week anymore about how quickly our community is growing, but we need this week to take a second to celebrate our latest milestone:  As of this writing, there are 2,094 active members of the OpenLab!  We couldn’t be prouder of the way the CityTech Community has so quickly coalesced behind the OpenLab, and we look forward to meeting our next thousand members, and the thousand after that, and the thousand after that…

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

As we mentioned a week or so ago, there are a full slate of OpenLab workshops scheduled for the rest of this term.  There are workshops for faculty and for students, and the workshops address a variety of subjects, from getting started to more advanced issues.  Check out the posters around the campus and just above for more information, and contact us to sign-up.

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WEEKLY TUTORIAL:  CONTACT FORM 7

Contact Form 7 is way of allowing visitors and users to contact you that is simple yet flexible (in wordpress that usually means there’s a simple set-up for people who want simple, and complexity for people who want complexity).  On the OpenLab, this plug-in is probably most useful to clubs and projects, particularly those who have visitors from outside the CityTech OpenLab community.  Here’s a screenshot of the final result:

We’re a little late this week, since we spent the weekend at the AWP conference in Chicago, which was wonderful and which had us thinking (again) about teaching and writing and technology, particularly creative writing, but really any writing, and then…

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Announcing the Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy!

Speaking of teaching and digital platforms, the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Certificate Program at the Graduate Center has released the first issue of JiTP, its new online journal.  It’s just grand:  a nice blend between the theoretical and the practical.  If you’re looking for ways to think about teaching with digital platforms, or just looking for good ideas for classes, it’s something to watch.  It’s particularly great to see the section ‘Teaching Fails.’  A great title and great concept.  This issue, Bill Kules writes about a particularly ineffective assignment, and what can be learned from it… and our own Charlie Edwards and Matt Gold are involved!

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This Week’s Tutorial

This week, we’re featuring WP Polls, a site that allows a course, club or project to ask a question or questions of members or students.  The poll have as many answers as you like, can appear in a sidebar, post or page.  The tutorial is here.  And as always, email us if you have any questions!