What You're Doing, Where We're Going
Curious to see how other faculty are organizing their course sites? Check out Prof. Ikuyo Nakagawa’s ARTH 1108 – Art of Asia. The course site is cleanly laid out, with menus that make it especially easy for students to find the syllabus, schedule of classes, assignments, and quizzes & exams. Prof. Nakagawa will be adding information about museum visits and extra credit throughout the semester. The site structure is functional, intuitive, and clear. Check it out to see a great example!
Welcome back to all all who are returning to City Tech and the OpenLab! With the restart of the semester comes the restart of The Buzz, our student blogging site dedicated to all things City Tech. Our student bloggers write about everything from National Cookie Day to the magic of the universe. They give advice and take magnificent photographs. Get to know our team of top-rate writers and photographers, and stay tuned for posts from our newest members to the team — Samantha, who will blog about her full-time life pursuing her degree while parenting full-time; and Pamela, who will post tips and stories about professional development for her fellow students. Check back in throughout the semester for these posts and more from our amazing team of students on The Buzz!
Faculty members — Will you be planning spring courses over the winter break? Do you intend to use the OpenLab next semester? Would you like fresh ideas for your pedagogy? If so, check out L4: Living Lab Learning Library! L4 is a resource exchange for innovative teaching practices, where City Tech faculty can interact with each other and a community of educators at large. As the site says, the grant-funded project was designed to re-envision General Education as a “living laboratory” using City Tech’s signature strengths — hands-on experiential models of learning and our vibrant Brooklyn Waterfront location. Brought to you by the Gen Ed Seminar, the OpenLab, a Culture of Assessment, and the Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center, the site offers a one-stop shop for teaching and education resources — including tools for research and assessment. Want to learn more? Check out the site or contact L4 Coordinators Profs. Anna Matthews and Laura Westengard.
#TheGuide, a project from Professors Karen Goodlad and Laura Westengard, is a one-stop shop for tips, tricks, and advice about our CityTech campus and surrounding neighborhood. With posts from students about local wine, local businesses, and local attractions, it has everything a newcomer – or a CityTech veteran – would want to get oriented to the community. Check out their extensive list of dining options, their profile of CityTech amenities, and their advice for college survival, including time management and intellectual openness. And stay tuned for updates! Students will be adding even more to #TheGuide in coming weeks.
In Prof. Sandra Cheng’s ARTH1112 – Introduction to Film-Hybrid, students blog and comment about the films they watch. Check out their thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, and the 1978 version of Superman. For extra credit, they get to visit MoMA or the Museum of the Moving Image. And in case you need any movie recommendations over the holidays, look to the course home page for Prof. Cheng’s comments on the films they’re watching for class.
A class like COMD3523 – Storyboard Concepts feels like it was made to exist on the OpenLab. As students go about exploring visual storytelling in Prof. Davis’s section, they access the course site for readings, assignments, storyboard templates, and weekly recaps of lessons, complete with images, videos, and graphics. Check out the site to see what students have been up to in class, including learning to stage a set’s lighting by modeling for each other!
For ECON2505 – Environmental Economics, Profs. Diana Mincyte and Sean MacDonald have built a course site featuring reading assignments, exam materials, PowerPoint presentations, and extra credit options. You can see here, for example, their detailed instructions for a research project that their students will do. Students in the class also write weekly posts in response to their readings. And they’ll be able to use the site to post their final presentations and review each other’s work. See the site here for more!
In Our Places: How We Commemorate, students in Prof. Mary Sue Donsky’s course LAW 2301 Estates, Trusts and Wills, a research class, explore memorial sites of the deceased. Taking their legal study out of the classroom, they research and photograph these sites, taking a close look at the ways that we commemorate the dead. Then they share their learning and reflections with each other. Examples include memorials for celebrated baseball player Tony Gwynn, for the actress Anita Ekberg, and for those lost in 9/11. Take a look to see more.
English Composition I prepares students with the communication, research, and literacy skills that they need for their careers. For his section of the course, Professor Jason Ellis is using his OpenLab site to make course assignments more manageable for students. With each assignment he posts detailed instructions, a schedule of tasks, and a grading rubric. Students can also turn to the course site to find short writing assignments to complete in class. For fellow faculty, this site is a great example of how to use the OpenLab to clarify your assignments and expectations. Check it out!
In Profs. Karen Goodlad and Robert Dagorn’s course, students are learning about the art and science of wine making, blending, and tasting. They have recently made two visits to Red Hook Winery, where they were able to take part in the wine-making process and create their own blends to pair with a particular meal. You can view photos and read their reflections on this visit and the excellent hands-on experience they gained. If you’re lucky enough to visit the Janet Lefler Dining Room at the right time, you’ll be able to taste their blends!
The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.
