OpenLab @ Tech Day

We’re excited to be presenting at Tech Day @ City Tech on Wednesday, March 18!  We’ll be in room G-604, from 11:45am-12:45pm.

For our interactive session, “City Tech’s OpenLab: Enhancing the College Experience through Open Digital Technologies,” we’ll be exploring the sites below as a way of thinking through how to enhance the college experience (in the classroom, in our community, and among peers).

ENG 2426: Science Fiction

There’s a lot happening on Prof. Jill Belli’s Science Fiction course site, which is well-structured so it’s easy to explore and access specific information and resources.  The site is very active, with frequent student posts and interaction in the comments sections.  There are also some great discussions generated in the Class Discussion Posts, where conversation is extended beyond class time.  You can tell from reading through any of these comment threads that students are very engaged with the material they’re studying, as well as their classmates’ ideas.  Each week the class votes on which student post they think should be featured on the site, and the winner is chosen as the People’s Choice Post of the week. We also love that the course avatar (pictured above) was created by a student in the class, Andrew Dutt.

FIRST YEAR LEARNING COMMUNITY: ”The Art of Food” HMGT1203/1204 & ARTH1100

“The Art of Food” is an exciting learning community between Professor Garcelon’s Culinary I, Professor Jacus’s Baking & Pastry I, and Professor Cheng’s History of Photography courses.  In their course, their students explore whether or not it’s possible to appreciate food like a work of art and how food can be viewed in terms of aesthetic categories like beauty and taste.  The course site is very dynamic and very well-structured with great multimedia assignments from photographing food texture to blogging about Civil War soldier’s diets and foods that would be impossible to live without!  Take a look and enjoy!

#TheGuide

#TheGuide project, organized by Professor Karen Goodlad in the Hospitality Management department and Professor Laura Westengard in the English department, and created by their students, offers the OpenLab community a friendly neighborhood guide to local resources ranging from information about college skills, to tours of Brooklyn Bridge Park, to where to find the best local grub! This site is very well-organized and makes good use of widgets in the right-hand sidebar. Just check out all of those great categories! This site is a great example of how collaborative work done on the OpenLab can benefit the entire City Tech community.

The Buzz

The Buzz is the blog for our excellent group of student bloggers, who are writing on a wide variety of topics, including fashion, food, NYC events and activities, and more.  This semester the group also includes a few photobloggers who will be posting and writing about their photographs.  There are new posts nearly every day, as well as an active comments section.  Check it out, and leave a comment!

Biological Sciences Department

The Biological Sciences Department has created an excellent site on the OpenLab, which is full of resources, news, and helpful information.  It’s well-structured so that everything is easy to find, both on the home page, and in the top menu.  They also have a helpful feed of upcoming departmental events and deadlines in the sidebar.  Take a look!

In the Spotlight: Biological Sciences Department

The Biological Sciences Department has created an excellent site on the OpenLab, which is full of resources, news, and helpful information.  It’s well-structured so that everything is easy to find, both on the home page, and in the top menu.  They also have a helpful feed of upcoming departmental events and deadlines in the sidebar.  Take a look!

In the Spotlight: ENG 2420: Science Fiction

Prof. Jill Belli’s Science Fiction course site has a lot happening, and is well-structured so it’s easy to explore and access specific information and resources.  The site is very active, with frequent student posts and interaction in the comments sections.  There are also some great discussions generated in the Class Discussion Posts, where conversation is extended beyond class time.  You can tell from reading through any of these comment threads that students are very engaged with the material they’re studying, as well as their classmates’ ideas.  Each week the class votes on which student post they think should be featured on the site, and the winner is chosen as the People’s Choice Post of the week. We also love that the course avatar (pictured above) was created by a student in the class, Andrew Dutt.

In the Spotlight: Culinary Improvisation

Students in Prof. Claire Stewart’s Culinary Improvisation course are reflecting on their cooking techniques and the foods they use for weekly improvisational challenges in the kitchen.  We were impressed with the detailed descriptions of their process, accompanied by photographs they took themselves.  By reading through their posts and comments they’ve made on each other’s work, you get a sense of the community they’re building in the class.  Take a look at what they’re up to, but with a warning that it might make you hungry!

This Week in the OpenLab: March 4th Edition

This week we wanted to let our new student community team introduce themselves!  Check them out below, and don’t forget to follow The Buzz for all their wonderful work.

Jean-Luc

Hello I’m Jean-Luc Antoine, I am a student majoring in Bioinformatics. The program is pretty challenging but what I particularly like about it, is that it’s a link between computer science and biology. City Tech has been my school for quite a few semesters now, so far I’ve had an agreeable experience. Further more, I’ve invested time at getting involve in clubs and other fun extracurricular activities at the school to ameliorate my experience and meet new people. The OpenLab is where I get to display one my passion which is photography. I see photography as an art enabling me to express my creative and artistic self, in the most profound and meaningful ways.

____________________

1003415_10152016836448642_27970138_n
Hello All! My name is Amoni B, Owner of Vive Entertainment Enterprises, LLC. I am a Brooklyn native and I have been enrolled in City Tech for some time, obtaining my Associates of the Arts and Sciences in Electromechanical Engineering Technology. Now I am retrieving my certificate in Interactive Media Technologies (Entertainment Technology). ​I LOVE the hands-on knowledge, the technological tasks, and the modern prototyping and visuals. This year I am president of the  Printmakers Club, an actress and creative collaborator in City Tech’s Spring production “Fallen Sparrow,” and of course a blogger on City Tech’s THE BUZZ. I am an published freelancer that partakes activism and anything to deal with beauty, fashion and entertainment.
____________________
IMG_20150302_224209~2

Hi, I’m Shawn Brumell. Currently a senior at City College of Technology, I’m majoring in Communication Design Management. For the last year, I’ve been working at the Queens Museum, as a Visitor Agent. Part of my job entails being a tour guide, explainer, and a researcher, who comes up with brand new ways of getting more people to attend the museum. With a passion for writing and designing, I hope to continue in a field that allows me to express both, once I graduate.

_______________________
 315be55
Hi! My name is Jessica Deng and I am currently pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management. I love this program because it encompasses all things related to hospitality from food to marketing to hotels to wine and much more than you can possibly think of. I am currently working as a Marketing Associate in a commercial real estate firm, focusing primarily on social media marketing and administrative duties.
When I am not in school or work, I am working on my personal food blog – Ambitious Eats, where I share my growing passion for food or out exploring new foods and restaurants in The Big Apple. I am a food enthusiast and social media guru. I’m a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY. I am thrilled to be a student blogger for Openlab and look forward to sharing with you my passion and love for food.
_________________________
Processed with VSCOcam
Hi, my name is Konyca Francis. I am a Liberal Arts and Electromechanical Engineering major. I’ve been living in brooklyn over five years now. Originally I’m from the beautiful Island of Grenada. As an aspiring photographer most of my spare time is spent exploring the city and capturing images with friends.
_____________________

FullSizeRender

Hi, my name is Amanda Marmol and I am currently a sophomore here at New York City College of Technology, majoring in Law and Paralegal Studies. I love the program not only because I am aspiring to becoming an attorney but I appreciate the fact that you get a “taste” of different types of laws. For example, Real Estate Law, Family Law and everyone’s favorite, Criminal Law! With your interest in certain classes it makes your decision easier for you when it comes to what kind of paralegal or maybe even attorney you will like to become. Aside from doing so much reading/studying for my classes I try to maintain a fun/social life. I enjoy blogging on Tumblr which drew my interest to becoming a blogger here on Open Lab for The Buzz. My main task is to encourage many of you to take a step out of your studies and have fun! As a law student, I am aware of how overwhelming things get throughout the semester and sometimes you just need one day to yourself to do something exciting/adventurous. This is why I post about many events and activities that can be done here in the city that most of us are unaware of. Oh, and did I mention that I actually attend most of these activities? Yes, not only will you get references to places but you will also get my opinion on it.  I’ll stop chatting now, go check out The Buzz and get to having fun!

_________________________

Mandy Mei

Mandy is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys trying new activities, exploring out of the country, and learning about other languages and cultures, and making art for gallery exhibitions.

She is currently a part of the Faculty Commons Design Team at City Tech and freelancing in design, illustration, and wall murals. In the past she has worked for Infor‘sHook&Loop team, Made in NY Media Center by IFPOuchi Gallery, and New Tech Times at City Tech.
_______________________

Pastry Arts

Hello, my name is Brianna Vasquez and I am currently a sophomore majoring in Hospitality Management at New York City College of Technology. I hope to become a pastry chef and share random stories of food with others through Citytech’s The Buzz. During my free time, I enjoy swimming, reading, watching hockey and many other hobbies. But I love baking and making people happy by way of food. I would like to think that many will be interesting in the topics of posts as well as the stories put into them. I can’t wait to read and comment everyone’s posts in the future. Happy Posting!

In the Spotlight: Bridges to the Baccalaureate

We’re excited to see both Bridges to the Baccalaureate, and the program it’s part of, Strengthening Research Interactions through Digital Expressions (STRIDE), on the OpenLab!  STRIDE provides a digital space for student and faculty research resources, and the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program provides academic support and research mentoring to associates degree students in Biology, Chemistry, or Psychology, who will transfer to Brooklyn College to finish their degrees.  Their well-designed site includes plenty of information on the program, and visitors can download the Bridges brochure and application forms.  Students who are interested in applying should do so by their February 28 deadline!

This Week in the OpenLab: February 24th Edition

We have had a recent release on the OpenLab, which includes a few new features and plug-ins we think you might be interested in! Here are the important details:

_________________

PAPERCITE

Screen Shot 2015-02-24 at 7.49.27 AM

We have installed the most recent version of the Papercite plug-in, which allows users to upload and display bibtex files on a page or post. You can see an example above, and find out more about the plug-in here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/papercite/

_________________

THE EVENTS CALENDAR

We have also installed a new calendar plug-in! The Events Calendar is far more robust. According to its developers: “The Events Calendar is built to work out of the box: it doesn’t use a shortcode (nor is one available). Just turn it on, configure the settings to match your needs and you’ll be making events within less than 5 minutes.”  It includes the following features (and far more):

  • Rapidly create events
  • Saved venues & organizers
  • Calendar month view with tooltips
  • List view
  • Event search
  • Google maps
  • Widget: Upcoming events
  • Events Taxonomies (Categories & Tags)
  • Completely ajaxified for super smooth browsing
  • Completely responsive from mobile to tablet to desktop

You can watch a video tutorial about it as well!

________________

EXPIRE STICKY POSTS

Screen Shot 2015-02-24 at 12.58.47 PM

As simple as it comes. A simple plugin that allows you to set an expiration date on posts. Once a post is expired, it will no longer be sticky. Once you activate the plug-in, you’ll see the field appear at the bottom of the “publish” field.

 _______________

OPENLAB GRADE COMMENTS

Screen Shot 2015-02-24 at 3.27.28 PM

Ok, this is not a new plug-in, but we have added a new feature to one of our existing plug-ins.  When you grade a post, you’ll see it appear in a “grade” column on the post page of your site, which will make end of term grading far simpler–simply search for a student name, and the grades will appear!

That’s all for this week, and as always, email us with any questions!

In the Spotlight: Health Psychology

PSY3405: Health Psychology

Prof. Amanda Almond’s course site is very active and full of interesting assignments and class discussions. Recently, students watched and commented on a video embedded on the course site.  We also like how students engaged with the course policies page by either proposing an addition or elaborating on one of the policies listed.  Take a look!

In the Spotlight: The Buzz

The Buzz is the blog for our excellent group of student bloggers, who are writing on a wide variety of topics, from fashion to food, and more.  This semester the group also includes a few photobloggers who will be posting and writing about their photographs.  There are already three new posts this week, as well as an active comments section.  Check it out, and leave a comment!

This Week in the OpenLab: February 10th Edition

Screen Shot 2015-02-10 at 3.26.20 PMThis week we introduce our newest Community Team members!  We’re excited to add several new student bloggers to our team, to pick up where last year’s bloggers left off. We have bloggers who will be writing about fashion, about food, and more!  In addition, we’re very excited to begin including a few photobloggers, who will be sharing their photographs from around the city with us.

We’ll have more about them in the coming weeks, but please, be sure to join The Buzz, and comment on their work!

Here’s a sample from our first post:

Should Dressing for Success in School depend on Preference, Profession, or Professionalism?

Dress for Success

Image by Kaz via CC* license

Are you someone who wakes up and just throw something on when heading to class? Maybe you like to show your creative side when finding new fabrics to wear. Or maybe you perceive your place of education like a job interview. Is there an unsaid dress-code when going to school?

During my 5, not so sequential, years at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), and while attending several success-seminars outside of school, I noticed everyone has different views on how to accessorize oneself. This can be due to many factors: how we are raised; environmental influences; and personal preference. However, at this age in our lives, I blame it on timing (whether someone may be rushing, or not), preference and attitude.

First, I will tell you how I choose what to wear where. OR, should I say the types of clothing I have? I guess it doesn’t matter. Okay, Here goes.  Depending on the impression I want to make, usually a great one, I will dress accordingly, including while attending school! I shall say this: ONLY WEAR SWEATS AND SPANDEX IF AT A GYM OR WORKING OUT! I will dress business-casual when seeing clients.  I will dress upscale when around certain sponsors. I will dress fashionable & “Beat for the Gawds” at certain social events. I will wear pajama pants only at home! I know many of you reading this my find comfort in wearing them outside…. AND OF COURSE, when I go to a class I will dress comfortable and casual, yet well kempt. Sometimes, even dressing in business attire. I guess at a Tech Production for “Falling Sparrow,” I may put on light makeup to have less impurities on film. Aside: If I am coming from, or going to, work or another engagement, my attire may vary.

Amoni B in proffesional attire

Amoni B by Love&Fashion