Dec

22

Baruch at its best – on YouTube!

December 22, 2008 | by Sarah Ryan | 1 Comment

It’s December 22nd and you’re up to your ears in grading (right?) The good, the bad, the 4-and-a-half paragraph essay revealing a student’s ability to resell her textbook in “perfect” condition on Amazon… It’s that time of year again. But this year has a new twist…
Kyra Gaunt and her Anthro 1001 class created a video [...]

Nov

17

Inter-disciplinary Teaching: A Novel Approach

November 17, 2008 | by Sarah Ryan | 2 Comments

Last week I attended an inspirational presentation by two members of our faculty. Christina Christoforatou specializes in Medieval manuscripts, Karen Freedman in abstract design. Together, they are rocking the worlds of their Learning Communities students – teaching abstract thinking and expression through English, Graphic Design, and “tours” to modern art installations.
Christoforatou and Freedman have [...]

Sep

29

Viral Video, Donor Dollars, and Academic Integrity: Poor Students versus Freedom of Speech?

September 29, 2008 | by Sarah Ryan | Leave a Comment

This summer, two of my colleagues became the subject of a YouTube viral video. Maybe you heard about the swearing, pants-dropping debate coaches (well, only one dropped his drawers) videotaped (with their consent) at the national cross-examination debate tournament… It was quite a spectacle. Since then, the video has been taken down, the debate association [...]

Sep

8

Of Legos and Sock Puppets – Knowing When to Go Low-tech

September 8, 2008 | by Sarah Ryan | 5 Comments

My first-year students find Plato’s The Republic daunting – especially the part of the book that requires sewing. My M.P.A. students claim that creating nonprofit organizations is difficult – when another group has taken all of the yellow legos. Deprived of their i-whatevers and Power-thingies, my students reluctantly admit to the joys of low-tech learning [...]