notes.adamcroom.comAdam's Notebook

-- -- Skip to main content Toggle navigation Filter content Default content All content Status updates Photos Posts Audio Bookmarked pages Sign in -- Adam Croom I write at adamcroom.com. I write notes and make bookmarks at notes.adamcroom.com www.adamcroom.com www.twitter.com/acroom www.github.com/adamcroom Adam Croom Adam Croom -- OU President David Boren: "Technology in Higher Education" 4 min read Email sent on: August 14, 2012 Dear Faculty Colleagues, This is an exciting time in higher education. Technologies that enhance educational experiences are advancing at a rapid pace. Exciting opportunities to apply these technologies to research and instruction abound. The University of Oklahoma is a leader in the application of new technologies. I am aware of programs in each of our colleges that are at the forefront in the exploration of learning innovations. For example, last semester our Gaylord College of Journalism was one of eight programs nationally to be awarded Apple's Distinguished Program Award. This fall, students will experience the first set of classes offered in our new Active Learning Classroom in the Stephenson Research Center. Our direction for implementing emerging learning technologies is clear. We embrace online classes as a way to educate students who are simply not physically able to participate in the dynamic learning experience in our classrooms. However, technology can never substitute for the learning that takes place in our classrooms, laboratories and studios. When distance is not a consideration, we should not adopt technology to replace classroom learning but, rather, we should use new technologies to enhance the overall educational experience for our students. Students should be encouraged to be present for lectures and class sessions through attendance policies while also accessing technology enhancements. We must continue to emphasize the importance of personal interaction in the classroom and in other forms for discussion. “Virtual” experiences alone cannot create the strength of community which is so needed in our society. I am aware of the actions of other excellent universities that are placing course content on the Internet for the world at large. While we also answer the call to broadly advance the frontiers of knowledge, I am very excited about the opportunities brought by new technologies to individualize and improve the educational outcomes for the students who fill our classrooms. While some digital strategies make course content available to an ever greater population of learners as in mass production, we must challenge ourselves to use technology, through videos and dynamic online course materials, to make more time available in the classroom/laboratory for discussion, student engagement, hands-on experiences, active peer learning and undergraduate research. In this digital age, an OU education can be more unique, more individualized, and more powerful than ever. Our role as a leader in the implementation of emerging technologies and commitment to dynamic classroom instruction will distinguish our digital initiatives from those of our peers. This fall, the Provost and I will meet with every dean to explore opportunities to advance our digital programs in this spirit. To mention one initiative I hope to discuss, I think opportunities exist to use open-content on the Internet and additional presentations by our own faculty to reduce our reliance on some expensive textbooks. We can lower student costs while creating a learning experience that is designed for our OU students and that unlocks the unique expertise, interests and personalities of each OU faculty member. In fact, I am starting to work on additions to my own course materials for my political science class in this spirit as a way to enrich experiences and reduce textbook costs . I will also name a task force to coordinate and advance our academic and administrative digital initiatives. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer. I am excited about the return of our students and the beginning of another academic year. I hope to see you at freshmen convocation to welcome another class of truly outstanding students. Thank you for all that you do to strengthen our University. Sincerely, David L. Boren President Adam Croom published this 14 Dec 2017 0 stars 276 comments Adam Croom Adam Croom -- A predictive keyboard based off of source text from Dr. Cox of Scrubs http:/ / botnik.org/ apps/ writer/ ?source=19cb858626e010d7abdaf8a980adea79 Adam Croom published this 14 Dec 2017 0 stars 928 comments Also on: @acroom Adam Croom Adam Croom -- Becoming an Image Detective for @cogdog and @mdvfunes 2 min read Alan Levine is searching for a comic so Mariana Funes can properly attribute the comic on her Daily Stillness site. Me, personally, I just kind like putting my sleuthing skills to the test so I'm happy to go huntin'. Alan tried using Google Image Reverse Search to recall the photo but didn't uncover enough to merit an actual source. I took a different route and just started typing words into Google search. First, "Chasing Money Comic." Nope. Then I tried "Life Chasing Money Comic" Still natta. Next was "Life life life money." It seemed too simple, but I happened to land on this: It's the first result! Even more bizarre, "Life life life comic" doesn't surface it. Crazy. So the image I found is from Pinterest. My guess is that either Pinterest reads the words on an image and indexes those or the user had written it in the metadata. I honestly can't figure it out as the Googe link doesn't work. The major difference was the version I found had a "Laughing Colours" logo and an artist signature, which I imagine someone had Photoshopped out by the time Mariana got ahold of it. Laughing Colours is sorta a meme-centric site. I didn't figure I would find much there as those tend to be deep like Pinterest. So I tried to decipher the artist name in the lower right hand corner, which I guessed was "U+Kal Gaurab." Put that into Google and found this image... Which is a similar comic style, but has the name in print. Oh, it's just "Utkaul Gaurab." Silly me... I was getting too cute with the whole plus sign. Next, I search the artist's name and find that he's got a comic Facebook page: I go to the Mobile Uploads album , scroll all the way down, and viola! There's the original source. I feel pretty confident that Utkal is the originator as his site has several similar styled comics and his Facebook site carries some authority with 11,000+ likes. Mystery solved. Source : fycarmensandiego.tumblr.com Adam Croom published this 28 Nov 2017 10 stars 452 comments 2 Also on: @acroom Adam Croom Adam Croom -- The Academic Use Delay From Facebook Live to Loop a Song • chorus.fm Adam Croom published this 15 Nov 2017 0 stars 188 comments Also on: @acroom Adam Croom Adam Croom -- Overnight in Walmart Parking Lots: Silence, Solace and Refuge - The New York Times I don't really camp, but I've spent my fair share of nights in Walmart parking lots. So this piece resonated with me. Adam Croom published this 14 Nov 2017 0 stars 244 comments Also on: @acroom Adam Croom Adam Croom -- The White Privilege of the “Lone Wolf” Shooter Adam Croom published this 03 Oct 2017 0 stars 178 comments Adam Croom Adam Croom -- NYTimes Video : How Facebook is Changing Your Internet 0 min read Adam Croom published this 19 Sep 2017 2 stars 3789 comments 1 Also on: @acroom Adam Croom Adam Croom -- PressThink's new design and third space - PressThink Adam Croom published this 23 Jun 2017 0 stars 3695 comments Adam Croom Adam Croom -- What if journalists weren’t controlled by tech? A conversation with Dave Winer. – Poynter Adam Croom published this 23 Jun 2017 0 stars 332 comments Adam Croom Adam Croom -- The CMS is your first editor Adam Croom published this 23 Jun 2017 0 stars 176 comments Adam Croom Adam Croom -- academicpages: a Github Pages template for academic personal websites Adam Croom published this 06 ...