
FOR ALL THE CHARACTER BIOS… [Read more...]
‘HIGHUR Education’ cartoon by Phil Jones: Introducing the Characters
March 29, 2012 By
College Professor cuts brain in half with chainsaw
May 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
This is an example of how to use props to get your point across. “Tastes like chicken!”.
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Video for in-class business etiquette team assignment
May 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
An example of how I used iMovie and Garageband to create a fun way to introduce an in-class team assignment on ‘business etiquette’. Each team was given a group number and then had to research the business etiquette of the destination shown on the globe that corresponded with that number. A better way to do it than just telling them.
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21 terms used in higher ed that sound kinda dirty (but actually aren’t).
April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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‘Chalk Stick Cartoons’: The ‘Higher’ side of Higher Education, Vol. 3
March 10, 2013 By 2 Comments
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What today’s students can learn from listening to ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’.
March 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I learned more about the refraction of light by staring at the album cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’, than I did from my public school teacher. If he was cool, he would have played the album while we were learning about it; at least, that’s what I would have done.” –Phil Jones, Professor
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s album ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’. There’s a lot of life’s lessons embedded in that 1973 gem that are still relevant today and can be taught to students 40 years after its release.
I remember when I was teaching a class about time management strategies last semester and I played a sound bite from a song on the album called ‘Time’. To my surprise, when I asked students if they knew the name of the group or the name of the song, most didn’t. Those that did know, told me that their ‘baby boomer’ parents played it all the time (most of those students were big fans too). From there, I encouraged the non-listeners to put aside 45 minutes of listening to their over-commercialized, top 40 music, or as I call it, ‘ear vomit in the auditory cortex’, and instead listen to this classic album. “Is it on YouTube sir?” asked one girl. “Is that Pink’s (female singer) real last name?” asked another. Sigh. [Read more...]
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How to use ‘Explain Everything’ screencasting app for iPad.
March 2, 2013 By 2 Comments
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My first attempt at a midterm review video.
February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
This is my first attempt at using a combination of iMovie, Garageband, iPad apps, and video recording tools that I have been experimenting with during the last couple of months. I wanted to try it all out, so I put together this midterm review. As you watch, you’ll hear some sound bites from Garageband thrown in. At the end, to lighten it up, I put in a finishing clip of me banging on my drums! I’ll be posting new and improved videos as I get more comfortable (and faster) at putting these together. When I read about how profs will be making online videos all the time in the future, it’s easier said than done; trust me, its awkward to be talking into a small camera in a room by yourself versus talking naturally to a classroom of students. Plus, it’s a lot more time consuming to put something like this together then most would think (literally hours). Once I do ‘nail’ this process down, I’ll share it. I’m sure I’ll cringe a year from now when I watch this, but sometimes you just have to put it out there for the greater good! Anyway, it may give you some ideas on what can be done with video.
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Three ways to stream students through a program.
February 24, 2013 By 2 Comments
Streaming students to success.
So, how can a college think of different ways of streaming its students? Why not look at nature and use an analogy of how streams actually flow? Isn’t each program like an island in the stream? Let’s start by listing the three different stream channels: straight, meandering, and braided. On a side note, regardless of the different stream flow types listed below, I think all students should have the option of taking any course either as an ‘online only’ format, a ‘hybrid’ format, or an ‘in-class’ only format. The concepts discussed here may even help with retention. If a students ideal stream could [Read more...]
