May 7, 2008 edition

May 7 issue as pdf

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Tar Heel Bus Tour

A crash course might be a poor choice of words to describe a classroom on wheels.

But that is exactly what the Tar Heel Bus Tour has been during the past decade for hundreds of newly arrived faculty members and administrators, and what it will be again when the tour his the road May 12–16 for the 11th class of passengers.

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Johns

To lead requires being out front. But being a leading public university, Andy Johns has learned, means something slightly different.

For Carolina, being out front creates an opportunity to show others a better way. And it is out of that tradition that the idea of sharing the University-grown RAMSeS (Research Administration Management System and e-Submission) emerged.

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Cox

In a classroom in Wilson Library, Robert Cox pauses to update his class about the sudden disintegration of a massive Antarctic ice shelf.

Raising his eyebrows, he gestures animatedly in front of satellite images depicting a slab of ice the size of Connecticut crumbling into the ocean.

With passion in his voice, he adopts a preacher- like rhythm that suggests that some of his words are italicized: “The physics of it are so uncertain and unstudied that we cannot model how quickly this will break down.” He is referring to scientists’ projections about how global warming will affect the rest of the ice.

Cox has good reason to be passionate about the collapse of Antarctic ice. In addition to teaching a course about global warming in the communication studies department, he is president of the board of directors of the Sierra Club.

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Read the Gazette's insert honoring recipients of the 2008 University Teaching Awards, the highest campuswide recognition for teaching excellence. It is available as html with color photos (file.5.html) or as a pdf.

 

CONTACT THE GAZETTE:
(919) 962-7124
FAX (919) 962-2279
gazette@unc.edu

The Gazette staff is always looking for ideas for interesting feature stories. Do you have one to share?

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TECHNOLOGY

ITS seeking participants for VoiceThread pilot

If you are looking for an easy-to-use tool for online presentation and commentary — something that supports text, images, audio and video — VoiceThread could be the solution.

Information Technology Services (ITS) Teaching and Learning is piloting VoiceThread, a Web-based application for posting media files and inviting other people to provide comments in writing, with voice or through video. The resulting VoiceThread can be shared with a specific group, the UNC community or anyone in the world.

ITS Teaching and Learning is seeking faculty and staff to participate in a VoiceThread pilot. Participants simply must agree to use VoiceThread for teaching, research, service or other University activities.

“VoiceThread is easy to use and has many potential applications,” said Kathy Kyzer, senior manager of academic outreach. “Those on campus we’ve talked with have already expressed interest in using it to practice foreign language skills, to demonstrate math and science solutions, to analyze and critique visual arts and film, to give feedback on student work and to respond to media-based scholarship. It could also be used for online campus tours and for other aspects of student life.

“We are looking forward to partnering with faculty, staff and students in the Carolina community to explore the many ways VoiceThread can be used in an academic environment.”

To learn more, refer to voicethread.unc.edu.

 

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