Ask-Dr-Kirk

Workblast.com Allows Students To Post A Video Resume To Help In Their Job Search

In a recent blogpost, I mentioned that recruiters were checking out job candidates' blogs in order to get information on education and experience that can't be determined from a one page resume.  Here's more technology to help your students get that first "real" job out of college.  Workblast.com allows job seekers to upload their video resumes for free.  The site gives students the chance to "sell" potential employers on why they should be hired.  As noted on the website, "Imagine an Employer's reaction if you follow up a face-to-face meeting at a career fair or networking event by Blasting Your Resume to them!"

Summer Classroom Management Workshops

There are still seats available for two summer workshops on Classroom Management: How to Teach Like a Pro.  The National Science Foundation offers grants that provide free tuition for college professors who are beginning their teaching careers, new faculty in the first few years out of their educational programs, or experienced faculty with questions as to how to manage this “new” generation of college students.  In general, if you want lots of teaching tips to help improve your teaching and classroom evaluations, this workshop is for you.

Dates for workshops:

• June 7-9, 2007 at Columbia University, New York City
• July 12-14, 2007 at University of Washington, Seattle

The workshop will address issues such as:

• How to establish and maintain your credibility as the instructor from day one
• What to do that first crucial day of class to set class expectations
• How to convince students that your class is critical to their future success
• How to motivate students to take responsibility for their success or failure in class
• What classroom policies to include in your syllabus
• How to deal with those difficult students who come in late, disrupt class, sleep in class, dominate the class discussion, turn papers in late, etc.
• How to get responsible and useful feedback from students to improve your teaching

In addition, participants of this interactive workshop are encouraged to bring their own questions about classroom management. 

The workshops are limited to 20 participants each.  Contact the regional director, Dr. Tony Irving, for more information or to register today at [email protected]

Should Our Students Be Required To Take An Online Course?

I'm sometimes asked if I have ever taught an online course.  My response is no, that I do use the internet as a resource both in and outside the classroom but haven't used this medium to completely replace the classroom experience.  I'm not sure my teaching style would lend itself to online teaching but would be willing to try at some point.  Although I don't think all classes will be taught this way in the future, I do see more and more universities offering some of their courses online.

Thus, I was interested to see this article stating that all students at Northwest State Community College are going to be required to take at least one online course in order to graduate.  Administrators there state that they believe online education helps students to develop skills in independent research and discovery.  In addition, “businesses are moving toward online training, and students have to learn to be self-motivated,” according to Linda Carr, chief learning officer at the college.

It makes sense to me...

Happy Anniversary to "Ask-Dr-Kirk"

April 22 is the one year anniversary of my blog on teaching tips.  Thanks to Tim Johnson and Mike Wagner for encouraging me to do a blog and to Mike Sansone for teaching me the "how to" skills.  I also want to thank all the readers who have commented on the blog or emailed me with their own tips, stories, and links.  I have learned so much from all of you.

Liz will be over with the nachos and drinks and Chris Cree is bringing the Klondike bars...

Employers Are Searching Blogs To Find Good Job Candidates

Sarah Needleman writes about how recent college grads can use a blog to attract employers in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.  As she notes, corporate recruiters are surfing the internet to "unearth job candidates, expanding their talent pool and gaining insights they say they can't get from résumés and interviews."  Recruiters also check out candidates' blogs to determine their writing skills as well as additional information on education and experience that can't be determined from a one page resume.  In addition, putting on a blog that you are job hunting allows you to network with many more people than just telling your friends.  Many companies are now googling their job applicants and savvy students can use  the internet to "sell" themselves.

However, the downside is that "indiscrete bloggers can derail job opportunities. A candidate for an entry-level sales job...was knocked out of the running...after [the potential employer] read his blog. "My jaw dropped," he says. "The person started to make disparaging remarks about the people he interviewed with."  The employer "was also put off by instances of foul language and comments about getting drunk. "This was a character problem," he says. "Whether you're writing about people you interviewed with or you're making a public statement that can be construed as immoral, these are the types of things an employer is going to look at and consider in their assessment of you as a candidate."

Many of my students are graduating in May and I make a point to caution them about the types of information that can be obtained on them by searching the web.  Impression management is key!

The Blogosphere Is In Deep Mourning

The majority of my current students are graduating from the University of South Florida-St Petersburg in three weeks.  I have spent a lot of time today thinking about what to say to them in class tomorrow about the murders at Virginia Tech...trying to make some sense out of this senseless act...

Liz Strauss has stepped forward with a proposed day of silence. 

"Silence can say more than a thousand words.

This day shall unite us all about this unbelievable painful & shocking event and show some respect and love to those who lost their loved ones.

On April 30th 2007, the Blogosphere will hold a One-Day Blog Silence in honor towards the victims of Virginia. 33 died at the U.S. college massacre.

The Blogosphere is in deep mourning.

No words and no comments. Just respect and empathy."

Using Popular Business Books To Teach Management

Back before the beginning of this semester I asked for suggestions of business books to use in my Organizational Behavior class at the University of South Florida-St Petersburg.  I decided on the following list and last week the students began their team presentations on these books.  The students have been very excited about reading the books and talking about them.  Here's our list:

Ken Blanchard, The One Minute Manager
Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths
Daniel Dana, Conflict Resolution
Steve Farber, Radical Leap
Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference
Daniel Goleman, Working With Emotional Intelligence
Patrick Lencioni, Five Dysfunctions of a Team
David Lorenzo, Career Intensity: Business Strategy for Workplace Warriors and Entrepreneurs
Bob Nelson, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees

One student told the class that he hated to read but he loved Steve Farber's book as he felt it made a real difference in his life.  His face just lit up as he discussed the book.  Another student called Dr. Daniel Dana and interviewed him about conflict management so she could share his insights with the class.

Thank you to Liz Strauss, Mike Sansone, Tim Johnson, Carolyn Manning, Kent Blumberg, Ann Michael, Kenneth Davis, Phil Gerbyshak, Michael DeWitt, Mike Wagner, and Francie Stirling for your book suggestions.  (BTW, Francie, I used your suggestion of the Stephen Covey book in another class).

Using Humor In The Classroom

Here's an article on how to use humor in the classroom, especially in those classes that students all have to take but don't necessarily see as relevant to their major.

As the authors note:

"Humor is a valuable teaching tool for establishing a classroom climate conducive to learning. This article identifies opportunities for incorporating humor in the college classroom, reviews the impact of humor on learning outcomes, and suggests guidelines for the appropriate use of humor...Appropriate and timely humor in the college classroom can foster mutual openness and respect and contribute to overall teaching effectiveness."

They go on to say:

"Humor is a catalyst for classroom "magic," when all the educational elements converge and teacher and student are both positive and excited about learning. Instructors can foster classroom "magic" through improved communication with students by possessing a playful attitude and a willingness to use appropriate humor."

Humor in the classroom helps to reduce the anxiety students feel and makes for a positive learning environment.  Last night I gave a 90 minute exam.  At the beginning of class which started at 6pm, I looked at the clock on the wall and said they had until 6:34pm to finish.  I then started laughing, realizing that I meant to say 7:34pm.  The students also laughed which helped them to relax a little before starting the exam. 

In another class this week, there were a number of students who came in tardy which is actually very unusual in my classroom.  It turned out that there was an event on campus that had filled up the parking lots.  However, I was lecturing and every 2-3 minutes another student would come into class.  The first one I ignored, the second one I stopped and looked at, the third one I made a comment.  By the fourth person I paused and started laughing.  Obviously something was going on out of the ordinary.  I then accused the students of all standing outside the classroom text messaging each other and deliberately sending in one late student at a time.  The class thought it was hilarious.  It made the point that I was paying attention and yet didn't place any blame.  I find humor a good way to control the classroom.

This Just Out: Professor Tim Johnson IS The Easter Bunny!

Tim Johnson is teaching a class on creativity for business students at Drake University using Roger von Oech's book, A Kick in the Seat of the Pants.  Check out this photo of his class.  Tim's the fuzzy pink bunny.  As you can see, Tim's students love his classes!  He definitely "walks the walk" and is able to make a connection to his students that encourages them to engage fully in the subject matter.

Did I mention that I was Tim's professor in his MBA program 17 years ago?  And no, I didn't teach him how to dress!

Teachers Now Have TeacherTube On Which To Post Videos For Students Or Other Educators

Principal David Sherman shares this resource on his blog.  It's a site similar to YouTube that is designed for educators to post videos for teachers and students to use.  For example, TeacherTube has videos of teachers showing math lessons or explaining a historical event.  The videos seem to be geared toward public school teachers so far.  Right now the site lists videos by most recent, most viewed, and top favorites.  I would like to see them list these by subject matter and appropriate age group.

I have my students do team presentations each semester.  Many times I have thought it would have been good to have videotaped the best ones to show to other faculty or students.  TeacherTube might be a great place to do this.

   

Use Of Blogs Increases In Higher Education

Ted Demopoulos was recently interviewed about the use of blogs in higher education.  In addition to using these in the classroom, colleges and universities are realizing that blogs can help prospective students decide whether the school would be a good match.  Also, alumni blogs help to foster a community after students graduate.  Faculty can use blogs to find others researching similar topics. 

I'm using blogs in all of my classes this semester in order to share links, handouts, and articles.  My students can use the comment feature to ask a question about an assignment and I can respond so that all the students with that question can see my answer.  I also post an agenda for each class so the students can see what we will be covering as well as guidelines to team presentations.  I find having a class blog helps keep the class organized.

Can I Use This Copyrighted Material In My Class?

An issue that many of us struggle with is, what are the rules for using copyrighted materials in your classes?  For example, can I make a copy of an article in today's newspaper and pass it out to my students?  Marcia W. Keyser (Instruction and Reference Librarian at Drake University) shares basic guidelines for professors on using copyright materials in your courses.  Feel free to email her with your questions.

The Adventures Of Dr. Kirkcat

My daughter's daughter (Istra, age 9) drew this for me after reading my book on classroom management that I had sent to her father (Dr. Christopher Fuhrmann, University of North Texas).  She gets it! 

I'm thinking I should put her drawing on all future syllabi... 

And no, we don't use the G word in my house!