Monthly publication - September 2000 Issue
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Welcome to LCN
Welcome
to the September issue of the Learning Center Newsletter. Hope you had a
good summer break and gearing up for a great fall semester.
This issue features the second installment of Frank's Christ Management Strategies and Tips. Also featured this month is an article on "Stress and Students with Learning Disabilities" by Daniel Berkowitz from Boston University. Another article explains how you can be a Good Samaritan by simply browsing the web, and another explains why the Millennium celebrations were a little too early!
The "Person of the Month" column is back this month, and we are pleased to feature another outstanding learning-assistance leader with many valuable contributions.
Hope you enjoy the new issue, and don't forget to share the LCN with your colleagues.
Mon Nasser Editor*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Management Strategies & Tips
By Frank L. Christ
Tip #3: THINK RESOURCES RATHER THAN MONEY
My learning assistance center was no different than most other centers. There was no line-item budget and no recognized state staffing. To overcome this fiscal challenge, I adopted a philosophy that involved rethinking resources. Here are four ways that involved using existing campus and community resources rather than campus money. I am certain that you can add more to this list.
- Program materials were acquired through library and media resources funds, reassignment of many learning skills materials to the center, and through faculty and staff donations of course-related learning aids.
- Equipment and materials were acquired through cooperative grant writing with other departments.
- Increased staffing of 50 or more adjunct faculty annually was made possible through the use of volunteers from the local community, faculty spouses, graduate education students, and professionals on sabbatical or short term leave.
- High level management consultants were bartered for out-of-pocket expenses and exchange agreements to conduct program and management evaluations.
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Person of the Month
Dr.
Martha Maxwell
Although she retired from U.C. Berkeley in 1979, Martha Maxwell is currently celebrating her 52nd year in learning assistance as she continues to write, mentor, and consult.
After receiving her bachelors, masters, and Ph. D. degrees from the University of Maryland, she founded Reading and Study Skills Labs. at American University, the University of Maryland and The Student Learning Center at the University of California Berkeley. She taught graduate courses in psychology and education at Berkeley and Maryland, and she started The Institute for Learning Assistance Professionals which continues today as the Winter Institute meeting annually in Tucson, Arizona.
Her honors and awards include Founding Fellow of the Council for Developmental Education Associations (2000), Fellow American Psychological Association (1972) , Publication awards from NARDSPE (1979) and NADE (1998) awards from CRLA and the Midwestern College Learning Associations. She is listed in American Men of Science (1960), Who’s Who in the World (2000), the National Registry of Prominent Americans and others.
Her publications include 6 books and over 200 articles in professional journals. Among her books are Improving Skimming and Scanning Skills (McGraw-Hill, 1968); Improving Student Learning Skills: A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Practices and Programs for Increasing the Performance of Under-prepared Students (1979; 2nd edition, revised edition, H&H Publishing Co., 1998). She also edited When Tutor Meets Student (University of Michigan Press, 1994) and From Access to Success: Readings in Learning Assistance and Developmental Education (H&H Publishing Co.) Her most recent book Evaluating Peer Tutoring Programs, ($11.00) is published by MM Associates, Apt. 322, 10450 Lottsford Rd., Mitchellville, MD 20721. Phone: (301) 925-7574. It contains descriptions and references on standards and guidelines for tutoring programs, characteristics of successful programs, outcome measures, case studies, qualitative instruments and 30 pages of surveys and other evaluation instruments that are currently used by tutoring programs.
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Stress and Students with Learning Disabilities
By Daniel J. Berkowitz, M.A., Boston University
Stress, the perception of a threat to one's well being and the apprehension that one is unable to cope with the perceived threat, is brought about by the continual adjustments and demands that individuals place upon themselves as they react to given stimuli. As the individual is called upon to adjust to changing situations, the greater the stress which is acquired. Stress is a combination of factors that affect each individual differently. That which is stressful to one person, may not be so to another, and reactions to stressors vary among individuals. "Stress," according to one expert, "is a non-specific response of the body to a demand" (Kopolow, 1987). In the complicated worlds of our students, these 'demands' can come from a variety of directions: academic, social, financial, familial, and others. Stress can manifest itself in ways psychological, physiological and behavioral.
For all the negative publicity it receives, stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It is not always harmful and can result from pleasant experiences as well as unpleasant ones. The human body perceives excitement in much the same way it perceives fear. Both emotions produce stress, which in turn affords the body an extra boost of energy. The physical attributes of stress, which include elevated heart and breathing rates, together with increased adrenaline flow, improve muscle strength and energy levels. Physiologically, stress sharpens an individual's awareness and boosts overall energy levels just when they are needed the most. Having the knowledge and ability to harness this stress energy can help students meet physical challenges, solve problems, complete assignments, and meet their goals.
A potentially serious problem is that the human body is unable to distinguish positive stress from negative stress. Positive stress can become negative stress as the excitement of being in college turns into the fear of being in college. When negative stress becomes excessive or out of control, it becomes harmful. Physically, improved muscle strength may lead to increased muscle contractions and strain. This manifests itself through head and back aches, soreness and stiff necks, digestive problems, and spasms. If left unchecked, increased adrenaline flow can lead to an inability to concentrate, lack of sleep or constant fatigue, an unwillingness to eat or continual hunger, and a variety of nervous symptoms (e.g., grinding teeth, tapping fingers, clenching fists). Stress can also cause physiologically behavioral changes such as emotional distress, fear, forgetfulness, panic attacks, general irritability, and either an inability to communicate or excessive talking.
[Read
the rest of this article by clicking here]
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Are you ready for the new
Millennium?
If you thought you won't live to celebrate another millennium, I have news for you: a new millennium is coming in less than 4 months! Despite what you might have heard, we are still in the 20th century and the 2nd millennium. Here is why:
The first year in the common era (CE) was year 1. There was no year 0, and January 1st, year 1 is defined to be the start of the 1st century and the 1st Millennium.
A century is 100 years long, so the first century ended at the end of year 100 CE, and the second century started on
January 1, 101.
If you expand this, you'll find that the 20th century started at the beginning
of the year 1901 and ends at the end of the year 2000. Therefore, the 21st century will begin
on January 1, 2001.
Similarly, the 1st Millennium started on January 1, 1 CE. A millennium is 1000
years long, so the 1st Millennium ended on the night of Dec 31, 1000, and the 2nd Millennium ends 1000 years after that, on Dec 31 2000.
Therefore, the 3rd Millennium does not start until January 1st 2001.
You can verify this by visiting the U.S. Naval Observatory web site, the nation's official time keeper. The address is:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/faq/docs/millennium.html
So why all the celebration at the end of 1999? Perhaps it's because the year 2000 has a nice number that rolled the year's 4 digits - sort of like hitting 100,000 miles on your car's odometer. Add to that all the excitement caused by the infamous Y2K computer bug and a common misunderstanding of when the Millennium really starts.
So are you ready to celebrate the new Millennium for a second time :)
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Browsing the web
can be a good
deed indeed!
What an idea: Generate a ton of traffic on the Web while making the world a better place! This is the concept behind some innovative Internet sites attracting millions of people by giving them the opportunity to do a good deed - for free. Here are some examples:
The Hunger Site.
When you visit this site, you will see a number of small advertising banners. When you view the banners, the site sponsors (advertisers) make a donation on your behalf . Each sponsor contributes 1/4 cup of food per visit. So when there are 8 sponsors, you are donating 2 cups of food. You can make one donation every day. The donated food is distributed through the United Nations World Food Programme. Visit the Hunger Site by using the link below:
The Hunger Site began on June 1, 1999 by John Breen of Indiana, a 42-year-old computer programmer who ran it from his house until it was bought up by GreaterGood.com in early February. The site was visited by 34 million people from June to February, resulting in the distribution of more than nine million pounds of food. The site has found international acclaim and is now translated into more than 50 languages.
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Race for the Rain Forest
By clicking the "Save the Rain Forest" button daily, you generate a donation to protect rain forest through The Nature Conservancy. The sponsors pay for your donation. Simply click on the link below:
http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=311354324
Each visit helps save 12.4 square foot of land. Using the link above will make it possible to track land saved through the LCN. If it is interesting, we'll post the area of the rain forest saved by our readers in future issues.
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Charity Mall
Charity Mall allows you to donate to charity by shopping on-line. When you make a purchase with any of their participating retailers a piece of the proceeds goes to charity - at NO extra cost to you.
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Helping.org
A non-profit organization with a site designed to help people find volunteer and giving opportunities in their own communities and beyond. The organization is partnership between the AOL Foundation and its nonprofit partners.
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Internet Resource of the Month
The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition
The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition
at the University of South
Carolina was chartered in 1986.
The Center's purpose is the collection and dissemination of information about the first college year and other significant student transitions. This information is used to assist educators enhance
the learning, success, satisfaction, retention, and graduation of college students in transition.
The center accomplishes its goal through the following:
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Organizing and hosting a series of national and international conferences, seminars, and workshops. |
|
Research. |
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Publishing a scholarly journal, newsletter, monograph series, and other publications. |
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Maintaining a website and three internet listserv. |
|
Hosting sabbaticals and visits from scholars and educators. |
|
Housing an extensive library resource collection. |
|
Providing telephone support and assistance for hundreds of educators annually. |
The three Listserv available through the center are:
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The First-Year Experience Listserv
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The Transfer-Year Experience Listserv
-
The Senior-Year Experience Listserv
To subscribe, send a message to fyeconf@gwm.sc.edu and ask to be added to the appropriate listserv.
To visit The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, use this web link:
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Software Pick
ZoneAlarm
ZoneAlarm is a firewall application. If you use the Internet often, specially if you have a DSL or a cable modem, you need a firewall to protect you against hackers attacks. ZoneAlarm makes your computer invisible to hackers and prevents them from gaining access to your files.
So how secure is your computer? You can find out with a simple test. Visit ShieldsUp! at this site with your web browser:
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
ShieldsUp! runs a number of tests on your computer and tells you whether it is secure. If not, you need ZoneAlarm.
ZoneAlarm monitors both incoming and outgoing Internet traffic, and warns you when one of your applications tries to send information over the web. This is a good defense against computer worms (programs that pretend to do something innocent while sending your computer data out to a hacker's site). This is also useful in discovering applications that communicate to their developer's web sites without even asking you first. These applications might be simply checking for new updates or sending some troubleshooting info, but it's nice to be aware of what they are doing.
Best of all, ZoneAlarm is free for personal and non-profit use.
To download ZoneAlarm, visit this web site:
For a detailed guide on using ZoneAlarm, visit About.com at:
http://netsecurity.about.com/compute/netsecurity/library/weekly/aa060500a.htm
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Conferences
TRIO Annual Conference
September 17-20, 2000
Washington, DC
The 19th Annual Conference of The Council for Opportunity in Education will be held in the Hilton Washington and Towers September 17-20. For more info visit the conference web site at:
http://www.trioprograms.org/council/mas_cf_00ac.html
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NCLCA Fifteenth Annual Conference
October 4-6, 2000
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA), founded in 1985, is a
professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence among learning
assistance professionals. The association has membership
throughout the United States and Canada, and welcomes anyone interested in
assisting college and university students along the road to academic success.
The Featured Speakers of this year's conference, "Guiding Success: Learning Center Strategies for a New Age", are Martha Casazza & Sharon Silverman.
For more information browse this web site:
http://www.eiu.edu/~lrnasst/nclca/
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NACADA National Conference
October 5-8, 2000
Orlando, Florida
The theme of the 24th national conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) is "Advising in the 21st Century: tradition, Innovation, and Vision". Keynote speakers are Dr. Susan Komives and Dr. Wes Habley. For detailed information visit the conference web site at:
http://www.ksu.edu/nacada/Confs/links.htm
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National Conference on Retaining Students of Color: A
Higher Education Initiative
October 26-28, 2000
Charlotte, NC
This conference will take place in the Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, contact Mike Thomas at 313-845-9690.
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National Conference on Students in Transition
November 1- 4, 2000
Cincinnati, OH
Attendees will hear about the latest efforts to change campus structures and programs to promote the learning, success, and retention of college students in transition.
http://www.sc.edu/fye/conferences/sit/index.htm
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NWCA 5th National Conference
November 2-4, 2000
Baltimore, MD
The National Writing Centers Association (NWCA) conference’s goal is to provide a setting where all those who work in writing centers can exchange ideas and information. For more information visit the conference web site at:
http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/mawca/nwcacon.html
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CRLA 33rd Annual Conference
November 8-11, 20000
Reno, Nevada
The College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) conference, "Research, Practice, Reflection for a new generation" key note speaker is Gary Soto. Luncheon Speaker-Robert Sherfield.
http://www.crla.net/2000_Conference.htm
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Windows Tips of the Month
Time
for a reboot?
If you're using Windows 95 or 98, you need to regularly "refresh" your computer by rebooting it. These versions of Windows have a "memory leak" problem, which means as you use applications, less and less resources become available. To regain lost resources, you will need to reboot your computer.
How bad is this problem? During the launch of Windows 2000 back in February, Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect, spoke on the reliability of the new operating system. He mentioned that ZD Labs tested the new and older operation systems by simulating usage during a typical high-end work day. With Windows 95 they found that after only 2 days of running this load, they would have to reboot. With Windows NT 4.0, it was about 5 days before they had to reboot. Windows 2000 ran for over 90 days and it did not go down. While this speaks well of Windows 2000's reliability, it does not speak much of the older operating systems.
How do you know how much resources Windows has lost?
First you will need to know the full amount of resources available to Windows before any of it is lost. This full amount is what you have available right after you boot up your system. Wait until Windows has booted up and settled down, then start a small application such as MS Calculator (Windows Start button, Programs, Accessories, Calculator). When the Calculator is loaded, click on its Help menu item then select "About Calculator". You will see a dialogue box similar to the following:
The important line here is the percent of "System resources" available shown at the bottom of the dialogue box. After a reboot and before running any apps, you will have the maximum percent of free resources. In the example above, the number is 80%. Read what this percentage is for your system and write it down. By the way, if you're wondering why this is not 100%, the answer is that Windows itself has some tasks running that use some of the available resources. In addition, there are some programs that start automatically when your computer boots up. For example, your computer might be running RealPlayer or a virus protection program in the background.
As you use apps and close them up, the percentage of available resources will start to decrease. To see how much resources are lost after using the computer for a while, close all apps you started after checking the "after boot" resources, and launch the Calculator again. Click on "About Calculator" and notice the percent of available resources. Compare this to the number you wrote down earlier. The difference between these two is the percent of resources Windows has lost so far. For example, if the percentage of available resources is 65%, then Windows has lost 80-65=15% of the available resources.
The main symptom of dwindling resources is that applications start to slow down. If you continue using the computer, it might run out of resources and lock up. If you have lost more than 10 percent of the available resources, it might be time for a reboot. I reboot my computer at least once per day, and more often if an application crashes.
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On the Lighter Side
Actual
Business Signs
| On an Electrician's truck: "Let us remove your shorts." |
| Outside a Radiator Repair Shop: "Best place in town to take a leak." |
| In a Non-smoking area: "If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action." |
| On Maternity Room door: "Push, Push, Push." |
| On a Front Door: "Everyone on the premises is a vegetarian except the dog." |
| At an Optometrist's Office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place." |
| On a Scientist's door: "Gone Fission" |
| On a Taxidermist's window: "We really know our stuff." |
| In a Podiatrist's window: "Time wounds all heels." |
| On a Butcher's window: "Let me meat your needs." |
| On another Butcher's window: "Pleased to meat you." |
| At a Used Car Lot: "Second Hand cars in first crash condition." |
| On a fence: "Salesmen welcome. Dog food is expensive." |
| At a Car Dealership: "The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment." |
| Outside a Muffler Shop: "No appointment necessary. We'll hear you coming." |
| Outside a Hotel: "Help! We need inn-experienced people." |
| In a Dry Cleaner's Emporium: "Drop your pants here." |
| On a desk in a Reception Room: "We shoot every 3rd salesman, and the 2nd one just left." |
| In a Veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!" |
| On a Music Teacher's door: "Out Chopin." |
| At the Electric Company: "We would be delighted if you send in your bill. However, if you don't, you will be." |
| In a Beauty Shop: "Dye now!" |
| On the door of a Computer Store: "Out for a quick byte." |
| In a Restaurant window: "Don't stand there and be hungry, come in and get fed up." |
| Inside a Bowling Alley: "Please be quiet. We need to hear a pin drop." |
| On the door of a Music Library: "Bach in a minuet." |
| In the front yard of a Funeral Home: "Drive carefully, we'll wait." |
| In a Counselor's office: "Growing old is mandatory. Growing wise is optional." |
[
From the Oracle Humor Mailing List]
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Quotes
"Many people dream of success. To me
success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. In
fact, success represents 1 percent of your work, which results from the 99
percent that is called failure."
Soichiro Honda
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"The secret to success in life is to make your
vocation your vacation."
Mark
Twain
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"You must be the change you wish to see in the
world."
Mohandas
Ghandi
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"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on
our dispositions, and not on our circumstances."
Martha
Washington
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"All of our dreams can come true -- if we have the
courage to pursue them."
Walt
Disney
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"Work as if you were to live 100 years, Pray as if
you were to die tomorrow."
Benjamin
Franklin
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"If you want to get a good idea, get a lot of
ideas."
Linus
Pauling
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Call
for Submissions
Get involved in the learning-assistance community via The Learning Center Newsletter by:
|
Submitting articles of interest to learning-assistance professionals. |
|
Nominating your favorite learning center professional for the Person of the Month corner. |
|
Informing us about conferences and other happenings. |
|
Sharing resource information with your peers through this newsletter (web sites, publications, etc.) |
Submitting your article will make you more famous and will help your colleagues worldwide! E-mail your submissions to:
newsletter@attendance-tracking.com
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Feedback
We certainly hope you find this
newsletter useful and entertaining. We
welcome your suggestions and improvements ideas. Also if you enjoy reading
this newsletter, let us know. We would like to hear from you, so e-mail
us your feedback by clicking
here.
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About the Authors
This newsletter is produced by Mon Nasser from Engineerica Systems, Inc. My thanks to Frank Christ and Daniel J. Berkowitz for contributing to this issue, and to Dr. Martha Maxwell our September Person of the Month.
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Last Month Issue
The August issue of the Learning Center Newsletter featured:
|
2 Management tips from Frank Christ. |
|
Announcement for the First Annual Learning Center Awards. |
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A great Study Skills web site. |
|
iMarup: an add-on to MS Explorer that allows you to doodle on the web. |
|
Shortcuts for emailing attachments and for launching the Device Manager. |
| Quotes by Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln , Abbott Lowell, and others. |
To view the August issue, click here.
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Subscribe / Unsubscribe
Info
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http://www.attendance-tracking.com/join_lcn.htm
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