St. Edward’s University touts its commitment to 100 percent “smart classrooms.” All classrooms are supposed to include: wired and wireless Internet access, a computer and DVD player with an integrated control system, a projector, amplified sound, laptop input accessibility, an 84 inch display screen and a wireless mouse.
For this story I will speak with employees from information technology, faculty and students alike to determine if the university is living up to its commitment. I will attempt to gain the opinions of my interview subjects about how beneficial they find classrooms to be.
To gain a larger sample, I will find out how our technology compares with other universities by questioning faculty about St. Edward’s vs. other institutions they have taught at, speak to transfer students about how SEU compares to their former institutions, and seek outside research through the web and solicit interviews by phone to find out what other universities are doing firsthand.
I will attempt to explore the issue thoroughly, and gain answers to the following questions:
-Where does the technology fee go?
-Is the spread of technology always even?
-Is it reliable?
-Have professors been trained to use it properly?
-How are students being trained to use it properly?
-How do other Universities compare?
-Are students satisfied with the level of technological integration in the classroom?
-What are the amenities like out of the classroom in study rooms, residence halls, etc?
-What are some of the most common malfunctions or concerns?
-How often is the equipment updated?
-How does our Internet service work, and what is the wireless like throughout campus?
-What are some ways that people have taken creative advantage of the amenities?
-In an increasingly technological age, can the students be more knowledgeable about the classroom technology than the instructors?
Multimedia Budget:
Photo; A photo of a professor or a group of students presenting using the classroom amenities.
Video: A video of students on campus engaging with different kinds of technology, integrate commentary from the students about how technology in the classroom fits with the technology they utilize in the outside lives.
Data: An interactive chart comparing St. Edward’s with benchmark schools in terms of the technology available and the amount of money spent through technology fee, etc.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Chronicle news editor speaks of challenges, progress
The news editor of the Austin Chronicle highlighted the history of weekly alternative newspapers in America, and described the challenges they face in both an online era, and a time of economic hardship, when he spoke before an audience at St. Edward’s University Thursday.
Michael King has been at the Chronicle since 2000, and has witnessed the paper’s online evolution firsthand.
He said that nowadays, most people live online, and there is always a push to be fast and first.
But King said that is not his personal mentality.
“I’m old school, I’d rather get it right than get it fast,” King said. “And, I’m afraid I’m a dinosaur for that.”
The Chronicle’s website is updated frequently, and features blogs, breaking news, multimedia and a city guide among its content.
And while the Chronicle has been on the web in at least an infant form since the late 90’s, King said, still, “We’re making this up as we go along.”
The Chronicle has managed to stay afloat since 1981 by operating with a local focus.
King said they do not have the resources to cover all national and international news, so they do not pretend to.
“I tell my writers, “think globally, write locally,” and that’s what we do,” he said.
The Chronicle tends to focus on Austin-Travis county, and some of the outlying towns in central Texas, where it faces little competition in the weekly independent news market.
“The chronicle has the advantage, and the disadvantage, of being the only island in the big sea of Texas,” king said.
He prides himself on providing, “not simply the news, but the news with an edge.”
The explosion of online media is one of the factors that has contributed to the financial hardships of print newspapers, and King said nobody has quite figured out how to make money from online journalism.
Once reliant on classified advertisements to bring in a portion of the paper’s revenue stream, websites like Craigslist have made the area unprofitable.
King said that the Chronicle’s revenue has not decreased across the board, rather it is flat, while expenses keep going up.
“I haven’t had a freelance budget for nearly a year,” he said.
And King does not see this changing anytime in the near future.
“We ride like everybody on the Texas economy,” he said. “Texas went into the recession a little later. We’re probably going to come out of it a little later.”
King said this predicament reminds him of the state of journalism in the late 60’s and early 70’s, when he was editor of “The Spectator,” an underground student newspaper at Indian University.
The alternative, mostly culture-driven publication seemed to make a splash in the community, but was not financially sustainable.
“For the first ten years, they couldn’t make ends meet,” he said.
The paper had trouble with payroll, and the staff was forced to switch printers on a few occasions because the companies did not approve of the publication’s content.
“If you’re going to build institutions, that means your going to have to make money of out of it,” King said.
And the Chronicle, as well as other traditional new outlets, are now struggling to continue doing just that.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Survey suggests college women at risk of sexual assualt
College women are at a greater risk for rape and sexual assault, according to a report released today.
The survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, found that approximately 3 percent of college-aged women experience a completed or attempted rape during a given college year.
The findings suggest that in one school year, on a campus with approximately 10,000 females in the student body, 350 could potentially be raped.
This finding could have serious policy implications for college administrators, and was prompted by the rising fear that colleges are not ivory towers, but rather hotbeds for criminal activity, according to the report's authors.
The majority of attempted rapes, sexual contacts, and threatened victimizations occurred on campus, often in the victim's residency, but the study also showed bars, dance clubs, nightclubs and work settings to be known locations.
According to the research findings, about nine out of ten victims were assaulted by someone they already knew, most often by a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, classmate, friend acquaintance or coworker.
However, some victims, like Smartypants University Junior Jenny Jones, met their assailant in a public place and were coerced or drugged into moving to another location.
Jones met her alleged assailant during her freshmen year, at a bar on Sixth street.
"He seemed like such a great guy," Jones said. "He bought me a beer and we talked about college."
However, her night on the town soon turned into a nightmare.
"I let him give me a ride home and I don't remember much after that," she said. "It feels like one minute we were talking in this bar and then I woke up in his apartment. I realized what happened and I confronted him, but he just laughed."
Though the survey did not gather statistics on how often alcohol is present during attacks, Dr. William Serious, head of health services at Smartypants University, said that there are risks in a situation where alcohol is present, even when amongst friends.
"Young women are vulnerable in bars and other situations where alcohol is flowing," he said.
Serious said that the students should pay particular attention to their surroundings and be careful about accepting drinks from strangers.
Survey results were conducted over the phone. A randomly selected, national sample of more than four thousand women attending both two and four-year colleges were questioned.
The report, titled "The Sexual Victimization of College Women," was federally funded, and was conducted by University of Cincinnati professor Bonnie Fisher, along with her associates Francis Cullen and Micheal Turner.
The survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, found that approximately 3 percent of college-aged women experience a completed or attempted rape during a given college year.
The findings suggest that in one school year, on a campus with approximately 10,000 females in the student body, 350 could potentially be raped.
This finding could have serious policy implications for college administrators, and was prompted by the rising fear that colleges are not ivory towers, but rather hotbeds for criminal activity, according to the report's authors.
The majority of attempted rapes, sexual contacts, and threatened victimizations occurred on campus, often in the victim's residency, but the study also showed bars, dance clubs, nightclubs and work settings to be known locations.
According to the research findings, about nine out of ten victims were assaulted by someone they already knew, most often by a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, classmate, friend acquaintance or coworker.
However, some victims, like Smartypants University Junior Jenny Jones, met their assailant in a public place and were coerced or drugged into moving to another location.
Jones met her alleged assailant during her freshmen year, at a bar on Sixth street.
"He seemed like such a great guy," Jones said. "He bought me a beer and we talked about college."
However, her night on the town soon turned into a nightmare.
"I let him give me a ride home and I don't remember much after that," she said. "It feels like one minute we were talking in this bar and then I woke up in his apartment. I realized what happened and I confronted him, but he just laughed."
Though the survey did not gather statistics on how often alcohol is present during attacks, Dr. William Serious, head of health services at Smartypants University, said that there are risks in a situation where alcohol is present, even when amongst friends.
"Young women are vulnerable in bars and other situations where alcohol is flowing," he said.
Serious said that the students should pay particular attention to their surroundings and be careful about accepting drinks from strangers.
Survey results were conducted over the phone. A randomly selected, national sample of more than four thousand women attending both two and four-year colleges were questioned.
The report, titled "The Sexual Victimization of College Women," was federally funded, and was conducted by University of Cincinnati professor Bonnie Fisher, along with her associates Francis Cullen and Micheal Turner.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
4Grad Budget
Fourgrad-Developing (Photos)-
St. Edward’s encourages students to graduate within four years, and boasts a 4-year-graduation rate above the state and national average. What are the benefits and disadvantages of graduating within four years for students and the university? Is money the only issue? How does this stack up against other comparable universities? Wallace, Rogers, Weber, Shedd/ Guillett
Multimedia:
Photo: Photo of St. Edward’s graduation ceremony
Video: Compile a video of St. Edward’s students discussing how long they have been at St. Edward’s, when they plan on graduating, if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with this date, and what the contributing factors are.
Data: An interactive chart that compiles graphs of graduation rates, academic information and demographics of St. Edward’s students and students at some of our benchmark universities.
Sources:
-Collegeboard.
Contains demographic and academic information for higher education institutes nationwide. The site allows you to contrast and compare various aspects of the schools’ offerings.
-Newsweek article, “Why college shouldn’t take four years”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/218183
An Op-ed in Newsweek that argues for a three-year Bachelors degree.
-Boston Globe article, “The Four-year college myth”
www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/05/31/the_four_year_college_myth
Another Op-ed piece, arguing that the four-year graduation plan is essentially a myth as it is difficult to achieve.
-A project of the American Enterprise Institute, “Diplomas and dropouts” report.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/06/03/using-college-graduation-rates-for-cost-benefit-analysis/
Contains a roster of enrollment, tuition rates, and graduation rates for hundreds of universities nationwide. This source will be useful for cross-examining rates, and could lead to a correlation between tuition fees and graduation rates.
-The Education Trust, College results online: St. Edward’s University
http://collegeresults.org/search1a.aspx?institutionid=227845
Contains charts of St. Edward’s graduation rates for years 2002-2007. Rates are also broken down by sex, racial demographics, and compared against similar universities.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Zombies: slow vs. fast
Classic films taught us that zombies are supposed to be slow, dumb and persistent. They were usually easy to see coming, but they would take humans down with their relentless nature and unbridled pension for human flesh.
However, newer films such as "Resident Evil," "House of the Dead" and the 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead," challenge this notion with strong, stealthy, speedy zombies.
While purists of the genre prefer the classic lumbering zombie, does the outcrop of agile zombie flicks prove this to be a welcome transition?
Perhaps.
In the early days of horror, zombies were not the only slow villains. Classic horror icons were never seen running, yet they always had the uncanny ability of catching up to their winded victims.
Today, aside from remakes, our movie villains tend to move faster. It's a combination of better special effects and a move savvy audience. For zombies and other creatures alike, we can now see them move at the speed of light without awkward, primitive editing to make them appear faster, or worse, relying on the physical limitations of the actors.
Because today's horror films tend to rely much more so on blood, guts, gore and "gotcha" moments, we are conditioned to fear swift attacks. Gone are the days when the fear was in the approach, now, the film victims tend to be dead before they even see their killer coming.
So, you certainly have less hope of escaping a fast zombie. They can be everywhere you can be, and they tend to not be halted by small obstacles.
Classic slow zombies on the other hand, usually cannot break into a well-built structure, and are easier to outrun on a straight-away.
If the viewers correctly identify with the human victims, there is some motivation for preferring the zombies slow. The characters have a better chance of escape, and the audience has that hope.
Many fast zombie movies justify the speed of their creatures by including a back story of some kind of genetic modification. A good move, because otherwise the audience would not be likely to assume that a decomposing corpse is suddenly able to achieve startling feets of speed and strength.
On the other hand, they came back from the dead, didn't they? Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to make assumptions about their physical abilities.
Zomcoms, that is, comedic zombie films, tend to parody the slow zombie. This is because most zomcoms highlight the human character's zombie kills, and it has proven to be far more comical when the opponent is much slower.
For purists, and comedic spoofs, slow zombies will always be the desired foe, but fast zombies still instill fear, in their victims and the audience alike.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Stardom no excuse for Polanski
When we think of criminals fleeing the United States to avoid arrest, we often imagine them living off the grid in some exotic country, keeping a low profile by assuming a new identity.
However, after engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in 1977, filmmaker Roman Polanski fled to France. There, he has continued to live a privileged life, direct high profile films and even receive an Academy Award.
As we know, all of this changed when Polanski was arrested on an outstanding warrant in Zurich, Switzerland, Sept. 26, while visiting the country to accept a lifetime achievement award.
He is currently in custody, awaiting a formal extradition request from the U.S.
The 2008 documentary “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” illuminates the details of the original Polanski case. While photographing then 13-year-old model Samantha Geimer for the French edition of Vogue, Polanski engaged in sexual intercourse with the teen.
After the victim turned him in, Polanski faced a barrage of charges, including rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor.
Polanski pled guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
While the film begins with a transcript of the victim’s chilling testimony, it soon delves into the narrative of Polanski’s life. He survived the Holocaust, suffered the pain of his pregnant wife’s murder by the Manson Family, was hounded by a relentless press and faced a ruthless judge who played fast and loose with the legal system.
After the initial shock, it’s actually easy to feel sorry for the man. Couple this narrative of perseverance with the fact that he is an award-winning filmmaker, and the Hollywood elite would have you believe this is enough to forget about his crime.
But Polanski is not above the law, and his accomplishments do not make his crime any less heinous or illegal. It’s only prestige that separates him from any other sex offender in the registry.
Yes, it was a different time; Polanski was confined for a 42-day observational sentence in state prison, and the victim is currently preaching forgiveness. But no inconsistency, legal injustice or minor technicality excuses what he did and how he subsequently handled it.
As we await his extradition, the thing that should matter above all else is a fact one wouldn’t think needed arguing: that no amount of wealth, talent or connections makes it all right for a middle-aged man to have sex with a 13-year-old child.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Zombies attack Austin
They are relentless, rotting and hungry.
They are flesh-eating zombies, and they are on the loose in Austin this fall.
While the rest of the country is immersed in a pervasive vampire trend, evident through such pop culture phenomena as the Twilight Saga and True Blood, Austinites will be emulating these brain dead movie monsters this Halloween season.
Numerous zombie-themed events are slated for Halloween evening and throughout the month of October. Some of these events will be occurring for the first time, while others are blossoming into Halloween mainstays.
The University Hills branch of the Austin Public Library is hosting its second annual Zombie Fest, a month long series of programming focused on all things zombie.
This year’s lineup of events includes a zombie video game tournament, book club, art show, survival discussion, numerous film screenings and a Halloween blow-out, complete with costume contest and refreshments.
The program’s coordinator, Billy McConnel, dreamed up the Zombie Fest idea with some of his coworkers, after seeing the zombie film “Resident Evil: Extinction.”
The film opened the doors for numerous zombie attack survival discussions and prompted the group to read “The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.” As their interest grew, the library staff was inspired to fill their empty October programming slot with a zombie-themed event.
McConnel said that before the 2008 Zombie Fest had even finished, attendees were already interested in if the event would return the following year.
So far, McConnel said, the 2009 Zombie Fest has been even more successful than its predecessor, with some of the events doubling in turnout.
So what is it about the living dead that has people so captivated?
“For me, its the psychological fear that any moment you could turn around and one of these zombies could be someone you know,” McConnel said. “That kind of psychological horror entertains me.”
“I just think zombies are such fun movie monsters,” said April Puente, a junior at St. Edward’s University. “I get scared really easily by horror movies, so what I really like about zombies is that they can be terrifying or they can be really hilarious.”
Comedic zombie films, affectionately known as “ZomComs,” have been around for a while. However, the recent release of “Zombieland,” which took the top slot at the box-office its opening weekend, has perhaps brought further attention to the genre.
The film premiered Sept. 25, weeks prior to its national release, at Austin’s Paramount Theatre as part of Fantastic Fest, Austin’s genre-based film festival.
Adding to the undead ambiance of the event were special effects makeup artists from the Zombie Manor haunted house in Arlington Texas. The artists arrived early to transform members of the audience into full-blown zombies.
This Halloween, those attendees and Austinites alike will have the opportunity to drag their feet on the dance floor at two competing zombie parties.
The Alamo Drafthouse has moved its annual Halloween Zombie Prom to the new Highball venue, a retro bar and diner, outfitted with a dance floor, classic bowling lanes and karaoke rooms.
All attendees are required to arrive in zombie attire.
According to the Drafthouse’s website, “The super strict costume regulations are just the beginning.”
The party will also feature a dance party, zombie video backdrops, a photo booth, costume contest, and “human brains” on special from the kitchen all night. As with any Drafthouse party, the coordinators promise further surprises.
Zombie Prom will have some competition on Halloween. The similarly named Zombie Ball, a party featuring live music and art exhibitions, is making its Austin debut as a two-day event Oct. 30-31. The ball will feature performances from musical acts like T Bird and the Breaks and Spoonfed Tribe.
Instead of asking attendees to arrive in costume, the Zombie Ball coordinators are taking its slogan “Come as you are, but a zombie you will become” to heart. They will be supplying the makeup and costumes to everyone, outfitting their own dance for the dead.
With so many of these events slated for the night of Halloween, Austinites may want to brush up on their zombie attack survival skills. There’s always a chance that festering, blood-hungry zombie coming towards you is not a costume-clad trick-or-treater.
They are flesh-eating zombies, and they are on the loose in Austin this fall.
While the rest of the country is immersed in a pervasive vampire trend, evident through such pop culture phenomena as the Twilight Saga and True Blood, Austinites will be emulating these brain dead movie monsters this Halloween season.
Numerous zombie-themed events are slated for Halloween evening and throughout the month of October. Some of these events will be occurring for the first time, while others are blossoming into Halloween mainstays.
The University Hills branch of the Austin Public Library is hosting its second annual Zombie Fest, a month long series of programming focused on all things zombie.
This year’s lineup of events includes a zombie video game tournament, book club, art show, survival discussion, numerous film screenings and a Halloween blow-out, complete with costume contest and refreshments.
The program’s coordinator, Billy McConnel, dreamed up the Zombie Fest idea with some of his coworkers, after seeing the zombie film “Resident Evil: Extinction.”
The film opened the doors for numerous zombie attack survival discussions and prompted the group to read “The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.” As their interest grew, the library staff was inspired to fill their empty October programming slot with a zombie-themed event.
McConnel said that before the 2008 Zombie Fest had even finished, attendees were already interested in if the event would return the following year.
So far, McConnel said, the 2009 Zombie Fest has been even more successful than its predecessor, with some of the events doubling in turnout.
So what is it about the living dead that has people so captivated?
“For me, its the psychological fear that any moment you could turn around and one of these zombies could be someone you know,” McConnel said. “That kind of psychological horror entertains me.”
“I just think zombies are such fun movie monsters,” said April Puente, a junior at St. Edward’s University. “I get scared really easily by horror movies, so what I really like about zombies is that they can be terrifying or they can be really hilarious.”
Comedic zombie films, affectionately known as “ZomComs,” have been around for a while. However, the recent release of “Zombieland,” which took the top slot at the box-office its opening weekend, has perhaps brought further attention to the genre.
The film premiered Sept. 25, weeks prior to its national release, at Austin’s Paramount Theatre as part of Fantastic Fest, Austin’s genre-based film festival.
Adding to the undead ambiance of the event were special effects makeup artists from the Zombie Manor haunted house in Arlington Texas. The artists arrived early to transform members of the audience into full-blown zombies.
This Halloween, those attendees and Austinites alike will have the opportunity to drag their feet on the dance floor at two competing zombie parties.
The Alamo Drafthouse has moved its annual Halloween Zombie Prom to the new Highball venue, a retro bar and diner, outfitted with a dance floor, classic bowling lanes and karaoke rooms.
All attendees are required to arrive in zombie attire.
According to the Drafthouse’s website, “The super strict costume regulations are just the beginning.”
The party will also feature a dance party, zombie video backdrops, a photo booth, costume contest, and “human brains” on special from the kitchen all night. As with any Drafthouse party, the coordinators promise further surprises.
Zombie Prom will have some competition on Halloween. The similarly named Zombie Ball, a party featuring live music and art exhibitions, is making its Austin debut as a two-day event Oct. 30-31. The ball will feature performances from musical acts like T Bird and the Breaks and Spoonfed Tribe.
Instead of asking attendees to arrive in costume, the Zombie Ball coordinators are taking its slogan “Come as you are, but a zombie you will become” to heart. They will be supplying the makeup and costumes to everyone, outfitting their own dance for the dead.
With so many of these events slated for the night of Halloween, Austinites may want to brush up on their zombie attack survival skills. There’s always a chance that festering, blood-hungry zombie coming towards you is not a costume-clad trick-or-treater.
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