18 July 2012

KOKOMO, Ind. — If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it might actually be...a Cougar.

Quackston

Indiana University Kokomo Alumni Association is training an entry for the annual Samaritan Caregivers Duck Derby, "Quackston," allegedly the younger half brother of campus mascot Kingston Cougar.

At first glance, Quackston appears to be a small cougar, but if you look closer, you'll see his orange bill and yellow feathers hidden under his fur.

Kingston has taken a personal interest in his feathered friend, supervising his swimming training in the creek behind the Kelley House, and working with the staff at the Cougar Country Café on his nutritional needs. Kelly Goad, director of development, provided his dashing IU Kokomo uniform.

Ryan Bowman, director of alumni affairs and campus ceremonies, and a former college swimmer, is planning Quackston's strategy for the race.

"My plan is, he'll drop his IU Kokomo Alumni Association flag in front of the other papa ducks, blocking the Lazy River so he can have a leisurely swim to victory," Bowman said. "He's going to bring it."

The Duck Derby takes place from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 19, at the Kokomo Beach Family Aquatic Center. The event raises money for the Samaritan Caregivers work, providing free, non-medical help to Howard County residents 65 and older, to allow them to remain in their homes.

Bowman said the IU Kokomo team is proud to sponsor an entry in the race.

"We enjoy building relationships with the organizations that serve our community," he said. "This is a way we can be involved and help our neighbors."

Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.

16 July 2012

KOKOMO, Ind. — Indiana University Kokomo is responding to rapid increases in the number of degree programs and student enrollment with changes designed to manage growth and provide world-class education.

Susan Sciame-Giesecke, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the School of Arts and Sciences is now divided into two new schools, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Sciences. The campus also moved two majors in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs into other departments.

"We want to maintain the personal attention and small class sizes that have attracted so many students to our campus," she said. "The School of Arts and Sciences added 12 new degree programs and had nearly 20 percent more students in the last two years. This change allows us to manage growth effectively and use our resources efficiently to insure student success."

The new School of Humanities and Social Sciences includes the criminal justice and homeland securities programs, which were formerly part of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The public affairs program, renamed the Department of Public Administration and Health Management, is now part of the Division of Allied Health. The campus is committed to growing its programs in the health care field.

"This gives us flexibility to provide the degrees needed in north central Indiana," Sciame-Giesecke said. "We are committed to enhancing educational opportunities in our region, and these changes allow us to achieve that goal."

Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.

13 July 2012

Kokomo, Ind. — Imagine taking a college class where you can literally drop in and fly over campus to your classroom, all from the comfort of your own home.

Professor Gregory Steel next to the entrance of IU's Second Life campus.

That is possible in Gregory Steel's philosophy of art class, which he will teach this fall semester in a virtual classroom on the Indiana University "Second Life Island." Rather than meeting on the IU Kokomo campus, students create avatars, or virtual representatives, and log in to move their avatars to the virtual classroom.

Steel is the first and only IU professor to teach in Second Life. He combines the virtual classroom with Skype, e-mail, Oncourse and Facebook, which he says makes him better able to meet his students' academic needs.

"This approach uses the many ways students want to learn and get information," Steel said. "I have found the students are more engaged in their learning because there is more room for interaction than in a traditional online course. This offers the flexibility and convenience of an online course, but still allows for a significant amount of the kind of interaction you find in a real classroom. We're not located in the same space, but at the same time, we are."

The IU Second Life campus includes familiar landmarks like IU Kokomo's Hunt Hall and Bloomington's Sample Gates – all in an environment that crosses cartoon with real life. Unlike the real-life landlocked campuses, IU Second Life includes ocean views from most directions.

Avatars, which can be customized to look like humans, vampires, robots, dinosaurs, or woodland creatures, move through the campus at a walk or run, or can even fly overhead to get where they are going more quickly.

Steel first taught the virtual class in fall 2011, and found more students participated in class discussion than in a traditional classroom, which allowed him to know that students were learning what they should in the class. His avatar was the only one that could speak out loud, but students could type in their comments and questions in a discussion window to the side. Steel said that let him know if students understood what he was trying to teach.

"I was surprised that almost everyone would pipe in," he said. "In a real classroom, that would never happen. I had a higher percentage of class participation than I usually would. They were actually thinking about what we were talking about in class."

Tarja Harney, a recent IU Kokomo graduate, was among the students in Steel's first virtual class. She liked it not only for the convenience of taking a class from home, but because she felt comfortable contributing to the discussion without the pressure of "performing" in front of the class.

"When the teacher asks a question, you don't feel like, 'Oh no, he's picking on me and everybody is looking at me,'" she said. "You could say something without worrying about what everyone else thought, because it's your avatar's comment, not yours."

Student Josh Turner said he learned a lot about art philosophy, and there were "several deep and insightful discussions," during the semester.

"The best parts of the class were creating a virtual avatar of yourself, interacting with other students and faculty in a virtual state, and the overall freedom," he said.

Steel and many of his students created avatars that resembled themselves, while others chose to be dinosaurs, robots, cars or aliens. Each had a user name, to identify them as part of the class. Because Second Life is an open environment, nobody in the class used his or her real name, as an extra safety precaution.

John Gosney, IU faculty liaison for the Learning Technologies division of University Information Technology Services, said university officials are studying how to use Second Life and similar programs to enhance the current online course offerings.

He said virtual world classes improve distance and on-line learning programs by making them more interactive, and allowing opportunities for hands-on practice. He said nursing students could treat virtual patients, in a safe environment.

There are also opportunities to virtually visit places that would not be accessible to them in real life. For example, he said, an archaeology class could virtually visit a dig site.

Steel said with virtual classes, students could attend from anywhere in the world, and campuses can grow in population without having to grow physically.

"This has infinitely more possibilities than the current standard of online teaching. I think we have an opportunity to look at something that would extend the classroom out into the world. It could become a pretty powerful tool."

Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.

13 July 2012

KOKOMO, Ind. — "Learning to read may be the single most valuable skill children need to become successful in life."

Mike Glassburn reads to children at the Carver Community Center. See Flickr slideshow.

Mike Glassburn, videographer at Indiana University Kokomo, explains why he volunteered to read to children, along with about 20 other faculty and staff, at Kokomo's Carver Community Center summer camp this month.

"They need us to show them that if they work hard for a personal goal, it can be achieved, and it really starts with reading," Glassburn said, adding that reading to the children shows that people other than their families care about them, and about their success.

Glassburn admitted he was nervous at first, but "once we got settled and we started reading and communicating with each other, I felt great. It was an incredible and eye-opening experience for me, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to volunteer."

The children, ages 5 to 12, also would read and talk about the stories they selected.

Fifth-grader Emoni Fort says having guest readers is fun.

"They bring interesting books," she said, adding she wrote down ideas for books she should ask for when the bookmobile visits. "Reading helps you make your mind up what you want to do in college. If you learn a lot, you can do good in college."

Guest readers visit the center two days per week, for an hour each time, sharing a story with the children and discussing it.

Tonia Ray, executive secretary for public affairs and advancement, shared the book Today I Feel Silly, and talked about feelings with four of the youngest girls. They also discussed the children's favorite books, and why it is important to read.

"Every time you read, you learn something," Ray told the girls.

She enjoys sharing her love of reading with children, to encourage them to become good readers.

"Anytime I can read to children, I do," Ray said. "I liked being an example of community service for others, and if I can do it through reading, all the better."

Penny Lee, vice chancellor for public affairs and advancement, appreciates the opportunity to share educational resources in partnership with an important community organization.

"When the opportunity to read to children at the Carver Center was presented, the enthusiastic response of our campus family was clear," she said. "We are privileged to reach out into our community to promote the importance of reading for academic success."

Mickey Jackson, Carver Center program director, hopes to build children's vocabularies, along with their enthusiasm for reading, through the program.

"They're connecting to the readers and responding to them," he said. "They're asking questions and making comments about the stories. They're also learning about what you can do when you are educated."

Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.