Dear Janet,
           I am responding to your post not because I think that I know the skills that your students need, but rather because I want to pick your brain a little to see what you are looking for.  Just as a starting point for discussion, I would suggest that our graduates should be able to
 
* use a web site like www.lulu.com to publish their own books and access books published by others,
* use a web site like www.cdbaby.com to publish their own music and access music published by others,
* use a web site like www.youtube.com to publish their own videos and access videos published by others,
* record audio and music (and videos??) for pods (podcasting) and know how to access the vast amount of information that is now available on podcasts,
* create and use wiki texts and understand the pluses and minuses of using them for classroom instruction (which I would think to be a critical skill for our education majors), 
* understand blogging and be able to set up and manage their own blog site (and understand how to use blogs for education if you are an education major),
* understand how modern musicians are using social sites, like MySpace, FaceBook, etc. to develop new audiences for their music (outside the support of the established distribution network), 
* understand tabs and social networking sites like www.deli.cio.us that create organizational folksonomies that expand and enhance Internet connectivity,
*understand viral videos and how they can be used to create new audiences for culture and entertainment
* and finally, and most important, understand that the rules are changing and the first person to understand the new rules wins (even though he/she only wins until the rules change again - - -in a very short time).
 
My problem is that I suspect that many of these ideas, which are still new to me, are old hat to our current students (and probably to you).  What I am trying to do is to organize them into three categories: 1) things most of our students already can do, 2) things our students need to learn in our classes, and 3) things that we can leave for them to learn later.  Of course, there is another whole set of questions which asks what our education majors should know how to do along this line, but perhaps some of the education people will want to comment on this.  
 
Just to confuse me even more, I know that my science students should have more specialized skills, such as the ability to create and manipulate simulations or to understand how to access very large databases, such as those in biochemistry, molecular structure, and proteomics.  I'm afraid that the access my science majors need is so much more specialized than what most of our students need that I am better off starting with general knowledge.  That means I must, with a little help from you and others on the list, define what is now considered to be general knowledge.  I would invite anyone who can add special skills essential to their own discipline to add them to the above list but please label them as specialized skills.
 
Thanks for any comments or suggestions that you (or others who subscribe to this list) might be able to add.
 
                                                                         Cordially,
                                                                          Harry
 
 
 
 
 
 

________________________________

From: Teaching Breakfast List on behalf of Janet Nepkie
Sent: Sat 3/4/2006 10:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Software Bottlenecks for Students



HI, Jim
You already know my feelings on the  need for my students to have skills
using additional software because I have been working with you for many
years in that effort.  I'll write you a brief response, however, for the
purpose of communicating with the list.

For years, my students have needed the ability to work comfortably with
Photoshop, Dreamweaver and to use HTML, just to name a few additional skills
beyond Microsoft Office.  My students also need the ability to send and
receive attachments containing images, graphics (including video) and sound
and to edit and otherwise manipulate the data in those attachments.  I do
not have the expertise, or even the basic knowledge, to teach these needed
skills so I have relied upon the goodwill of others to teach this software
to my students.  Whenever possible, we taught the skills in a "real-world"
assignment.

Amy mentioned the TIPS program.  I think it's quite wonderful to have
students help each other, but I also need faculty and staff to work with me
and my students in a teamwork effort with part of my class content.  Some of
our newer faculty have good software skills but this only solves part of the
problem.  I have required a base level of software proficiency for all Music
Industry students but I am convinced that the Music Department needs to
raise the level of required student proficiency and incorporate that higher
skill level into (1) classroom assignments and (2) crafting a student
project that the student can take WITH him when he graduates to show
prospective employers or grad schools what the student has accomplished.

I have just returned from another round of internship visits and it has
become clear, again, that my students need ADDITIONAL experience with this
software.  I've already reported that to Jim and I'd be glad to help with
any plan that will make more software and more training available to my
students.
Thanks
Janet




Dr. J. Nepkie
Professor of Music and Music Industry
Music Department
State University of New York
College at Oneonta
Oneonta,  N.Y. 13820-4015
Phone (607) 436 3425
Fax    607  436 2718



> From: Jim Greenberg <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Teaching Breakfast List <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2006 12:53:52 -0500
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Software Bottlenecks for Students
>
> Tbers,
>
> From my vantage point, more and more faculty at the College are trying to
> figure out ways to include training in programs like Photoshop, InDesign,
> Dreamweaver, Final Cut, Pro Tools, and even Flash for their students.
> Knowing the Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) isn't
> enough any longer and that students in growing numbers now also need to know
> how to manipulate images, edit video or audio, layout posters, or build
> animations. Faculty are struggling with the problem of knowing their
> students need to know how to use these programs and the lack of opportunity
> at the College that learn them.
>
> I'd be interested in your ideas about this issue.  Do you believe your
> students need to know these programs?  Do you have the expertise in your
> departments to teach it to them (or even the time in your courses)?  What
> types of things can the College do to address this need?
>
> I appreciate the argument that we are not about "training" students to use
> certain software packages, yet the issue continues to raise its head.  I'd
> be more than happy to try and champion a solution to this issue for our
> students - but I want to be sure it is a real problem and if it is, get a
> sense for what faculty would like done.
>
> Thanks in advance for any ideas or thoughts you have about this.  You can
> post them back to the TB list or email them directly to me.
>
> Mr. James B. Greenberg
> Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
> Milne Library
> SUNY College at Oneonta
> Oneonta, New York 13820
>
> email: [log in to unmask]
> phone: 607-436-2701
> fax:   607-436-3081
> IM:  oneontatltc
>
> "Ignorance is curable, stupidity lasts forever"