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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2015A1 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045.
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IT: How to use Blackboard successfully
CHANDLER BOESE
@Chandler_Boese
With the new semester underway, the Kansan sat down with three representatives of the University's information technology department to talk about its learning management system, Blackboard. David Day, director of IT external affairs; Anne Madden Johnson, assistant director of application and support and instruction; and Ann Lindbloom, educational technology consultant, spoke about Blackboard and its use throughout the University.
KANSAN: What do you feel are some of the pros and cons to Blackboard as an institutional tool?
LINDBLOOM: I think that every learning management system has its pros and cons. I think a great thing that KU offers is that they do have a great support staff. You'll find that every tool you have is only as good as the support you have for it, if that makes sense, because it's so complex. It's complex because if we had three instructors in here, they'd all want to use it in three different ways. But as far as Blackboard as a whole, I would probably say that is one of the No. 1 learning management systems in the world right now. That would be a pro, that KU is choosing one of the largest LMSs in the United States. For cons, it's just going to get back to a learning curve and comfort with computers. We see as generations are getting more and more comfortable with computers that Blackboard isn't so surprisingly technical; it's not as difficult to use.
LINDBLOOM: [One thing we're doing for students is] collaborating with First-Year Experience. So students that go through that first orientation, a lot of that is offered on Blackboard, so they are getting an orientation per se. That just started in the past year, so we are going to see a lot of students get an orientation to Blackboard through that process. The other thing is that we do participate in Hawk Days and Hawk Week and we have staff and brochures there that are available there to answer questions. As far as students and their use of it, I might tell them to explore if they don't feel comfortable going to the website. Maybe they just need to click on links.
KANSAN: Besides technical support, is there a way students can learn how to use Blackboard more effectively, like an orientation?
familiarize themselves with?
LINDBLOOM: [Wednesday] afternoon, we [added] a tool to the global navigation menu that allows people to create profiles. Instead of that mugshot, which just [looked] like a gray head, you'll be able to import a picture and add some additional information about yourself. The great thing about that is that if you're in a fully online class, you have some sense of who you're talking to because you have a picture to associate with a person. But even in a hybrid or face-to-face, sometimes it's nice. With those profiles, I can explore my class, and if you've made your profile public, then I can contact you in a safe and secure environment that requires login.
DAY: The other thing about the profiles is that if they choose to make the profile public, [it] will allow them to continue use of that profile after they leave KU. So let's say a student graduates and chooses to go on to (graduate) school at a different institution, that Blackboard profile will follow them to their other institution.
KANSAN: Are there any new features students should
DAY: One feedback that we do get from students, usually a couple times a semester, is that they would like to see the faculty use Blackboard more. I think many of the students actually like Blackboard. Some may have used it in their high schools or even middle schools and they're used to it, so we encourage them to talk to their instructors if their instructors aren't using Blackboard, to encourage their instructors, and departments, and even schools to encourage adoption by faculty. We can provide the tool, but it's up to the instructors whether they want to use the tool in their class or not. We would like to see 100 percent adoption, every instructor using it.
KANSAN: What are some of the campuswide issues with Blackboard?
MADDEN JOHNSON: It provides a consistent experience for every student across the board. If four of your five classes are on Blackboard and the other is just a syllabus, or just a website, students can get confused about where their stuff is. It just gets confusing when faculty are teaching in a different medium. Even from students who may not be fond of Blackboard, they still want it in Blackboard, so they have all of their stuff in one place and they can go find what they need in one shot.
— Edited by Mackenzie Clark
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Cheaper gas prices help students save at the pump
Gas prices have dropped dramatically in the past couple of months, going from nearly $4 per gallon to below $2 in most states. This is fortunate for students with cars, who may not have the money to spend at the pump.
LAUREN METZLER
@MetzlerLauren
"I'm a poor college student and it's really helpful that I can afford to go places," said Brad Hektor, a sophomore from Parker, Colo. "I can afford to go back home. I don't have to buy flights to Colorado. I can just drive."
According to the price indexes for December 2014 in a press release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for gasoline dropped by 14.5 percent, contributing to the falling prices.
The type of car a student drives also contributes to the price at the pump.
The innovation of more fuel-efficient cars is one of the reasons why demand for gas has decreased, said Bradley Lane, an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs
"I had a (Chevy) Tahoe when it was $4 a gallon, and now I have a Mercury and it's a dollar-something to fill up," Hektor said. "Makes it a lot easier."
HOW TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK, ASK QUESTIONS AND GET SUPPORT FOR BLACKBOARD:
Tweet @KUTtechnology
Email blackboardsupport@ku.edu
Call (785) 864-8080 or (785) 864-2600
Visit information.ku.edu/contact-us or blackboard.ku.edu
"A year is a very long time for a fuel contract," de Vries said. "We are very lucky that we have the chance to lock in one rate for a whole calendar year."
Low gas prices are not only affecting students, but the bus system as well. KU on Wheels contracts for its fuel expenses on a six- to 12-month basis, said Margreta de Vries, web designer for KU Parking & Transit. KU on Wheels recently renegotiated its contract in December for a full year. Its expected savings are approximately $60,000, de Vries said.
and Administration. Lane, whose research interests lie in transportation sustainability and electric cars, said the use of fracking to retrieve oil also contributed to the price drop by increasing the domestic supply in the U.S.
Another interesting aspect
"There's all these little-to-large things that kind of added together to take some of the demand off of gasoline prices and petroleum at the same time," Lane said. "It's a little bit of a quirk that things have dropped this much."
of the current gas prices is that they tend to be loosely correlated with a healthier economy, Lane said. It's not a causal relationship, but something to consider.
This will be a short-term benefit for KU on Wheels and will not affect how it budgets for fuel expenses in the future, de Vries said.
"Students might have a little more luck finding work than their compatriots from two, three, four, five, certainly six years ago," Lane said. "In terms of looking for work, whether it's internships or full-time positions after graduation, it might look a little more positive."
Even though gas is inexpensive now, Lane said most economics experts predict that prices will rise again before the end of the year, and that students should not disregard measures that might conserve some of their gas over time.
"I don't think students realize just how much fuel you can save by driving a little more conservatively," Lane said. "I know my right foot must have been a lot heavier when I was under the age of 25 than it is now. Little things like gentle accelerations through stops and staying within shouting distance of the speed limit on the interstate ... can save a large amount of fuel."
Edited by Callie Byrnes
Student Senate committees reconvened for the beginning of the semester and passed a bill that will require all student senators to complete multicultural awareness training.
Shelby Webb, a senior from Ottawa, who co-authored the bill with Kaitlyn Klein, a senior from Bellevue, Neb., said the need for this multicultural training has always existed, but more so now than ever before.
The bill passed in both the Multicultural Affairs Committee and Student Rights Committee and will be voted on in full senate next week.
Senate to consider bill requiring multicultural awareness training
"In the past few weeks, or even months, we've learned a lot about the need to represent these groups that aren't traditionally represented in the student body," Webb said. "This bill is just saying that when we consider legislation and its impact on the student body, special consideration should be considered for the underrepresented."
Webb also said multicultural training would be beneficial to all of those willing to participate in it.
"This active student senate has an egg on its face because it's unaware of multicultural issues," Walker said. "We really need this in trainning."
In a positive speech about the bill, SenEx graduate representative Michael Walker also highly recommended passing the bill.
"I believe the benefits of multicultural training are very personalized," Webb said. "I've seen people that are really impacted from just a simple, quick introduction to it. But I've seen people who don't get it until they see a few different ways of getting it through their head. I find it much more beneficial than to do nothing."
There were no negative speeches about the bill and it passed nearly unanimously by the Rights Committee.
According to Webb, the timing
Graduate affairs director Angela Murphy also announced there will be a Sexual Assault Task Force open forum Friday, Jan. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Chancellor's suite.
According to the bill, any senator who fails to complete training will be subject to suspension.
Alana Flinn
of the training is up in the air now, as senate members are finding it difficult to find a time that is convenient. Training sessions are anticipated to be no longer than an hour and a half.
The content of the training will be determined by the newly found director of diversity and inclusion position. The person assigned to this position will be determined by Tuesday, according to Chief of Staff Mitchell Cota.
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