There鈥檚 An App For That: Sleep Better

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Hello! It鈥檚 Kelli and Hannah your Student Success Coaches again with another monthly app! Are you getting enough sleep?听 With the Spring I term and your busy lives in full swing, we want to make sure you are taking care of yourselves.听 The best way to start taking care of yourself is with a good night鈥檚 sleep.听 We talk to students on a daily basis who inform us that their busy lives taksleepe away from a full night鈥檚 sleep.听 We are here with a new app to squash that!听 Read on to learn more about the Sleep Better App.

This is how the app works:

One of the cool features is that it monitors your breathing and motion at night to find the best time to wake you up so you don鈥檛 feel groggy in the morning. For example, Coach Kelly wakes up anytime between 7:00 am and 7:15 am.听 The Sleep Better app recognizes when she is at her lightest sleep cycle and sets the alarm to go off then.听 When you set the alarm you submit information about how your day looked.听 Did you work?听 Are you going to be sleeping in your own bed?听 Did you have a stressful day?听 Did you drink alcohol or caffeine?听 Based on these submissions the app will be able to assess the quality of your sleep.

We understand you are busy students. Sleep is important to keep a balanced life.听 Go ahead and download the Sleep Better app.

Kelli and Hannah

 

 

Are you taking breaks or are you breaking?

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Did you know that the brain experiences fatigue after 60 minutes of uninterrupted study and taking a periodic 10-minute break from studying can improve your concentration and retention?

But what happens if you鈥檙e doing well and you don鈥檛 want to take a break? Then you鈥檙e going to break down! Keeping your focus on one thing for an extended period eats up more energy than you may think. Once your attention window has closed, you are creating more harm than good. 听Retention of what you have been studying can suffer.

Here’s a helpful tip to keep you on track for much needed breaks. Set a timer on your phone or an old fashioned egg timer. Give yourself 60 minutes to study. Once the timer gBreak booksoes off, reset the timer for 10 minutes. Allow yourself time away from the material that you鈥檙e studying. Get up, move around. If you鈥檝e been studying on the computer, read a book- anything to help change focus for those 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have run out, back to studying and setting the timer for another 60 minutes.

Don鈥檛 limit yourself. If the 60/10 schedule isn鈥檛 working for you, then create a schedule that will. Possibly 90/15 will work better for you. Whatever you choose, make sure that you鈥檙e staying on track and are being successful at it.

As a Student Success Coach I am always interested in learning more about student鈥檚 study techniques. If you have techniques that have worked for you, please share!

Best of luck studying!

Increase Student Engagement with Video Assignments

Posted on by Excelsior Faculty

By Amy Erickson

Visible Learning
In the January edition of The Online Classroom, Robert Talbert offers several compelling reasons for using video assignments in the online classroom. Instead of submitting a sheet of paper with answers, Talbert鈥檚 students video themselves working through the math problems, demonstrating how they arrived at an answer. Showing the process in action allows a professor to pinpoint and address exact areas of confusion. In addition to ensuring original work, Talbert (2017) also noted that video assignments improved effort level, created a strong online community, and generated a repository of helpful videos for future learners.

Effort Level
Talbert (2017) requires that students show their face and their work at all times when creating video assignments. This not only ensures original work, but also encourages students to put more time and effort into their work. The video assignment demands organization and preparation; two things that may not go into an assignment if it is simply being submitted to the grade book. Talbert noted that 鈥淪tudents engage in significantly more detailed preparation for making a video than they would for writing up a homework set鈥� (para. 8). He and his colleague using video assignments also found that students spent more time 鈥渕onitoring and reflecting鈥� on their work than previous students (Talbert, 2017, para. 8). 听Talbert (2017) adds another element to the assignment requirements that appears to further encourage students to increase their effort level: the videos are made available to everyone in the classroom.听 That ought to do it. Students don鈥檛 want to look foolish or ill-prepared in front of their peers, and professors don鈥檛 want to grade material where little to no effort has been demonstrated. Win-win.

Creating a Community
A colleague of mine was frustrated by students not making changes between rough drafts and final papers. She decided to give video feedback to her students for a term and see if it had an impact on the final drafts. She was amazed. She was uncertain of the exact reason for the change, but felt that inviting students into her home via a camera made the feedback more intimate and personal.听 Talbert had a similar experience with his students. 鈥淎s the course unfolded and the videos rolled in, we got to know each other through verbal styles, organizational tendencies, the decor of one person鈥檚 living room, or the shape of another person鈥檚 handwriting. The class began to be a learning community rather than a list of names鈥� (Talbert, 2017, para. 5).

Repository of Learning Materials
Talbert (2017) created an unlisted You Tube site where students could upload their weekly assignment videos for the class to see. 听(By making the site unlisted, instead of public, only students from the class were able to view the material.) This site wound up being a great place to revisit if students were confused or wanted to review material before an exam (Talbert, 2017, para. 6).听 Knowing that course materials were continually accessible via a website may have also put students at ease and could have taken some of the guesswork out of exam preparation.

How Can I Use Video Assignments?
It is easy to see how a math professor would find value in video assignments, but I believe every professor wants to create community, encourage student effort, and provide helpful resources. With that in mind, I鈥檝e listed a few ideas here for using video assignments to augment the classroom.

Video introductions may be a fun way to create a strong sense of community at the start of a class.听 Students in my literature courses have uploaded videos of themselves reciting original poetry or explaining a Wordle they created to accompany a poem, play or short story.听 Perhaps psychology students could create an infographic to map out weekly concepts. Nursing students could develop and discuss a checklist to use before a procedure. History students could create a virtual timeline where specific events could be highlighted and examined. Screener, Screncast-o-matic, and Jing are just a few of the resources one can use to create videos. Next week, I will explore and discuss a few more.

If you have used innovative video assignments or know of helpful video resources, please consider reaching out to me so I can share your successes in an upcoming article.听听 amylynetteerickson@yahoo.com

听
References
Talbert, R. (2017, January). Making learning visible with video assessment. Online Classroom. Retrieved January 5, 2017 from

Late on an assignment? Talk to your instructor!

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Dilanthi Graham, Student Success Coach, on communicating with your instructor:

Kevin’s story is a perfect example of the importance of communicating with your instructor. Kevin Gillie is a flight medic in the Unites States Army. When he鈥檚 not climbing helicopters, he鈥檚 also a husband, father, and student. As is the case for many students, Kevin ran into trouble with one assignment. He accidentally did not submit an assignment. He notified the instructor and was told he could submit it late.听The professor was very impressed by his work. 听Total win!

I鈥檝e heard quite a few students say that they own their mistakes and will just take a zero or poor grade because they deserve it. They don鈥檛 want to make excuses. However, it鈥檚 not an excuse if it鈥檚 the truth and effort matters! If you know you can do better, why not use the same logic? Own the mistake by putting in more effort and trying again. It worked for Kevin, why can鈥檛 it work for you?

There鈥檚 An App For That: Budgeting

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Happy Holidays! It鈥檚 Kelli and Hannah your Student Success Coaches again with another monthly app! With the holidays quickly approaching we thought this would be a great time to introduce a budgeting app.听 We know you have shopping to do!听 How does your wallet look?听 We searched high and low and found the most integrated budgeting app.听 This month we will be featuring Mint!听 As Student Success Coaches we talk to students on a daily basis about their finances.听 We are not financial experts but we like to remove that stressor that sometimes can be attached to budgeting.听 Everyone has their own way of budgeting.听 See if the Mint app works for you!

Why download the Mint App?

The Mint app simplifies the headache that comes along with leafbudgeting. The Mint app requests for you to connect all of your monthly bills and bank accounts to the app.听 Don鈥檛 worry – there are several security measures that ensure your information is safe!听 Once everything is connected you are ready to budget your money.听 Some of the features include notifications when a bill is due or when you are over budget, money saving tips, recognizing spending trends, and suggestions on how to save.

Download Mint and see if this is something that would work for you. Take control of your finances today with Mint!

Perspectives: Cesar Munguia, MPA Graduate

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Cesar Munguia is one of Excelsior College’s School of Public Service first Master of Public Administration graduates. The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program launched early 2015. The MPA program offers individuals from a variety of educational backgrounds the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills in the government and non-government sector.

Munguia is no stranger to Excelsior College鈥檚 degree programs. He enrolled with Excelsior in 2012, and completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 2013 and his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) in 2015. He was introduced to the College while he was Active Duty in the U.S. Army. 鈥淚 was teaching the Battle Staff Course at the US Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA). Our director had a professional development policy that encouraged faculty members to enroll in classes and make progress towards a degree,鈥� explained Munguia. 鈥淏ecause of the close relationship between USASMA and Excelsior [there is a remote College counselor on the USASMA staff], it seemed like a natural fit.鈥�

Munguia currently lives in Copperas Cove, Texas鈥攁 small town about five miles west of Ft. Hood鈥攚ith his wife, Esther, and two sons, Cortez (11) and Elias (2). When asked why he decided to pursue his second master鈥檚 degree and how his experience in the program has impacted his life today, Munguia reflected on his experience with Excelsior College.

I didn鈥檛 want to stop learning, and was looking for a challenge. Additionally, I recognized a need in my company for a good understanding and appreciation of how government agencies operate. As a private-sector employee working for a defense contracting company, I thought the Master of Science in Public Administration (MPA) program would help me leverage this knowledge towards providing better products and services for our customers and stakeholders.

Throughout my experience in the MPA program, I was fortunate enough to work with professors who were subject matter experts in their fields. They were able to not only teach, but to facilitate critical thinking and cooperation with every one of my peers as we navigated through the curriculum. Without their mentorship, and the lively interaction with my fellow students, I don鈥檛 think I would have learned as much as I did in the year I took to complete the program. In the two months since completing the MPA program, I have hit the ground running. I have used the lessons learned in Public Budgeting and Financial Management, Statistical Analysis for Decision Making, and Leveraging Technology in the Public Sector in order to help the Tennessee National Guard upgrade three of their military simulations training facilities. While competency in a field helps keep one competitive, it鈥檚 the commitment and expertise that the MPA demonstrates that truly sets a graduate apart from everyone else. While distance/online learning may not be for everyone, for me it offered the flexibility to pursue a fast-paced career in the defense industry while tackling an educational challenge.

 

Remembering to Breathe

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Have you ever caught yourself holding your breath or not breathing at all? I know this has happened to me before taking an exam or public speaking.听 I鈥檒l admit it 鈥� it usually happens when I am very nervous鈥� Lately I have been hearing from my students that they utilize free apps that help them relax before an exam in the realm of breathing exercises.听 On top of this trend my favorite radio station I listen to every morning encourages its listeners to take one deep breath to start the day off right.听 Ask yourself 鈥� when was the last time I really inhaled and exhaled?听 I am talking about a big bear deep breath.听 STOP and take a deep breath in and out right now鈥NHALE鈥XHALE.听 Phew鈥uch better right?听 You may surprise yourself with how much more relaxed you feel.听 Next time you are feeling nervous or notice that you need a break STOP and take a deep breath.

just-breathe

Visual Reminders!

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

I don鈥檛 know about you, but I can鈥檛 remember anything unless I WRITE IT DOWN! Every morning I write down what I would like to accomplish today, essentially my 鈥渢o-do lists鈥�. From taking a deep breath, remembering to pay a bill, and reading a couple pages out of a book that is taking longer than I would like, I write it down as a reminder.

As a student success coach, talking with students, I tend to ask them 鈥渨hat will remind you to achieve your goal鈥�? One of the main responses that has come up is, 鈥淚 just do it鈥�. I love Nike trust me, but I can bet even Mark Parker, the CEO of Nike, has someone to remind him of things. So I challenge you鈥�..YES YOU鈥�..to take the time, just to write it down, whether it is a post it or a scrap piece of paper, anything that you want to get accomplished or reflect on.

Post below your visual reminders that have helped you!

p.s. take a peek at an array of my reminders at my workspace.

There鈥檚 An App For That: Wunderlist

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Hello! It鈥檚 Kelli and Hannah your Student Success Coaches again with another monthly app! We went ahead and scoured the worldwide web to find the most helpful apps for your needs.听 This month we are going to be featuring an app that helps with organization.听 As Success Coaches we talk to students daily that are balancing many commitments at once.听 Why not try an app that can assist with this?

Why download the Wunderlist App?

At its core the Wunderlist app is a place to keep all your commitments in one place. We want to highlight the most helpful feature of the app for our students.听 We found this app beneficial for balancing many commitments, specifically when it comes to managing your school work.听 This is done by creating to do lists with sub tasks (making your tasks feel more manageable!).

This is how the app works:

Keep all your school assignments in one place by creating a list of tasks specifically for school. Once the list is created you can go in and add 鈥渢o-dos鈥�.听 Furthermore, you can break those 鈥渢o-dos鈥� into sub tasks and check them off as you complete them.听 What a feel good moment as you a see a big assignment broken up into manageable tasks.听 We also found that you can share the list you have made with other people 鈥� which is perfect for group assignments!听 There are many other great features in this app.听 Go ahead and download and see what Wunderlist can do for you.

Excelsior College & Zone 5 Training Academy announce degree pathway for Capital Region law enforcement

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Excelsior College and Zone 5 Training Academy today announced an educational agreement that will provide more than 7,500 Capital Region law enforcement personnel 鈥� and their spouses/domestic partners 鈥� an opportunity to pursue a higher education at Excelsior College at a substantially reduced rate.

鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to partner with Excelsior College and provide this type of educational benefit to our members,鈥� said Rocco Fragomeni, director, Zone 5 Training Academy. 鈥淭his is something that will help them in their career and to prepare for the next chapter of their life after retirement from law enforcement.鈥�

The Zone 5 Training Academy, located in Schenectady, New York, is a full-service training academy that provides extensive training to new law enforcement recruits and veteran officers.听 Founded in 1988, New York State identified the need for local law enforcement officers to receive training from various training zones around the State. Zone Five formed to provide training to officers in ten counties of Upstate New York: Greene, Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie, Saratoga, Fulton, Montgomery, Warren and Washington.

Today, the Training Center provides training to over 65 state, county, city, town, and village police agencies in a geographical area covering the ten counties of the Zone and other agencies whom have joined from other adjacent zones.

鈥淓xcelsior College was founded to serve an essential public purpose, to help adults earn college degrees, and since 1971 more than 160,000 individuals from around the world have taken advantage of our educational offerings,鈥� said Dr. James Baldwin, president of Excelsior College. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to extend educational opportunity to our local law enforcement personnel and affirm our commitment to the Capital Region and our core values of access, affordability, and academic integrity.鈥�

Excelsior College works to remove the obstacles to the educational goals of working adults by providing multiple pathways to degree completion Excelsior College has evaluated Zone 5 training that will help position law enforcement personnel to complete their degrees and advance in their careers. The College has recently evaluated DCJS training for college-level equivalency, which will provide Zone 5 personnel with a head start on their studies. These courses include:

  • Basic Course for Police Officers 鈥� 23 credits awarded;
  • Basic Course for Corrections Officers 鈥� 13 credits awarded;
  • Instructor Development Course 鈥� 3 credits awarded;
  • Police Supervision and Management 鈥� 4 credits awarded;
  • Campus Public Safety Officer 鈥� 17 credits awarded.

鈥淏y assessing military and law enforcement training and awarding college credit, Excelsior can reduce tuition costs and shorten time to degree completion. If a Zone 5 member thinks of their degree path as a marathon, they鈥檒l be able to start at mile 5, 10, 15 depending on what they鈥檝e completed,鈥� said Dr. David Hennessy, associate dean, School of Public Service at Excelsior College.

Excelsior offers more than 46 programs across five schools, including associate, bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚-level programs within its School of Public Service ideally suited for law enforcement personnel.

鈥淓xcelsior is very excited about this partnership and the benefits that it could bring to our local first responders, their families, and the Capital Region community,鈥� said Dr. Rob Waters, dean, School of Public Service at Excelsior College.

For more information regarding the partnership, visit

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Excelsior College

Excelsior College is a regionally accredited, nonprofit online college focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. The College contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, Excelsior meets students where they are – academically and geographically –听 removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity. Learn more at .

Building the Government’s Cyber Workforce: Challenges and Solutions

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Building the Government’s Cyber Workforce: Challenges and Solutions

Like the private sector, the government is challenged today to educate a cybersecurity workforce to, among other things, understand the various Risk Management Framework methodologies, data analytics, and generate the neccessary metrics to leverage as feedback to further foster training and education opportunities for the workforce. Join us to listen to subject matter experts speak about the challenges, and how they are being addressed.

Facilitator: Dr. Amelia Estwick, Program Manager, Cybersecurity, NCI

Panelists:

  • Shawn Henry, President, Crowdstrik/Former Asst. FBI Director, Cyber Investigations
  • Renee Forney, Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO), US Dept. of Energy

Celebrating National Cybersecurity Month 2016

The National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College is pleased to announce its 2016 Cybersecurity Month activities. The purpose of this speaker’s series is to highlight key issues facing information assurance & security in some of our most important industry sectors. During the months of October and November, we will feature panel discussions with cyber experts in the finance, telecommunications, energy/utility, health care, and government arenas. These events are open to the public, educators, students, and all who are interested in the cyber defense issues that we are facing today.

 

The NCI is shaping a coordinated effort to build the cybersecurity workforce and influence an informed leadership base that implements cutting-edge cybersecurity policy. The NCI will target the development of effective cybersecurity practice in specific sectors, including health care, finance, utilities/energy, telecommunications, and education/training. The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security designated Excelsior College as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, a recognition which extends through 2019. NCI will target the development of effective cybersecurity practice and increase knowledge of cybersecurity to help meet workforce demands with analysis of specific sectors.

 

 

 

Statement on the death of Dr. John Ebersole, second president of Excelsior College

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

A message from Dr. James N. Baldwin, President of Excelsior College:

It is with deep regret and much personal sadness that I inform you of the passing of Dr. John F. Ebersole, our former president, and a visionary leader in adult higher education. John, who had been courageously battling myelodysplastic syndromes and had taken a leave from the College earlier this year, was 72 years old.

John was truly one of a kind, as those of us who knew him can well attest. He grew up in Windsor, Missouri. Unsure of his path he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. Having developed a love for the mission of the Coast Guard, he enrolled in officer candidate school and served for 21 years, including combat service in Viet Nam.

A graduate of the Naval War College, he earned a master of public administration degree from John F. Kennedy University, and a doctorate in law and public policy from Northeastern University.

It was John鈥檚 personal experience as an adult learner that informed his approach to adult education. Throughout his more than 30-year career in higher education he was committed to expanding opportunity for underserved and non-traditional students.

John was initially drawn to Excelsior by its commitment to the underserved, its outstanding reputation in military and veteran circles, and its openness to innovation. In 2006, he was appointed president of Excelsior College, succeeding our first president, C. Wayne Williams.听Prior to his serving at Excelsior he held leadership roles at UC Berkeley, Colorado State University, and Boston University.

John Ebersole was a visionary, in every sense of the word. Over the past decade, he led the College and the adult learning sector through a period of tremendous growth and dynamism. His leadership in higher education included serving as president of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA,) the leading association for professional, continuing, and online education and as a board member of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) in New York. John was also active in the Capital Region as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hudson Mohawk Humane Society.

Under his leadership, Excelsior was transformed into a national institution, enrolling as many as 40,000 students annually from throughout the United States and beyond. Today, the College has nearly 160,000 graduates worldwide.

Before taking his leave from the College, John reflected on his time at Excelsior.

鈥淪erving as the president of Excelsior over the past ten years has been a source of great satisfaction and personal honor. This institution has the most mission – oriented commitment that I have experienced over three decades in higher education. Its staff, faculty, and leaders are passionate and committed to providing educational opportunity to those who need it most. The future is bright. Ever upward.鈥�

Because of John Ebersole, thousands have been given an opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones.听May John鈥檚 work and his many accomplishments serve as a source of inspiration and comfort in the days, weeks and years ahead to all who knew him and to those of us who served with him in pursuit of expanded educational opportunity.

All of us at Excelsior College extend our sympathy to his wife, Dr. Constance Cramer, his daughters, Debra Kauffman, Dee Boukouzis, and Dara Merritt, his grandchildren and all those who knew him as a dear friend and colleague.

Memorial arrangements are pending at the discretion of the family. The family has suggested that听donations in memory of John F. Ebersole听may be made to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society,听3 Oakland Avenue,听Menands, New York 12204.听

Ever upward.