Old Dogs Can Learn to Like New Tricks: One Instructor\u27s Change in Attitude to Online Instruction from 2009-2017

This qualitative case study examined a veteran instructor\u27s change in attitude about university online instruction. After a short review of the literature and explanation of the project, researchers conducted a content analysis of an instructor\u27s annual self-reports about his online teaching of a graduate course in the social sciences. The self-reports were written between 2009 and 2017. The researchers also examined students\u27 end-of-semester evaluation scores about the course and instructor. Results suggest that the teacher began online teaching with a mixed attitude. After four years of teachin ghte online course (delivered once each spring) the instructor reported more about content issues and less about online delivery. In the final the period (2016-17) the researchers found that the instructor was invested fully in online delivery. Although the study is not generalizable, its results suggest that instructors who stay with an online system over an extended period of time may gain more confidence in the efficacy on online delivery. The findings complement previous findings in the literature about faculty attitudes toward technology use in instruction

The Digital to Analog Risk: Should We Teach New Dogs Old Tricks?

Imagine being competent and certified to fly under both visual and instrument rules in a single engine aircraft. Then imagine flying cross country, entering actual instrument conditions and having the stark realization that most of the instrumentation on the panel doesn\u27t make sense to you. You have difficulty integrating the instruments and find yourself fixating on a select few. Less than one minute later you lose your sense of up and down and moments later you hear the stall horn, feel the centrifugal forces and only see the white, whirling shades of deep cloud immersion. Suddenly you jerk awake to realize you are safe in your bed and this is nothing more than a pilot\u27s bad dream; or could it be

The effect of the owner’ s personality on the behaviour of owner-dog dyads

We describe the relationships between dog owners’ personality attributes (assessed via questionnaire), their behaviours and the dog’s behaviours observed during brief dog-owner and dog-stranger interactions (N = 78). Interactions comprised the owner commanding the dog to sit, and the stranger showing a ball to the restrained dog and then hiding it. Owners scoring higher on neuroticism and openness used more commands (gestural and verbal) when asking the dog to sit, and the dogs of owners higher on neuroticism obeyed with a longer latency and spent more time looking at the stranger. More extraverted owners praised their dog more, and it took longer for their dogs to look at the stranger but they spent more time looking at the stranger, whereas dogs of more agreeable owners spent more time looking at the ball. Based on these results we conclude that some aspects of owners’ personality appear to be tied to their dog’s attentional concerns

Old Dogs and New Tricks: Facilitating Implementation of Contemporary Academic Technology with an Aging Teaching Population

Using a conversational approach, the authors address two fundamental dynamics of online education; engagement with students using online education technology and preparing “older” educators to use that technology. The authors present a discourse about the training of an older professor by a younger technologically savvy professor through the team-teaching of an online course called Facilitation Fundamentals. The professors redesigned the course with the goal of making it more engaging and authentic for adult learners. The redesign of the course is discussed as well as the teaching strategies used and technological hurdles the professors had to overcome. Finally, the professors reflect on the experience and the impact this approach had on students

An epidemiological study of diabetes mellitus in dogs attending first opinion practice in the UK

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of canine diabetes mellitus (DM) in primary-care clinics in England, to identify risk factors associated with DM and to describe the survival of affected dogs. Cases of DM were identified within the electronic patient records of 89 small-animal practices. A nested case–control study identified risk factors for the diagnosis of DM using logistic regression models. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse variables associated with survival. Four-hundred and thirty-nine canine DM cases were identified, giving an apparent prevalence of 0.34% (95% CI 0.31% to 0.37%). Neutered males were at an increased risk of diabetes compared with entire males, whereas neutering was not associated with DM in females. When compared with crossbred dogs, Yorkshire terriers had increased odds, whereas German shepherd dogs and golden retrievers had lower odds of DM. Being classified as overweight and having a diagnosis of pancreatitis, hyperadrenocorticism or a urinary tract infection were positively associated with DM. Older dogs and those diagnosed with pancreatitis had a higher hazard of death, whereas insured and neutered dogs had a lower hazard. This study provides an objective assessment of canine DM using primary-care veterinary practice data and is a valuable benchmark against which future epidemiological trends in DM can be assessed and improvements in the management of DM in primary-care practice can be judged

Feed the Pig: A Financial Literacy Program for Grades 4-6

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1968/thumbnail.jp

Hi-Tek Learning Strategies

Unorthodox ways currently used in colleges to accelerate the velocity of learning are reviewed. To augment persuasion and articulation ability of business school students, stand-up comedy is used (University of Chicago). Song writing, storytelling and improvisation (VanderbiltUniversity-Owens Management), and for Shakespearean motivation for other management skills at the corporate execu-tive level (Northrup Grumman). Food “chow-down”, before and during classes, including pizza and chocolate candy, for relaxation and memory stimulation. The aromatherapy path to the learning, the path of music and subliminal sound---Mozart effect and silent sound--and other sensory aids and teaching techniques to activate all the senses for learning-Key for three, but strive for five!. Other learning techniques include Selman’s Universal Method (SUM) of breaking large problems into manageable parts or patches, his MEDICASA model and a platoon system of participatory responses---all demonstrating skills, motor and sensory. Another approach is to have abstract ideas in the sciences translated into physical learning aids, or robotic device, or toys----where the kernel of the analogies can be retained for comprehending different situations in the present, and for future metaphors. Learning can be reinforced in many ways. But learning with-out play is difficult---grim and boring presentations. It may be the major failing of our educa-tional system; especially, as training for persuasive communication skills. This paper asks---What if it were possible to transfer information and improve communication without the circuitous paths of present ways of teaching? What if a teacher could guide a student beyond the normal capacity of his/her mind by "broad-casting" over the natural defense mechanism of the unused 90% of the brain

Development of learning objectives for neurology in a veterinary curriculum: Part II: Postgraduates

Background: Specialization in veterinary medicine in Europe is organized through the Colleges of the European Board of Veterinary Specialization. To inform updating of the curriculum for residents of the European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN) job analysis was used. Defining job competencies of diploma holders in veterinary neurology can be used as references for curriculum design of resident training. With the support of the diplomates of the ECVN and the members of the European Society of Veterinary Neurology (ESVN) a mixed-method research, including a qualitative search of objectives and quantitative ranking with 149 Likert scale questions and 48 free text questions in 9 categories in a survey was conducted. In addition, opinions of different groups were subjected to statistical analysis and the result compared. Results: A return rate of 62% (n = 213/341) was achieved. Of the competencies identified by the Delphi process, 75% objectives were expected to attain expert level; 24% attain advanced level; 1% entry level. In addition, the exercise described the 11 highly ranked competencies, the 3 most frequently seen diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems and the most frequently used immunosuppressive, antiepileptic and chemotherapeutic drugs. Conclusion: The outcomes of this “Delphi job analysis” provide a powerful tool to align the curriculum for ECVN resident training and can be adapted to the required job competencies, based on expectations. The expectation is that for majority of these competencies diplomates should attain an expert level. Besides knowledge and clinical skills, residents and diplomates are expected to demonstrate high standards in teaching and communication. The results of this study will help to create a European curriculum for postgraduate education in veterinary neurology

How do you Play with a Robotic Toy Animal? A long-term study of Pleo

Pleo is one of the more advanced interactive toys currently available for the home market, taking the form of a robotic dinosaur. We present an exploratory study of how it was interacted with and reflected upon in the homes of six families during 2 to 10 months. Our analysis emphasizes a discrepancy between the participants’ initial desires to borrow a Pleo and what they reported later on about their actual experiences. Further, the data suggests an apparent tension between participants expecting the robot to work as a ‘toy’ while making consistent comparisons with real pet animals. We end by discussing a series of implications for design of this category of toys, in order to better maintain interest and engagement over time