Prepontine non-giant neurons drive flexible escape behavior in zebrafish

Many species execute ballistic escape reactions to avoid imminent danger. Despite fast reaction times, responses are often highly regulated, reflecting a trade-off between costly motor actions and perceived threat level. However, how sensory cues are integrated within premotor escape circuits remains poorly understood. Here, we show that in zebrafish, less precipitous threats elicit a delayed escape, characterized by flexible trajectories, which are driven by a cluster of 38 prepontine neurons that are completely separate from the fast escape pathway. Whereas neurons that initiate rapid escapes receive direct auditory input and drive motor neurons, input and output pathways for delayed escapes are indirect, facilitating integration of cross-modal sensory information. These results show that rapid decision-making in the escape system is enabled by parallel pathways for ballistic responses and flexible delayed actions and defines a neuronal substrate for hierarchical choice in the vertebrate nervous system

Efficacy of Online Training for Improving Camp Staff Competency

Preparing competent staff is a critical issue within the camp community. This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of an online course for improving staff competency in camp healthcare practices among college-aged camp staff and a comparison group (N = 55). We hypothesized that working in camp would increase competency test scores due to opportunities for staff to experientially apply knowledge learned online. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyse the cross-level effects of a between-individuals factor (assignment to experimental or comparison group) and within-individual effects of time (pre-test, post-test #1, and post-test #2) on online course test scores. At post-test #2, the difference in average test scores between groups was ~30 points, with the treatment group scoring lower on average than the comparison group. Factors that may have influenced these findings are explored, including fatigue and the limited durability of online learning. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed

Solute Concentrations Influence Microbial Methanogenesis in Coal-bearing Strata of the Cherokee Basin, USA

Microorganisms have contributed significantly to subsurface energy resources by converting organic matter in hydrocarbon reservoirs into methane, the main component of natural gas. In this study, we consider environmental controls on microbial populations in coal-bearing strata of the Cherokee basin, an unconventional natural gas resource in southeast Kansas, USA. Pennsylvanian-age strata in the basin contain numerous thin (0.4-1.1 m) coalbeds with marginal thermal maturities (0.5-0.7% Ro) that are interbedded with shale and sandstone. We collected gas, water, and microbe samples from 16 commercial coalbed methane wells for geochemical and microbiological analysis. The water samples were Na-Cl type with total dissolved solids (TDS) content ranging from 34.9 to 91.3 g L?1. Gas dryness values [C1/(C2 + C3)] averaged 2640 and carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of methane differed from those of carbon dioxide and water, respectively, by an average of 65 and 183%. These values are thought to be consistent with gas that formed primarily by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Results from cultivation assays and taxonomic analysis of 16S rRNA genes agree with the geochemical results. Cultivable methanogens were present in every sample tested, methanogen sequences dominate the archaeal community in each sample (avg 91%), and few archaeal sequences (avg 4.2%) were classified within Methanosarcinales, an order of methanogens known to contain methylotrophic methanogens. Although hydrogenotrophs appear dominant, geochemical and microbial analyses both indicate that the proportion of methane generated by acetoclastic methanogens increases with the solute content of formation water, a trend that is contrary to existing conceptual models. Consistent with this trend, beta diversity analyses show that archaeal diversity significantly correlates with formation water solute content. In contrast, bacterial diversity more strongly correlates with location than solute content, possibly as a result of spatial variation in the thermal maturity of the coalbeds.Citation: Kirk MF, Wilson BH, Marquart KA, Zeglin LH, Vinson DS and Flynn TM (2015) Solute Concentrations Influence Microbial Methanogenesis in Coal-bearing Strata of the Cherokee Basin, USA. Front. Microbiol. 6:1287. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.0128

Synchronous Strategies for Interactive Live Virtual Class Sessions that Engage Students and Build Community

The session began with a brief overview of strategies from the recently published chapter “Instructional Strategies for Synchronous Components of Online Courses,” from the book Creating Teacher Immediacy in Online Learning Environments by IGI Global (www.igi-global.com), as part of the Advances in Educational Technologies & Instructional Design (AETID) Book Series. This included a handout of strategies, so that participants had a baseline of concrete ideas to take home. This chapter provides a toolkit of strategies for online faculty, course designers, and administrators interested in implementing a synchronous component of an online course. Synchronous course components provide rich opportunities to engage students, bring distinct instructor personalities and strengths to life, and personalize courses to specific school cultures. Strategies discussed appeal to a range of budgets, so as to be applicable and sustainable at any school. The chapter also includes recommendations for resolving the myriad challenges faced when implementing synchronous components of online courses. The ideas from the chapter come from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and School of Social Work. Both schools include live online classes as a key component of their online courses. These live online classes are weekly classes hosted in Adobe Connect for 90-120 minutes for the duration of the semester and led by a course instructor with a teaching assistant facilitator. Every class is supported by a dedicated webinar specialist. During live online classes, students participate in a variety of ways, depending on the course needs and instructor preferences. Participation can happen via chat, in multiple choice and short-answer polls, via mics, via webcams, via status icons, and in small group breakout activities. Every course is unique. During the session, participants had the opportunity to share their own strategies, ask questions of each other and of the presenter, and add to their toolkits of online institutional strategies. **Marquart, M., Fleming, M., Rosenthal, S., & Hibbert, M. (2016, April). Instructional Strategies for Synchronous Components of Online Courses. In S. D’Agustino (Ed.), Creating Teacher Immediacy in Online Learning Environments. Hershey, PA: IGI Global

Strategies for successfully engaging all students in live synchronous online classes

A December 2016 study in Psychological Science found that residential students who bring laptops to class frequently use the Internet for nonacademic use, which results in lower class performance. Another study referenced in Fast Company in March 2016 noted that just knowing you have an unread email in your inbox can temporarily lower your IQ by 10 points. How, then, can we discourage students from browsing the Internet or looking at their email when they are attending class on their computer because the course is online? How can we keep their attention focused on the class? At Columbia University’s School of Social Work, we are in our second year of our fully online MSW program. Our courses are taught via weekly live classes hosted in Adobe Connect for 90-120 minutes and led by a course instructor with an associate facilitator and a technical support specialist. In order to engage our students in these classes, instructors use online tools and teaching strategies to make the class sessions interactive. This poster shares active learning tools and strategies for online classrooms. These include creative uses of typed chat, formal & informal polling, webcam, on-screen drawing, live note-taking pods, and breakout rooms. This poster draws from the presenter’s personal experience teaching the fall 2016 online course Macro Community Practice, as well as the following peer-reviewed chapter: Marquart, M., Fleming, M., Rosenthal, S., & Hibbert, M. (2016, March). Instructional Strategies for Synchronous Components of Online Courses. In S. D’Agustino (Ed.), Creating Teacher Immediacy in Online Learning Environments. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Thank you to the following online instructors for contributing quotes: Mashura Akilova, Johanna Baez, Beth Counselman-Carpenter, Amelia Ortega, John Robertson, and Steven Schinke

Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course

For new and experienced online and face-to-face instructors, or those who work with them, this session will share concrete strategies for creating community within courses, whether online or face-to-face. Strategies will cover starting the semester, building community throughout, grading class participation, and closing the community at the end of course

Turning classroom training into interactive, effective online training on a budget

Organizations can save money, expand their reach to clients, and build their employees’ skills and engagement by bringing training for clients or staff online. This workshop will help participants harness technology for social good by converting classroom-based training into online training. By the end of this workshop, participants should be able to: Decide whether or not online training is a good fit for your organization; Describe how to decide what type of online training best fits your organization’s unique circumstances; Build your professional toolkits with strategies and techniques for converting classroom-based training into online training. Organizations may face challenges with providing training to small batches of new hires, to seasonal employees with high turnover, to employees who work remotely or in different locations, or to clients who don’t want to travel to the organization’s office. Classroom-based training in those instances can be expensive and time-intensive. One way to address these challenges can be to harness technology for social good by bringing training online, where it can be cost-effective, high quality, and potentially available anytime. Participants will learn how to do this in a way that engages employees or clients, so as to maintain or increase morale while saving money at the same time

Online student wellness: Examples of technology-enhanced activities, programs, and services that can promote wellness

Online students may be at risk of feeling a loss of community or a loss of support around holistic wellness, but there are options for online programs to address this by offering technology-enhanced activities, programs, and services. This poster will describe the wellness needs of online students and examples of wellness-related programs from online higher educational institutions. Members of the field of online social work education in particular have the potential to create supports for online student wellness

Lessons Learned from an ePortfolio Pilot

This poster was presented at the Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning’s Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium on March 25, 2016. It shares lessons learned from an ePortfolio pilot, conducted with a course at Columbia University’s School of Social Work, for students in the Social Enterprise Administration track. The goals of the pilot included: 1) create an e-portfolio that would help students demonstrate and articulate the value of their education in a way that would support them in securing the jobs they desire after graduation; 2) help students master the course content by linking concrete work products with their learning objectives, by providing opportunities for students to reflect on their learning, and by contributing to a collaborative learning environment; 3) obtain lessons and data to inform the potential use of ePortfolios elsewhere in the School and the University. To meet these goals, the pilot involved collaboration between the instructor, educational technologists at Columbia University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, and representatives from the ePortfolio tool, Seelio