Day: September 22, 2008

J-term@MIIS

Winter Term, which many call J-Term for short, will run from January 5-30, 2009. We have extended its length this year to four weeks to offer more courses needing additional time, as well as to provide extended time for off-campus activities.  J-Term is considered part of our Spring Term, so students may receive financial aid and/or use their comprehensive tuition fee to cover the tuition cost of these opportunities.

J-Term is designed to offer both students and members of our faculty unique opportunities for intensive, often immersive, study and learning that reflects and reinforces our commitment to immersive, higher order, and/or and open architecture learning.  Thus, students may study at the Institute or away from it, independently or as participants in a course; they may also find opportunities for short term internships, group activities, and field trips abroad or locally.  The goal is to provide students with innovative and diverse educational opportunities beyond what can be offered during our regular fall and spring terms.

For more information about what courses and activities are being offered during J-Term this academic year, please contact the deans.

Advancement Announces Reorganization

The Office of Institutional Advancement is pleased to announce some organizational enhancements designed  to build an even more effective division working to support the Institute’s goals.

Tony O’Brian has agreed to take on the position of director of advancement information services.  In this expanded role, he will provide leadership for ongoing business process analysis and other advancement services integration initiatives with Middlebury.  We have all benefited from the great skill and energy he brings to his responsibilities, and we are fortunate that he has agreed to take on this position.

To better reflect the demands of building a robust event program for both advancement and the Institute as a whole, Linae Ishii-Devine’s role will shift from manager of events and advancement services to manager of events and administrative services.  In addition to her leadership in the events area, Linae will partner with Beth McDermott on identifying and implementing continuing education opportunities for the group, the first of which is the guest speaker series at bi-weekly Advancement staff meetings.  Her organization, enterprise, and institutional knowledge have been and will continue to be key components of our success.

Finally, at the end of this month, Leah Gowron and alumni relations will shift their reporting from the provost’s office to institutional advancement.  This move will enable us to more effectively strengthen our ties with alumni and other constituencies as we build broad-based support for the Institute.  We are lucky to have had Leah as one of our closest campus partners, and look forward to all that we will accomplish in the years ahead.

–from the Institutional Advancement Office

TLC Friday Sandbox Review: The BLOGosphere and YOU

http://mariamusic.blogspirit.com/images/medium_blog-cartoon.jpgOn the afternoon of Friday, September 12, a group of 15 staff, faculty, and students joined the TLC for its weekly Sandboxing session.  During these informal ‘play and learn’ dates, we talk, question, tinker, and snack.

In the sandbox that week was the timely topic of campus communications and the developing role of the web-blog, or ‘blog.’

You’ve heard of blogs, maybe you read one or two, and just maybe you have your own.  During this session, we heard from Ann Flower, renegade reference librarian and blogger at MIIS, Amy McGill, Associate Vice President for Planning and Special Projects who is coordinating the MIIS@Work blog and others on campus who have begun to explore blogging as a platform for communication, collaboration, archiving and expression at work.

Our discussion was streamed live using Ustream.tv.  Click: Ustream Archive of our Blogging Discussion

Helpful Materials We Looked At

Common Craft YouTube Video: Blogging in Plain English
Common Craft YouTube Video: RSS in Plain English

Establishing a Middlebury WordPress Blog
1. Activate your faculty or staff Exchange account at http://go.middlebury.edu/activate If you have an activated e-mail exchange account you should okay here.
2. Login with your Exchange username and password to activate your WordPress account.
3. E-mail [dmc at miis dot edu] to come and talk to us about customizing your blog.