Blurts

So many are weighing in on the lack of student interest in STEM careers. Here is a recent article from the Scientific American. I sometimes wonder if we are ignoring something we don’t want to consider. Here is an explanation based on my experience working in higher education.

The university where I worked was a partner in several programs that tried to encourage minority students to pursue advanced degree programs in the “sciences”. I observed these programs as the chairperson of the psychology department. Our department did quite well in hosting students who were able to secure support through these programs. I know this was frustrating to some because not all recognize Psychology as a “science”. What I know about the long-term outcome of the program was that a high proportion of these capable students went on into careers in health care rather than into the grad programs in the sciences considered the purpose of the undergrad support.

Here is what I wonder. Is what tends to happen regarding careers in science especially careers as researchers a function of preparation or values? A focus on certain values would explain the commitment to health care. Those who might pursue a career in business would often be doing so for a different type of value.

The most recent Triagulation offers an interview with Edward Snowden’s lawyer. Leo Laporte does a great job with an interview that considers government secrecy and the role of journalism. Worth a listen given many current political developments.

I have sold a textbook through a publisher (for 15 years) and through Amazon as a Kindle book. I decided to move to Kindle so that I could create resources in a different format (a Primer at low cost in combination with free online web resources). We negotiated the return of our copyright when we could not agree on price and format. In making this transitions I gave up two significant things. First, I now longer have a dedicated editor. An editor is very helpful to even an experienced author. However, because I am selling a book at less than 1/10 of the cost from the publisher, it was not practical to pay someone what my editor was paid. Second, I no longer have an army of regional book reps going door to door to offer faculty members a free desk copy of the book and attempt to encourage the faculty members to take a look. Of the two forms of support, it is this second service that is most challenging to overcome. Of course, it greatly increases the cost of the product, but unless faculty members take a look they will not consider a book for adoption.

I have come to the conclusion that this is the challenge I must address based on the pattern of sales our book generates. The book sells at a steady pace with no spikes that would seem to indicate the adoption for college classes. I also search for references to the book online. When I was selling through a company, I could locate syllabi that would indicate the book was required of students. I am pleased individuals purchase the book, but the book was really written to be used in a class setting.

Anyway, I am attempting to use some of the promotional approaches Amazon recommends. I am doing this at this point in time as this is when educators look to select books to be used in the Spring semester. For a limited time, the book is available for $1. The price then gradually increases back to the normal selling price. This approach cannot compare to free in your office, but it makes sense to me.

This is a post for those who may use Adobe Connect in an online course. Connect happens to be the software my institution uses for online courses. I have taught a grad course using Adobe Connect for years and I had never thought to check to see if an app for the iPad was available. It turns out Adobe does offer an app and I like it a lot. This is not my typical reaction to adaptations of services for the iPad (e.g., Blackboard).

The full Connect display looks something like this. The display consists of modules that can be arranged in different ways. This happens to be an arrangement I use while students are making presentations. This is the display as it appeared on my iPad.

A nice feature of the app is that individual modules can be selected for viewing. This is helpful just to be able to see things at a reasonable size. This is a good example of what I mean by a nice adaptation for the iPad. Moving easily from module to module is helpful when working on a smaller screen.