Archive for December, 2008
Using Line Rider to teach mathematics
I am an avid web statistics viewer. Recently, an inbound link to my post on Line Rider Badminton caught my eye.
A teacher at Lisgar Collegiate Institute had linked to my Line Rider blog post on a wikispaces.com site for an advanced function math course. My post is listed as a resource for determining where the Line Rider .sol file is located. What a nifty way of teaching math. Create your own Line Rider track.
Here’s a snapshot of the Line Rider assignment for Mr. Tang’s math class:
Subtitles + Common Craft = Awesome
I’m a big fan of the Common Craft Show. They take complicated concepts and translate them into “plain English”. I was perusing the Common Craft site yesterday when I noticed that they provide links to subtitled versions of their videos via dotSUB.
Here’s an entertaining and accessible (for people with auditory impairments) video called “Zombies in plain English”:
Another benefit of dotSUB is that they provide a transcript of the subtitled text in plain text. This plain text is extremely useful for users who want to access the Common Craft Show content using a screenreader like JAWS or Window-Eyes.
Economics of SEM
SEM in this context stands for “Strategic Enrollment Management“. A recent article on strategic enrollment management in the Shepherd University enrollment management newsletter provides insight into the structure of strategic enrollment management components:
Revenue is an important part of the SEM strategy building. The institution must determine its Optimum Revenue, defined as the sum of appropriations and tuition revenue. Like Optimum Enrollment, (benchmark enrollment figure that indicates revenues and expenditures are in balance) Optimal Revenue is a benchmark that fluctuates and is impossible to calculate with absolute precision. An institution’s Optimum Tuition rate may actually be lower or significantly higher that the tuition currently charged. Current Revenue is then compared to Optimum Revenue. The difference becomes the SEM Revenue Goal.
- Current Enrollment x Current Tuition = Current Revenue
- Optimum Enrollment x Optimum Tuition = Optimum Revenue
- Optimum Revenue – Current Revenue = SEM Revenue Goal
Strategic Reinvestment, a key economic model of SEM, is a function of the SEM Revenue Goal rather than an absolute dollar figure. This refers to allocating resources saved from existing revenue streams, or allocating new revenues generated by SEM strategies to further the success of the SEM program. An example of this is setting financial aid levels as a function of revenue. The flexibility of this reinvestment provides unexpected control in bringing in the class at or above numerical and quality expectations until optimum levels are achieved. Such an approach eliminates important opportunities through miscalculating yields on financial aid offerings or putting continuing students in competition with new students for limited financial resources.
Shepherd University Enrollment Management Newsletter:
http://www.shepherd.edu/university/enrollment/
Additional information on strategic enrollment management:
http://consulting.aacrao.org/tag/strategic-enrollment-management/
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra — I think there should be more rock orchestras… 
Sunday laundry
My friends, whose numbers are in my cellphone, almost always receive a text message from me on laundry day. It’s sort of a laundry ritual. Here’s a horribly grainy video that I captured with my cellphone. I think it conveys my laundry experience from today.
Laundry from Eric Stoller on Vimeo.
Silly comment trolls
I love it when an individual commenter attempts to comment with multiple identities. Silly comment trolls. I can see your IP address. Moderated, first-time comments go into the moderation queue. When commenter “A” responds to a comment that “B” just left and both comments are in the queue, klaxons go off in my inner-thought-o-sphere. How could “A” know what “B” just said when “B’s” comment is still hidden from public viewing.
Silly comment trolls. Keep trying to comment with as many false names as you want. You will not be fed.
The Nadas
Listen to “Feels Like Home”
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I’ve been listening to the Nadas for quite a while. At least 12 years of auditory enjoyment. I remember seeing them perform at the OP in Cedar Falls, Iowa while I was a student at the University of Northern Iowa. I’ve seen them perform at venues in Iowa, in Chicago, IL and at a friends wedding in Minnesota. I’ve watched these guys grow up while I myself was maturing. When the inevitable occurs and the Nadas retire/break-up, I’m going to be bummed out. They have been a musical constant in my eclectic musical collection. I wonder if they’ll ever make it out to Oregon for a gig?
Listen to “Blue Lights”
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Listen to “Coming Home”
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Stand By Me
A fantastic version of this classic song. It’s a powerful and very moving rendition. This song always reminds me of those who have supported me along the way.
