The discussion of the syllabus as intellectual property versus student (or even public) accessibility is not a new one. The most recent debate is between the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) and several universities. The star of the show, NCTQ, has been getting a lot of press recently. From Minnesota to Missouri, and several [...]
Structured Syllabi: personified courses and a chef’s meal
On July 5, 2012
The other day, as syllabi were on my geeky mind, I came up with a few analogies that make understanding syllabi (particularly, structured syllabi) epicly easy–and hunger-inducing. Here is what I came up with:
A syllabus is a course introduction and overview. If a class were personified, it would say something like this: “Hi, this [...]
Saving the world one syllabus at a time
On June 28, 2012
It was the first real week of my internship with the Syllabus Geeks, and I got an email in my inbox from Agent Judd. He informed me that there was a very important, top-secret project (seriously- so don’t tell him about this blog post) that needed to be worked on that involved transferring several syllabi from the [...]
With Pinterest, [syllabus] beauty is a pain
On June 13, 2012
Pinterest, a content sharing service, is a visually stunning method of social networking. The site has grown dramatically over the last year- from less than 2 million unique users in May 2011 to over 18 million unique users as of March of this year. Pinterest is an excellent way to display, share, and [...]
Well, I must say that after half of last week spent travelling, staying at the Gaylord Texan, and going over syllabus management with potential clients—in addition to attending a rodeo somewhere in there—I am officially JAM-med out.
For those who don’t know, JAM is an annual meeting hosted by Jenzabar, one of the [...]
Find, Build, Share – Fork?
On March 28, 2012
In a recent ProfHacker post by Brian Croxall of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the topic of “Forking Your Syllabus” lit up with over 40 comments from the higher ed community. Much of the conversation revolved around the fine line between stealing, collaborating, and giving credit where credit is due. Two of the three [...]
Excellence Starts with the Syllabus
On January 13, 2012
As a senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I have to admit that the first day of class is by far my favorite part of school. In fact, it’s probably the thing I’ll miss most when I graduate this May. On that first day of class, in the short time before the frantic schedule of assignments, [...]
Managing Syllabi: A Tale from “the Dungeon”
On October 20, 2011
The Syllabus Institute recently released a report titled “Where Does the Budget Go? Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Managing Syllabi.” Analyzing the results of our syllabus management survey in thrilling detail, we’ve gathered enough data to make you think twice about your syllabus management practices. But if our impersonal numbers haven’t convinced [...]
Whose syllabus is it anyway?!
On July 5, 2011
In the 1960’s, Andy Warhol revolutionized the art world with his pop depictions of American icons, including Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mouse. In one of his famous pieces, Warhol used the Campbell’s Soup can to create a series of prints. Today he might be sued for using a company’s image, but in the 1960’s, [...]
Welcome to the Syllabus Institute
On June 28, 2011
Colleagues,
I am proud to welcome you the Syllabus Institute, your stomping ground for everything syllabus related.
Over the past few years, in conversation with educators, we have discovered the growing importance of syllabi in the educational fabric. A syllabus is no longer a simple contract between instructor and student. The syllabus is now used [...]
