Saturday, May 29, 2010

Take 5 Minutes for Health

An interesting Widget from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) that offers weekly 5 minute tips (or less) with ways to stay safe and improve your health.

The 5 minute health tip has also been included as a side bar for the Nutrition & Wellness course.

Five Minutes Or Less For Health


Five Minutes Or Less For Health Widget. Flash Player 9 is required.
Five Minutes Or Less For Health Widget.
Flash Player 9 is required.



Flash Player 9 is required for the Five Minutes Or Less For Health Widget.

Note: This Health widget is updated with a new five-minute tip each week by the CDC.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Big Mistakes Made by Online Students

In an article in US News published in March 2010, author Kim Clark (a writer for US News) wrote about the "8 Big Mistakes Online Students Make."

According to Clark the biggest mistakes made by online students are:
  1. Not checking out the school
  2. Signing up for a course without budgeting at least 10 hours a week of study every week the course is in session—with no vacations!
  3. Being unrealistic about your learning style.
  4. Committing to an online course without first ensuring your technology matches the schools.
  5. Not checking out the teacher.
  6. Taking on too much too soon.
  7. Thinking that since it is an online course, it is OK to "copy and paste."
  8. Being unprepared or unwilling to cooperate with a virtual team.
Some of the points Clark makes I am not as convinced are "Big Mistakes" in online learning, at least in online learning in my courses. The four key points that I *do* agree with, which apply in particular to the online classes that I teach are:
  1. Signing up for a course without budgeting at least 10 hours a week of study every week the course is in session—with no vacations!
  2. Being unrealistic about your learning style.
  3. Committing to an online course without first ensuring your technology matches the schools.
  4. Thinking that since it is an online course, it is OK to "copy and paste."
One thing is for sure is that potential online students need to should to determine before taking an online course if online learning is truly for them.

Be watching for other posts to help determine if online learning is for you.

Source:
Clark K. 2010. 8 Big Mistakes Online Students Make. US News.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Welcome to the Nutrition & Wellness Course Blog

The Nutrition and Wellness Course Blog established for Biology 50, the Nutrition course taught by Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer at Columbia College.

This blog is used to provide information, interesting nutrition news, course updates and additional information for teaching the Nutrition course.

The Blogger version of the Nutrition & Wellness Course Blog at http://nutrition-course.blogspot.com is a continuation of the Nutrition & Wellness - Biology 50 Edublog, launched in 2008 on Edublogs.


For a variety of different reasons starting in Summer 2010 the Blog will be now on Blogger. The older posts will continue to be available on the Edublog site.