Author: Deborah Mole

On August 31, 2015, Deb the Librarian had the great fortune to interview Helen Chen, Senior Researcher for the Designing Education Lab and the Director of ePortfolio Initiative at Stanford University, and Tracy Penny Light, Executive Director of the Centre for Student Engagement and Learning at Thomson Rivers University in British Columbia.  Listen to this Informania to discover the value and many applications of ePortfolios; and how they are used as an effective high impact learning opportunity and a tool to demonstrate skills, competencies and learning abilities.

August 24, Deb the Librarian spoke with Dana Bonifacio-Sample, the Associate Director of Student Union, Student Activities, and Commuter Student Services at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA).  Dana shared useful information about student services, and her goals for expanding the services and opportunities for students at the Student Union.  Currently, complimentary food is served in the Daily Den (1st floor of Student Union), Monday through Friday, at 10am-11am and 2pm-3pm.  Summer and winter gear  (mountain bikes, kayaks, snowshoes, and more) is available for rental on the 2nd floor of the Student Union. There is also musical entertainment in the Student Union on Wednesdays during the lunch hour, and rooms in the Student Union for student clubs to use for meetings and events.

Additionally, there are many student job opportunities at the Student Union, Interested in exploring what student job opportunities are available at UAA?  Check out  www.uakjobs.com!

For more information about resources and services offered through the Student Union and Student Activities, check out the Student Union and Commuter Services website!

Monday, August 3, Deb the Librarian interviewed Assistant Professor Lorelei Sterling, Distance Education Librarian at the UAA/APU Consortium Library.  Lorelei spoke about library services to students taking online (Distance) courses, and services to all University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University students.  For information about placing course materials on Reserve at the Consortium Library, go to https://consortiumlibrary.org/services/course_reserves.php.

Professor Sterling also manages student employees.  Learn about student employment opportunities and the multiple services available to students on this Informania interview with Lorelei Sterling!  To search for employment opportunities at the Consortium Library, go to www.uakjobs.com.

Connor Keesecker, KRUA Station Manager, and recent University of Alaska Anchorage graduate in International Studies, shares information about his experience at KRUA and the great opportunities available for students and community members at UAA’s student radio station.  To find out more about how to get involved at KRUA go to www.kruaradio.org.

Sources mentioned this week on Informania include:

Mango Languages, available to Alaskans through sled.alaska.edu.

Archive.org, a great resource for historical text, video and audio collections.

The Economist, a resource for current world news.

BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.), a resource for world news from a United Kingdom perspective.

Al Jezeera, English version of Arabic news resource.

Phi Alpha Theta, National History Honor Society with UAA student chapter.

Monday, May 11, Deb the Librarian interviews Kelly Donnelly, the Director of Outreach and Program Development for College and Career Pathways (CCP).  CCP is part of the Community and Technical College at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

CCP strives to enlighten Alaskan high school students about the various vocational and technical career opportunities; to build bridges between high school, college, and career; and to provide support for students pursuing a vocational or technical career path.

Many courses and programs are integrating academic skills with real-world work tasks, so students can use their math and writing  skills in workplace settings.  Also, programs like the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) demonstrates how organizations working together (for 20 years), can develop educational pathways and support structures to help students succeed academically and vocationally, and become leaders in industry.

For students interested in pursuing a vocational or technical career but feel financially overwhelmed, there may be scholarship funds available to help!  Many scholarships go unclaimed because qualified students do not apply.  All scholarships are not based on grades alone, so it may be worthwhile to submit a University of Alaska Anchorage scholarship application (including the essay)!  For more information, go to http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/scholarships/

Monday, May 4, Deb the Librarian interviewed Forrest Nabors, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alaska Anchorage.  In this interview, Professor Nabors provides information about the history of elections, and the history of the Democratic and Republican political parties.  He also shares insight into when and why Anchorage has a run-off Mayoral election.  Listen, and be informed!

Commencement ceremonies provide an opportunity to officially recognize and celebrate the student’s accomplishment of earning a college degree.  Listen to Informania on Monday, April 27, to discover what’s included in a commencement ceremony, and what’s involved with making an event like this happen at UAA!  We also explore the UAA graduate student “Hooding Ceremony.” Guests this week include Annie Route, Director of Student Life and Leadership, and Bridgett Dyson, Special Events Manager.

Learn more about UAA’s Commencement Ceremony at http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/commencement/

On today’s show, Annie mentioned the effort of a student to gather donated graduation gowns to bring to her home town in the Eastern European country of Moldova, where celebrating graduation may inspire others to attend college. Read more in the Green and Gold story,  Sending UAA Spirit to Moldova.

A big thank you also goes to Facilities staff; and the many volunteers who play a big part in making this event a success!

UAA Commencement for Spring 2015 graduates will be held Sunday, May 3, at     1 p.m. in the Alaska Airlines Center

Watch it live on GCI channel 1 or live-stream on the GCI website.

 Graduate Degree Hooding Ceremony will be held Saturday, May 2, 3 p.m. in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium.

Congratulations, University of Alaska Anchorage Graduates!

Monday, April 13, Deb the Librarian shared the following sources that may be useful to students.

Scholarship Opportunities

Go to http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/scholarships/ to register for scholarships at the University of Alaska Anchorage!

Interested in Federal Student Financial Aid?  Go to https://fafsa.ed.gov/

Alaska Commission on Post-Secondary Education has links to multiple financial aid sources, plus an eportfolio system to help you track courses, explore career matches for your interests and skills and create resumes.  Check this out at  https://acpe.alaska.gov/

Testing and Education Reference Center, a source that has information on multiple colleges and universites, scholarships, and college, and career exams.  Available to all Alaskans!  Find this at SLED.alaska.edu

Foundation Directory Online (at UAA’s Consortium Library)

Job Opportunities

Interested in working at the University of Alaska?  Check out job openings from all UA campuses at www.uakjobs.com

Search for jobs nationally through the Consortium Library’s ReferenceUSA database.  UAA students can log onto this with their Blackboard user name and password.

Check out www.collegecentral.com, where employers can post jobs, and university graduates can search for them!

Visit UAA’s Career Services Center!  They can provide guidance on finding jobs and internships, and assist you with creating resumes, and preparing for interviews!

UAA Instructional Designer Melissa White shares information about distance education curriculum design and the inclusion of games (gamification) in learning course content.  The UAA department, Academic Innovations and eLearning will be co-hosting the event, Serious Fun, on April 17, 2015.  Students and faculty are welcome to attend!