I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the Jackie Gratz the Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Center (OLLI), to hear a little bit about their upcoming course Preview featuring all of their Fall 2010 course offerings.
I had lots of questions about the upcoming event, but I think Jackie summed it up best with, “the Preview is great fun and very informative!”
Who is invited to attend the Preview? All Osher members, guests, people who have seen Osher flyers or other publicity in community newspapers; directors of partnership programs at retirement communities as well as some of their residents; some of DECO, EEOL, and TU staff. There is always an open invitation to those over 50 years of age.
How many people you are expecting? We generally have 180 – 190.
OLLI Director Jackie Gratz checking in with the volunteers
Where and When is the Preview being held?The Preview will be held in the Merrick Lecture Hall at Goucher College, 10 a.m. – 12 n. on July 29th.
Which classes are being previewed?All classes in the fall 2010 catalog except those classes that are filled already or classes of instructors who could not attend. OLLI will be offering classes in the areas of Music, Art History, Jazz, Dance, Film, Literature, Poetry, Natural Sciences, History, and Book Clubs. About 25 (either four or eight week courses) will be previewed.
Will the instructors be present? Yes, instructors will give three minute presentations of their classes. According to Jackie, the general public really enjoys the opportunity to meet the instructors before registering for their particular course.
Jackie concluded by saying that the Preview is also a social event with refreshments served and lots of socializing before and after. Sounds like a great way to spend a morning!
On June 16, 2010, TowsonGlobal collaborated with Funding Universe to bring CrowdPitch to Towson University. The event gathered more than 70 entrepreneurs and investors in an entertaining and dynamic setting, where selected companies were given four minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of experts and a live audience. A brief, three-minute Q&A session followed the presentation, in which the entrepreneurs were able give more in-depth information about their business plans. Audience members also received $100 in “fun money,” which they could use to “invest” in the company of their choice at the end of the program.
The “pitchers” were ArtiNNet with VoicePass, mobile software that uses voice recognition security; MYiLIVE, a personalized boutique shopping website; Port Networks, smart WiFi technology; Tots2Tweens, a web directory for parents; and WinTheTrophy, a legal sports betting and social gaming site. All presenters were well prepared, eloquent and very passionate about their ideas and most received positive feedback from the panel. In the end, ArtiNNet won and received $8800 worth of prizes, including accounting/financial services, startup support counseling, Amazon web services, and will be profiled in FundingUniverse’s newsletter that is distributed to 120,000 subscribers.
TowsonGlobal Involvement
TowsonGlobal’s staff also participated in the event and got the opportunity to interact with all attendees. “ This is the first time I have been to an event like this. I was excited to be a part of it. Now I understand how hard it is to find investors and get a business going!” says intern Lissell Paredes. Intern Aaron Robinson adds “It was very informative; I didn’t know events like these existed and I’m glad I got to experience it.”
“Overall, CrowdPitch was a learning experience for everyone present, a convenient way to get advice from experts, and a great opportunity to build connections,” says TowsonGlobal Director Clay Hickson.
To see if a CrowdPitch event is coming to a city near you, click here!
There are many reasons I enjoy attending professional conferences, including learning about what others in the GIS world are working on, catching up with colleagues I have not seen in a while, and getting a break from cubicle-life for a couple days. I had the chance to accomplish all these feats while attending Towson University’s annual GIS conference (TUgis) earlier this week. The conference quickly flew by and now I’m back in my cubicle left to reflect on TUgis 2010. The following are specific and general observations regarding the conference.
TUgis 2010’s theme, “GIS in Budget Constrained Times: Doing More with Less” seemed especially pertinent considering the real budget difficulties facing individuals, businesses, and governments in today’s fitful economy. The number of conference attendees and exhibitors were noticeably down due to the difficult economic times, but the quality of the presentations remained high.
Most of the presentations I attended tied into the conference’s theme well. Jennifer Pfister’s (BioHabitats, Inc) presentation focused on the use of “freeware” in order to prioritize where non-native invasive species removal resources should be used in Fairfax County, Virginia. Sharing data, services, and infrastructure was the cost-saving theme reiterated throughout the MDiMap mini-workshop.
The education application presentations on the conference’s second day stressed the importance of volunteerism and giving back to the community where one lives and works. This was especially true in Jessica Wright and Lacy Baker’s (California University of PA) presentation, which focused on a service learning project that involved the development and maintenance of a GIS that provides local volunteer firefighters with information regarding hazards they may encounter at a destination. The discussion that followed regarding the student’s training of the volunteer firefighters in the system’s use as well as a more general discussion of volunteerism was very interesting.
While I enjoyed all the sessions I attended, I believe the underlying message delivered by the presentations in the education application session stuck with me the most. During today’s difficult times it is understandable that individuals and businesses are increasingly concerned about pinching every penny and making sure employees are “billable”. However, it is especially important today not to lose sight of the importance of volunteerism. Volunteer work may not help with the volunteer’s budgetary concerns, but they along with the community served will reap real benefits from the volunteer work completed.
From July 12th - 16th over 70 teachers from the around the US will be coming to Towson to take part in the Oracle Academy at Towson University. The academy will provide teachers with world class training and professional development opportunities.
The Oracle Academy is a cutting edge program that provides global education institutions with industry-leading software, curriculum, support, and certification resources that faculty can integrate into their classrooms. As a result, these teachers can then assist their students in gaining hands on experience with the latest technologies and develop skills that will help them excel in the 21st century workplace while developing their technical, analytical, and business skills.
Currently, Oracle Academy Instructors’ Institutes are in Romania, Egypt, Czech-Republic, China and USA. In the U.S., Towson University is one of 4 sites for the Oracle Academy. Other locations are in Virginia, North Carolina, and Illinois. The results of these academies is far reaching, and in total the Oracle Academy supports over 850,000 students in 91 countries through their instruction.
The Oracle Academy has 3 specific areas of instruction:
Introduction to Computer Science
Advanced Computer Science
Enterprise Business Application
The teachers enrolled in the Oracle Academy at Towson University not only receive valuable instruction and skills, but also get to live like College Students for a few days by staying in our dormitories.
Did you hear the buzz on campus? On March 13, 2010, Towson University, in partnership with Learn It Systems, hosted the annual Baltimore Bee, a regional competition for local students looking to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Robbie Palmisano, a student at Hereford Middle School, won the Baltimore Bee and has been studying for Nationals with help from Towson University’s Nadia Nasr. Nadia, the University Archivist & Digital Projects Librarian for the Albert S. Cook Library, has been meeting with Robbie every week to train for Nationals. During sessions, Nadia reads Robbie words from the list provided by Scripps National, and has him spell them out using Scrabble tiles. She feels that this helps him visualize the word; therefore giving him a better chance of memorizing it.
I asked Nadia what made her want to coach Robbie and she responded, “I was in a couple of spelling bees myself back in Houston, when I was in middle school and possibly also elementary school. So for me, working with Robbie was part nostalgia and part interest in participating in his preparations… I have really enjoyed working with Robbie, and he has indicated that he also feels it’s a good working relationship.”
Towson University will be rooting for Robbie Palmisano as he heads to the Scripps National Spelling Bee this June. We hope the BUZZ will increase by having a Maryland student as the National winner! For more information about the Baltimore Bee, contact Learn It Systems at 410-769-0000 or info@learn-itsystems.com.
The 23rd annual Towson University Geographic Information Sciences (TUgis 2010) conference will be held on Monday, May 24th and Tuesday, May 25th at the University Union on Towson University’s campus. Each day starts off with a plenary presentation, which is followed by three concurrent sessions throughout the day with lunch and several breaks mixed in. During the concurrent sessions, conference attendees may choose from several 15-minute presentations and several 45-minute mini-workshops, ranging on topics from environmental applications to GIS career development.
One of the mini-workshops taking place at TUgis 2010 will focus on the MDiMap initiative. It will take place in the Chesapeake I room of the University Union on Tuesday, May 25th from 3:30 – 5:00pm. Watch the interview below where Ashley Buzzeo of Towson University’s Center for GIS and one of the MDiMap mini-workshop presenters describes MDiMap in general and the MDiMap mini-workshop specifically.
On an early, gloomy Saturday morning, I made my way to the Brown Center on the campus of MICA for the first inaugural “A Day in the Life Baltimore Design Conference.” My spirits were instantly lifted as I spotted the orange and green balloons that signified the location of the event. I guess that first cup of coffee didn’t hurt either! Anyway, here are my personal highlights of the day…
This is a little thing, but the conference bag was filled with useful, thoughtful, and fun goodies. Useful – a desk guide that included reference that are great to have on hand. my favorite part of the guide is the fractions to decimals guide. Seems like that would be every designer’s best friend. Thoughtful – a pack of gum. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a stick of gum after that morning cup of coffee or lunch. And fun – a super squishy green stress ball that now has a home right in front of me at work.
The first session I attended, “Typography More than Words”, was led by Ellen Lupton who provided a review in typography basics, but then explored some topics that I was not as familiar with. I was fascinated by something that she described as “sprinting.” Her graduate students are experimenting with this process where they take a design problem, and they work through the problem in several 20 minutes sessions where they explore different solutions for the same problem. Sounds like a great way to free the creative juices and encourage experimentation.
Bridget Sullivan moderates the panel "The Value of Great Design"
And, the afternoon wrapped up with an enjoyable panel moderated by Towson University’s own Bridget Sullivan! The panel featured four local creatives who have found success in their own business pursuits. Each of the panelists provided a different point of view because of their varying business size, length in business and overall point of view on how to approach projects, and particularly branding.
That afternoon I left the conference feeling energized and a new sense of inspiration towards the business of design. “A Day in the Life” really did make my day, maybe even my weekend.
“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars.” This Lee Brown quote is one of my all time favorites and was the first thing I thought of when viewing the amazing community outreach initiatives that occur each week at Towson University’s Hackerman Academy.
Each week, the Hackerman Academy provides a popular Saturday Morning Science series for the community. The series is so engaging that students want to come learn on their day off from school! Through these sessions, the Hackerman Academy meets its goals of attracting more students into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors while preparing teachers for area schools in these much needed discipline areas. TU students volunteer each week to help make the series possible.
What makes the Hackerman Academy such a success? One answer is by having excellent staff on board. TU is fortunate to have its own ‘Astronaut in Residence’, Dr. Don Thomas. Following his experience as a NASA Astronaut, Don came to TU to help future students get excited and engaged in the field that he loves. Despite his remarkable background, Don is surprisingly humble and ‘down to earth’. His pure love of STEM related fields and genuine interest in helping students achieve is hard not to admire.
In addition to the Saturday Morning Science series, the Hackerman Academy often invites schools from the community in for special trips and STEM related class sessions. Dr. James Saunders, Director of the Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bio-Informatics Program, collaborates with Don to strengthen these school and community partnerships.
It is through outreach initiatives like the Hackerman Academy that students, teachers, schools, and communities connect and learn together. Want to have fun and learn at the same time? Check out the Hackerman Academy’s Calendar of Events.
The annual Towson University Geographic Information Sciences (TUgis) has been an important part of my GIS career throughout the last seven years. My career at Towson University began at TUgis 2003, when Dr. Jay Morgan interviewed me for a graduate assistantship. I would not be a Towson University alumni or a current Towson University employee were it not for that interview. TUgis 2005 was the venue I chose to present the results of my graduate school research, which helped me obtain my graduate degree. Subsequent TUgis conferences have been venues for presenting projects I have worked on since becoming a full-time CGIS employee in August of 2005.
This year’s TUgis will take place on May 24th and May 25th. For those readers who will be attending TUgis for the first time this year, below are a few things to check out.
Job Mart – Conference attendees interested in finding or advertising a GIS job are encouraged to participate in TUgis’ Job Mart. Prospective employers can also set up interview slots during the conference by contacting Dr. Shang Kou Lou of Towson University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Planning.
Map Gallery – Conference attendees are encouraged to vote on the best maps submitted for the TUgis 2010 Map Design Competition. Conference attendees interested in competing must submit their map to Towson University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Planning by 3:00 pm on Friday, May 14th.
Student Presentations – Every TUgis conference I have attended has dedicated one or more sessions to student presentations. Support the student presenters by attending one or more of the presentations.
Workshops – TUgis conferences also make workshops available, which typically cover an entire 90-minute session. If you are interested in learning more about the MDiMap initiative, make sure to check your conference program for the MDiMap Workshop.
Ice Breaker Social – Enjoy food, drink, and company at the end of the conference’s first day (5:00 pm – 7:00 pm) at the Ice Breaker Social. Who knows, maybe you’ll win a door prize?
This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to be a speaker at the Second Annual Harford County Women’s Conference. I was asked to speak about the national and regional economy and how it will affect Harford County going forward. The day was broken up into different topics relating to Women’s Health. For example, Women’s Financial Health, Women’s Medical Health, Women’s Physical Needs and Women’s Emotional Health. I was part of the Women’s Financial Health portion along with Kathy Wajer, Chief Financial Manager of Harford County Economic Development. While my presentation was a bird’s eye view of the economy, Kathy focused on more county-specific data and an overview of business activity.
The theme of my presentation was the 2010 Economic Outlook – Hump Day. So, what exactly does that mean? My colleagues and I thought having a theme would be a clever way for us to summarize our sentiment for the economy. Our feeling here at RESI is that 2010 can be categorized as Hump Day. Meaning we may have gotten past those first rough few days of the week (in this case, 2008 and 2009), but we still have a way to go before we can get to that carefree weekend. We must get over that hump, so to speak.
click here to view the presentation
The conference’s inclusion of a variety of different topics was a great way for women to gather pertinent information specific to them. In particular, I thought the Women’s Medical Health portion was interesting and timely. The first presenter, Leni Preston from the MD Women’s Coalition for HealthCare Reform spoke about the impact of the healthcare reform bill on the citizens of Maryland. It was a rousing topic that garnered passionate feedback from attendees on the eve of a historical vote on healthcare reform.
Overall, I felt the conference was extremely informative and truly reflective of the issues that women must deal with in everyday life. I’m already looking forward to attending next year to see what new and fresh topics are presented!
Posted by Allie Pyzik 
Guest Blogger
Bobbie O'Connell
Sharyn Kuczka
Jeremy Monn
Raquel Huezo
Clay Hickson
Susan Scher
Thomas Rumeau
Jimmy Bayne
Steven Fabijanski
Dawn Bott
Lisa Walker
Lindsey Meyer
Allie Pyzik
Daraius Irani