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A Collegiate Stadium, ‘Mean Green’ and Platinum

October 27, 2011, 1:00 pm

By Scott Carlson


“Mean Green” indeed: The new stadium at the University of North Texas got a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The New York Times carried a story this week about how the sports industry is embracing environmental sensibilities — perhaps a surprising and encouraging development, given that big-time sports “represent the broadest cross-section of consumer culture and America’s wasteful ways,” as the article put it.

But it appears to be a trend, and not one found in the usual places. “You would expect it out of a California team, but not an Arizona team,” said Derrick Hall, the chief executive of the Arizona Diamondbacks, which had added solar panels to its baseball field.

How about a Texas team? Unmentioned in the article was the honor unveiled this week for the new stadium at the University of North Texas. It appears to be the first newly constructed stadium to achieve a platinum rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program from the U.S. Green Building Council. The stadium features native landscaping, water-saving features (like low-flow toilets), recycled and locally-produced materials, and clean, naturally lit indoor spaces.

There’s more: This December, the university will put up three wind turbines on site, making it the first college stadium to incorporate wind energy.

All of this will lighten the stadium’s carbon emissions — a good thing for the University of North Texas, which signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

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  • http://www.worstprofessorever.com @WorstProfEver

    Dear Mr. Cohen: Profs hate Blackboard just as much as you do. Why not collaborate with them to make a tool that serves both your needs?

  • http://blog.coursekit.com Coursekit

    That’s our plan. We’ve designed Coursekit with professors in mind — this won’t work without their support. Log on in a few days and you’ll be able to test Coursekit out for your own classes.

  • http://www.worstprofessorever.com @WorstProfEver

    Well, okay then, but you’d better work a little on that marketing strategy! Many developers assume they are designing with the user in mind, but unless they’re actively asking for input, they really aren’t — so if you want profs on board with this, you might want to mention that they’ve been included in the process, as do on your website?

    Look, I’m not denying that you can do better than Blackboard, it really does suck. But my point is that profs never get any say in this stuff anyway. They don’t get to choose the software in the first place, admin does, and learning new software is really, truly awful in that they don’t have enough time in the first place. So saying you’re trying to ‘force’ them to do anything is not a great strategy.

  • http://blog.coursekit.com Coursekit

    I completely agree with you. We designed this product with professor input. There is no good software that is designed for professors — that’s the problem with the space. And that comes from the fact that, like you said, the users (professors) aren’t the decision makers (admins).

    Our strategy to market plays off of that. We will be giving teachers worldwide the opportunity to use our software without official support from their schools. Check back within the next few days.

    While we’re really thankful for the coverage here, I do think the article makes us sound a little hostle in our approach to market. We aren’t forcing anything upon anyone. We just think that in a market where not every teacher and not every admin is tech savvy, we need a way in. That way in is also savvy teachers, though, and that’s what I think wasn’t clear from this article.

    Again, thanks for the feedback. I’d love to take this offline and see how we can accommodate for your needs. Please email me: jc (at) Coursekit dot com. That goes for any other educators who are looking for new solutions and/or want to participate in designing quality software.

    Joe

  • http://twitter.com/eProf_HIT Michelle A. Green

    I took a look at Coursekit.com, and because I teach all of my courses entirely online and never actually meet with students I wouldn’t find this Blackboard replacement useful. I write test questions using ExamView software, convert to Blackboard, and upload test pools to my courses. I don’t see a gradebook for Coursekit.com. It really looks like a web site that would be most useful to faculty who teach entirely on campus and want an online presence for their courses. Teaching 6 different courses entirely online in an academic program of almost 200 students is an entirely different world as compared with face-to-face courses that need an online presence to upload syllabi, lectures, and other handouts. I don’t upload lectures, which would be in an outline format and not useful to online students. For example, I create what I call “conversational lectures,” which is me talking to students in a narrative format about the more complex concepts associated with course content I teach.

    I wish you all the best in your Coursekit.com progression, but because publishers have created webtutor products that can be uploaded into Blackboard and other learning management systems, unless you plan to prepare those types of resources for faculty who teach entirely online, I’m not sure Coursekit.com will catch on. Certainly, Coursekit.com will be of value for face-to-face courses and hybrid courses that don’t require students to take exams online. (Security would be a major issue associated with exam taking, and the lack of gradebook in Coursekit.com is an issue.)

  • http://twitter.com/eProf_HIT Michelle A. Green

    I am always puzzled by professors who hate Blackboard. I have used Blackboard for years to teach entirely online courses, and I find it intuitive and very easy to use. My students also have absolutely no problems using Blackboard. What do professors hate about Blackboard? I wonder if it’s more of a lack of campus IT support for Blackboard problems that do arise and need quick resolution. I am lucky to have IT support that jumps on these types of issues so that they are resolved quickly, and perhaps that’s why I have no issues with Blackboard. (I teach 6 different courses entirely online using Blackboard. I also used TopClass when I first started teaching entirely online in 2000.)

  • 3224243

    The Sakai project has an open-source Blackboard alternative, too. It’s called OnCourse. It had a very rocky start but now seems pretty stable. Full functionality and you can’t beat the cost.

  • vceross

    I agree that such things as having integrated assignment, test, survey, and gradebook features are central to faculty who use course software. Here’s what I don’t like about Blackboard: it takes, at this point, four steps for me to open a student’s assignment and then another three steps to grade it: ridiculous. Similarly, students must go through a three-step process to submit an assignment and if they skip a step, it still appears as if they have submitted the assignment, which is confusing and opens up a space for students who pretend they’ve submitted, etc. Here’s another: Blackboard has a bunch of features that you can’t really use, because they crash the site. For example, when you post an announcement, you technically can send an email to everyone at the same time, but you can’t, really, because the email will crash the site. And the email feature is in general abominable. There’s no portfolio software (I understand that some of the open source software has developed good portfolio/doc sharing and editing features).

    But if all you want to do is post documents and links and have a discussion board or blog, anything will do. Some profs even use Facebook and its notes feature for that. What distinguishes BB is that it’s password-protected and has assignment/gradebook features. With privacy concerns going in the direction they are, most universities are going to insist on the password-protected, home server mode, I suspect, and certainly if grading is involved (at our university we are concerned about putting our students’ papers in the public domain and thus must house them all on our private servers).

    In short, there is a demand for a better product, but it’s going to take working not just with a couple of business profs but profs across the disciplines, and the university’s IT security people, to come up with something marketable.

  • kantopet

    Since it is not addressed in the article, have you also explored working with open source tools, such as Moodle or Sakai, where you could contribute modules that would allow for tiered usage. Which is to say, those who need it could have their accounts, or individual courses, configured for the simple interface you put forward, while others, who need more, could be configured for more. As such it would call in the strengths of both open source and modular (OO or no) technologies. There is also another company, in Troy, NY, whose name entirely eludes me right now (they solicited me recently) trying to do pretty much the same thing specifically with modules that can sit on top of Blackboard, Moodle, or other CMS.

    (Excuses if this posted twice … my browser hung up on me.)

  • http://twitter.com/MikeSmart Mike Smart

    I’d recommend open-source Moodle. You could spend the energy building plug-ins for Moodle to tweak it the way you want. Everyone benefits.

  • Guest

    How are they able to pay students to use the service? I’m confused. In any event we do need some changes in LMS technology for universities and public schools. It’s a disgrace what’s out there now. It’s just a matter of time however. There are a lot of great sites out there like http://Enterthegroup.com, edmodo.com and schoology.com which are starting to take off.

  • http://bitsofgenius.net Joseph Cohen

    I just want to repeat:

    We aren’t forcing anything upon anyone. We just think that in a market where not every teacher and not every admin is tech savvy, we need a way in. That way in is also savvy teachers, though, and that’s what I think wasn’t clear from this article.
    –

    We are soliciting educator feedback. Please let me know if you’re interested in participating.

    Joe

  • missoularedhead

    If there’s a gradebook feature attached, I’m there. Blackboard makes me tear out my hair in frustration. I’m seriously considering moving the courses I teach to WordPress, but I’m lousy at math.

  • syllabus_geek

    Funny you should mention Troy, NY. That’s us, Intellidemia (a right awful name, easy to forget), the developers of Concourse, an online syllabus tool.

    We post as the syllabus_geek because 1) we live, love, and believe in the syllabus (totally geeky) and 2) we want to be respectful of others by contributing thoughtful, relevant posts – as people not as a company advertising.

    @Kantopet: You are correct; we are a supplement to any current course management tool. Whether you use open source, Bb, or others, Concourse creates a seamless experience and provides a “light touch” solution to build a less disjoint online presence for your F2F class. In essence we breathe life into your existing LMS syllabus folder through a document you are obligated to create – the syllabus.

    Sometimes we talk so passionately about the syllabus we feel it should be a private message. ; )

  • ychumanities

    I don’t find it intuitive, for example, to click “Customization,” and then “Properties” in order to find the question “Make this course available to users?” so I can click a radio button that says “yes” so that students can see the class online.

  • http://www.facebook.com/marjorie.vai Marjorie Vai

    I’ve read these comments so far. BB is hated because it is unnecessarily bloated and poorly designed. While some folks may not care about bad design most do. Good design is, simply put, easy to use and a pleasure to look at.It is Apple as opposed to Microsoft. Just talk to the folks on those sides of the argument to understand what’s going on. I’ve just published a book on online course design. If Microsoft were the only option I would never be as involved with technology as I am.

    Students live and breathe good design and that’s why they probably get involved with things like creating LMSs. (See the elegantly designed, student-created Canvas LMS, http://www.instructure.com/ ) . Yes, of course AK is right about including profs. Sounds like that’s happening.

    I created an online MA in TESOL at the New School in NYC and found that it was very difficult at times to follow standards of good course design with BB. One had to work around BB. The book I’ve written is standards-based. Following standards is really difficult or impossible with some LMSs. For example, for the sake of easy readability, line length should be fairly short. That’s why newspapers are written in columns. Of course, wider than a column is fine. But some LMSs do not allow you to adjust line length. The result is course material that could put you to sleep just from the strain on your eyes. This is only one small example.

    I wish you folks good luck in your work on Coursekit. Change is needed. I think it’s understandable that students are in the forefront of this.

    My book on Online course design: Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide
    http://essentialsofonlinecoursedesign.com

    outlines standards that certainly apply to the development of an LMS.
    Best,

    Marjorie Vai

  • design_first

    Okay,

    1. your model encourages a continuation of the traditional approach for learning online, i.e. “Shovelware”. By removing the options and embellishments, faculty will simply post syllabi. Without a larger set of attributes there will be no effort to initially design courses to adhere to the paradigm shift for more learner centered designs. All courses will basically look and function the same rather than exist as more richly designed unique courses.

    2. your model may violate intellectual property. You encourage students to “… post course information …” but those materials are usually copyrighted by and are the intellectual property of the faculty who are teaching the course.

  • syllabus_geek

    I agree with the comments by Professor Green, vceross, Coursekit crew, et al. There is a growing need being expressed by the academic community for a cost effective, tech efficient, intuitive course management experience.

    The trends seem to indicate advancements in developing full blown LMS tools/replacements or specialized add-on/enhancements. It doesn’t seem as though we have found the cure-all just yet, but the signs of evolution and revolution are providing us with more options. This is a very exciting crucial time in edtech.

    If I were to place a bet…I’ve got my money on open source and of course (cue the Star Wars anthem) a powerful add-on built upon the center of the course solar system, the time-tested syllabus. Instructors work hard to develop it, students live by it, and administrators enforce and analyze it.

  • http://bitsofgenius.net Joseph Cohen

    Coming soon!

  • syllabus_geek

    We agree, there are a number of learning management tools that are designed to help the old brick and mortar class develop an online presence, but may not serve the 100% online course instructor or student.

    I found your perspective and assessment of CourseKit very informative.

  • ychumanities

    I’m testing Edmodo.com with a class that starts tomorrow. I really like its Facebook-like design and the integrated design that automatically creates a gradebook entry and a calendar note when you add an assignment. I’m really curious to see what my students say.

  • syllabus_geek

    You hit the nail on the head. There are so many dimensions and areas to be addressed when introducing technology to the class. We quickly learned about developing with a holistic lens. The “academic community” is made up of many critical parts.

    Privacy and protection are a concern for faculty members (where applicable syllabus IP), but technology and academic administrators are chiefly concerned with password protection and access. After learning this, we worked to further develop our technology so it would integrate with current tools like the student information and learning systems with single sign on capability that would translate into a seamless experience between a college system and our syllabus tool (Concourse by us the syllabus geeks at intellidemia.com).

    With a lot of thought, collaboration, and elbow grease, any emerging edtech can find sincere satisfaction in developing a tool that meets the needs of the entire academic community. You know you’ve attained this when you finally sleep better at night!

  • Guest

    Good luck! Edmodo has a nice design. I would say it’s better suited for younger kids (grade 1- 8), beyond that it’s too much of a fenced in network. It also doesn’t allow much for student to student interaction. For high school and above I think there are better solutions. For PBL there is nothing better than http://Enterthegroup.com.

  • http://bitsofgenius.net Joseph Cohen
  • Guest

    Since I cant reply to Joe’s comment (not sure why). I will reiterate that yes it is my company, but that’s no secret since it’s hyperlinked to my name for anyone to see.
    Good luck with your new venture.

  • 11272784

    BB tends to replicate the top-down pattern of communication (or lack thereof) typical in most classrooms. Whether it’s intuitive or not depends a lot on your mindset…kind of like Word vs. Word Perfect 15 years ago. Personally, I think it’s hard to work with. However, the simple systems that come out immediately encounter the need for “feature creep”. There will always be faculty who just MUST have feature X or the system is no good. You can expect feature creep to ensue quickly.

  • http://twitter.com/lesliemb Leslie Madsen-Brooks

    I was never a fan of Sakai–which I used for more than three years–until I met Blackboard this past fall. What a beast! I will say, however, that Sakai is far from free for most universities; the institution where I was working had to employ several programmers to modify and maintain it, as well as specialists in pedagogy and technology to help (even relatively tech-savvy) faculty decide how to best use Sakai in each course. (Sakai strikes me as being much more flexible than Blackboard.) I’m guessing that between servers, salaries + benefits, and travel to Sakai conferences in the U.S. and abroad, the university has spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars over the past half decade.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5734569 Steven Johnson

    As other commenters have pointed out, the real value of moving off of Blackboard only comes when you also rethink how courses are offered.

    We’ve had really good student and faculty feedback in moving to an open web-based platform in my department. Over several semesters, we’ve now moved all of the classes taught at the Management Information Systems department of Temple University Fox School of Business to a platform based on free off-the-shelf software (e.g., WordPress + Buddypress and add-ons).

    Our site, http://community.mis.temple.edu/, promotes participatory learner-centered courses in ways that Blackboard doesn’t. For example, we’ve moved from faculty course management to faculty/student content management. We are fostering a learning community, not just a set of disconnected courses.

  • http://www.scholasticahq.com Scholastica

    It seems that some of the comments should keep in mind that one of the great things about web software is that it’s not monolithic. Whatever features Coursekit makes that don’t solve a real need can easily be refactored or replaced within days. I urge Coursekit to make sure that they are running their features past students and profs constantly to make sure they don’t build the wrong thing. That way, everybody wins.

  • brian_connelly

    As a student at Temple University, the MIS department has developed a significantly valuable tool between their faculty and students. I have been using what is called the community site amongst my peers and I. It has allowed for an open and easy way to collaborate with professors and other students. Assignments are also easily accessible, but more importantly, the process has made it more efficient. The online site tool delivers a source of information that far exceeds just material needed for courses. I access the online tool for news, as well as my needed materials and grades. The tool also allows students to promote and market themselves, which is extremely important as we look for employment for after graduation.
    http://www.community.mis.temple.edu

  • aristotle_julep

    Those who defend Blackboard and its ilk have clearly never used ANGEL, which is quite possibly the worst CMS ever designed. It does not work with Safari, the default browser used by half of our student body. When I brought this up to our IT staff, they flippantly replied that its “our problem.”

    I whole heartedly support this new wave of CMSs designed with instructor input, such as Canvas.

  • jkisner

    Consol Energy Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the first “green” professional sports arena.  Don’;t know if it has a LEED rating.  Ironic/hypocritical:  Consol is a coal company!

  • awegweiser

    Bravo for this marvelous green stadium. On the same day it is described in this edition of Chronicle we were informed that this same state (Texas as if you couldn’t figure it out) slashed several hundred University degree programs. No doubt, since TX is so football loony, the Board making this decision had been smacked in the head each several score of times in their youth. Additional evidence is the Governor that the State repeatedly elected.

  • haste

    If you are confident enough in who you are and what you wrote you wouldn’t feel the need to explain any more than what you did to this woman.  She was raising the question to make a point, not to be persuaded. 

  • malareau

    Your attitude on this is admirable and I encourage you that if your demeanor reflects what is in your writing (how could it not!), then, speaking as a female colleague, you are in good stead.
    In my 20 years of experience in colleges as a professor, I’ve been amazed that it has been the men in my areas of support who were always rooting for me. The women? …well, not so much. Consider that some individuals will find a reason to respond similarly—no matter who is there or how careful they have been. I would be proud to call you a colleague and wish you all the best. 

  • MChag12

    With something that absurd I would just lie.  I would say, “yes, an unfortunate oversight that I did notice, but at 2 in the morning I did not have the time to go back and correct it.”  And then maybe add something like, “if you look at my record, I think you will see that I do and have taught women and men very well.”  And leave it as that.  She was out to get you.  You don’t know why…maybe she had her own candidate. maybe the job was to replace her.  Who knows.  With that kind of a situation you just go with what sounds the best.  

  • pamposz

    I can’t help but posting a few comments here given the general tone of the dialogue.  I don’t blame the author for being thrown by the tone of the comments and demeanor of the woman who said them.  That is a natural response.  Nor do I blame him for using “man” – I think it’s a fairly natural mistake and I’m sure he usually avoids it.  What I do object to is the fact that almost everyone here has essentially dismissed the woman’s right to express her feelings.  It is true that the manner in which she did it was not effective.  But we don’t have any other context here for why she said what she did.  Maybe she’s had to deal with a lot of sexism in her research.  We don’t know. We just have a description of a single interaction.  Do any of us want to be judged on a single moment in our lives, perhaps when we’re having a bad day? I do like the responses of the people who gave suggestions on how to deal with someone responding this way, that is helpful information for all of us.   

    I’ll step off my soapbox now.

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