December 2005 Archives

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association is offering a workshop on how to report on fraud and financial issues. If you've ever dreamed of exposing an Enron-style scandal, or making a difference in the lives of people who are at risk for identity theft or loan scams, this workshop looks like it's pretty useful.

Below is the flier I received.

SHU students won't have to pay anything for the seminar, and if you're on the Setonian staff, the New Media Journalism program can also help with your travel expenses. There are seminars in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

David Morrell scheduled to lecture at Seton Hill - PittsburghLIVE.com

Dr. Albert Wendland, interim director of the program, says there were three reasons why the university wanted Morrell to visit.

"He's an excellent writer of popular fiction, and he's not just knowledgeable about writing novels, he knows what students have to learn about the practical side of putting together a novel, and the business side of writing," Wendland says. "We want him to share that information with our students."

There are about 70 students enrolled in the writing program.

"Our program is an academic one. Morrell knows the audience, and we feel that he will reach our audience well," Wendland says.

Morrell says that during his student

Seton Hill offers theater scholarships - PittsburghLIVE.com

Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, offers scholarships to high school seniors interested in pursuing a major in the theater program of the university's Visual and Performing Arts division. The scholarships carry awards of as much as $4,000, distributed over four years.

Mike Rubino: "It's a hefty article that takes a look at how blogs are affecting higher learning, and how blog posts are further reaching that one might think."

Marcus O'Donnell: "The anecdotal piece raises a number of key issues about blogging and higher education. The headline “Freedom of speech redefined by blogs: Words travel faster, stay around longer in the blogosphere” tells you that this isn't going to be the standard media blog bust. The anecdotes in this article actually sum up some of the key points any introduction to blogging in higher education might like to make"

Mike Arnzen: "The Christmas issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an excellent, front-page feature story on educational blogging, called "Freedom of Speech Redefined by Blogs". Featured prominently is our college's New Media Journalism program, led by my colleague, Dennis Jerz. It's really a great -- and quite accurate -- piece."

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Updates:

Michael Silence posts an excerpt.

Janet Johnson: "Message of the day, beware of what you say on a blog, it may come back to haunt you…"

Karl Fisch posts an excerpt.

College Web Editor, a PR site, focuses on the admissions article.

Amy Bowlian posts a very favorable blog entry on SchoolLibraryJournal.com (But please, we're at Seton Hill in Pennsylvania, not the other school in New Jersey!)

Steven Bell files the PPG article under "Teachable Moments from Student Blogging"

Wendy Auston writes, "As a former copy editor, I know that the spot they featured it in is the most prime real estate possible for newspapers, and on Christmas Day! wow! People stay at home, read the paper after the gifts are opened, find out about how blogging IS changing the way we think about writing and public discourse."

Lisa of "Because I am the Mommy" writes, "The above is one example of how freedom of speech has evolved in the world of blogging on the internet. In this case, the blog resulted in a positive outcome on both sides. | When I decided to write an online journal, I really had to put some thought into it."

Thanks for all your feedback after I posted the original design.

Mike Arnzen gave a long list of helpful comments, and Karissa Kilgore and Mike Rubino dug in and actually helped with the re-design.

"Awkward encounters? Sure. But instances such as these are providing teachable moments for faculty at a growing number of colleges nationwide, including Seton Hill. There, a professor and his prolific community of student bloggers are exploring the good and the ugly about a rough-and-tumble form of Internet discourse whose popularity has exploded." --Bill Schackner, in "Freedom of speech redefined by blogs" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

I've created a new portal page for SHU weblogs at blogs.setonhill.edu. What do you think?

AP Wire | 12/15/2005 | Google to open new research facility in Pittsburgh

Below are the books for EL250, "Videogaming." Shortly after this term's grades are posted, I'll put up a whole website for the course, but for now I'll just post the info here. (I have already posted a brief description of the "Video Gaming" course.)

If you're itching to get started on the reading, I invite you to take a look at (or listen to) Storytelling in Computer Games (full-text transcript and audio download of a panel I put together almost 5 years ago)

Seton Hill University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seton Hill University (not to be confused with Seton Hall University) is a small liberal arts university in the Pittsburgh suburb of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Formerly Seton Hill College, it was founded by the Sisters of Charity and named for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Or, in other words, "Mostly harmless."

I think we can do better than this. Would anyone out there care to add a tidbit or twelve to this site?

Award-winning Author David Morell to Speak at Seton Hill January 10

Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction master's program welcomes award-winning author David Morrell to campus on January 10. Mr. Morrell, the writer of "First Blood" (the award-winning novel in which Rambo was created), and co-president of the International Thriller Writers organization, will speak at 7 p.m. in Cecilian Hall on "Platforms, Viral Marketing, and the Seismic Shifts in Today's Publishing World."

[This was taken at the Christmas on the Hill dance. For those who can't figure out what it is: it's a giant inflatable beer mug that reads "The Party is Here!" Nice message, SHU.]

Read on.

I can say that I don't enjoy the interface of Microsoft Outlook for the access to the Seton Hill University email account that I've used since freshman year. I faithfully use it, though, because it's handy when people need to identify me with my email account and also for Facebook...

Anyone who does NOT enjoy the confinement of the email account might want to consider the latest that IT has offered: email forwarding.

Click the link above and follow the simple instructions to have your school's email forwarded to some other email address: Yahoo!, MSN, Gmail, etc. It's very easy to do. I did mine in less than three minutes and it's working already.

I'm very excited about having all my emails in one place from two addresses. This will cut down on the time I need to check all my different accounts, and it will also simplify life when it comes to sorting the emails and whatnot. I have mine forwarded to my Gmail account, which I will now (gratefully) view with my Apple "Mail" program. (Now the only email account I have left that isn't conglomerated will be the one that's a thorn in my side...)

Try it out--if you hate it, there are instructions for changing or removing the forwarding, too.

Thanks, IT. This is really helpful.

From the SHU website:

In case of inclement weather, students should call (724) 830-1000 for information about class cancellations dues to weather conditions. Announcements will be also be made on the radio and television stations, KDKA Pittsburgh and WTAE Pittsburgh.

http://www.setonhill.edu/academics/index.cfm?ACID=144&T1=280

Admissions: Finals

Next week will be finals week. The semester is coming to an end, and Christmas Break is quickly approaching. For freshmen this is the first time you will be experiencing finals. Here is some advice from current Seton Hill students to help you prepare for next week

I'm no fussy-duddy, but I thought I'd pass along some interesting links for articles that have great advice on how to tactfully work with your professors outside of class. -- Dr. Arnzen

How to Approach a Professor for Help at University of Florida's Counseling Center

How to E-mail a Professor by Michael Leddy

How to Talk to a Professor by Michael Leddy (at Life Hacks)

Requesting a Recommendation Letter by Michael Ernst