CU On The Air Podcast

In fall 2018, the University of Colorado will launch a new and innovative MOOC-delivered master’s degree in electrical engineering – the first of its type in the world. Today on CU on the Air, host Ken McConnellogue talks with CU Boulder professor Robert Erickson about what this revolutionary MOOC has to offer learners across the globe, as well as how it is making us rethink how people learn. He also chats with Michael Lightner, vice president of academic affairs, about the positive impact MOOCs offer learners and the university.   Show notes MOOCs * What the heck is a MOOC? * A revolutionary master’s in engineering fully MOOC-based program from CU Boulder is set to launch in the fall. * When it’s completed, 100 credit hours will be available through the program, with thousands expected to enroll. * MOOCs and online learning are changing how the university is looking at grading, making it more efficient and immediate. * Jane Goodall will this fall offer a MOOC through CU Boulder insights on conscientious leadership. * How MOOCs have evolved to include for-credit courses. * CU’s foray into offering MOOCs, and how the offerings expanded. * Popular MOOCs at each campus. * A new way of looking at learning and how discussion forums offer vibrant communal learning among learners, peer support. * Asynchronous courses, broken into smaller chunks, and how they benefit busy learners. * How MOOCs allow learners to repeat studies as often as needed before moving to the next step. * How AI might factor into online learning. * How MOOCs – free or otherwise – help expose learners to what the University of Colorado has to offer. Resources: * CU MOOCs offered on Coursera * CU Office of Digital Education and Engagement

Dr. Jay Lemery is a pioneer in the convergence of climate change and global human health. He is the co-author of Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health, which enlightens readers about one of the greatest challenges of our time — How is climate change affecting our lives? Dr. Lemery chats with CU on the Air host Ken McConnellogue about: * Global warming’s harmful effects on the most vulnerable populations, and the increased frequency of dangerously hot days. * How harmful bugs such as mosquitos and ticks are migrating to higher altitudes, infecting new populations that haven’t built an immunity. * Precipitation extremes – from drought to floods – are diminishing food supplies and eroding the land. * Forced migration — communities that will have to move because their towns will be covered in water. * A MOOC – Foundations for Global Health Responders – offered by Dr. Lemery that ensures first responders are trained and equipped to assist in a humanitarian disaster. * Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health * MOOC: Foundations for Global Health Responders * CU Anschutz Medical Campus * Text transcript

Throughout its history, the city of Denver was home to saloons that served up a lot more than alcohol. Ken McConnellogue talks with CU Denver History Professor Tom Noel – aka Dr. Colorado – about the liquid history of Denver and how bars evolved throughout the ages and helped form the Denver of today. * Ethnic and cultural importance of Denver’s early bars. * The first bar and its significance to the community. * Denver’s oldest surviving bar. * A bar named for the city’s most colorful villain, the king of all Western con-men. * Police entrapment in Denver’s early gay bars, and how the LGBTQ community leveraged it for gay rights. * Colorado’s favorite bars in modern times. Resources: * The City and the Saloon: Denver, 1858-1916, by Tom Noel * Dr. Colorado’s publications, history and student resources * CU Denver Department of History

CU Boulder Leeds School of Business professor Peter McGraw studies what makes things funny, and how it can benefit marketing and management. In today’s CU on the Air podcast, Professor McGraw talks with host Ken McConnellogue about the funny and not so funny aspects of humor, such as: * Examining the genesis of laughter. * Cultural similarities and distinctions. * How improv can make you smarter. * A rat’s laugh. * Why having a good sense of humor can help you advance in the workplace. * The dangers of failed attempts at humor. Resources: * The Humor Code, by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner * Storytellers: Business professor’s journey to find the funny bone, 9News * Upright Citizens Brigade, in Los Angeles, improv * Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, Denver * Podcast transcript  

From the Denver Broncos to the Cleveland Indians to college sports and Olympians, Dr. Jackie Berning, professor and chair of Health Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, has provided nutrition education to top athletes. Today on CU on the Air, Dr. Berning talks with host Ken McConnellogue about nutrition tips and sustainable healthy eating, whether for the elite or armchair athlete. * How Dr. Berning became the Broncos’ nutrition adviser * Specific nutritional needs for specific sports and athletes * When – if ever – you need to take supplements * Where bacon lives in the food groups * Pacing your protein throughout the day * Acute athletes vs. chronic athletes and how their nutritional needs might vary * Why it might be OK to pig out on a holiday * Nutrition in combatting aging * The one thing that increases mortality rates as we age * CU Colorado Springs’ greenhouse to cafeteria breadth of learning * City for Champions, community collaborations and how UCCS is advancing health education in phenomenal ways Resources: * UCCS Health Sciences programs * City for Champions * Apply for courses at UCCS * More on Dr. Berning

CU on the Air examines the many facets and concerns of aging with Sara Honn Qualls, professor of psychology, Kraemer Family Professor of Aging Studies and director of the Aging Center and the Gerontology Center at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Host Ken McConnellogue talks with Dr. Qualls about: * Services available through UCCS and its community partners to aging citizens and their families, such as: * Baseline and advanced neurological screenings. * Aging families and caregiver workshops and coaching. * Support groups. * The benefits and disadvantages of increased cultural awareness on aging: * More research and resources available to assist the aging. * The fear of dementia and memory loss creating fear and anxiety. * What’s normal in aging and what isn’t. * Social isolation in aging versus finding and maintaining meaning in life. * Dialogue between the caregiver and the care recipient to be partners in care. * A grant on studying the use of marijuana in aging populations. * Planning ahead. * Building assisted living communities around meaningful activities that boost seniors’ strength and mobility. Learn about becoming certified in elder care. 

The University of Colorado and the state of Colorado were both founded in 1876 and our fortunes have been intertwined since. From a small building standing in a field in Boulder – complete with cows – to the highly advanced and expansive medical facilities in Aurora, CU has a picturesque past and present that reach way beyond what you read in most history books. CU Denver history professor Tom Noel, also known as Dr. Colorado, chats with a pupil from decades gone by – CU on the Air host Ken McConnellogue, vice president for university communication. Noel is director of public history, preservation and Colorado Studies, the author of numerous books, articles and columns and a graduate of CU Denver and CU Boulder. Dr. Colorado and Ken chat about: * What it must have been like to share living quarters with your professors and the CU president in the early days of CU Boulder. * The transition of the Cragmor Sanitorium in Colorado Springs from a tuberculosis health facility to one of the fastest growing universities in the West in UCCS. * Why CU Denver is located on one of the earliest settlements in Denver – Auraria – that predates the state itself. * How not enough sick people in Boulder eventually led the medical campus to Denver and then the site of one the state’s most historical buildings – the Fitzsimons Hospital – at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. Resources: Dr. Colorado’s publications, history and student resources CU Denver Department of History

The best total solar eclipse in the U.S. in about 40 years will be visible within a corridor of 70 miles crossing 14 states from South Carolina and Oregon. The closest state to Colorado that will experience the total eclipse is Wyoming, starting after 11 a.m. The eclipse promises to be a remarkable sight even in states that won’t see it in its entirety. CU’s Ken McConnellogue talks with CU Boulder astronomy professor and world renowned stargazer Doug Duncan, director of the Fisk Planetarium in Boulder, about: * How to safely watch the upcoming eclipse. * Who will see the total eclipse, and what we can look forward to in Colorado and on the coasts. * Preparing to watch the eclipse. * The strange reactions of man and beast during the full eclipse. * Highlights – and lowlights – of eclipses of the past. * When the next eclipse will be. * Tips for throwing an eclipse party Resources: * http://www.colorado.edu/fiske/eclipse * Eclipse glasses * NASA map * The Sun and the Total Eclipse of August 2017 | Coursera * Road Atlas for the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 – Great American Eclipse

Margarita Bianco, associate professor of education at CU Denver, founder of Pathways2Teaching and a Timmerhaus Ambassador, speaks with CU’s Ken McConnellogue about: * The Pathways2Teaching program for 11th and 12th graders, which encourages underserved youth to become teachers in their communities * Empowering youth by having them explore the disparities in their communities and research ways to fix them * CU Denver students interacting and inspiring K-12 students * Her upcoming tour speaking to schools and nonprofits about attracting and retaining diverse teachers Contribute to CU scholarships for Pathways2Teaching graduates here

Dr. Huntington Potter, CU Anschutz Medical Campus professor and director of the Rocky Mountain Alzheimer’s Disease Center, speaks with CU’s Ken McConnellogue about: * The drug leukine, which shows encouraging results * Why Down syndrome research is important in Alzheimer’s research * What the center is looking for in clinical studies Contribute to Alzheimer’s research here.