Michael Vermy and William White, assistant professors, Modern and Classical Languages, presented a workshop, “Heritage Language Education: Myths and Realities,” at the annual meeting of the Western New York Foreign Language Educators’ Council in Hamburg, New York, on February 27.
Ramona R. Santa Maria, assistant professor, Computer Information Systems, presented the paper “The Effectiveness of Classroom Technology: Students Narrate Perceptions of Classroom Technology Use in a Inner-City High School” at the International Conference on Ubiquitous Learning, held at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, December 5–6.
Paul Reynolds’s book, A Bump in the Road: My Ride Through Roswell Park Cancer Institute, has been published as an e-book at Smashwords. The book describes Reynolds’s experiences through 11 months of treatment for leukemia. The book is available in PDF, rich text, plain text, and HTML formats as well as most standard e-book formats. Proceeds from sales will be donated to RPCI.
Ann K. Lupo, History and Social Studies Education, and three graduate students, Brian Healy, Amy Krajewski, and Jillian Schmitt, presented a highly interactive session at the 72nd annual conference of the New York State Council for the Social Studies, held in Rye Brook, New York, March 4–6. The students engaged conference participants in classroom simulations they created in fulfillment of SSE 670 requirements. Three options were made available: participants could board the Titanic on its fateful journey; become a delegate at the Constitutional Convention; or use their math, geography, and literacy skills to go on a road trip to a national park. Their session was so enthusiastically received that an overflow room was needed to accommodate all participants. Lupo modeled debriefing techniques following the simulations and shared current literature in the field. Those interested in more information on materials or methods may contact Lupo.
Joëlle Leclaire, assistant professor, Economics and Finance, presented “Les Origines de la Crise Financiere” and “Le Role des Institutions Financiere dans la Grande Recession des Etats-Unis” as an invited speaker for The Current Crisis: Challenges and Future? Seminars on the Current Economic Crisis, held at the International Economic Policy Institute at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, March 1–5.
Bruce Bryski, associate professor, Communication, appeared on WGRZ-TV 2 on March 8 and 9 and on WBEN radio as a political analyst discussing the controversial resignation of New York Congressman Eric Massa and the continuing saga of Gov. David Paterson.
Zhang Jie, professor, Sociology, and director, Center for China Studies, published his article “Attitudes toward Suicide: The Effect of Suicide Death in the Family” inOmega: Journal of Death and Dying 60 (4): 365–382. The study’s coauthor was Dr. Cun-Xian Jia, associate professor of epidemiology at Shandong University School of Public Health in China and a current visiting scholar to Buffalo State.
Ramona R. Santa Maria, assistant professor, Computer Information Systems, and Kristen Huff, past president of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, coauthored the paper “Past Presidents Share Strategies for Writing and Dissemination: Publishing Is Not Rocket Science” for the NERA Researcher 48 (1): 22–23.
Lou Rera, assistant professor, Communication, presented “Digital Stories: Flash Fiction,” demonstrating the use of multimedia in interactive storytelling, at the 2010 New Media Consortium Symposium on New Media and Learning in Hakone, the NMC’s virtual 3-D meeting space, on March 23–25.
Stephen Phelps, professor emeritus, Elementary Education and Reading, has been appointed to the board of trustees of Pinnacle Charter School in Buffalo.