Apr 20, 2012

Does Your School Use Blackboard?

Posted by Maureen Yann
in About Us, Teaching and Technology | 0 comments

Attention! Attention! If your school uses Blackboard as its CMS then we have a deal for you! Thanks to our awesome Tech team, Soomo offers a Blackboard building block that accomplishes two tasks:

1) Single Sign On
Students simply click a link inside their Blackboard course and are directed into the Soomo title their professor has chosen (Central Ideas in American Government, Americans Governing, Between Nations, or Comparing Governments) without needing to sign on again.

2) Gradebook Synchronization
When students complete an assignment in their Soomo course, the scores are pushed over to your Blackboard gradebook to facilitate simple grade management.

This building block enables a seamless experience for your students and helps alleviate confusion about login credentials. If you are interested in using this techno-magic, just contact the poliscidesk@soomopublishing.com and we’ll do the work of communicating with the Blackboard wizards at your school.

Apr 20, 2012

Blended Learning in Political Science

Posted by Mary Jane
in Conferences, Simulations, Teaching and Technology | 1 comment

Earlier this month at the SSSA annual meeting in San Diego, I heard an interesting presentation on “Blended Courses in Political Science” by Dr. Sam Fisher, Associate Professor at the University of South Alabama. In his research, he surveyed political science faculty about their experiences teaching blended courses. Of the 21% who taught blended courses in political science, over 70% used the online portion of the class to post documents, refer students to web links, and engage students in forums or discussion boards. Podcasts and video lectures were much less popular. For the face-to-face portion of the class, 81% said they spent at least some of the time “providing traditional lectures covering textbook material” and 72% reported

Mar 26, 2012

User Tip: Help! How Do I Find the Course I’m Using Now?

Posted by Maureen Yann
in Soomo Judo, Teaching and Technology | 0 comments

Don’t panic if you sign in and can’t see the course for your current class. It’s still there! I shared this tip at the end of the last semester, but think it’s a good idea to post again as professors are setting up their upcoming courses for either summer or fall. To switch between active courses, just click on “Courses” in the upper-left of the screen. An asterisk denotes which course you are currently viewing. Just select the current semester’s class, and you’ll be able to view the course you’re using with students now.

Do you have other questions about how to use or customize one of our courses? Contact the PoliSci Desk for more information. You’ll get an answer sooner than you think!

Mar 20, 2012

What People Are Saying about Central Ideas in American Government

Posted by Zara Elizabeth Ricks
in About Us, American Government, Press, Soomo Judo, Teaching and Technology | 0 comments

Since many of you may still be considering which text you want to use this fall for your American Government classes, we want to let you know what professors and students are saying about our webtext, Central Ideas in American Government.

Below are listed just a few peer review and student survey comments from last fall. If you would like more survey data, just drop us a line.

Peer Review Feedback

•  “My students do best when they are engaged.  So this would surely work better for them than a basic book.  They can get desired engagement and feedback as they absorb the chapter’s materials.” - Christopher Whitt, Augustana College

Mar 19, 2012

Cool Budget Infographic

Posted by Mary Jane
in American Government, Infographics, Teaching and Technology | 0 comments

Last week, I discovered this cool rollover infographic from The New York Times that illustrates President Obama’s 2013 budget proposal. The graphic uses bubble size to display the amount of money certain items receive while also organizing by color to indicate whether  allocated funds increase or decrease for those line items. Hovering over a bubble displays additional information such as department and whether the spending is mandatory or discretionary. It’s very helpful for understanding exactly how $3.7 trillion dollars gets spent.

Tell us, what are your favorite budget tools to teach with?

Mar 16, 2012

Americans Governing with Textbook Media E-text

Posted by Zara Elizabeth Ricks
in American Government, Teaching and Technology | 0 comments

Soomo Publishing recently signed a distribution agreement withTextbook Media to distribute the e-text of American Government: Your Voice, Your Future 4e by Matthew Kerbel. The e-text is available with Americans Governing, our collection of online homework assignments. Students can easily access the e-text in the sidebar of each chapter of assignments. Americans Governing with the Kerbel e-text is only $50 for students and print options are available.

Check out the test drive to see how it works. If you’re interested in using this combo, click here to register as a new instructor and set up your free instructor account or email Maureen at the PoliSci desk and she’ll do it for you!