September 14, 2009 WWW.UNEWS.COM Vol. 77, Issue 4 Growing Roo gardners Alexia Stout-Lang dents and faculty and it is amazing how they have News Editor really made it a community garden,” Johnston said. ases of “green thumb” are sprouting “I am so proud that Campus Facilities Management up across campus. and the students have come together in such a posi- All evidence points to a former- tive way.” ly vacant lot at 54th and Charlotte Aside from providing fresh, organic fruits and streets, just behind the Education vegetables, Johnston said the garden is a great fit with Building. the sustainable goals of UMKC. C “A community garden is really a great thing for The culprit is the student-organized UMKC community garden. campus,” she said. “Supporting the infrastructure for “It’s a really neat thing,” said student gardener local food is another great way to continue the forward Suzette Spitzmiller, who has been helping with the momentum for a sustainable campus … tasty too!” project. Spitzmiller said anyone on campus is welcome to The garden was founded in the spring as a joint stop by the garden and gather some fruits and vegeta- effort between students, faculty and Think, Work, bles. However, the students do request that those who Inspire, Grow (T.W.I.G.). partake also help with pulling weeds and such. Now, only months later, the garden is overflow- “We are not going to turn away people who are ing with arugula, tomatoes, lettuce, watermelon, hungry,” she said. “But if you can help out, it’s best.” okra, potatoes, dill, raspberries, strawberries, broc- The students involved in this project have big plans coli, chili peppers and more thanks to the hard work for the future. put into plowing and planting seeds. At the end of September, they will go before the For some involved, gardening is a long-time pas- Student Government Association to be recognized as sion. Others got their first taste of working the soil the UMKC Garden Collective and have a constitution while helping out with the UMKC community gar- approved. den. As an official student group, Garden Collective Spitzmiller was a first-time gardener when she hopes to expand the garden next spring. Plans include got involved with the project. planting a bumper crop so the harvest can be sold, “It changed my aspect,” she said. “I am used to making the garden self-sustaining. seeing things already grown in the store. I really like The students also hope to expand the size of the it.” garden and the variation of plants. Kaye Johnston, coordinator for Campus Facili- Currently, 12 or 13 people are involved, but the ties Management and director of the Sustainability group also hopes to see participation grow. Team, said she has noticed Spitzmiller and other stu- For Spitzmiller, gardening has been a good experi- dents work diligently over the summer and into the ence. fall to keep the garden in tip-top shape. “I am impressed wholistically,” she said. “They have shared their veggies with staff, stu- [email protected] Photo KEVIN BRYCE Students get e-mail New technology transforms classrooms makeover Tyler Allen soft related services that will give Zacc Lawton Assistant News Editor you other products where you can Staff Writer Student e-mail accounts are share information.” Technology around the world is expanding every day. set for an extreme technological Through the new e-mail sys- Now education and technology have paired up at UMKC makeover in the near future. tem, students will be able to ac- to help both students and professors. Students currently use Micro- cess Microsoft Office Live, an In fact, podcasts and video are now the up-and-coming soft Outlook for their student e- online version of the Office suite. tools for education in the eyes of Vishal Kurup, software mail accounts. It will allow students to use pro- support analyst for UMKC Information. However, the new Microsoft grams like Word and Excel using “One exciting project we have been working on is course Outlook Live is currently being their e-mail accounts. casting and podcasting course lectures,” Kurup said. tested and should be available to “There’s also something Software called Tegrity allows professors to create a students within months, said An- called Windows Live Spaces and video recording of their lectures as they present them in the drew Goodenow, director of In- Windows Live Groups, which are classroom. formation Access. sort of virtual work spaces where “Faculty seem to indicate that in some courses, they are Photo KEVIN BRYCE “We’re hoping that by Octo- students could work together to seeing an increased number of As and Bs since introducing Some professors use podcasts for education. ber, the first group of students can collaborate on different projects,” course casts into their courses,” Kurup said. begin to opt in, with the goal that Goodenow said. Justin Guggenmos, manager of Information Services using podcasts, however, there has been a difference in quiz by the end of this year, the major- Students will also receive a Project Management and Process Improvement, has helped scores. ity of students will have either significant increase of storage improve classroom technology. “There are fewer Cs and Ds, more As and Bs,” he said. transitioned or started the transi- space. The current Microsoft Guggenmos said to address the increasing need for class- When it comes to unexpected technical problems, Hare tion process to this tool,” Goode- Outlook format allows 50 mega- room technology in more rooms at UMKC, Information said there have been the occasional glitches. now said. bytes for storage, while the new Services has installed 43 additional ILE (Ideal Learning As for any future breakthroughs in classroom technol- Goodenow said the new e- Microsoft Outlook Live allows 10 Environment) classroom systems this year. ogy, Hare thinks predicting that future is risky. mail format will be very advanta- gigabytes of space. “All ILE classroom systems have been upgraded to work “Smart boards and advanced camera systems will future geous to students. Windows Live Drive will also with Tegrity to allow faculty to capture and publish their reduce barriers and make distance learning easier,” Hare “We are basically going to be included with the new e-mail lectures to Blackboard,” Guggenmos said. said. partner with Microsoft to host format. Professor Brian Hare, of the School of Computing and But, no matter the technology, Hare said there is a trial student e-mails,” he said. “As “(Windows Live Drive) allows Engineering, has been using the Tegrity podcasts for some and error process when adapting a new style of learning. part of that process, you’ll have of his courses for more than a year. “I’m still learning as I go,” he said. access to a bunch of other Micro- Hare said his attendance has held steady since he began See EMAIL I page 16 [email protected] 2 News September 14, 2009 www.unews.com One Card, many possibilities Alexia Stout-Lang CliffsNotes.com Orbitz.com News Editor DicksSportingGoods.com Pearle Vision It has multiple features and many advantag- Dollar Rent A Car PEOPLE Magazine es, but it’s all One Card. drugstore.com Popcorn Factory One Card is the new student, staff and fac- Eastbay Shoebuy.com ulty I.D. that does it all. eBags.com Shop.NHL.com It can be used as identification, as a key-fob EF College Break Shop.Rockport.com to open doors, to qualify for discounts, to get EMS Sierra Trading Post library books and to pay for things purchased eMusic SmartBargains on campus. FogDog.com SportsAuthority.com “This card pretty much does it all,” said An- Foot Locker Sprint drew Castulik. Castulik works in the One Card office locat- Footaction Store.Nascar.com ed on the second floor of the University Center. Godiva Chocolatier Student Travel Services Currently, students can load their One Cards Greyhound (STS) with what has been coined as Roo Bucks, which Hanes.com StudentCity.com can be spent at campus dining locations, the Hostelworld.com Studentmags.com bookstore and more. ICE.com Swell.com “Kind of like a debit card,” Castulik said. JoesSports.com Target.com “Put money in your account and swipe it.” JourneyEd TeamStore.com To load an account with Roo Bucks, visit Karmaloop.com The Ultimate Steal www.ManageMyID.com. Lady Foot Locker Timberland.com An initial deposit of $10 is required to ac- tivate the account. The maximum deposit al- Lenovo Thinkpad T-Mobile lowed is $100. macys.com Topdeck Travel Next semester, the card’s uses will expand MCSports.com Topman beyond campus. Photo KEVIN BRYCE Modells.com Topshop Students will be able to use the card at places Andrew Castulik points out the advantages of the One Card. National Car Rental Toshiba Direct like Kin Lin and Muddy’s Coffeehouse. NBAStore.com TuitionCoach.com Eventually, the program will branch out to The following retail establishments offer dis- Nextel UrbanOutfitters.com the Country Club Plaza and beyond. counts through the Student Advantage program: NFLShop.com Verizon Wireless Another optional program currently avail- Office Depot VisionDirect.com able to students is Student Advantage. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM AT&T The program offers students the one, two, Alamo Rent-A-Car Barnes and Noble Online The One Card can currently be used to make three or four-year subscription to the discount AllPosters.com Beauty.com purchases at the following locations: program. Alltel Bluefly.com Union Cafeteria (University Center) More than 70 national partners participate, American Airlines CBcampus.com offering either in-store or online discounts. Freshens Smoothies Frozen Treats (University Center) One year is $20, two years is $30, three years A|X Armani Exchange CBSSportsStore.com Café a la Cart (Hospital Hill and Miller Nichols Library) is $40 and four years is $45.