Professor - Diane Hamilton

Having Difficulty Making Decisions? Take a Quiz to See if You see Things in Black and White or Shades of Gray

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today about why people can’t make decisions.

Of interest was how some people are so ambivalent. Shirley Wang’s article in the WSJ stated: Now, researchers have been investigating how ambivalence, or lack of it, affects people’s lives, and how they might be able to make better decisions. Overall, thinking in shades of gray is a sign of maturity, enabling people to see the world as it really is. It’s a “coming to grips with the complexity of the world,” says Jeff Larsen, a psychology professor who studies ambivalence at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Do you see the world in black and white or in shades of gray?

Different Strokes PEOPLE WHO SEE THE WORLD AS BLACK AND WHITE TEND TO…

• Speak their mind or make quick decisions.

• Be more predictable in making decisions (e.g., who they vote for).

• Be less anxious about making wrong choices.

• Have relationship conflicts that are less drawn out.

• Be less likely to consider others’ points of view.

PEOPLE WHO SEE THE WORLD IN SHADES OF GRAY TEND TO….

• Procrastinate or avoid making decisions if possible.

• Feel more regret after making decisions.

• Be thoughtful about making the right choice.

• Stay longer in unhappy relationships.

• Appreciate multiple points of view.

To find out what type you are, take the test, by clicking here.

Associate Professor Writes Book for Online Students

Story by Trevor Green – UAT.edu

Advances in computer technology have made education available to students far removed from a traditional classroom, with universities of all sizes instructing learners digitally – never physically interacting with their teachers. For many students, the trappings of online classes – writing papers, using course shells, submitting work – is a foreign concept that can impede academic progress.

UAT-Online Associate Professor Dr. Diane Hamilton, a longtime online instructor, recently published the book The Online Student’s User Manual to help them succeed. She was compelled to write the paperback after finding a lack of works covering frequently asked questions of first-time online learners.

“The books out there, they’re good about telling you, ‘online’s good.’ They’re good about telling you, ‘you need accredited,’ or what the other choices are or how to get financing, but they don’t tell you what you’re supposed to do,” she said.

She added: “I kept answering the same questions over and over and over, and I thought, ‘Well, how about writing a book that explains it?'”

(To learn more about Dr. Hamilton and her book, The Online Student’s User Manual, check click here.)

Hamilton develops curriculum and teaches classes like Ethics in Technology and Foresight Development for UAT-Online. Possessing a Ph.D. in business administration and career experience in corporate training, entrepreneurship and realty, she melds her years of business and technology knowledge to computer-savvy students.

With content on everything from rubrics and syllabi to essay formatting, Hamilton sees her work as a good aid for online pupils and instructors of various ages, skill levels, disciplines and educational backgrounds.

“I think the book’s a good resource, not just for new students but for people who have been in it for awhile, or even professors to know how to teach people how to do these things.”

A self-professed techie, Hamilton picked up various facets of Web 2.0 technology – including blogging and Twitter – to market the book, and she offers advice for students on her blog with tutorials using screen-recording software Camtasia and Microsoft PowerPoint. She sees the breadth of electronic tools as essential to embracing distance teaching.

“I like to embrace new technology, and I think students have to realize that [online learning] is the future.”

Posting Teacher’s Reviews Online – What is RateMyProfessor?

Today’s Ask Dr. Diane: What is the site ratemyprofessor.com all about?

Ratemyprofessor.com is a website dedicated to allowing students to find out more about their professors and the courses they are going to take before they begin class. The site allows students to give their opinion of the classes and the instructors of those classes they have taken previously. It is not unlike the rating one would give a book they have read on Amazon. Because of that, you will see a wide variety of responses on there. Some students may write wonderful, glowing comments, while others write less flattering things. You can search for a professor or a school on the site. I have found it to be the most accurate to first search for the school and then look for the individual professor within that school where they are listed alphabetically. To search for the school, you would type in the upper right hand search box. It will then give you a list of schools. Click on the one you want and then it will pull up a screen that lets you browse by last name of the professor.

I haven’t heard as many of my students refer to this site lately. It seemed a lot more popular a few years ago. It is kind of a fun little site to see what others are saying. However, just as with any review, you have to realize there could be “sour grapes”. A student who may not have done well in the course may be more likely to say something negative about the professor. Also there is a lot of subjectivity so what may be a horrible class to one may be a wonderful class to another. The information is fun but it should be taken with a grain of salt.

To see my ratings, you can go to the following links for some of my schools: 1, 2, 3, 4

As I mentioned, it is not new to publish information about professors online. However, there is a new trend that has some people up in arms. Take a look at a recent NPR article where the author mentions that 6,000 elementary teachers in Los Angeles will see their names published online, along with data showing how much their students improved on standardized tests by clicking here.