Friday Musings 5-2-14 - Listening

Listening

If you have had the opportunity to talk "to" me this week (not with me) you will know I have had laryngitis. For 4 days I had absolutely no vocal functioning at all and slowly throughout this week my voice is slowly coming back. Simultaneously, I have never had so many public functions to attend- difficult for this extrovert. But, the advantage is I have had the opportunity to listen. While I was doing solitary quilting last weekend I listened to the On Being Podcast about -- of all things, The Everyday Art of Listening.     Krista Tippets's guest was David Isay the founder of StoryCorps and the National Day of Listening. StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.Some of the StoryCorps themes include:

•  En Español
•  LGBTQMilitary
• Memory Loss
•  Military
•  Wisdom

One great link on the StoryCorps webside is sample questions for different groups. Here is a sampling:

Great questions for anyone

• Who has been the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
• What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest?
• Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
• Who has been the kindest to you in your life?
• What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?

Question for you.... have you used StoryCorps in your programming? Now, after hearing about StoryCorps... how could you use it?  


May Extension webinars focus on resources for research and creating a welcoming workplace

On May 7, 10-11 a.m., Extension will host "Interdisciplinary Research Resources," a webinar presented by Kristen Mastel, outreach and instruction librarian. During the webinar, Kristen will discuss four resources--Google Scholar, MNCAT Discovery, Web of Science and Scopus--and how each offers unique ways of retrieving and analyzing academic research. Registration is required.
 

On May 29, 2-3 p.m. Stef Wilencheck and Jason Jackson from the University’s GLBTA Programs Office, will present “Overview of GLBTQ Identities & Communities.” This webinar will focus on providing participants introductory knowledge of gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation and how to create a more open and welcoming workplace. Registration is required.
Extension webinars are held every month and offer Extension faculty and staff a chance to review and discuss priority topics within Extension. To access webinar recordings and to view information about upcoming topic webinars, visit the Professional Development section of the intranet.

Ying Iverson
Director, Professional Development