All resources in Alamo Colleges

Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

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This book is suited for the Entrepreneurship or Innovation course with an emphasis on Sustainability or for a course devoted entirely to Sustainability. What are the trends and forces underlying the changing character of the business-environment relationship? How they are creating significant entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals and companies? Around the world, the movement toward “sustainable development” has caused many firms to adopt policies and practices that reflect what is sometimes called a “sustainable business” or “triple bottom line” approach. “Triple bottom line” refers to the demonstration of strong performance across economic, social, and environmental indicators. Those measures serve as indicators of fiduciary responsibility to a growing set of concerned investors and therefore can help ensure access to capital. They also enable innovators to lower costs, create strategic differentiation, reduce risk, and position themselves for competitive advantage over rivals less attuned to trends. The deep roots of sustainability thinking are now evident in widespread and increasingly visible activities worldwide, and Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship explores this evolution; its necessity, its implications and its progression.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Andrea Larson

Principles of Economics

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Flat World Knowledge is thrilled to publish a first edition re-launch of Tim Tregarthen’s acclaimed Principles of Economics book, and proud to bring Tim's remarkable talents as a teacher to future generations of students.In 1996, Tim published the first edition of his principles of economics textbook to great acclaim, and it became widely used in colleges around the country. That same year, MS made him wheelchair-bound. The disease forced his retirement from teaching at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1998. He lost the use of his arms in 2001 and has been quadriplegic ever since.Tim never let his disease get him down. In fact, he turned back to his love of writing and teaching for inspiration. He obtained a voice-activated computer, recruited a co-author, Libby Rittenberg of Colorado College, and turned his attention to revising his principles of economics book.Today we are excited to introduce Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen’s Principles of Economics. The authors teach economics as the study of “choice “ by providing students with an accessible, straightforward overview of economics. This text combines the clarity and writing of Tregarthen's seminal periodical "The Margin" with great teaching insights.Rittenberg and Tregarthen help students to understand how real individuals actually work with economics. In this new book, the authors illustrate the practicality and relevance of economics with a variety of new illustrations and insights.The authors take a three-pronged approach to every concept: (1) the concept is covered with a “Heads Up” to ward off confusion, (2) a “You Try It” section makes sure students are staying on top of the concept and (3) a “Case and Point” section that uses a real-world application to harness the concept in reality. For one example of how this plays out in the text see "Chapter 3, Section 2 on Supply." hereThis book is intended for a two-semester course in economics taught out of the social sciences or business school.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen

Economic Systems

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This is a collection of downloadable video clips on the theme of Economic Systems, with guiding questions for students. Clips are drawn from the following PBS WIDE ANGLE documentaries: "To Have and Have Not" (2002), "A State of Mind" (2003), "Ladies First" (2004), "1-800-INDIA" (2005), "Border Jumpers" (2005).

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lecture, Primary Source, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Small Group Communication (CMST 230)

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This course is designed to familiarize you with the major theory and research surrounding the study of small group communication and provide an opportunity to analyze and develop solutions to a community problem while working in a small group.

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Reading, Syllabus

Public Speaking

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The purpose of this course is to systematically examine the elements and factors which result in an effective speech. Tying these together are the themes of information and ethics, emphasized in each resource because they are becoming increasingly important to all communicators. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: resolve ethical issues involving speech preparation and presentation; recommend techniques for resolving issues, which may interfere with active listening; identify the most effective speech topics, qualities, content, and delivery techniques based on the specific characteristics of an audience; evaluate the effectiveness of speeches for different types of audiences; use online and library-based research to find and critique the credibility of sources of information; cite sources of information appropriately, accurately, and clearly in both spoken and written contexts; choose the most effective pattern of organization for presenting different types of information to a listening audience; evaluate the effectiveness of supporting details or evidence based on the main ideas or arguments they are used to support; choose the most appropriate pattern for organizing a persuasive speech, based on the relationship between arguments and evidence or the relationship between the topic and the audience; identify whether the functions of an introduction or conclusion have been fulfilled and will be effective when presented to a specific type of audience; create keyword and sentence outlines for informative and persuasive speeches; revise a passage written for readers so that it can be delivered effectively and engagingly to listeners; identify and use techniques to improve the fluidity and clarity of verbal delivery; recognize non-verbal techniques that communicate the speakerĺÎĺ_ĺĚĺ_s confidence and credibility in a sample speech; demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of effective, ethical public speaking by accurately and thoroughly assessing the qualities of entire informative, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Communication 101)

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Lecture, Reading, Syllabus, Textbook

Interpersonal Communication (CMST 210)

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This course introduces you to the conceptual issues and practical implications of interpersonal communication. The course is designed to provide a holistic and self-contained, although not comprehensive, introduction to the study and practice of communication within interpersonal encounters. In addition, this course focuses specifically on understanding and improving how we communicate in personal relationships including familial, friendship, work and romantic contexts. The guiding instructional philosophy of the course is that learning entails active engagement with and feedback about the targeted skill.

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Reading, Syllabus

Intro to Communication (CMST 101)

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This course assists students in developing real world oral communication skills. Capture the dynamics of todayęs business realities and see the benefits of effective communication. Selection of topics, library research, analysis, oral style, use of visual aids, and preparation and delivery of various types of speeches and oral presentations are included. The Internet, e-mail, community interaction, and other practical tools support student learning and increase public speaking skills. Emphasis is placed on principles of cultural diversity. Prerequisite: College-level reading and writing skills.

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Reading, Syllabus

Demonstration Speech Evaluation Form

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Faculty considering a demonstration speech as a class assignment should use a demonstration speech evaluation form for the assignment. The evaluation form or rubric will permit more efficient grading on the part of faculty. The evaluation form contains criteria which is traditionally used when evaluating a speech.

Material Type: Assessment

Author: Joseph Coppola

Persuasive Speech Evaluation Form

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Faculty considering a persuasive speech as a class assignment should use a persuasive speech evaluation form for the assignment. The evaluation form or rubric will permit more efficient grading on the part of faculty. The evaluation form contains criteria which is traditionally used when evaluating a speech.

Material Type: Assessment

Author: Joseph Coppola

Student and Self Peer Assessment Form

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Faculty members interested in pursuing group assignments can use this form to facilitate accountability between group members. Group members justify the contributions of team members, provide examples of teamwork, and appropriate team behaviors. Team members rate each other on a four point scale. I have worked with various faculty members at Palo Alto College to create this form, which is used when assessing the teamwork general education competency across the institution.

Material Type: Assessment

Author: Joseph Coppola

Mind Over Matter: Marijuana

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You may have heard it called pot, weed, grass, ganja or skunk, but marijuana by any other name is still a drug that affects the brain. Did you know marijuana can cause some people to lose focus on events around them? It makes others more aware of their physical sensations, and it has still more effects on other people. All these different changes are caused by chemicals that affect the brain. More than 400 chemicals are in the average marijuana plant. When smoked, heat produces even more of them!

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Promoting Equitable Access to Health Care for Households

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The key objectives develop an understanding of the dimensions of access to health care; create greater awareness of health care access constraints from the household perspective; promote critical evaluation of policy options to address access constraints in relation to equity goals; promote and strengthen effective development and implementation of equitable health sector policies. The training materials can be used for a diverse set of target groups, but are primarily aimed at current and future health sector managers. It is also envisaged that the case studies can be used on an ad-hoc basis in post-graduate programs such as Masters in Public Health programs. Six case studies have been prepared for this course: Experiences of households in Sri Lanka, Availability of health services and resource allocation, Affordability of drugs in the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Tax. Insurance funding for health systems, Health service acceptability issues, Access board game.

Material Type: Case Study, Textbook

Author: McIntyre, Di

Digestive System

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The digestive system is amazing: it takes the foods we eat and breaks them into smaller components that our body can use for energy, cell repair and growth. This lesson introduces students to the main parts of the digestive system and how they interact. In addition, students learn about some of the challenges astronauts face when trying to eat in outer space.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Authors: Abigail Watrous, Denali Lander, Janet Yowell, Malinda Schaefer Zarske, Sara Born

Cellular Respiration and Population Growth

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Two lessons and their associated activities explore cellular respiration and population growth in yeasts. Yeast cells are readily obtained and behave predictably, so they are very appropriate to use in middle school classrooms. In the first lesson, students are introduced to yeast respiration through its role in the production of bread and alcoholic beverages. A discussion of the effects of alcohol on the human body is used both as an attention-getting device, and as a means to convey important information at an impressionable age. In the associated activity, students set up a simple way to indirectly observe and quantify the amount of respiration occurring in yeast-molasses cultures. Based on questions that arise from this activity, in the second lesson students work in small groups as they design and execute their own experiments to determine how environmental factors affect yeast population growth.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Mary R. Hebrank

Medicine Games: Blood Typing

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Play a game and find out about a Nobel Prize awarded discovery or work! In this game you have to blood type each patient and give them a blood transfusion. Are you able to do that? If not, maybe you should read the introduction to blood typing before you start, otherwise you will put the patients' lives in danger!

Material Type: Game, Reading, Simulation