Magic Tricks with Phones

Here are a couple of tricks with the iPhone (what?! You don't have an iPhone??) that can save you time and money while abroad.

Phone calls:

If you turn Airplane Mode on (thus, blocking any local companies from sending you things or allowing calls at exhorbitant international rates), and turn Wifi on, you can make Skype calls anytime you find a free wifi spot. Skype charges practically nothing when you use it on your phone (it's free from computer to computer, as you know) and the advantage is that you can call ANY number in the world (does not have to be another Skype number, can be landline or cell). And it is super cheap. Downoad the Skype App, set up an account (I'm still using the $10 I put on it last year) and gab away. This is MUCH cheaper than even the Intnational plans that the phone companies try to sell you.

Getting Around a New City/Country

There is a free App called Maps With Me that embeds maps into your phone. You need to download the countries you will be travelling to, then you have them without using phone minutes or internet. Very useful and very accurate (even gives restaurants, major buildings, etc.).

Also, the free App WhatsApp will allow you to do free texting with other WhatsApp users once you find a wifi site. Works brilliantly anywhere in the world (but your contacts must also have the App enabled).

There are other ways. These work for me.

I saw the equivalente of this sign in a coffee shop in Buenos Aires. Thought it's worth sharing.

See you soon.

Field Labs

30 days and counting....
And now a word about FIELD LABS

Field Labs are an important component of the course you are teaching. They constitute 20% of the course grade, so it is imperative that the students 1) show up, 2) are prepared for what they will experience, and 3) display proper etiquette during the 8-hour project.

I think it is crucial that students understand 1) how important the Field Lab is to the intellectual and academic nature of the course, 2) what they will see and experience during the day, and 3) what is expected of them in terms of behavior and academics.

YOUR ENTHUSIASM will set the students up for success. Take ownership of your Field Lab, be engaged and engaging, and let them know that you take the FL seriously.

Remember: NO ONE ELSE may join the FL. Excuses will surface (parents, friends, LLLs), tears shed, whines whined, threats made. But, ISE and UVa policy insists that the FL, as a component of the course, is not a tourist event, but an integral part of what has already taken place --and will take place-- in the classroom.

What to do is a student is (or claims to be) too sick to join the FL? Here is the ISE policy: "A student who believes that he/she is too sick to attend a field lab must be assessed at the medical clinic by the same morning as the departure of the field lab and not after the field lab returns. If the student is assessed as too sick to attend the field lab, the medical staff will notify the Registrar by email and the student will not be able to leave the ship for the duration of the field lab and may be required to comply with other restrictions assigned by the medical staff. The faculty member will work in conjunction with the Academic Dean and Registrar, as well as the student, to select a replacement lab and assignment in one of the upcoming ports. Should a student be too ill to go on the last field lab in the last port, the faculty member will develop additional assignments for the student to complete to make up the missing 20% of the course work."

Your ownership of the FL will make a difference. Your students will feel special, that they have been given a unique opportunity to learn something new and different. Prep them. Enjoy!