“I love teaching for Wonderlust. I can’t wait to retire to teach more classes!”
- Course instructor
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Origami Emotion
By Elizabeth Barrette
Hope is
folding paper cranes
even when your hands get cramped
and your eyes tired,
working past blisters and
paper cuts,
simply because something in you
insists on
opening its wings.
I found this poem recently and thought of our Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU member volunteers helping to fold and stuff over 500 member renewal letters about to arrive in some of your mailboxes. There remains hope and insistence that these times of uncertainty will pass and we will be back in person, shaking hands with our wonderful instructors, sharing a hug with a friend, and exchanging welcoming smiles with peers.
In the meantime, OLLI at MSU/Wonderlust is offering almost 30 programs online this semester -- and will do the same next semester -- for our dedicated lifelong learning members. You can still exchange smiles and greetings virtually, get up close and personal with each instructor, and explore topics from the ancient Medicine Wheel to U.S. presidents and Yellowstone ecology. For those who have jumped in, the opportunity to continue lifelong learning virtually, has proven to be a rewarding challenge as we settle into our new semester “normal.”
We hope you will join us, virtually or in spirit, and renew your annual membership today. We would like to exceed last year’s 610 member by 5 percent this year, as each membership provides critical support for the OLLI at MSU programs you have come to enjoy. You can renew your membership here or return your membership renewal letter via mail (this letter will arrive in your mailbox this week).
For those who have renewed, THANK YOU. We look forward to “seeing” you in a program this year! For those of you on the fence … your support is truly appreciated by our growing lifelong learning community in the Gallatin Valley and beyond. Join OLLI at MSU/Wonderlust today!
In Gratitude,
Bobbi j Geise, OLLI at MSU Director
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Upcoming Programs To Explore
Our dedicated volunteers have assembled a diverse and engaging array of online offerings this semester. We think you will enjoy our top-notch instructors and program line up.
With online programming, you can learn safely and conveniently, save time and fuel, and avoid dark snowy winter roads. You can even enroll in a course and view the recording at your convenience. Below is a sampling of our upcoming programs.
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Course - Reading: Why It's Hard and Why It Matters.
Begins October 28, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
(4 sessions)
The human brain was not designed to read! Learn about the remarkable journey of the brain and reading since writing began 5,000 years ago, as well as what is involved in learning to read. Sara Bernall and Sarah Alexander, staff at Bozeman-based Gallatin Valley Learning Solutions, will explore the brain-based differences of the dyslexic brain, as well as common misconceptions about dyslexia, what effective remediation looks like, and the oft-celebrated “dyslexic advantage.” They will create simulations that allow participants to experience what if feels like to be dyslexic, and also discuss the other brain-based difficulties that frequently accompany dyslexia such as ADHD
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Course - Religion and U.S. Presidents: A Century of Intrigue
Begins November 2, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
(6 sessions)
Since the 1920s, religious currents in America have played an outsized role in shaping presidential politics.In this course, author and scholar Bruce Gourley will examinethree dimensions of the relationship between religion and presidents from Calvin Coolidge to the present, including: the presidents’ religious beliefs; the impact of religion on elections and policies; and the impact of the presidents on American religion.
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Course - Measuring the Pulse of Yellowstone: The Untold Stories
Begins November 10, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
(4 sessions)
Across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the National Park Service's (NPS) Greater Yellowstone Network is coordinating assessments of ecological health through collaborative, multi-agency monitoring and planning at park and regional spatial scales that address contemporary threats to parks. This course will highlight the importance of collaborative, cross-boundary strategies to connect parks, inventory and monitoring networks, and partnering agencies to leverage scientific connections to maximize their conservation impacts.
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Side Trip - Attention and Cognitive Control of Behavior
Monday, October 26, 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
In this talk, Keith Hutchison, professor of psychology at MSU, will discuss the importance of attentional control, or the ability to orchestrate thought and action in accord with internal goals in the face of distraction, especially in situations involving high distraction or conflict. Psychological experiments are useful in discovering breakdowns in attentional control, which can assist in identifying transient states such as distractibility, mind wandering, deception and anxiety. Such experiments can also help detect neurological deficits like those that appear during the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Webex 'How To' Resources
How to join a Webex event or class (aka 'meeting') - LINK
Webex Common Troubleshooting Tips - LINK
Best practices for online meetings and learning (read #1,5,6,9,10,11) - LINK
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COVID-19 Updates and Resources
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Osher lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU, formerly MSU Wonderlust, is a program of MSU Academic Technology and Outreach that provides intellectually stimulating and enjoyable programs that foster lifelong learning and community engagement for individuals 50 and greater. There are no tests, no grades and no papers. OLLI at MSU offers opportunities for the pure joy of learning. Become a member or consider teaching for us.
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