Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/587184
" B E C A R E F U L W H AT YO U write and how you write it," Holly Bax- ter cautions elementary school students. "Remember that with technology, nobody can hear your voice." She asks students to stand at the front of the class and say "thank you" three different ways: sincere, sarcastic, and questioning. Baxter points out that it's easy to understand the meaning in speech, but with technology it's easy to misinterpret the tone, which can result in anger or hurt feelings. The Oak Park Unified School District counselor bravely goes where few educators have gone before in teaching students about the digital universe. "We need to frontload import- B E I N G T H E F. K O R B E L & B R O S . professor of wine business at Sonoma State University is a tough job, but someone has to do it. In this case it's Armand Gilinsky, who just completed his first of three years in a pro- fessorship supported by Korbel Champagne Cellars. International travel and sipping fine wines are part of the job for Gilinsky, whose goal is to cultivate research and projects around the world that advance the wine industry and its leaders, says the Califor- nia Faculty Association member. He spent this summer teaching about wine in Germany, and has traveled to France for research. Upcoming vino visits will take him to Italy and Australia. "I was humbled by the appointment," says Gilinsky, who is the au- thor of more than 40 published case studies and articles relating to the wine industry. "It is incredibly generous, yet so appropriate, for Korbel Holly Baxter teaches young students how to be Net-savvy. to lend its name and funding to this professorship that gives fac- ulty time to develop projects that help the wine industry, as well as those who seek careers in it." His new role means less time for teaching regular business classes at Sono- ma State, where his students mull over case studies he created, in- cluding one about Naked Wines, an online retailer that raised millions through online "crowdfunding" and set the industry topsy-turvy. Gilinsky was named the first director of the university's Wine Business Institute when he was just 20 and wasn't old enough to imbibe legally. That was 40 years ago. And his career, like fine wine, has become more fla- vorful and robust. His next goal is to create a wine business case study book that examines changes in the industry. His students will be involved in the research, which will advance their knowledge of the business world. "Everyone asks me if I get free champagne, and the answer is no, I have to pay for it myself," he says. "But I get to learn about pathbreaking re- search by traveling the world and meeting inter- esting characters in the wine industry. What more could I want?" WINE STUDIES DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP Armand Gilinsky discusses the finer points of the wine industry. 24 cta.org F E A T U R E