January 7, 2007
Course blogs
Madly putting together three course blogs while still attending to loose ends from last term. I swear, this is the worst year I have had, as far as flying by the seat of my pants is concerned. I thought it was just me — the result of falling behind because of various family crises last term — but I find that many of my colleagues are in the same condition. Something in the air.
At any rate, here are the three newborn blogs:
Looking about
being any gender
1001 reasons to read
I am trying out WordPress, and so far, it's really nice. I miss being able to mess with the CSS though; you have to upgrade for that.
September 13, 2006
Online collaborative writing
Anyone used Writely? A colleague was thinking of using it for student projects. Haven't written anything in tandem with someone else for years; this almost makes me want to work something up.
September 5, 2006
First Teaching Carnival of the new academic year,
Teaching Carnival #11, is up at George William's WorkBook. Lots of great stuff; see in particular the section on teaching and technology. Alan Liu offers a draft policy framing for students how to use Wikipedia as a source, complete with bibliography (responses here, here, here, and here). One respondent briefly discusses having students write for Wikipedia, as I plan this term. Several posts on teaching with blogging.
And there are comics.
August 9, 2006
Map of Early Modern London
A very cool, interactive map from Janelle Jenstad at the University of Victoria: "This site maps the streets, sites, and significant boundaries of late sixteenth-century and early seventeenth-century London."
Of particular interest: students are part of the project. And check out the links page (via The Ten Thousand Year Blog).
October 4, 2005
Teaching Carnival II
On Sept. 1, GZombie initiated a Teaching Carnival; if you haven't visited, do. For my sins, I have agreed to host the next one, on Oct. 15. Links to likely posts, either someone else's or your own, are most welcome. Don't be shy.
Please pass on or post this invitation.
And, find out how to tag your posts.
(GZ is in the process of putting together a homepage for the TC and I will post the address when I have it.)
[cross-posted to The Valve]
Higher Education for Multi-Taskers: A Online Discussion
I was recently sent the following message, and thought it might be of interest:
Higher Education for Multi-Taskers: A Online Discussion Hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education Wednesday, October 5, at 2 p.m., U.S. Eastern time
The description of the event asks whether "Millennial" students need to be taught in new ways, or whether this is merely "pandering." I would ask a related question: what about Millennial academics? If being "Millennial" means having been born between 1980 and 1994, there must be some out there, and more all the time. Will we need to, I dunno, podcast departmental meetings in future?
[cross-posted to The Valve]
To join the live online discussion visit: -----> http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2005/10/millennial/Topic:
Raised amid a barrage of information, students born from roughly 1980 to 1994 are expert multitaskers and savvy consumers who expect quick results. Richard T. Sweeney, university librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, says colleges must redesign themselves to meet the demands of this "Millennial" generation by making courses more image-based and interactive, schedules more flexible, and learning more student-driven. Others say today's students are just as capable as their predecessors of learning in traditional ways. What do you think?More on the Topic:
Playing with iPods and surfing the Web are second nature to so-called Millennials. They are different from past students in other ways, too, says Richard T. Sweeney, university librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. They have short attention spans and multitask constantly. They see themselves as consumers who "want to learn only what they have to learn" in "a style that is best for them" -- and that usually does not mean listening to a professor lecture. They prefer to use Weblogs and video games, and to collaborate with other students.Critics, such as Naomi Baron, a linguistics professor at American University, say parents and teachers have helped produce those traits in today's students by pandering to them -- encouraging them to spend time with electronic media, for example, and emphasizing their right to express themselves over the skills they need to express themselves well. They need to learn how to think through problems on their own, she says, and that requires time for quiet contemplation.
How -- and how much -- should colleges change to adapt to this new generation? And how different are Millennials, really, from the students who preceded them?
Free Article -----> http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i07/07a03401.htm
The Guest:
Richard T. Sweeney has been university librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology for 10 years. Before that, he directed the library at Polytechnic University, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and directed public libraries in Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio. He speaks frequently about the Millennial generation at conferences for groups such as the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries. He also consults for libraries on how to accommodate the new generation. He will respond to questions and comments about these issues on Wednesday, October 5, at 2 p.m., U.S. Eastern time. Readers are welcome to post questions and comments now.A transcript will be available at this address following the discussion.
--
Evan R. Goldstein
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
202-466-1755
evan.goldstein@chronicle.com
September 16, 2005
Blogging on blogging on ... blogging
Every year, on each course blog I have been posting various links for the newest crop of baby bloggers. This year I finally smartened up and decided to make one purpose-built blog, called, originally, blogging, where I will collect the how-to's and "what is this blogging of which you speak?" links that I find. I have the strong feeling that this is probably giving them more than most of them want to know, but at least it will streamline things for me.
September 2, 2005
We're back
So little time; so much to do. Those of you about to start a new term of teaching could do a lot worse than to visit GZombie's inaugural Teaching Carnival #1. What a great idea! Cats and historians have their own carnivals; why not us?