As I am in a technology-enriched university, I tend to look at tech-related articles with an eye towards incorporating what I see into my classroom.
These are some of the more recent posts that have caught my eye:
Twitter Mentors
Twitter Mentors talks about students being able to connect via Twitter with someone who is an expert in their field. It specifically references PLNs, created by “a loose consortium of teachers.” I don’t know that I would be excited about connecting students with people I didn’t know in a mentoring relationship.
What can I take away from this post?
I think that students could easily use hash tags to follow information within Twitter on their topic and, perhaps, to find someone to approach to interview.
I like the idea of looking through Twitter for information on the field in which they plan to work and possibly beginning to set up their own network online.
Digital Scholarship
Universities are increasingly moving towards recognising digital scholarship despite conflicting messages that favour traditional publishing in journals
The recognition of digital scholarship presents many universities with a quandary: on the one hand they want to encourage it, because they realise this sends a strong message about their own values; on the other hand they are concerned about maintaining quality and are struggling with establishing robust mechanisms for rewarding a diverse and rapidly changing set of practices.
What can I take away from this post?
Digital scholarship is coming into its own, even if it is taking a while. It is quite possible that by the time I go up for tenure (five or six years), it will be a significant and readily accepted publication.
So what can I do now to help?
I can use and refer to digital scholarship.
I can keep my online work up (including this blog) and see if I can’t ramp it up even more.
I can self-promote. (This is something I really need to get better at.)
I can write and publish, both online and in print, arguing for digital scholarship.
I can promote and encourage digital scholarship at my university.
Using Q&As to foster better writing
Weekend Tech: NBA Lockout says that Q&As are a good source for discussing ethos (authority, credibility), voice, and logos.
What I can take away from this
This is a source I never would have thought of or found on my own because I am not a big news reader (or watcher).
However, I can see where these could generate some interesting discussion and be very useful in the beginning of a first-year composition classroom.