By Joshua Kim. Let’s start by trying to come to some agreement about the major challenges facing higher ed.
Our higher ed challenges all fall under categories of cost, access, and quality - and our challenges are large.
I’ll list a few, and you can add to the list. (And this list will not be exhaustive, as any complete list of higher ed problems would keep us here all day). Read more...
By Joshua Kim. Gmail turned 10 this April 1st. Happy birthday.
Are you a Gmail user?
Do you have a personal Gmail account? Or has your institution adopted Gmail has its official campus e-mail system? Or both? Read more...
By Joshua Kim. My iPhone is eating my life.
This 4.87 inch by 2.31 inch gizmo accompanies me everywhere but the shower.
Here is a (probably partial) list of the functions that my iPhone performs.
1. Waking Up: Is your phone your alarm clock now also? Read more...
By Joshua Kim. What ever happened to all those podcasts we were planning to create?
Just yesterday it seemed that we all had grand plans to become podcasters. Today, not so much. I have distinct memories of hearing arguments from a range of smart and forward thinking folks along the lines of:
I’m not saying that the professional podcasts have gone away. Read more...
By Alessandra La Rocca Link. Many graduate students first “meet” the teaching portfolio on the job market. A hiring committee might ask for tangible evidence of teaching experience. A job posting may request a teaching portfolio from all applicants. In most cases, graduate students cobble something together last minute. Much like teaching journals, however, teaching portfolios warrant our ongoing attention as graduate students. The earlier you start compiling relevant teaching materials and thinking critically about your teaching experience, the better both the portfolio and your prospects on the job market. The latest higher-ed reports point to an increase in part-time and community college employment. Read more...
By Emily VanBuren. Three different people, completely unbeknownst to one another, wisely pointed me toward the same book back when I first started graduate school: Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (1994). And with very good reason. As the title suggests, it’s a handbook for breaking down enormous tasks into smaller, more manageable ones. Lamott relays an anecdote about her brother that probably resonates with any graduate student. Read more...
By Matt Reed. Last week the Chronicle featured a story about an uproar at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater about a video recording that a student had made surreptitiously of a guest lecturer. The video apparently showed the lecturer making some inflammatory statements about Republicans; it was picked up by Fox News, and the rest is predictable. Read more...
By Matt Reed. Have you ever been trained in how to write a letter of recommendation? On the blogs, when we talk about letters of recommendation, we usually refer to letters for grad students trying to get faculty (or postdoc) jobs. Here I’m thinking more specifically of letters for undergraduate students, whether in support of transfer, scholarship applications, or whatever. Read more...
By Matt Reed. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg suggested yesterday that students who drop out of a four year program after two or more years should be awarded Associate’s degrees as a sort of consolation prize, like a year’s supply of turtle wax. The argument is that a student who has put in two or more solid years of college has done some real work, but that she leaves with nothing to show for it. An Associate’s degree signifies something concrete, and carries more heft than a high school diploma alone. Read more...
By Matt Reed. Wise and worldly readers, how much time -- and how many attempts -- do you allow a “pilot” course or project before deciding whether to keep it?
As finances get tighter and political pressures stronger, I’m seeing less patience for waiting for the results from pilots to come in. The meaning of the word is changing. Read more...
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