By G. Rendell. This sixth commandment is, in a sense, a direct corollary of the first. Thus, I expected it to be easy to think through, and to write about. Turns out I was wrong. For most of my time as a campus sustainability administrator and advocate, I've thought of "don't use finite resources" as an absolute. Part of that is a reaction to modern society's tendency to hurry up and utilize any resource before it runs out. Read more...
By Barbara Fister. I seem to be on an ethnographic kick lately. After reading ethnographies of social media platform development and Anonymous, now I’m reading one about Wikipedia, Common Knowledge? An Ethnography of Wikipedia published by Stanford University Press earlier this year. Read more...
By Marcelo Knobel. I will discuss a rather delicate issue that is now happening in the state of São Paulo that, in my opinion, puts at risk the huge effort made in the last 50-60 years to build an excellent public university system. The topic is complex because it is related to salaries, and, in a country with enormous inequalities, it can be risky, even considered politically incorrect, to discuss salaries of university professors who have contributed more than 30 years of public service. Read more...
By Tracy Mitrano. In previous blogs I have mentioned my non-IT background and how for some people in my life it took time to get used to me being in that role. Ironically, now I sometimes feel pigeonholed to the contrary. Why is an IT person writing about sexual assault and rape on campus? Certainly a “policy” person can answer than question easily. The ease I had filling the IT Director role was in transferring ethical and legal thinking to cyberspace; the rapidity with which I shift to discussing ethics and law in physical space is an easy translation. Read more...
By GradHacker. Technology is an incredibly important part of hacking grad school, and while we often write about incredible new software or products, it is also really important to maintain your technological hardware, whether it’s replacing a broken screen or upgrading your memory to use all your fancy new software. For physical or aesthetic repairs, as well as thorough guides for computer work, check out iFixit and gift yourself (or someone else) the tools to affordably repair or upgrade the technology in your life. Read more...
By Justin Dunnavant. With the situations in Ferguson, New York, and Cleveland I am reminded of the murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, just two hours away from my university. In 2012, immediately following the incident, several students traveled down to Sanford to call for the arrest and trial of George Zimmerman and subsequently protested the verdict. We wrote our reflections, held a memorial service, and some even took over the state Capitol calling for the passage of “Trayvon’s Law.” Read more...
By Lesley McCollum. While it may seem like everyone is connected with all the “musts” of online networking and social media, there are plenty of stragglers who are not there yet. I know, because I recently was one of them.
At GradHacker, we’ve written about digital identity and online presence many times (linked throughout this article) and even held a bootcamp on the topic, because it’s that important! I’ve put together an overview of some of the most popular social networks used by academics and other ways for establishing an online presence—and if you aren’t sure why you should even be creating an online identity, start here. Read more...
By Joshua Kim. Michael Kubit has a terrific article in the latest EDUCAUSE Review on The New Leadership Challenge. Kubit, the Interim COO at Case Western Reserve University, argues that today’s academic information technology leaders need a different set of skills and practices from those traditionally associated with these roles. Rather than being subject domain experts, today’s academic technology leaders need to develop expertise in communication, collaboration, and mentoring. Read more...By Joshua Kim. Carl Straumsheim’s 12/10 article Clash in the Stacks, and the comments that followed,should be read and discussed on every campus.By Joshua Kim. Phil Long taught me a new word at the last event that we both attended: saltatory. Phil is the Associate Vice Provost for Learning Sciences and Deputy Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Texas. /https%3A%2F%2Fprofilepics.canalblog.com%2Fprofilepics%2F1%2F0%2F1076071.jpg)
