Skip to main content

Not Dead… Moving

For those wondering, we have not stopped blogging and nothing horrible has happened to either me or my wife. 

We're not dead… we're moving again. 

Unlike last summer, when we moved from one state to another, this time we are moving about two miles from our temporary residence to a new home in the same little Pennsylvania township. 

The move will give us plenty of material for our blogs. Moving is stressful and chaotic. Moving raises economic issues, especially in this housing market. Moving means shifting our beloved books again. Most of all, it cuts into our creative "me/us" time necessary to recharging and regrouping.

There will be new blog posts. This has been a hectic few years. 

Of course, we're moving right as my students have finals, my wife has to take a business trip, and a cat is having health issues. The long list of things happening in our lives merely reminds us how overwhelmed we are until the end of May or June. Beyond May we will be renovating our current house to make it a nice place for another family. 

So, blogging is a bit down our list at the moment, at least until we're slightly more settled in the new house. I'll do what I can to get some thoughts posted weekly, but please be patient.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Writing Ideas

Online composition and participation are always a requirement in the courses I teach. When I began teaching at Fresno State as a graduate student in 2004, I was one of the few instructors who required students use Blackboard on a weekly basis. I believe there are several reasons to use tools like Blackboard / WebVista: Students can read and respond to the thoughts of their classmates. I have a record of how writing (and thinking) improve during a semester Peer editing can occur online, in small groups. Students less vocal in class discussions tend to participate more online. Normally, I post a " Weekly Response Question/Topic " based on class discussions during the week. Students can then extend the in-class discussion online. Those who were unable to speak up during the class have time to reflect and post their thoughts, too. By requiring every student to post at least 50 to 100 words a week, they soon engage each other in discussion. I always use threaded discussions...

Human Readers for Tests

As readers of my blogs know, I'm never opposed to using technology when it is an effective tool. I am opposed to the blind embrace of the latest trends without critical examination of the potential side effects. Computer-assisted grading, I can endorse to some extent because I use software to help me analyze student papers — and my own writings. But, I cannot and will not endorse any system that gives weight to the computer-based scoring. If you're a teacher, consider this petition: http://humanreaders.org/petition/index.php Now, I also want to add a critical comment on human graders. If the graders of standardized tests are using rigid scoring rubrics, they are little better than software algorithms. Bad grading is bad grading. Inflexible = bad. Again, I am not opposed to using a computer for fact checking, some plagiarism verification, and as formatting aids. Computers can and do help many of us write more effectively. But, I don't use computers to grade pape...

Podcasts and Internet Radio

You must read Podcasting News if you are interested in podcasts! The New York Times has NYTimes Podcasts covering almost every area of interest. For anyone and everyone, podcast.net is a directory of professional and amateur podcasts. Unfortunately, many podcasts come and go too quickly and the directory links to some ghost sites. For October 30, 2007, we were instructed: In your blog: listen to some podcasts and analyze different aspects of the production quality of these podcasts; then, reflect on ways that you could use writing to create podcasts or coursecasts; brainstorm some ideas for creating your own podcast: an interview, presentation... I am a fan of Internet Radio, podcasting, and pretty much all things resembling "radio" in any form. For November 6, we have been asked to create a podcast of some form, and I certainly don't see a problem creating a theatrical production of some sort. Podcasting has the convenience that most Web tools lack. A podcast ...