I just read an article in the most recent issue of Newsweek about Kindle. The author, Jacob Weisberg, basically believes that the invention of Kindle is akin to the invention of sliced bread. I'm still not ready to give up my books, but he did bring up some interesting points. Whether I like it or not, Kindle is the way of the future-Amazon recently released Stephen King's latest novel in Kindle version only. Authors will no longer need to deal with expensive publishing fees, etc. to get their novels distributed. This will eventually change the entire face of the publishing world-for better or worse remains to be seen. It will eliminate many jobs eventually. On the plus side-this will be great for the environment. Imagine all of the trees that can be saved.

I'm still skeptical. I have a feeling that this is one technological trend that I am going to resist for as long as I possibly can. I just can't imagine curling up on a rainy day with my computer screen, rather than an actual book. If publishers stop distributing books in actual book form, I will have to break down and accept this. My kids are going to laugh at me some day because I'm reading books, just as I laughed at my parents for their 8 tracks. Somehow I never thought that would happen-but I see it already.

Here is the link if you are interested in the article:

http://newsweek.com/id/190358

My Classes Are Intertwining

My students have just picked the topics for their research papers. One of my students is going to write about the influence of new media and Facebook. The paper is a researched argument, so I'm a bit nervous for her. I reminded her that she will need to present some sort of argument regarding the topic, and I'm wondering if she has bit off more than she can chew. I'm supportive of the topic because I think it's important and timely, but I'm just wondering if she will be able to handle a subject this large. I have told her she may need to focus more carefully, but I have a feeling I will need to monitor this closely. This is a subject I'm still learning about, so I'm curious to see where a student who is probably far more tech saavy than I am will take it. Maybe I will have some findings to bring to our class!

Intuition Plus Technology-A Lethal Combination

I had an "interesting" experience while grading papers this weekend. I was reading a paper and having a deja vu moment-I had a feeling that I had read this paper before-during Spring semester last year. I e-mailed my former student and asked her to send me a copy of the paper. Sure enough, my current student had rearranged the content, but it was basically word for word the same paper. I had suspected this in one of his other papers, but I let it go, because I didn't feel as strongly about it as I did this time. I should have trusted my instincts at the time, but I'm glad that I did this time. I tend to second guess myself, but this just goes to show that first instincts are usually right. It's so frustrating that students do this, but over the past few semesters I have learned to trust my intuition regarding plagiarism. I hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to confronting my student about this-I wonder what he will have to say for himself...

Thoughts On Visual Literacy

I was thinking about the reading from last night, and the fact that Selfe kept implying that many instructors/administrators believe that visual literacy is a lesser form compared to alphabetic literacy. I have to say that while I don't really agree with that, I do emphasize alphabetic over visual literacy in my classroom. I would like to spend more time discussing visual analysis with my students, but we really don't have the time. I use the visual analysis as a springboard into rhetorical analysis of essays. It works very well, and provides the students with a solid foundation for doing a rhetorical analysis. The students really enjoy picking apart the visuals that we analyze in class (much more than the essays).

At the end of each semester, I have the students write an essay about the assignment that they felt they learned the most from during the class. It is generally a 50/50 split between the visual analysis and the research paper. The students comment on how they had never really analyzed anything for its visual value, and they seem to remember this most out of everything we have done. It provides them with the analytical skills they can apply to just about anything in life. However valuable this assignment may be, I still don't feel that I can stray from my typical course curriculum. I may have more freedom than high school teachers who have to deal with the restraints of testing, but I have a feeling that the powers that be at SCSU would still want us to focus on the writing in 191, not the visual elements.

Aimless Musings...

I think I have a spring break hangover. I didn't go anywhere, or do anything for that matter, but I had a hard time getting myself ready to go this morning. I was looking at my calendar today, and I realized we only have 7 weeks left until finals week. Where does the semester go? It always goes so quickly, and there is still so much left to do. The first semester that I taught, I had no idea how I was going to fill all of those class periods, and now that I have a bit more experience, I wonder how I can get anything accomplished in such a short period of time. Although I'm looking forward to summer, I'm kind of sad that the semester will be wrapping up so soon. Towards the end of the semester I always feel as though my class starts to work really well together, and that my students and I have built a strong rapport, and it always seems as though this is when we can get some serious work done. Unfortunately, the end of the semester comes too quickly, and we can't accomplish anything else together. It makes me wonder if 191 should be a 2 semester class, but that would probably be impossible given the number of students that have to take the class. This has also made me start thinking about my future. This is my final semester, and now comes the daunting task of finding a job. I have to wonder if this will be my final teaching assignment. Will I find a job teaching? Will I find a job at all? Maybe this is why I'm anxious about the semester coming to a close. The stress of school will be over, but I would rather deal with that any day, rather than the stress of a job search.

FB Dilemmas

My sister and I were discussing the Facebook phenomenon yesterday, and she was surprised by a few of the things that I shared with her that I have learned in our class. I told her about potential employers checking out their applicants on Facebook, and she was shocked that anyone would do that. The next thing she said was that she would be switching her account to private. It made me wonder how many people actually know that it may not be just friends and acquaintances who are checking out their FB accounts. Finding a job is hard enough, but to lose a job because of something posted on a networking site would be awful. I guess if you don't think about the consequences of posting inappropriate pictures or messages, you will have no one to blame but yourself.

My students and I also discussed FB in class, and many of them had stories about teachers joining under an alias and watching the students. I find all of this a little bit creepy on both sides. Judgement ultimately lies with the account holder, but should instructors be spying on their students? It seems as though there are some ethical issues involving FB that I'm not quite sure how to deal with. Should employers be examining the personal lives of their applicants? I don't know how to answer these questions, and I don't know if there are any easy answers.

What About the Books?

My students have spent the last few days in the library learning about research. I emphasize the use of the library's databases, but I also show them how to find the antiques in the library-the books. Most of my students don't even know where the books are, or how to find a book by the call number until I show them. I think it's ironic that the majority of the books are housed in the basement, far out of sight from your average library patron. Obviously, once more intense research is required for a class, people will find the books, but until that day, the library is really about the technology. Libraries are supposed to be about books, right? So why are they hidden from sight? I suppose it is a spatial or an aesthetic issue, but it seems as though they are an afterthought. If I had to guess, I would say that most people go to the library to use the computers or other technological resources that are offered there. I love everything about books, so I worry sometimes that they will soon be forgotten relics (Amazon Kindle-I can't even think about that). It seems as if this trend has already invaded our library.