Speed Up Your Netbook
How to Geek offers this guide to speeding up your netbook. I’ll be using these tips myself, especially the part about reducing browser resources.
Comp vs Creative Writing Students
To what degree is the laissez faire of creative writing enabled by the fact that most of our students want to be there?
Solid State Drives for Older Computers
I upgraded my laptop and netbook to solid state drives (SSD) a couple years ago, and the difference it made was tremendous. With 8GB of RAM and a 225GB SSD, my 2010 laptop is almost unstoppable when it comes to music, web browsing, and Google Docs. But for the netbook, the change hasn’t helped as…
Autography Theory Changes My Pedagogy
For me, the measure of a good theory is how well it leads to practical application (either in understanding the world or in helping us become better teachers in a measurable sense.) With networked autography, I am now placing less emphasis on directions and rubrics and classroom-wide discussions in favor of more emphasis on small-group…
“Its Is Not My Shame to Bear” – Life Writing Blog
Just read a couple posts on “Not My Shame to Bear,” a blog by Eden Strong (a pseudonym.) Her “about me” page is really interesting because of the very explicit way she takes on doubters. The photos of friends (and her lawyer, who is also a friend?) are kinda neat. Either she’s a very real…
Social Issues Motivate Writing
While posting to Tumblr last night, I noticed that the articles I was posting were really, really drawing me in. But I wasn’t researching writing – I was researching and writing about public perceptions of autism, and hacking of government personnel files, and the story of a young boy with Sanfilippo Syndrome, and police brutality…
Systems vs Relationships: A Binary
In teaching, my focus for a long time was on building a good system for students to learn writing. Now, I think that the one-on-one relationship with each student has a far greater impact not only on building rapport, but on helping students prioritize their learning.
HubPages: A Challenging Resource
HubPages offers a unique hybrid of social media and blogging (somewhat akin to Tumblr), but it enforces strict community guidelines that can place added burden on the author. It could be a great teaching resource, but I caution against it after the following experiences: When I recently logged in, I discovered that all of my…
Tumblr Settings: Pays to Read Directions
Understanding the differences between primary and secondary Tumblr blogs is helpful: Primary Tumblr’s are best for your public, “this is me!” profile. You can comment on other blogs, but you can’t invite coauthors or use password protection. Secondary Tumblr’s are good for classroom collaboration – you can invite coauthors, and then password protect your work.…
PTSD, Poverty, and Changes in Brain Function: Pedagogical Implications?
What if there was some social or environmental factor was proven to change the function of the human brain? Well, what about PTSD? And how about poverty and malnutrition? Can we say we’re educating students effectively if we aren’t first addressing these societal issues that affect learning ability? Read on for fMRI studies:
