Life as an Extreme Sport

A Link Clean-up – Luddites in the Classroom!

...and everything else, Academics

I’ve had a bunch of links open for I don’t know how long (too long), and I should clean them up before my browser crashes and I lose them all and kick myself. Well, that and I’m trying to get back in the habit of writing here, again. Habits, for what it’s worth, are terribly hard to create, unless of course they’re bad ones. The bad ones, like staying in bed reading fiction or watching TV or not doing your dishes or laundry? Those are easy. The good ones, like going to bed and getting up consistently at the same time, writing every morning, working on your gorrram thesis? Much much harder to establish.

Anyhow. Digression.

A couple of weeks ago, I read about a professor at the University of Memphis banning laptops in her classroom. She apparently teaches in the law school, and felt that the laptops are terribly disruptive to her seminar-style lectures. Apparently she felt too many students were either attempting to take down what she said verbatim, being “fed” knowledge for later regurgitation, or were screwing around on the internet. Whatever they were doing, it wasn’t participating in the class, which was designed “primarily as a practice session for students to develop the skills outlined in the “Course Objectives.”” Plus, she felt the laptop created an invisible wall between her and her students, and the clacking of fingers on keyboards bothered her.

Boo-hoo.

Frankly, this sounds like the words of a very insecure professor who can’t control her classroom. First and foremost, by banning laptops, you automatically out anyone with an invisible disability, the people who she cannot, by law, prevent from using laptops. Way to go – you either look like you’re playing favourites by letting one or two people use the computer, or you end up implying or outright saying that a student has a problem. Secondly, if this is truly a seminar class where students are supposed to be participating and learning in order to receive evaluation and grading, then those students ignoring class for the internet and not participating over the tops of their laptop? Mark ’em down, so long as they’re truly not learning the material and unable to participate in the classroom while taking notes.

I’ve been on both sides of the table long enough now that I feel very comfortable making broad comments like the above, simply because I know what it’s like in smaller seminar classes. Yes, there are a lot of eyes there, and it can be a bitch to engage everyone. But not everyone participates in the same manner, and instead of trying to force everyone into a luddite zone where only paper and pen are allowed, the professor should instead work on improving her lecture skills and ability to run the classroom.

Don’t want people mucking around on the internet? Lecture from the back of the classroom. Have the students move their chair configurations into a circle. Don’t just stand in the front of the classroom and assume that because you are paid to stand there you have an automatic authority with the students. Authority is earned, not a privilege.

Finally, it also sounds like someone who wasn’t raised in the era of computers, who don’t understand how natural and fluid it is for people to multitask in this augmented age. Again, the solution is to catch up, not to halt the progress happening at such a rapid rate.

Okay, I can close that link now.

Quoting Me

life and living

I found this short biography in an online site I’ve not visited in a long time; I don’t recall even saying it, but it sounds like me (and well, is in my bio, so there ya go). I like, not the least of which for its truth.

About me: Preferring an ivory tower to a silicon city…

Dream Quote

...and everything else

Ah, the quote I’ve always wanted to see: “It’s not your father’s porn.”

Several comments come to mind, all of which my mind forces me to censor, since for the life of me I can’t recall if my parents read this journal or not. So instead I’ll mention a paper I wrote many years ago, back when the internet was a much smaller entity, about addiction and new technology. At the time I didn’t buy the idea of “internet addiction disorder”, and I wrote against it, using arguments similar to what people have, and continue to use, about pornography addiction. These days, my resoluteness against the idea of internet addiction disorder has faded, and although I wouldn’t DSM-IV any time soon, I do wonder if there is more validity to it as more folks have access. Thus, my thoughts about pornography addiction seem to need to at least waiver, too.

Access is an interesting issue, and something that came up a lot in discussion last quarter in my philosophy class. Would people think of things like body dysmorphic disorder, where they want to have a limb surgically removed, if they hadn’t encountered the idea in online support sites? Similar arguments are being made about pro-ana websites. The internet does more than allow people who are geographically dispersed to connect, it introduces ideas to people who’ve never had them.

Perhaps more access to the internet, more access to porn, is allowing folks with addictive tendancies to become addicted there, rather than elsewhere?

CHID 270 – Take 2, PF-style

Academics, CHID 270 (PF), Spring 06

Today, I finally came up with a good description for what a PF is. “A PF is sort of like… a TA meets Big Sister!” Muaahahaha – it’s like, all the fun of being an instructor AND a big sister, all in one!

Hello, darling students in my section, should you be reading. 😉 You can search on CHID 270 specific classes by using the “Filed under” function, clicking on the CHID 270-PF link, or by choosing it in the side bar. You’d find it under Academics -> Spring 06 -> CHID 270 PF. Hollar my way if it’s not intuitive.

Burning Tears in My Eyes

...and everything else, Academics, life and living, The Great Grad Hunt

Anyone who’s seen me lately has probably seen my red, watery eyes and sniffling nose. They’ve probably thought it’s just allergies, but it’s not. The girl who never cries has been failing at holding back tears for going on weeks. And it’s not because I’m sad. It’s because I’m happy. I’m more than happy, I’m in awe.

I’m going to be graduating in the top 5% of my class in June, an achievement recognized by a lot of various honours and awards. I have been funded for a year straight in my research by the Gates Foundation, and I have been accepted to my dream graduate program. That I’m even making it to graduation has me in awe, the rest is icing.

Because for better or worse, my idea of myself has been formed around the only two long term relationships I have had, both of which ended with the man telling me that he didn’t believe I was ever going to make anything of myself. That I wouldn’t be able to achieve any worthwhile goals, that I would never be anything, anyone. That what I was doing was useless, and I would always fail. I shrugged it off as sour grapes from the first guy – after all, I was leaving him, finally breaking his hold on me. But the second one devestated me, and it’s been that tiny voice in the back of my head for the last two years. His voice, telling me that my choice of career and interests were part of the reason he was leaving me. The voice has been fading lately, and I expect that by June 09 it will be completely exorcised.

I am in awe that I have done what I have. The research, the conferences, the teaching – I’ve been going around thanking a few people in person the last few days, and each of them has said almost the exact same thing to me: that I have taken advantage of every opportunity to improve myself and expand upon my education. Every thanks has been met with a throwing it back upon me and what I’ve done, and I don’t shrug that off any more.

I am in awe of where I’m going. I’m not going to be doing…I don’t know. Something that locks me away in a tower somewhere. I’m going to be training to be in a position of influencing literal life and death decisions. That’s an awesome privilege, and power, to be facing.

As egotistic as it sounds, I see myself doing great things in my future. I see that I’m going to make a difference, and this isn’t something I saw even a few months ago. I see my potential, and I am not shrugging off and away or making excuses, I’m just looking at it, dead on, and it’s overwhelming to see.

So yes, if you see me, sniffly and watery red eyes, chances are I am caught in the beauty and the crispness of the moment, and am overwhelmed by the powerful feelings of love and gratitude towards those who’ve made this possible, who’ve supported me through my darkest hours and highest peaks. Chances are that my breathe is caught in my throat as I watch my future unfold in front of me, and chances are, chances are, I am finally, finally proud of what I have done, will do, and who I am.