English 30 Language Technology and Culture (Spring 2009)
one year down, three to go
Well, not quite done. I still have a short essay to write, which is pretty much already written in my head and just needs to get down on paper. But virtually, my first year in my PhD program is done. It was a great year: lots of fun teaching, lots of engaging material in class, [...]
Sony Reader reflective commentary
I’ve finished my reflective commentary on using the Sony Reader in my graduate seminar and on possible redesigns for the Reader. I thought I’d share my commentary here. It’s a bit long (11.5 pages), so I’m attaching it to this post as a PDF file if you are interested in reading it. Final Reflective Commentary [...]
some random stuff akin to notes to you the reader
• I went to New York City last weekend, as I mentioned in my previous post. State College leaves me unfulfilled in so many ways, but mostly it has to do with the lack of people, diversity, good food, interesting architecture, the carnival — you know, city life. The trip was rejuvenating in ways I couldn’t [...]
English 30 reflections post #3 and my own reading experiences
I’ve been meaning to journal about teaching English 30 a bit more frequently this term, but just haven’t been forcing myself to write this term like I have in the past. So far, I’m excited about the strong conversations my students are having in class — my students are smart, nuanced, and pick up on [...]
English 30 reflections post #2
We spent today in the library, where my students checked out their Sony e-book Readers for the term and were “orientated” to them. Largely uneventful, but my students are already asking questions about the functionality of the device. One student asked if he could write notes or highlight using the Reader. Nope, not with this [...]
English 30 reflections post #1
This term, as I’ve discussed a bit before, I’m teaching Honors Rhetoric and Composition1 as part of the University’s project with Sony. We are checking out Sony’s ebook Reader and doing most of our course’s readings on this — either in ebook format or in pdf format. Students will be researchers in the project as [...]
$700 on books and a rad classroom
I just visited my classroom that I start teaching in on Monday. It’s the sweetest classroom I’ve ever taught in, in the Life Sciences Building, which obviously gets more money than the English dept’s building. The set up is nice, though I am concerned about the way desks and computers are arranged so that students [...]
at least one benefit to a delayed flight
I was supposed to fly to Iowa today. I was worried that the weather would get in the way of arriving (it’s supposed to be icy/stormy in Iowa today). Nope. Instead, it was an airplane door that malfunctioned or something. We were in the air above Harrisburg for an hour before returning to the ground [...]
Johnson: Everythign Bad Is Good for You (2006)
Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson My review rating: 4 of 5 starsIn Everything Bad is Good for You, Johnson attempts to de-bunk the popular narrative that the culture industry is making us stupider, by feeding us more and more banal television shows, video games, and movies. He argues for understanding a [...]
everything bad is good for you… and fascinating
I’m reading Steven Johnson’s Everything Bad is Good For You, and my students in English 30 are reading portions of it next term. In the book, Johnson argues that contrary to popular narratives that claim that popular culture is making us dumber, that much of popular culture is actually making us smarter by demanding a [...]
