A Philosophy of Technology

I've been thinking lately about my philosophy of technology.  What do I mean?  Well, I have deliberately chosen to avail myself of some of the latest in technology, and have assiduously avoided other fads.  I am very conscious of the choices I make regarding the use of technology, and I want to insure that I rule it, it doesn't rule me. My fear is that technology can creep into our lives little by little, and rob us of our intellectual initiative, our ability to problem solve, even our ability to think.  This is a fear I have for myself, which is why I avoid some kinds of technology, and it is a fear I have for my students. 

Here is one example.  One of my students recently showed me how with Microsoft Word one can enter in information and a parenthetical citation and Works Cited page will be automatically generated.  I teach my composition students how to do parenthetical citations, and how to compose a Works Cited page, and most of them are unfamiliar with this feature in Word.  Hence my dilemma - do I continue to teach them as I have been doing, making them think, use the book or the Purdue OWL online website, or do I teach them the feature in Word, that creates it for them?  Or do I use some combination of the two?  I'm undecided.  A student still must enter in the correct information in the correct places, and find the correct MLA version.

Example number two involves Google.  When a student doesn't know the answer to something, he or she 'googles' it.  I use Google myself, quite often in fact, but I'm afraid that my students are not aware of all the other places one can find information -- books, libraries, other people, reliable websites. 

One last example, for now, is the GPS.  My husband bought us a GPS for Christmas.  I pride myself on my ability to read a map and find my way to places I've never been, and my sense of direction is usually good.  But I have used the GPS, and I must say, I like it.  However, I don't depend on it.  I still have directions, through mapquest, or  a person, or a map, and I use it to make sure I'm going in the right direction, in the vicinity of my destination. 

This is part one of my philosophy.  For part two I will write about why I have chosen not to open a Facebook account or use a Smart Phone.  I'd love to hear about your philosophy of technology.  Or if you don't have one - why not develop your own!

Prescription for writers

As I age, I have more and more doctors -- one for my eyes, my ears, my teeth, my heart, my skin . . . and so on.  And I have discovered that doctors can be a great source of knowledge and encouragement, and not just about health issues.  My cardiologist is a published poet and an aspiring novelist.  He and I both recently finished our first novels, and he has advised me about helpful conferences, and venues to 'pitch' my novel to publishers and agents.  We compare notes about our novels, and are racing to the finish line - publication.

I recently went for my bi-annual visit to my dentist.  Though there are fewer opportunities to converse with a dentist, as he (or she) usually has his (or her) hand (or hands) in one's mouth, but before and after the actual work there is time for brief conversation.  He asked me what my plans were for the summer, and I told him I wanted to finish, finally and completely finish, my book and find an agent.  Lo and behold, he has a friend who is a literary agent and has her own firm.  I was happily surprised.  He asked for my information and told me he'd contact her to see if she might be interested in receiving a query letter from me (a letter aspiring novelists write to entice agents or publishers to want to read the entire manuscript). 

I wrote my email address down for him, and the name Olaudah Equiano - as my historical novel is about the daughter and sister of Equiano.  I figured if the agent knew his name, she would be more likely to want to receive a query.  Later that same day my dentist emailed me - she knew the name Equiano and would be happy to receive a query. Yippee!  I'm fine-tuning my query and the first five pages, and will soon be sending them through cyberspace to a fine literary agency in Florida, in hopes that this agent may want to represent me, and find me a publisher.  I'll keep you updated here on my blog.

So, opportunities for networking can be found in the most unlikely places.  And I have found one ideal place is the doctor's office!  My prescription for aspiring writers, don't neglect an opportunity to talk about your book as you never know who might be able to help you on the journey to publication.

Interview with a student - end of semester ponderings

Video link to interview with World Lit student

Please click on the link to view a video of an interview I conducted with a former World Lit student.  This is an unabashed promotion of my class, which is truly a lot of fun, both for the students, and for me.

I've been inactive for awhile, actually teaching, instead of writing about teaching!  The semester is winding down.  Good students are staying current with all their work, showing up to class on time, generally being a joy to teach.  Other students are giving me excuses for late or non-existent work, showing up late or not at all, and generally making my life more stressful.  This could likely be said of any professor, any semester.  We take the good, the bad and the ugly, and try to make the most of it, teaching our hearts out, hoping some of it will 'stick.'

Students' lives

This week I have been reminded of the difficult, crisis-laden lives many of my students live every day.  In one of my speech classes yesterday, a student spoke on PCP addiction.  Her ethos argument was herself.  She abused PCP for six years, and is still struggling to stay clean.  At one point she just stood in front of the class, not talking.  She explained that she is a living demonstration of what PCP does to a person - it erases your mind and causes you to blank out.  It was a powerful demonstration, though not a perfect speech.

Then today a student explained his absence of last week.  One of his best friends, who was serving in Afghanistan, was killed and he attended the funeral.  Both of his brothers are serving in the military now.

Another student has some serious health issues, the main one being high blood pressure.  She is a good student, and a good writer, but without health insurance it has been difficult to maintain her health.  So she already has two absences.

I could go on and on.  Students tend to be very revealing in their essays and tell me very intimate details of their lives -- lives too often steeped in poverty.   Teaching at an open-access community college allows me to interact with students from very diverse backgrounds and ability levels, but many of them, most even, are at a community college because it's affordable.   I cherish the diversity of my students, and pray that their education will be the way out of poverty.

Downton Abbey fan

I freely admit it.  I'm a Downton Abbey fan, or maybe even a fanatic.  I simply love this PBS series.  Last night the final episode of the second season aired, and this is a spoiler alert if you have not yet watched the series. I am SO glad that Mary broke it off with Sir Richard and said "yes" to Matthew's proposal.

Why do I like the series so much?  Well, for starters, I'm an Anglophile.  My favorite novels are written by British authors about England or Ireland. This series is set in the English countryside before, during and after
World War 1.

There are so many layers to this series, and so many things I enjoy about it, but I'll just pick a few.  It's funny.  I wait for Maggie Smith, aka the Dowager Dutchess, to open her mouth, because invariably she says a funny, witty one-liner, that has both me and my husband laughing out loud.  For instance, when Sir Richard was preparing to leave and said the family wouldn't be seeing him again, Maggie Smith said with her coy, smiling, smirking wit, "Promise?"  The dialogue is also real, and engaging, and fun.

Some characters I am rooting for, like Mary, and Sybil, and Matthew; some characters I can't stand, like Sir Richard, and Thomas; some I'm ambivalent about, like Edith, and O'Brien, simply because they are a bit more complex and have both good and bad qualities (like all of us); and some I just find annoying, like Daisy.  Isn't that just like real life? 

Well, it is like real life, only it's set in a magnificent estate with dozens of rooms, and the women and men abovestairs always dress elegantly.  I enjoy seeing what Mary or Cora are wearing.

And finally, well not really, but this is enough gushing for one blog, in Downton Abbey tea is a panacea.  And I feel that way about tea myself.  While Matthew is lying in a hospital bed, just having been told he will not walk again nor father a child, Mary offers him some tea!  A cure all indeed.  When my husband is tired, or my son is sick, or I am happy, or sad, or well, or sick, a cup of tea is surely the answer!

So if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Downton Abbey yet, I highly recommend it.  It will transport you from the 21st century, back to the early 20th century, in style.

School's Out

It's that wonderful time of year when school ends, the holidays begin, and those of us who teach on college campuses get 3-4 weeks off. Growing up I always thought my parents had the ideal job - teaching college students, enjoying an academic environment, continuing to learn, and summers and January off. Now that I have the same job my opinion remains the same.

I really love my schedule. This past semester I taught 4 face-to-face classes, one each day, Monday through Thursday. Then I also taught one online class. As I live within walking distance of the school, there is almost no commute, so teaching one class per day is ideal. Over the break I'll be working more on my book and preparing to teach a new course, World Lit II.

I hope you also enjoy whatever time off you have this season, and have a very blessed Christmas and New Year.

Thanks for reading . . .

Teaching online

So I'm almost halfway through my online World Lit course and . . . it's just not the same. I'm going to give it chance. I am already scheduled to teach one more online course in the spring. My initial reaction is that teaching online limits the essential professor/student interaction, and student/student interaction that is so much an integral part of teaching and learning. There are ways to engage the students, and I need to learn how to better do that online.

Here's how it works. Students log in, preferably daily, and read the lecture, watch the power point presentations, read the text, and then do the learning activities. Learning activities consist of answering 2 discussion questions for each unit. After they answer the question, they also need to respond to two other students' postings. There is some interaction there. I'd like to see more. Then they take a quiz and write either an essay or a shorter response.

What do I miss? What I miss most is the instantaneous student response. Body language is so important -- I had no idea until I started teaching this class. Just by looking out at my class I can tell who is interested, who is bored, who is tired, who is preoccupied -- by the way they sit, slouch, sit forward expectantly, smile, yawn. I miss all of it teaching this online class.