When you’re starting to think about making the commitment to start a PhD program, you hear about how difficult/complex the academic job market is, but you don’t really get what that means till you’re staring down the barrel of your dissertation while simultaneously trying to…
The word “memory” has many meanings these days–13 definitions to be exact, according to dictionary.com. When I was a child, it meant one of two things: 1) the special place in my brain where I collected mental versions of good (and bad) life moments, and 2)…
I have been thinking about whether or not I can reveal this in public, and I figure, well, okay. While I’ll never post about anything that’s not G-rated, I might occasionally embarrass myself. Humility is a good thing, right? So here goes. I finally got…
Since I decided that the focus of my research would be online, I’ve had a growing symbiotic relationship with the internet. I spend most of my time in front of my computer, having a conversation with someone or Google. I’m always searching for the answer…
I asked one of my professors during my first or second year of grad school, How are education policies made? I demanded an answer to a truly impossible question, and my professor’s answer was appropriate: It is a very complex process. As a fifth grade…
I wonder if my bad sleep patterns lately are a subconscious act of solidarity with teachers throughout New York City who are preparing to start another academic year tomorrow. I remember all too well that charged mixture of excitement and anxiety that churns in your…
This past Sunday’s New York Times published the first of a series of articles about “the intersection of education, technology and business as schools embrace digital learning”(p. 16) with the title “In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores.” I have to say, I appreciate the NYT’s effort…
Yesterday’s post marked the start of me trying to work out, in writing, some of the questions I have about pedagogy and technology. I’ve been spending more time with my computer than any other object in my life for at least the last ten years, and…
How often do you still download a document, or go to the site of a periodical you used to get in the mail every week, and approach it as a concrete piece of the physical world? How has the switch from print to digital affected…
So yesterday marked the official start of my new fellowship, in which I’ll be working with students and faculty via technology. More on what that means as it unfolds… In the meantime, we got students set up with their new Macs, and part of that…