Tweet, Tweet

The following articles came from my Twitter feed, and are posted in no particular order.

• From Cat in the Stack: “Learn Intellectual Property By Doing It” by Cathy Davidson

• “That's a fabulous learning experience by any estimation, but the HASTAC way is to not just create new technologies but to think critically about those technologies, what they mean, how they apply to society or to individual rights and aspirations.   It is also important to transform creating and critiquing into pedagogical practice” (Davidson).

• From You Can Teach Writing: “When writing a literary analysis: Use thesis + support (persuasive pattern)” by Linda Aragoni

• From Stuff.co.nz: “E-book limit upsets apple cart for local iPad users” by Claire McEntee

• Just a quick reminder that the (technological) world apparently revolves around the United States, as illustrated by Australian and New Zealanders’ frustration over time lags for e-books.

• From StatesmanJournal.com: “Video: What eReader is right for you?” by Barbara Curtin

• From Doyce Testerman: “The Life of a Furtive Writer” by Doyce

• From The New York Observer (Media Mob): "Jane Pratt Teams Up With Teen Blogger For New Magazine” by Hunter Walker

• From The Spy Report (News from Media Spy): “US: Amazon to increase Kindle royalties to publishers” by bacco|007

• From Miami Herald: “In digital world, Miami’s book fair still bedazzles” by Connie Ogle

• From PCMAG.com: “Our Favorite Blogs: 2010” by Eric Griffith

• Sweet Valley Confidential (Book Excerpt – Chapter One) by Francine Pascal

• From copyblogger: “How to Put Yourself into an Effortless Writing Zone” by James Chartrand

• From Whatever: “The Man in the Frey Flannel Suit” by John Scalzi

• From New York Magazine (Books): “James Frey’s Fiction Factory: The controversial author is hiring young writers to join him in a new publishing company.  The goal is to produce the next Twilight.  The contracts are brutal.” By Suzanne Mozes

• From hindustantimes: “Is your child a hypernetworker?” by Sanchita Sharma

• From HASTAC: “Digital Humanities Sessions at the 2011 MLA” by Mark Sample

• I might have had to wipe the drool from my keyboard after reading through the panel descriptions.  And in the words of Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

The following articles came from friends, Facebook, and my own web browsing.  These too are posted in no particular order.

• From MatadorNetwork: “20 Obsolete English Words that Should Make a Comeback” by Heather Carreiro (Thanks Jessica for the link!)

• From The Huffington Post: “An Appeal From Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales” by Jimmy Wales

• From Guardian.co.uk: “What’s on the next page in the great ebook race?” by Justin McGuirk

• From The New York Times: “Great Holiday Expectations for E-Readers” by Julie Bosman

• From Lost Angeles Times: “Libraries reinvent themselves as they struggle to remain relevant in the digital age: They’re preparing for a future in which materials can be checked out and read from a home computer, smart phones or e-reader.” By David Sarno

• From lifehacker: “Top 10 Tips for Better Writing” by Whitson Gordon

• From BitchMedia: “Past Imperfect: The Feminine Mystique and the persistence of nostalgia” by Eryn Loeb

• From BitchMedia: “House Proud: The troubling rise of stay-at-home daughters” by Gina McGalliard

• To quote Battlestart Galactica, “All this has happened before, and it will happen again.”  That quote was running through my head as I read this article, which provoked a riot of emotions and to be honest, made me queasy.  The attitude of the fathers (and husbands) in this article immediately made me think of Cotton Mather, feme coverture, and the idealized motherhood of the republican mother from post-Revolutionary America.  This is not good, not good at all.    

• From Jezebel: “Popular Female Evangelist Claims That What God Really Wants Is For Women To Shut Up” by Morning Gloria

Vive La Revolution!

As a future educator in the making, I found this video incredibly important and informative.  I can’t take credit and say I found this video on my own – friends posted it to Facebook.

My breakdown of the video:

1. Public education – economy link
2. Public education – cultural link
3. Past vs. Future (methods of education)
1. 18th century / Enlightenment
2. 19th century / Industrial Revolution
4. Gene pool of education
1. Academic = smart people
2. Non-academic = not smart people
3. This model causes CHAOS
5. ADHD issue – a modern epidemic?
1. Standardized testing – ADHD link?
2. Geographic (increases as you move toward the east coast)
6. The Arts are victims of this mentality
1. Aesthetic experience: senses operating at peak
2. Anesthetic experience: senses shut off/deadened
1. ADHD drugs do this (deaden the senses)
7. Education modeled as interest of industrialization and image of it
1. Like a factory / production line mentality
2. Standardization – getting away from it is the key
8. Divergent thinking ≠ creativity
1. Divergent thinking defined: essential capacity for creativity
2. Test for divergent thinking in Break Point & Beyond
9. Gene pool of education (academic vs. non-academic) = MYTH
1. Collaboration: great learning happens in groups; the stuff of growth
2. Culture of our institutions: 
1. The habits of our institutions
2. The habitats they occupy

What do you think about this video?  Are the arguments Ken Robinson make valid?  What do you think of his criticism of schools as factories?  Why do we group children by age in the classroom instead of by their individual progress?  How many of us knew a classmate who skipped grades?  What will it take to overhaul the current education system?  Who stands to lose and who stands to win by not making or making radical changes to America’s educational structures?


Some articles related to America’s school systems:

• From The Chronicle of Higher Education: Innovations (blog)

• From Cat in the Stack:  by Cathy Davidson
• “We The Teacher” 

• “Four Indispensable Methods for Organizing Group Attention”

• “How To Crowdsource Grading”

• From Ed.gov (U.S. Department of Education): “U.S. Department of Education’s Open Innovation Portal Hosts NEA Foundation’s Challenge to Innovate”

• From Slate: “A Private Matter: Am I hurting my local public schools – and hurting America – by sending my kids to expensive private schools?” by Patty Stonesifer and Sandy Stonesifer

• From Slate: “The Educated Child: Keeping Public Education Vital” by Peggy Kaye

• From Slate: “Rethinking the School Desk: Is the best way to fix the American classroom to improve the furniture?” by Linda Perlstein

• From Slate: “Classrooms With a View: Innovative school design is hard, but it doesn’t have to be.” By Ronald E. Bogle

• From Slate: “Brilliance in a Box: What do the best classrooms in the world look like?” by Amanda Ripley

[Edited on 13 November 2010 to add 2 more articles from Slate.]

• From Slate: "The Fifth-Grade Exploration Studio: the winner in Slate's contest to reinvent the American classroom." by Linda Perlstein

• From Slate: "The '21st Century Classroom' Finalists: The 10 finalists in Slate's competition to improve the American classroom." by Linda Perlstein

Sites:

• Open Innovation Portal

• Challenge.gov

• DonorsChoose.org (My absolute favorite charity.)