No, I'm not going on a rant about the dissertation - it's actually progressing along fairly well, given my heavy work schedule.
Perhaps a more accurate title would be that teaching writing sucks. Evaluating student progress in a writing intensive course - like composition - involves great amounts of time. Marking student papers by making useful comments on them, providing suggestions for improvement and solutions to problems just feels really overwhelming sometimes. It takes so very long. It's one of the downsides of teaching in a discipline that emphasizes writing.
I've come to this realization because of the course I took over last week. It's a psychology course - yes, it's a bit of a stretch for me, but I have studied the discipline, so most of my challenge is remembering what I studied many years ago.
The instructor for whom I'm taking over had scheduled 2 quizzes over the next several weeks, and I've been writing the first one. It's a nice change of pace from designing writing assignments. In fact, it's quite enjoyable making up the wrong answers for the multiple choice! Some of them are quite sneaky, while for others, I've thrown in options that are way out in left field. I'm intensely curious to know how well the students will perform on it, and whether the questions will trip up any who don't know the material well enough.
I'm sure that writing quizzes eventually gets quite dull. And there's probably an art to it that I'm missing the finer points of, but overall, I'm having a great time!
Top that off with the fact that the marking will be a breeze, and you can see why I'm loving it. Too bad it's just a one semester experiment...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
How to know the weather is messed up
You know the weather is messed up when you head to work in -30 degree weather and actually think to yourself "oh, it's nicer this afternoon" as you walk out after work into -26 degrees!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Emergency backup
I've never thought of academia as a high turnover industry.
But twice in the last year and a half I've been asked to take over partway through a semester for an instructor who's left.
What I'm wondering is: Is this a fairly common occurence? Or is it just coincidence?
But twice in the last year and a half I've been asked to take over partway through a semester for an instructor who's left.
What I'm wondering is: Is this a fairly common occurence? Or is it just coincidence?
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Emerging back into the light
Whew! Busy, ugly week it has been.
Last weekend's getaway was absolutely lovely, thanks for asking!
Technological gliches have been solved by restoring my system to last working settings and tossing disk of offensive software into file 13. But man! was that a pain in the ass while I was struggling with it!
Draft of dissertation introduction is fully complete! Yeah! Now I can move to finishing off the other two chapters that are mostly complete, and then move into the second half of this monstrous beast. Feels good to finish up a piece.
But I also haven't sent it to my supervisor yet. She's waiting for it. I'm just chicken. Don't know why. I'm actually pretty happy with it (for a draft). But I'm afraid to send it off nonetheless. I'm always nervous about sharing my academic work though, even after several conferences, the dissertation writing group, and other venues. Not quite sure why. I've given myself till Monday to send the draft though - no delaying past that point. Maybe I'll read through it again before then and feel better about it!
Still not much interesting happening in life though.
We're finally getting snow, which the kids are loving. They've been out on the hill behind our house all day. They're fun to watch. At one point this afternoon, there were four of them, just lying in the snow at the bottom of the hill. Don't know what they were doing - they were just lying there. I actually spent time watching because I thought at first maybe one of them was hurt. But no. They were just hanging out in the snow. Can't remember the last time I just hung out in the snow.
Was almost late on Friday because of snow. Left early but still walked into the class at 9:02. Only half of the students were there though, so it wasn't a big deal. Ozzie's "Crazy Train" coming on the radio during the drive seemed really appropriate.
Got to thinking during the commute about how different my car is to drive. I wouldn't let a new driver try to manage it on snowy roads. It's not that it handles badly. I'm actually surprised how well it handles given its light weight and small tires.
But it does require a different kind of attention to driving. For example, when downshifting in snow, the slightly reduced traction, means that the swift shifting that the clutchless transmission does can make you slip a bit if you aren't applying the gas. Never had that happen in an automatic, nor in a standard, whose gear engagement you can control more. Means I have to avoid downshifting (not a problem since it does it automatically when I don't) or just be applying a bit of gas when I do (which actually gives me better traction than just braking and letting the car shift for me). So a very different kind of driving. I feel like I have more control over the car, but I also have to be just a bit more conscious about what the motor and transmission are doing at any given moment.
Still wouldn't trade the car in. Am still waiting for my eco-rebate though. They're apparently backed up by several months on processing all the applications. Will be nice to get 2 grand on top of all the fuel savings when it comes!
Hopefully interesting things happen soon worth blogging about! Or the dissertation meter will shoot way up! or both!
Last weekend's getaway was absolutely lovely, thanks for asking!
Technological gliches have been solved by restoring my system to last working settings and tossing disk of offensive software into file 13. But man! was that a pain in the ass while I was struggling with it!
Draft of dissertation introduction is fully complete! Yeah! Now I can move to finishing off the other two chapters that are mostly complete, and then move into the second half of this monstrous beast. Feels good to finish up a piece.
But I also haven't sent it to my supervisor yet. She's waiting for it. I'm just chicken. Don't know why. I'm actually pretty happy with it (for a draft). But I'm afraid to send it off nonetheless. I'm always nervous about sharing my academic work though, even after several conferences, the dissertation writing group, and other venues. Not quite sure why. I've given myself till Monday to send the draft though - no delaying past that point. Maybe I'll read through it again before then and feel better about it!
Still not much interesting happening in life though.
We're finally getting snow, which the kids are loving. They've been out on the hill behind our house all day. They're fun to watch. At one point this afternoon, there were four of them, just lying in the snow at the bottom of the hill. Don't know what they were doing - they were just lying there. I actually spent time watching because I thought at first maybe one of them was hurt. But no. They were just hanging out in the snow. Can't remember the last time I just hung out in the snow.
Was almost late on Friday because of snow. Left early but still walked into the class at 9:02. Only half of the students were there though, so it wasn't a big deal. Ozzie's "Crazy Train" coming on the radio during the drive seemed really appropriate.
Got to thinking during the commute about how different my car is to drive. I wouldn't let a new driver try to manage it on snowy roads. It's not that it handles badly. I'm actually surprised how well it handles given its light weight and small tires.
But it does require a different kind of attention to driving. For example, when downshifting in snow, the slightly reduced traction, means that the swift shifting that the clutchless transmission does can make you slip a bit if you aren't applying the gas. Never had that happen in an automatic, nor in a standard, whose gear engagement you can control more. Means I have to avoid downshifting (not a problem since it does it automatically when I don't) or just be applying a bit of gas when I do (which actually gives me better traction than just braking and letting the car shift for me). So a very different kind of driving. I feel like I have more control over the car, but I also have to be just a bit more conscious about what the motor and transmission are doing at any given moment.
Still wouldn't trade the car in. Am still waiting for my eco-rebate though. They're apparently backed up by several months on processing all the applications. Will be nice to get 2 grand on top of all the fuel savings when it comes!
Hopefully interesting things happen soon worth blogging about! Or the dissertation meter will shoot way up! or both!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Bad blogger
Sparse blogging causes:
technological glitches
absolute immersion in the dissertation project
intense new teaching schedule
weekend getaway with hubby
lack of anything interesting/worth sharing going on in life... or head!
So there you have it. No real excuse, just stuff getting in the way.
technological glitches
absolute immersion in the dissertation project
intense new teaching schedule
weekend getaway with hubby
lack of anything interesting/worth sharing going on in life... or head!
So there you have it. No real excuse, just stuff getting in the way.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
What's wrong with this picture?
I've been doing some quick reading about business forecasts around the emergent technologies that my dissertation is dealing with - artificial intelligence, robotics, genetic manipulation etc. Most of the futurists agree that even before the "information age" that we're currently in is finished, we will be/are entering into the "molecular age" where nanotechnology and biotechnology will change our lives significantly.
One of the sources I've been looking at Technofutures by James Canton, is a bit old already, but it looks far enough into the future that much of what he describes hasn't happened... at least not yet.
But it struck me as I read many of the "scenarios" that he presents depicting life in our ever increasingly technological future, that they really don't seem much different from our present - depressingly so in some cases. Perhaps this one is so depressing because Sarah sounds too much like me.
An abridged example:
Leaving aside the fact that services like "Sammy" already exist (though they are usually people, not automated bots), what depresses me in this vision of the future is that "Sarah", mother of three, triple-degree earner, is still worrying about what to make for dinner! Where are the technological innovations for that?!
One of the sources I've been looking at Technofutures by James Canton, is a bit old already, but it looks far enough into the future that much of what he describes hasn't happened... at least not yet.
But it struck me as I read many of the "scenarios" that he presents depicting life in our ever increasingly technological future, that they really don't seem much different from our present - depressingly so in some cases. Perhaps this one is so depressing because Sarah sounds too much like me.
An abridged example:
Sarah Buys a New Car
Sarah hates to shop. She is raising three kids, went back to school for her third degree, and she doesn't have the time to haggle with car salesmen. So she contacted her Know-Broker, Sammy.... Know-brokers are Net middlemen. They keep an active knowledge network of who has the best products and services for their customers....
"Sammy gets the job done for me. I need it, he finds it," says Sarah to her son Brad. She is sitting on the front porch with her youngest son watching the early dusk come up on a beautiful Montana sky.
Turning back to the video screen on her wireless phone where Sammy is waiting, Sarah explains what she wants....
Sammy replies "I have ten trucks you can choose from in virtual inventory. Let me download the vid-files now with all the data"...
"Looks good, I like the prices... How about financing and pickup options?" Sarah inquires....
"Already done, financing approval coming in now. I need your digital finger signature. License and plates will be ready in 24 hours. Registration is happening now. How about we devlier to you by Thursday, no extra charge?"
"What took you so long, I got supper to cook. Sammy, you are amazing."
"Thanks, I'll vid mail all the digital ownership files to you by morning. Enjoy you new pickup, Sarah."
"Can you imagine the hassle of dealing with driving out to the different dealers? All the time that would take? And how would I ever know I got the best deal?" Sarah says to her son. "Now let's see about that dinner."
Leaving aside the fact that services like "Sammy" already exist (though they are usually people, not automated bots), what depresses me in this vision of the future is that "Sarah", mother of three, triple-degree earner, is still worrying about what to make for dinner! Where are the technological innovations for that?!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
When is a vampire not a vampire?
If you were asked to define "vampire" what would be the defining features? It's a question I'm trying to answer for a conference paper I'll be delivering. There have been so many vampire movies and books written, each of which characterize the vampire in a slightly different way. But if we look at the corpus as a whole, what are the characteristics most frequently seen?
Friday, January 04, 2008
Drug of choice
Do you have feelings of inadequacy?
Do you suffer from shyness?
Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist
about Tequila.
Tequila is the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident
about yourself and your actions. Tequila can help ease you out of your
shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do
just about anything.
You will notice the benefits of Tequila almost immediately, and with a
regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent
you from living the life you want to live.
Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past, (well shyness
anyway) and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.
Stop hiding and start living, with Tequila.
Tequila may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or
nursing should not use Tequila. However, women who wouldn't mind
nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.
Side effects may include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incarceration,
erotic lustfulness, loss of motor control, loss of clothing, loss of
money, loss of virginity, delusions of grandeur, table dancing,
headache, dehydration, dry mouth, and a desire to sing Karaoke and
play all-night rounds of Strip Poker, Truth Or Dare, and Naked
Twister.
Tequila. Leave Shyness Behind.
Do you suffer from shyness?
Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist
about Tequila.
Tequila is the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident
about yourself and your actions. Tequila can help ease you out of your
shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do
just about anything.
You will notice the benefits of Tequila almost immediately, and with a
regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent
you from living the life you want to live.
Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past, (well shyness
anyway) and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.
Stop hiding and start living, with Tequila.
Tequila may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or
nursing should not use Tequila. However, women who wouldn't mind
nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.
Side effects may include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incarceration,
erotic lustfulness, loss of motor control, loss of clothing, loss of
money, loss of virginity, delusions of grandeur, table dancing,
headache, dehydration, dry mouth, and a desire to sing Karaoke and
play all-night rounds of Strip Poker, Truth Or Dare, and Naked
Twister.
Tequila. Leave Shyness Behind.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
There's something catchy about the song...
Its cold outside,
There's no kind of atmosphere,
I'm all alone,
More or less.
Let me fly,
Far away from here,
Fun, fun, fun,
In the sun, sun, sun.
I want to lie,
Shipwrecked and comatose,
Drinking fresh,
Mango juice,
Goldfish shoals,
Nibbling at my toes,
Fun, fun, fun,
In the sun, sun, sun,
Fun, fun, fun,
In the sun, sun, sun.
... and I've got about 30 hours of it available to watch now!
There's no kind of atmosphere,
I'm all alone,
More or less.
Let me fly,
Far away from here,
Fun, fun, fun,
In the sun, sun, sun.
I want to lie,
Shipwrecked and comatose,
Drinking fresh,
Mango juice,
Goldfish shoals,
Nibbling at my toes,
Fun, fun, fun,
In the sun, sun, sun,
Fun, fun, fun,
In the sun, sun, sun.
... and I've got about 30 hours of it available to watch now!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
No books????
According to the paper this morning, almost 1/3 of Canadians did not read a book last year.
For someone like me, that's almost unthinkable. Not that I read a lot of books for pleasure last year - I'm actually below the average for those 2/3 who did read for pleasure last year.
Despite 1/3 of the population never reading, the 2/3 that did, did so quite voraciously, consuming an average of 20 books each in the year. But why is there such a sharp division between readers and non-readers? It seems C.P. Snow's "Two Cultures" could be updated for the twenty-first century, but instead of a divide between the sciences and the humanities, it's a divide between those who read and those who don't.
Several members of that 31% that didn't read a single book are enrolled in my composition class, and I suppose the one thing that statistic does is make me realize my students' admission they don't read for pleasure isn't an abberation, but just to be expected. Thing is, I have a couple of family members who don't like reading for pleasure who I know have finished at least one book that they didn't have to read last year. So what's the difference between them and those hordes of other people who didn't read a single book?
I don't have an answer for that. Part of me says that's okay, because that's not my world. But then again, if I'm to teach people who never read for pleasure, I might understand them better if I could answer that question. Something to puzzle over at least.
For someone like me, that's almost unthinkable. Not that I read a lot of books for pleasure last year - I'm actually below the average for those 2/3 who did read for pleasure last year.
Despite 1/3 of the population never reading, the 2/3 that did, did so quite voraciously, consuming an average of 20 books each in the year. But why is there such a sharp division between readers and non-readers? It seems C.P. Snow's "Two Cultures" could be updated for the twenty-first century, but instead of a divide between the sciences and the humanities, it's a divide between those who read and those who don't.
Several members of that 31% that didn't read a single book are enrolled in my composition class, and I suppose the one thing that statistic does is make me realize my students' admission they don't read for pleasure isn't an abberation, but just to be expected. Thing is, I have a couple of family members who don't like reading for pleasure who I know have finished at least one book that they didn't have to read last year. So what's the difference between them and those hordes of other people who didn't read a single book?
I don't have an answer for that. Part of me says that's okay, because that's not my world. But then again, if I'm to teach people who never read for pleasure, I might understand them better if I could answer that question. Something to puzzle over at least.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year!
I wish everyone a happy new year! May all the things that you wish for this year come to you and may you find whatever it is that you seek for 2008.
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