Multilitteratus Incognitus

Well the semester started and I invariably got my first "I'm sorry, I'm just no good at computers" comment from someone at work. This reminded me of a post that I saw on Dangerously Irrelevant a few weeks back. I first started hearing this a couple of years back and ever got it. This quote from Dangerously Irrelevant was really interesting: What does this say about us as educators? As employees of supposed learning organizations who purportedly are all about 'life-long learning?' Is saying "I'm not very good at computers" the modern counterpart to "I'm not good at math" (both typically accompanied by a chuckle and a c'est la vie hand wave as if it didn't matter)? Personally I've never heard of "I'm just no good at math". Granted I am not the best at math, but I still do try, and I do get a correct answer eventually. I've never had a c'est la vie attitude about not being able to do math, and I...

Earlier this month I was reading an article on Inside Higher Ed about about a Duke administrator that went back into teaching, how she found Grading so tiresome that she decided to outsource it...to her students! Yes indeed, students in her class also graded each others papers. This professor writes: I can't think of a more meaningless, superficial, cynical way to evaluate learning than by assigning a grade. It turns learning (which should be a deep pleasure, setting up for a lifetime of curiosity) into a crass competition: how do I snag the highest grade for the least amount of work? how do I give the prof what she wants so I can get the A that I need for med school? That's the opposite of learning and curiosity, the opposite of everything I believe as a teacher, and is, quite frankly, a waste of my time and the students' time. There has to be a better way.... I honestly fail to see what's superficial about grading. It's not a beauty contest among the students. E...

Well OK, not really. I don't know if this story transpired on a Monday - it was just a catchy title :-) Anyway, I had heard of this story about a student accused of copyright infringement and possibly academic dishonesty for posting his own code online! I did not know much of the story until I read the whole story on Inside Higher Ed . If you haven't seen it, go have a quick read - it IS pretty ridiculous. Basically there is a student in a data structures class (aaaahh, brings back fond memories) and after an assignment was due and everyone had submitted their answers to the professor he posted his answers to the web. The professor went bananas and tried to assert that he had copyright over the answers and that the student was committing academic dishonesty for posting the answers. This guy is pretty stupid (too many years in front of a CRT?) If I write my own code - you don't have copyright. If I post the answers after the assignement is due, I am not helping anyone ch...