Venn Diagram defines terms: geeks, nerds, dorks, etc.

This excellent example of a Venn diagram was produced by The Great White Snark and recommended by Boing Boing. For image url double click on image, or http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z167/Great_WhiteSnark/Nerd_Dork_Geek_Venn_Diagram.jpg

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RePost: the interwebs - relevant analogies.

The following appeared on my original blog.

Intellectual intercourse requires maturity and an understanding of consequences. A recent NPR report presents several cautionary tales on cyber security / responsible online behavior. Scroll down to the “Excerpt: ‘The Future of Reputation,’” by Daniel J. Solove for a (haunting? sobering?) discussion of online ethics, gossip and shaming.

An adolescent girl engages in mildly (?) socially irresponsible behavior as a result became a pariah. She dropped out of college as a result. When you consider her transgression, the punishment really doesn’t fit the offense. Keep reading and the subtitle, “Chapter 1: When Poop Goes Primetime” may put you off as a potentially offensive, but if you read the section called, “The Internet as Teenager” all may become clear.

Personifying the technology and applying understanding of the stages human development, may bring a fresh perspective and an inroad for discussion. According to the article on NPR, the internet, “is now maturing into its second decade in mainstream culture — its teenage years….the teenage Internet is taking on all the qualities of an adolescent — brash, uninhibited, unruly, fearless, experimental, and often not mindful of the consequences of its behavior. And as with a teenager, the Net’s greater freedom can be both a blessing and a curse.”

There might be something to this. Scatological metaphors and analogies really work in explaining the web. Fortunately for myself, degrees in literature gave me a thick skin for such allusions (if you suffered through The Fairy Queene or Ubu Roi, you can handle anything). Unfortunately, even when successful in communicating a complicated idea, you can look foolish. Ted Stevens (R. Alaska), the octogenarian senator in charge of the committee regulating the internet, caught considerable flack for comparing the internet to plumbing but he has a point.

Many, including The Chronicle and others, rail against the overuse of Wikipedia as a solitary source of research. I developed an explanation for students that works. It’s brief and, in its own odd way, elegant, but I don’t always share it; particularly not until we’ve established trust and a mutual agreement on acceptable language in the classroom (and yeah, it’s a scatological metaphor).

on texting ettiquette

With any new social phenomena, we adjust and rules and manners evolve. Texting in inappropriate situations is a contentious issue for people of just about all ages. Texting's turned out to be more dangerous when driving that drinking, and spring this year has brought with it a recent rash of texting in my classes.

Slate Magazine just surveyed it's readers and came up with a short, simple rule for determining ettiquette.

a concise, easy-to-remember rule that we could all consult when deciding whether to reach for our phones. More than 300 thoughtful comments poured in, the overwhelming majority from people who believed that there's too much texting in public. I expected to find a clear generational divide, with younger readers expressing less angst about looking at their phones. Surprisingly, though, young people had some of the strongest feelings about texting—they were annoyed at their phone-obsessed friends (Jump to source)

It interests me that they use a scatological analogy; I've said before that scatological analogies work really well for the interwebs (It may be one of my funniest posts ). I don't like their solution because I don't see how it can help for my classes, but the goal works in most situations:

NOTE: for the record - my syllabi clearly details an etiquette that if violated after one warning - results in a record of non-engagement which counts toward your grade as would an absence.

Wht2doNKSwhnURbrd

As a young college writer, sometimes a road trip inspired me. I've always enjoyed travel - and I like to get to know my surroundings. The road trip is a fundamental method of ethnographic research. You gotta look for connections and relationships and be open to serendipity. The openness to serendipity works best with early drafts. I learned the hard way.

This road trip to Rock City, just outside Minneapolis, KS opens possibilities for research in: Biology - specifically botany (what is that plant and how does it survive?); African American history re: George Washington Carver - who lived here for a good minute; Geology and more.

And these privies? Solidly built.

So what places do you know of that make a good day trip from the Lawrence/ Johnson county area? Relate the educational merit. Share at http://dixoncomp.pbworks.com/Wht2doNKSwhnURbrd.


btw: the ides of march reference - click here

What I'm learning Re: SRTOL Papers - Rhetoric

These comments apply to many papers.

I see semantic confusion facts vs. opinions (if this is a rhetorical ploy - it doesn't work on the well-educated; consider your audience).

I hear semantic confusion. Define terms as you will use them. The papers have taught me that voice may be to dialect what an individual is to a small community. Voice may be personal and unique - and dialect may be where we find social connections and collective identity. No class has discussed "Voice" as eloquently as this semester. Consult reference books but don't directly quote them unless absolutely necessary. Paraphrase - define for yourself. Goals of this class require demonstration of nuanced understanding of at least all the terms and concepts listed here. 2 people used the word "slang." What did I say about that? (Scroll down page of link to see written record).

People still call America a "melting pot"? For at least a couple decades (before most of you were born) I've read and been told this metaphor oppresses individual rights. Everything that goes into such a pot loses its individuality and unique/ distinctive characteristics and integrity. It disappears into the stew (or is it a pot of molten metal which produces new alloys? As a kid I saw metal), hence the politically correct image: we are a "tossed salad." Each item contributes to a whole while retaining its integrity and individual flavor. At least a dozen or so papers so far go off on the melting pot analogy. Is the tossed salad thing political correctness gone too far? Do we need the melting pot analogy? Why? Are students reacting against political correctness or have they simply been exposed exclusively to conservative/ dated images?

The people who founded this country spoke English so ... (immigrants should learn it, we should all have a standard dialect, etc)? This argument reminds me of the assertion that English was good enough for Christ, it should be good enough for immigrants. Re: English roots of our founders:

1. What about the millions of Native Americans who'd lived here for millennia. Don't they count? Why not?
2. What about California and the west, as well as Florida - which if we discount native Americans (big if) were settled by Spanish speakers and which Spain claimed or settled before England or colonials?
   
3. In lands added to the United States by the Louisiana purchase (from France) - this includes Kansas - the original white settlers/ missionaries spoke French.
4. BTW - Most know Kansas takes its name from the Kansa Indians - so why the superflous "s" at the end? Appleton's Journal- volume 15 page 758, published in 1876, as well as other sources - notes that it is the phonetic English pronunciation of notes taken by French missionaries. In French final "s" sounds get dropped. Our current state name results from a mispronunciation due to common ignorance of French and or the etymology of the name. If we appeal to tradition/ origins should we start pronouncing our state's name "Kansa"?

English is the most difficult language to learn? Says who? According to what criteria? What research or evidence supports this opinion (not fact)? I've heard this statement from people who speak only English, but I've never heard a non-native speaker of English say this. The polyglots I know rather emphatically say this is not true. Even a cursory web search (wikipedia, other) calls this assumption into question.

What I'm learning Re: SRTOL Papers - citing sources

I've only read a handful of papers. 1/2 have been amazing, and half have been ... uninspiring but generally ok. That's not too bad. Some advice, tips or clarifications for you-all.

In text quotations
Re: block quotations. Only one person's followed MLA so far. I notice Purdue's OWL and several other sources get it WRONG. Page 7 of the PDF Norton provides free online re: MLA format says:

When quoting more than three lines of poetry, more than four lines of prose, or dialogue from a drama, set off the quotation from the rest of your text, indenting it one inch (or ten spaces) from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks. Place any parenthetical documentation after the final punctuation. [emphasis mine]

See also the sample paper page 5 on pdf page 46.

Also:

• every source quoted or used to support an argument should show up in the works page. Even when you quote media such as: songs, films, TV, etc.
  
• if you quote something, there needs to be and immediate (or ajacent) indication of where to find citation info on the works page. Usually this is the author's last name.
  
• when quoting, include page #'s to help readers find the original quote. This is essential if quoting from a book, or database that uses PDF's with page #'s, or a periodical or anything that provides page #'s. Assume the reader will track down your quote, and make it easy. You may have to go back yourself.

Works Consulted info isn't just for your reader - it can help you track down your source again when you lose a draft, print out, whatever. That's why I work on / update the works page every time I find a new source. Just heard a sad story of a great source lost forever. I've been there. Work on your bib page from the beginning and keep it up to date.

15 things you don't know about me

1. I cook. I like it and I'm pretty good at it.
2. I do all the laundry at my house.
3. I'm also the first to change dirty diapers - provided my son dirtied them.
4. I taught kindergarten for a year.
5. I wrestled varsity in college. Lettered 3 years.
6. I thought I might be an atheist from age 14 to about 28 - but it turned out I was just stuck in a very bad mood.
7. I've worked on farms much of my life - and can drive a tractor pretty well.
8. I like traveling and have visited at least 9 countries.
9. When traveling, I eat all the weird foods. Few people have eaten things I haven't tried.
   
10. My primary mode of transportation for about 3 years was a motorcycle.
    
11. I've broken at least 5 distinct large bones not counting noses, toes, fingers/thumbs, or ribs. Too many of those to count.
    
12. Television can hypnotize me - I won't touch a remote control unless I'm completely alone.
13. I can read on a bus, in a full sporting auditorium during a competition, during a riot, etc.
    
14. I speak ( or at least spoke) passably fluent Mandarin Chinese.
15. When I worked in a convenience store I sold cigarettes and beer to pregnant women (not exclusively or even most of the time - but I remember it because it bothered me).
    
16. I played nose guard in 4A High School football. We won league and made it to state semi-finals. I was all league. I weighed 153 lbs dripping wet at the time.
17. I went to a catholic grade school.
    

Microlab Spring 2010

A student set a new high for my classes in the Microlab this semester: 86. Last year one person scored a 78. I've learned that the Writing Center tutors told us the scores average around 52%. Several students told me they thought the failed because they scored under 60% when they were actually above average.

I noticed too many people being really hard on themselves because of the score. It's just one assessment. Don't put too much stock in any one assessment, be it a computer test or a teacher. Listen to what they have to say and figure out what they mean. Pay attention to themes or recurring messages.

OR maybe people beat themselves up excessively in a sort of passive aggressive protest? If so, touche.

Several this time around pointed out issues with the font. That bothered a lot of people. Also that you can't go back and change things. Why might that be intentional?

This is meant to be a snapshot - one imperfect but relatively objective measure.

I wonder if in some ways it is like weighing one's self. Just because you weigh yourself more often doesn't make you lose weight faster. It doesn't work that way for me anyway - I tend to weigh myself multiple times a day. But owning a scale and checking does seem to help.

Can/ should I discuss results (ie performance of NNS/ by race/ gender/ origin?)