This semester, for my Research Methods class, I'm having a graduate student discussion panel to introduce my students to the various types of research going on within the Psychology Department at UGA. I'm asking for volunteers to physically be in my class for a day just to informally chat with my students. Talking about videoconferencing last class made me realize how I could take this activity up a notch using this technology. I would imagine it would be even more valuable to the students if they could tour, via videoconference, different labs within the Department or even see data collection in action. Going beyond that, videoconferencing could be really valuable for incorporating guest speakers from outside and around the University into the class lectures. The only barrier, as Group Right pointed out, would be the cost for the equipment, and therefore whether your potential guests have access to the necessary equipment. An alternative that was suggested during class was using Skype, which I use A LOT with my family. But I wonder how well that would actually work in practice since there can easily be connection issues that make hearing difficult or the video fuzzy. Also, it can get a little chaotic when you have more than two people in on the conversation. Lots to think about :)
On a side note...I came across the article "Pa. teacher strikes nerve with 'lazy whiners' blog" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_blog) a couple of days ago. I thought it was interesting because I know that we all, at one time or another, complain about our jobs or our students on some sort of social media. The teacher's blog was anonymous (and private?), she only talked about being a teacher in a small percentage of her blogs, and she never stated the name of her school or any of her students. Yet, a student found her blog and reported her, and now she's in trouble for writing a few things that seem to reflect a widespread attitude about the current generation of students. At what point are employers and schools overstepping their bounds? Is there such a thing as having separate personal and professional lives anymore? Where's the line between what is acceptable to discuss on social media and what should be grounds for losing your job? Food for thought!
I wonder the same thing about Facebook and at what point is the boundary crossed? I think that people say that Facebook is a more social organization, yet, people right about their students or professional talks right there on their status page! I have no idea what should be acceptable for social media!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I got confused on my blog updates because I saw "Food for Thought" and I thought to myself, I've never seen my own posts on the update page! haha!
on of my students went to the high school where that pennsylvania teacher works! she knew the teacher, said that she was INCREDIBLY negative and no one really liked her because she clearly hated her job. so even though i never saw the blog, i tend to think that it was completely inappropriate. if she had been a little more tactful with pseudonyms and such, i do think it would have been a better situation.
ReplyDeleteTo avoid this and similar problems, my advice would be to NEVER put any comment like that in writing. It's fine to talk about these things (in fact, I think it's healthy), but I would never put it in an email to colleagues (or friends, for that matter) and I would certainly never post anything like that where it could be publicly viewed.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I love your grad student panel idea. I might try something like that in one of my classes. Thanks!
You ask a number of questions that have yet to be answered, Tori. Lincoln nailed it - don't write these things online! You might also be interested in an article in the Chronicle recently about creating your online persona - http://bit.ly/dJJjrj.
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