Archive for the ‘networking’ tag
Conference Rhythms
Last night as I packed for Following Christ 08, I reflected upon how conference preparation can suddenly turn from a marathon to a sprint. No doubt the race to the finish begins at different times for each of us based upon the complexity of travel plans, conference responsibilities, family size, past history at similar events, personality, support community/friends on site (and back home), etc. And varies from conference to conference, based upon the above factors and our current state of being (i.e., heart, soul, mind, and strength). Read the rest of this entry »
“Creepy Treehouse”? Friending Your Professors or Students
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a new online term, “creepy treehouse”:
A growing number of professors are experimenting with Facebook, Twitter, and other social-networking tools for their courses, but some students greet an invitation to join professors’ personal networks with horror, seeing faculty members as intruders in their private online spaces. Recognizing that, some professors have coined the term “creepy treehouse” to describe technological innovations by faculty members that make students’ skin crawl.
In any venue, mixing business with pleasure can be awkward, but one commenter notes:
It seems if students are finding use of online sites for class and personal use as creepy we have failed as a system in our integration of what happens in the courseroom with what can happen in the real world…
Later in the comments, a professor offers what seems to be a wise via media: don’t friend your undergraduate students, mention to your grad students that you are on Facebook, and friend them only if they make the request first.
To me, it seems that ESN members may have good reason to connect with their professors online. If you are pursuing an academic vocation, your professors are not merely your teachers, but also your future colleagues.
But what do others think?
Links of the Week
Christian Colleges Increase Diversity
Inside Higher Ed, citing an analysis from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, notes that a number of colleges affiliated with ESN’s partner, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, have seen a dramatic increase in African American enrollment.
At Montreat College, in North Carolina, undergraduate black student enrollment increased from 3.7 percent in 1997 to 23 percent in 2007, according to the analysis. At Belhaven College, in Mississippi, black student enrollment climbed from 16.9 to 41 percent. At LeTourneau University, in Texas, the figure grew from 5.7 to 22 percent.
The editor of JBHE notes the ties of many historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to churches (indeed, almost all American private colleges were founded with a connection to a church).
Graduate Junction
The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights Graduate Junction, a new website aimed that helping researchers connect with other researchers who share their same interests.
Advocacy in Teaching
In Christianity Today’s Books & Culture, Abram Van Engen reviews Stanley Fish’s new book, Save the World on Your Own Time, which argues that political advocacy has no place in the college classroom.
