***Apologies for Receipt of Duplicate Postings***
Friends/
>>A Top E-Mailed Story From The NY Times<<
March 20, 2008
The Professor as Open Book
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
IT is not necessary for a student studying multivariable
calculus,
medieval literature or Roman archaeology to know that the
professor on
the podium shoots pool, has donned a bunny costume or can*t
get enough
of Chaka Khan.
Yet professors of all ranks and disciplines are revealing
such
information on public, national platforms: blogs, Web pages,
social
networking sites, even campus television.
[snip]
There was a time when professors did not outrank music
premieres on
television. They were buttoned-up authority figures, like
the legendary
fictional Professor Kingsfield, portrayed by John Houseman
in *The
Paper Chase.* The personal lives of professors could only be
imagined
from the sparse clues of clothing, handwriting and the
contents of
offices.
These days, the clues are usually digital and are broad
invitations to
get to know the person behind the Ph.D. It is not uncommon
for
professors* Web pages to include lists of the books they
would take to
a deserted island, links to their favorite songs from bygone
eras, blog
posts about their children, entries *written* by their dogs
and
vacation photographs.
[snip]
Certainly, professors have embraced the Internet since its
earliest
days, using it as a scholarly avenue of communication,
publication and
debate. Now it is common for many to reveal more personal
information
that has little connection to their work.
Some do so in hopes it will attract attention for a book or
paper they
have written; others do so inadvertently, joining Facebook
to
communicate with students and then finding themselves lured
deeper by
its various applications.
Many, though, say that by divulging family history and
hobbies, they
hope to appear more accessible to students.
[snip]
Mr. Irwin updates his Facebook page with photos and titles
of books he
is reading, but he misses what he calls the Las Vegas feel
of MySpace.
Still, his postings ignite a conversation with students.
*Anything I
can do to kind of meet them halfway,* he said, *I try to
do.*
[MORE]
Excerpted Story Available at
[
http://onlinesocialn
etworks.blogspot.com/2008/03/open-scholar-professors-are-peo
ple-too.html
]
Happy Full Day of Spring!
/Gerry
Gerry McKiernan
Associate Professor
Science and Technology Librarian
Iowa State University Library
Ames IA 50011
gerrymck iastate.edu
There is Nothing More Powerful Than An Idea Whose Time Has
Come
Victor Hugo
[ h
ttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093368136660604490 ]
Iowa: Where the Tall Corn Flows and the (North)West Wind
Blows
[ http://al
ternativeenergyblogs.blogspot.com/ ]
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
|
