UST Libraries News

Interesting recent article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. What do you think of it? (Comment below)
"College leaders usually brag about their tech-filled "smart" classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked" — by which he means, sans machines."

Bowen argues in this article and accompanying video that too many courses are powerpoint lecture dependent, which frequently leads to a boring, unengaged classroom experience. He's not anti-technology, or even anti-lecture, he just wants to turn the existing model on its head: use technology for the lecture or uni-directional transmission of information by having students view slides, listen to podcasts, or view video online outside of class, while reserving classroom time for interactive discussions, group exercises, etc.

I like the concept, but think this notion of removing all computers from classroom settings is throwing the baby out with the bathwater--are there no circumstances where technology in the classroom could enhance discussion or interaction? Wouldn't a group viewing of a video snippet prior to an in-person discussion or exercise ensure that all had viewed the content freshly and improve the conversation? Wouldn't a professor's in-person narration or comments on art history slides, coupled with student discussion and interaction liven and provide sponteneity to a lecture in a way not possible when viewing or listening to a static video or podcast?

His points about poor uses of technology are well-taken, but in part sound like just another case of blaming the tool for its mis-use. Surely motivated faculty can find better ways to use the tools, so why disarm them by removing the technology from the classroom?

What do UST faculty and students think? Check out the article and video and use the comment feature on this blog post to discuss.

Posted by John Heintz at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

By Jeffrey R. Young
"Once they were hosts to lively discussions about academic style and substance, but the time of scholarly e-mail lists has passed, meaningful posts slowing to a trickle as professors migrate to blogs, wikis, Twitter, and social networks like Facebook.

That's the argument made by T. Mills Kelly, an associate professor of history and associate director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Naturally, he first made the argument on his blog, and he has mentioned it on the technology podcast he hosts with two colleagues.

A close look at some of the largest academic e-mail lists, however, shows signs of enduring life and adaptation to the modern world." Read more at the Chronicle of Higher Education (6/29/2009)

Posted by John Heintz at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As part of their celebration of the state's sesquicentennial, the librarians at the Minnesota Historical Society are blogging about their selection of the greatest 150 Minnesota books. "All works chosen as the 150 Best Minnesota Books will have been published in some recognizable form, and will either be about some aspect of the state or will have been written by a Minnesota author. We define Minnesota authors the same way we do for inclusion into the MHS library collections: the author will either have been born in Minnesota or will have spent enough time here to have been influenced by the culture or to have influenced the culture."

Check it out and applaud or argue with their selections!

Posted by John Heintz at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

and why children should be widely read. By Susan Patron, author of a recently controversial, Newberry award winning book. From the LA Times.

Posted by John Heintz at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)