The process of sharing information and experiences online ultimately makes them...
Recent News
The Power and Peril of Free Speech
By Bill Tierney
If we were going to list the world’s greatest living writers surely Salmon Rushdie would be on the list. I appreciate that he is not everyone’s cup of tea, but Midnight’s Children is regarded as a masterpiece; it not only won the prestigious Booker Prize, but was voted the “Booker of Bookers.” Some of his [...]
Important Questions and Considerations for Researchers and Educators Following AERA 2013
In keeping with my past two reflections of AERA 2013, I conclude my recap with important considerations and questions I hope do not go ignored for future conferences and also for our own work as educators, researchers, and scholars.
The Digital Bookshelf of an Assistant Professor
Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus is one of my favorite plays. At the beginning of the story, Faustus, surrounded by countless dusty tomes, declares that he has read everything about everything. I’m not sure what it says about me (especially given Faustus’ fate), but I frequently think about that scene. I read a lot. I eagerly [...]
The Thursday Pop: 5/29 is 529 Day!
Only six days until 529 day! 5/29 is 529 day … and May is actually 529 month—so as someone who writes about financial aid, I shouldn’t end the month without at least mentioning them. What is a 529? It’s a college savings plan that can begin for kids from the day that they are born [...]
On Empathy and Moral Worth: Michael Chabon’s “Telegraph Avenue”
By Bill Tierney
Memorial Day suggests summer is around the corner! As we approach summer I wanted to suggest two first-rate novels to read; I’ll discuss the first one today and the second next week. I frequently tell my students if they want to read good writing they’re not going to find it in social science. I find [...]
Some of My Top Moments from AERA 2013 (Part II)
From the beginning, I was really thankful for the opportunity to represent my institution. And then this happened: And we can’t forget this: “Tweet-ups” were wonderful: Meeting with mentors was certainly illuminating: Live tweeting was one of the biggest highlights, especially during the phenomenal presidential session given by my [...]
A Guide to Strategic Diversity
By Bill Tierney
I wrote the Foreword to Damon William’s Examining Strategic Diversity Leadership: Activating Change and Transformation in Higher Education (Stylus, 2013). Here’s what I said: In his epic The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 W. E. B. Du Bois commented that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.” Damon Williams [...]
New Media Literacies and Poverty
Several weeks ago I had the honor of hosting a presidential session at AERA. Henry Jenkins, James Paul Gee, and S. Craig Watkins joined me to discuss how the conference theme—education and poverty— intersected with new media literacies. The session was designed around the premise that social media, the Internet, and online games have the [...]
Thursday is TechDay: IGNITE Update
Today’s post offers follow-up commentary on the IGNITE format I introduced in a previous post. To quote myself: IGNITE is… a [new] format for good ol’ fashioned PowerPoint. Nothing fancy, just some new rules. The parameters are simple: (a) presenters are limited to 20 slides, and (b) the time allotted to each slide is 15 seconds, no [...]
On Rejection
By Bill Tierney
Kurt Vonnegut once said to a group of eager writing students, “Probably all of you are good enough to make it as writers. But it’s likely that only one of you has what it takes to endure the constant rejection.” I’m not sure I would reduce academic life to such a straightforward statement, but he’s [...]
