Curious David Redux

To Twit or not to Twit?... That is not really the question.

When I was Carroll's Director of Institutional Research I recall being amazed and amused that the format and substance of many institutional reports was dictated by 1) to what degree the secretary could fit the information on a page and 2) how she had done it in the past---rather than by using the latest technology and the latest thinking about how best to present the most informative data. I have continued to be hesitant to use Twitter extensively out of a resistance to trying to force my thoughts, ideas, and communication into 140 characters or less (thought bytes) and to my trying to decrease and slow down my communication and information acquisition activities (leaving me time to reflect, to read, to assimilate, and to create). Though I've graduated from a rotary phone, I still refuse to use my cell phone except for emergency calls!

Jane Hart's recent thoughtful,reasoned exposition of how to use Twitter, however, has caused me to consider seriously adding Twitter to my aramentarium of communication/learning/teaching tools. It also motivated me to revisit her list of 100 learning professionals she suggests that one might wish to follow.

But do I REALLY need that medium to keep up to date? I think not---I do just reasonably well with the learning tools I presently use without being overloaded.  Do I want or need to follow others---or to be followed? Though I admire very much what these learning professionals are doing, I don't want my energies or my focus drowned or diluted  by the deluge of additional information flow they provide.

"To Twit or not to Twit?" for me is not the question. Rather, the questions for me are:

• Under what circumstances might Twitter be useful to me for successful teaching?
•  Does Twitter add to my ability to find answers to questions I am investigating?
• What are the costs to me (time away from other things; wheat to chaff ratio) of my using Twitter?

.Time to curl up with a novel.

Tools for Re-Engaging Alumni---and Oneself

Several years ago I wrote a blog piece for the  electronic version of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel lamenting how the meaning of ENGAGEMENT was (over)used in higher education circles. Recently, however, I had reason to reread a marvelous handbook written by "virtual friend" and social media evangelist Jane Hart "Engaging with Social Media Activity Pack." This is a marvelous resource which I originally I drew upon extensively during my adventures teaching a freshman seminar about " Web 2.0 tools." (Download FYS 100 Section U Syllabus - Dr, David Simpson Labor Day Version PDF-1).

I now realize that Jane's Model of Engagement With Social Media captures what I am attempting to do in the classroom---moving students from "reader" to "participant" to "creator." Moreover, it suddenly dawned on me that in the process of attempting to achieve this goal, I myself have been transformed in that direction!

There are a number of social media platforms available for encouraging this kind of "engagement development". Jane has provided a wonderful summary of some of the strengths and weakness of several of them (Twitter, Facebook, Ning, and Elgg). 

During the past month I have devoted considerable time to mastering Ning. I had used it twice before with modest success---one year with freshmen and a second year with a research seminar of seniors. This time I elected to build a Face-book-like entity "Pioneer Place'" for Carroll alumni whom I have personally come to know across my 32 years of teaching here.

Here are a list of questions (with tentative answers) that guided this project:

1.  What are my goals for Pioneer Place? (To provide a virtual location which, for now I control, where invited members of my extended Carroll community can drop in, reconnect, share, contribute, and celebrate their Carroll experiences.) For now it is a virtual sandbox where former students and mentors and I can play and build community.
2. Whom should I invite? (Initially people whom I know well, whom I respect, and who might share my goals). The initial group consists of former and future members of the Board of Trustees, present students and faculty, former advisees, individuals currently residing in foreign countries, and even a few Chicago Cubs fans!
3. How many (other) Ning Networks can I manage? (Right now I am focusing only on developing Pioneer Place.Perhaps in the near future, I'll develop one for my consulting partners, both of who have Carroll connections.
4. How many other Nings should I belong to? (Right now I am a member of six other Nings, primarily for benchmark-purposes.)
5. How can I learn more about creating and developing Nings? (In addition to the introduction i received from following Jane Hart, I have found especially useful Manny Hernandez's marvelous book Ning for Dummies--see my review of the book on Amazon.com. I have also found useful this slideshare production:

Latest Ning Tutorial December

Here is what this very-much-under-development Pioneer Place project looks like. What fun it is to attempt to build bridges across generations of individuals who have touched (and continue to affect) my life!

Feed back is welcome---especially from alumni and future alumni of the Carroll College (WI)/ Carroll University (WI) extended community.

Stay tuned.

What is the Role of a Faculty Adviser?

I've been reflecting lately on my role as faculty adviser to undergraduates here at Carroll and about those faculty who played such a crucial role in that capacity for me, shaping how and why I relate to students and former students. At Oberlin College my most influential adviser was Ralph H. Turner. Ralph, the first faculty member to invite me to address him by his first name,somehow was able to provide the right balance of challenge and support I most assuredly needed both inside and outside the classroom. I fondly and respectfully remember him as intellectually curious, patient, playful, generous in his time with me, kind, and willing to stay in touch with me even across the years that I was continuing my education at The Ohio State University.  

I was blessed with a similar and even deeper rich and enduring relationship at Ohio State with Tom Ostrom, adviser, research collaborator, mentor, friend, and role model until the day of his untimely death. Tom provided emotional support for me while I struggled with the likelihood of being pulled out of graduate school to be sent to Vietnam, listened to me as I sorted out my thoughts about getting married, wrote me a teasing letter about a study I should do if I ended up in jail, guided me in the transition from the intense research world of Ohio State to my current home at Carroll and inspired me to share with others my love of learning. His wisdom, lust for life, optimism, sense of humor, firmness, and candor still guide and humble me.

As I've written elsewhere,  both individuals so impacted my life in so many ways. I draw upon their wisdom each time I am interacting with a student in an advising capacity. Advising is much more than helping students make the transition from high school, providing advice in course selection, or giviing guidance in deciding whether there is an afterlife after graduating from Carroll. The lessons taught me by Ralph and Tom and the wisdom shared with me by alumni aren't and can't be learned from adviser training workshops!