After Jason and I finished recording our last podcast, we continued to talk about the media and people's reaction to the Northern Illinois University shootings. These are articles that we had considered discussing in the podcast but the conversation didn't go in that direction (All from The Chronicle of Higher Education):

At Northern Illinois U., All the Preparation in the World Couldn't Prevent a Tragedy

Northern Illinois U. Had No System for Sending Emergency Messages to Cellphones

Louisiana Shootings Underscore Vulnerability of Open Campuses

Allowing More Guns on Campuses Is a Bad Idea, Administrators Argue (note the poignant comment at the end of the article)

Note that this is just "raw audio" between two friends that we decided that we'd include as a bonus podcast right before we ended our phone conversation.

In today's podcast, recorded February 20, 2008, Jason and I reflect upon the recent shootings at Northern Illinois University and Louisiana Tech.  We share our thoughts on Thomas H. Benton's essay, "Fearing Our Students," which was published in the Careers section of the Chronicle of Higher Education on December 14, 2007.

I have a confession: I'd rather scrub floors than grade papers. And, when I first started teaching college, my house would be spotless before I would sit down to tackle the stack of papers taunting me on my desk.

Today, Jason and I talk about a commentary, The Unbearable Importance of Grading, by Jay Parini from the February 15, 2008 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Mr. Parini advocates using grading papers as a teaching opportunity.

During the podcast, Jason and I discuss using rubrics. Many professors dismiss rubrics because they are so widely used in K-12. However, smart professors see the value in using them. Here are some links for further exploration. Although many use examples from K-12, they are easily translated to college level assignments. Also, check with instructors in your Writing Program for assistance in creating rubrics. It is my understanding that most instructors in Writing and Composition Programs use rubrics.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20050401085518/http:/www.aahe.org/assessment/web.htm#Rubrics

Would you want to be an internet superstar?  In this podcast, Jason and I discuss professors being showcased on services such as You Tube and iTuneU.

Here are the links:

YouTube Professors: Scholars as Online Video Stars
Chronicle of Higher Education
Information Technology Section
by Jeffrey R. Young
January 25, 2008 edition

You Tube

Big Think

FORA.tv

After taking an almost two-month long leave of absence for winter break, Jason Curtis and I are back to our weekly conversations about news in higher education.

In today's podcast, we talk about how graduate school doesn't teach us how to be faculty members and how easy it is to get in over our heads as new professors.  We then talk about how hard it is to say "no" as a seasoned faculty member and how easy it is to get in over our heads.

Does it get any easier?  Yes.  But you'll still be busy.

Articles discussed today are from the February 1, 2008 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education

The 24/7 Professor
What to do when home is just another word for the office
"The Academic Life" Series
By PIPER FOGG

and

FIRST PERSON
On-the-Job Training
Three newcomers to the tenure track begin the process of becoming professors
By ANDREW KEMP, SAMARA MADRID, and JOSEPH FLYNN