There is some really good advice in here. I do think that just going to your local in-state public university can be a really good option. However some companies only recruit at top universities, and if your local school isn’t one of the places where they recruit you will have a much harder time landing a job there. Going to a local school may save you money in the short term, but it could potentially limit your long term earning potential.

It’s absolutely crazy that this was able to go on for so long, and he only got a slap on the wrist. Also why wasn’t he held responsible for all of the funding he received under false pretenses?

Thanks for breaking the mold in the 30 year vision arena! Relative to other blogs I’ve read, you offer a unique perspective. In particular, I like your idea of regional focus rather in-state focus. While it’s a pretty drastic change, I think it could work. Do you foresee Virginia Tech being partially run by the federal government in this scenario?

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You do a good job conveying your tone in your writing (ha). All kidding aside, I appreciate your disgust with grading on the bell curve. I’m taking a class right now in which the average test grade (over the past 3 tests) is hovering right at 50%. Nearly a third of the class has withdrawn from the course because the professor isn’t curving grades until after the final exam. The tests are so difficult, even a “C” seems un-achievable. This discourages students from wanting to study the subject matter because the professor refuses to change his testing style. The result: the students don’t learn the subject matter yet will get a passing grade (due to the curve). Worse yet, students’ grades won’t reflect the professor’s poor teaching, and since the students receive a decent grade, they feel less compelled to give the poor SPOT evaluation the professor deserves.

So, I guess I decided to rant with you.

Great post! I’ve been contemplating what to do with my blog site as well.

As Perry pointed our, academic blogging is great writing practice. I know I have had little practice in non-scientific writing in the past five years; having to blog and keep a weekly journal has been a wake up call. While writing has gotten easier as the semester has progressed, I’ve also noticed that my verbal communication may have also improved due to constant blogging–just another benefit of maintaining a blog. That being said, blogging is time-consuming, and it will be hard to justify as I get closer and closer to my prelims.

By the way, I believe the concept you’re trying to recall is confirmation bias, and I absolutely agree that it is common for readers to have this type of bias when reading blogs. I know I, too, have confirmation bias when I feel passionate about a viewpoint.

great post! I also too wonder if the golden age of blogs has already past because there are so many blogs about anything and everything out there. What once started out as a unique form of expression has now, to me, turned into a giant cliche to an extent. Especially in the age of social media, we want everything super fast, I even find myself skimming through articles if I feel that is too long to read through the entire thing. Maybe the golden age of blogs hasn’t passed, maybe we should slow down and savor all these new blogs popping up everywhere. I know that I will try to continue to blog after this class because I think it is important for me to try to stop and reflect on this happening in my world, both personally and academically

I agree that while it is important to “copy, transform and combine” in order to make progress in the scientific disciples, it is also important to draw a line in order to foster originality.

Interesting post!
When I read this a few things came to mind in regard to technology vs. teaching strategy. It seems there is a large push to modernize academia via various contemporary teaching strategies in the classroom such as: integrating technology into the classroom, flipping the classroom, incorporating problem-based learning techniques, etc.
My teaching experiences so far have included a lab portion of a course. In the lab students get a “discussion portion” to refresh lecture concepts, a hands-on lab experience (usually some sort of metabolic testing), and then opportunities to work in groups on critical thinking questions surrounding the week’s concepts. Each week builds on the previous week, generally speaking. In this class, I’ve found it is helpful for students to have internet access as a resource to help understand the concepts or research on the topic, and the instructors and I made a class hashtag to help include social media participation in a productive manner. Given the class structure, we surprisingly haven’t had issues with students not being engaged or focused- at least in the 3hr. lab portion!
I think perhaps creating space for where technology can be integrated and appropriately used helps discourage abuse while maintaining engagement; however, I would be curious to hear other people’s thoughts and experiences!!
Thanks for sharing!

I really enjoyed your post! I’ve had several experiences with service learning requirements in courses; however, this semester I have a class in which our entire grade is based on a service learning experience (primarily field experience) and the quality of the final measurable outcomes. While I am not in engineering, I thought it was really interesting to learn about how other disciplines execute this concept in their curricula.

Thanks for sharing,
Cassie

There are most definitely advantages to having quick access to the internet. Do you find that this approach has been successful for you this semester? I have never been fully in charge of a class before so have no idea what policy I would have, or even if I would have one!