Bits November Blog Flashback

Bedford/St. Martin’s Bits bloggers posted on topics ranging from our work as writing program administrators to how we teach digital natives. Be sure that you check out all the great ideas for talking about politics and how writing fits into general education requirements—and don’t miss Andrea Lunsford’s praise for short writing assignments in the Classroom Strategies and Resources section:

Writing Program Administration

• Barclay Barrios contributes to Restructuring Gen Ed and how we teach with his Notes on a Train.
• Doug Downs considers what we want to change, over their years in college, in the ways our students understand writing in Priorities.
• Barclay Barrios takes a look at the implications of the legislated categories for Florida’s statewide Gen Ed core in The Buckets.
• Liz Wardle explains that “Writing Is an Object of Study” is an Underlying Threshold Concept for WAW Curricula.
• Barclay Barrios asks, “Public speaking or more writing?” as he continues his series on Restructuring Gen Ed, with The Bloodbath.

About Writing and Being a Teacher of Writers

• Holly Pappas shares reflections on a Saturday in Boston, as a Writer, Reader, Student, and Teacher.
• Susan Naomi Bernstein talks about Writing After Hurricane Sandy.
• Traci Gardner gives us Ten Reasons she’s Thankful in the classroom, as a writer, and as a teacher.

Classroom Strategies and Resources

• Susan Naomi Bernstein discusses dialect and codeswitching in Part 2 of The Nice White Lady Teaches Comma Splices.
• Traci Gardner links some Tempting New Media Assignment Ideas that are ready to use this term or next.
• Nedra Reynolds gives us A Dialog on Reflection in Perspective and asks readers to respond to her questions.
• Andrea Lunsford leads colleagues in a cheer in Let’s Hear It for Short Writing Assignments.
• Traci Gardner shares one of her favorite activities—a time capsule writing assignment.
• Jay Dolmage turns junk mail into classroom activity in Catalog Writing. 
• Steve Bernhardt discusses how to use the Model research papers included with Writer’s Help.

Analyzing Popular Culture and Current Events

• Jack Solomon takes a look at the Chronicle and Inside Higher Ed and finds Signs of Hypercapitalism in the USA.
• Donna Winchell thinks about how the either/or fallacy relates to the recent election in her post, Either/Or Politics.
• Jack Solomon considers the challenge of using mass media to predict American electoral behavior in Tea for Tú.
• Andrea Lunsford reflects on lies, fact checking, and ethical rhetoric in her Post-Election Thoughts and Thanks.
• Donna Winchell considers the arguments surrounding consumers, stores, and shopping on Black Friday Eve.

Teaching with Technology

• Michael Michaud talks about technology, digital “natives,” and “immigrants” in Talkin’ Bout My Generation.
• Andrea Lunsford looks at how Twitter connected people during Hurricane Sandy in her post Tweeting in Times of Crisis.
• Holly Pappas is looking for A low-tech solution to canned comments. 
• Michael Michaud shared 3 scenarios for The Paperless Writing Class. It’s about much more than avoiding printing.
• Traci Gardner challenges colleagues to start Connecting with Twitter Chats.

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—Traci Gardner

[This entry cross-posted as a Note on Bedford/St. Martin’s page on Facebook. Photo: The first word is the hardest by APM Alex, on Flickr]