Graduations: Bits Flashback for May 16

A severe thunderstorm brought graduation ceremonies at Virginia Tech to an abrupt and very early conclusion here in Blacksburg on Friday night. The keynote speaker never even made it to the podium. Fortunately, students were able to pick up their diplomas on Saturday morning during college and departmental ceremonies. It may not have been the original plan, but everything worked out.

As you reach the end of the term where you teach, I hope the ceremonies and celebrations go well (even if they aren’t what you originally expect them to be). As move on to the second half of the month, take a few minutes to check out these Bedford Bits posts from last week:

• Now that testing is finished for the year, High School Bits blogger Jesse Tangen-Mills shares some classroom activities that work well for Treating Post-Test Syndrome
• Andrea Lunsford argues that Texting IS Writing, and that we need to pay very close attention to it and learn from our students how they use this new way to communicate.
• Mary Tripp discusses Self-Efficacy in the WAW Classroom: Preliminary Research Results. Her report includes interesting student visualizations of themselves as writers.
• Want to create a super-mobile, super-light virtual classroom? Barclay Barrios describes the system he is adopting for his class this summer in Twitter Me This.
• Are students doing Long Writing vs. Hard Writing? Traci Gardner explains the difference (and why it matters).
• Nancy Sommers reflects on her year of teaching and shares some plans for the summer in Looking Back, Looking Forward.
• Susan Naomi Bernstein reminds students what is important to them—where they come from, what and whom they love, why they have succeeded in the past—in Writing Beyond Stereotypes.

A Few Extra Links

• Will the Internet Destroy Academic Freedom? The Chronicle of Higher Education asks whether the cherished principle of academic freedom is being Googled to death.
• Sign up for email updates about what we do for teachers and request our free professional resources today.
• Submit your suggestions in the Idea Survey for what our illustrator should draw in The Everyday Writer, 5th edition, by Andrea A. Lunsford, and choose a free trade book or professional resource as our thanks.
• Have great assignments or student essays to share? Jay Dolmage is Looking for Essays and Assignments and paying up to $100 for works chosen for publication.
• Kairos is is seeking submissions for two sections: Reviews and Interviews.

Let us know what you want to know about teaching writing or about using digital tools in the composition classroom by leaving a comment. Your response will help shape upcoming posts.

 

[Photo: Lightning!! by aresauburnâ„¢, on Flickr]