tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post6333578193298220009..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: Hiram is Baffled By The Twitter Essay.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-33094192189519365152015-03-13T21:29:05.885-04:002015-03-13T21:29:05.885-04:00I count that as another vote in favor of me checki...I count that as another vote in favor of me checking out this book.Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-77632417602080884882015-03-12T00:45:19.291-04:002015-03-12T00:45:19.291-04:00When encountering odd activities, opinions, or wha...When encountering odd activities, opinions, or whatever from colleagues, I try to recall their other contributions. Solid, engaged, and trustworthy people - the kind of educators I hope my kids will have when they're older - occasionally come up with a dud. <br />I spent quite a bit of time looking at his other work, and basically this twitter thing has no redeeming feature that I can see. EC1https://www.blogger.com/profile/13414931249618049097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-88532988518392193382015-03-10T10:11:30.814-04:002015-03-10T10:11:30.814-04:00[continued due to exceeding Blogger's 4096-cha...[continued due to exceeding Blogger's 4096-character limit; irony unintended]<br /><br />Then I went on a date. It was bad, folks. I read the page linked by aemilia above, as well as some others I dug up myself, and it seems that my comical idea of the worst way this assignment could be done is how it <em>is</em> being done. And, students assign their own grades. And, it’s used multiple timesOgre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-29422524609346301162015-03-10T10:07:54.226-04:002015-03-10T10:07:54.226-04:00When I was arriving at post-pubescence, I found my...When I was arriving at post-pubescence, I found myself attracted to someone with whom I was barely acquainted. These feelings grew to invade my consciousness more and more, and I delighted in imagining being around this person more. There was no help for it but to explore the possibilities more directly: thus came the first date. <br /><br />Procedurally, the date went well, but that may be the Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82926462133816394872015-03-08T23:01:50.110-04:002015-03-08T23:01:50.110-04:00I thought maybe those hashtags could be found by s...I thought maybe those hashtags could be found by searching on a term. Perhaps they're arranged in some deliberate order; I'll leave it as an exercise for others to find that out. <br /><br />I can imagine the same student fastening a fine mesh to the front of his car and driving at high speed through a mayfly hatch, then stretching it over a frame and submitting it as an art project. Is Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-25629009329478109382015-03-08T21:14:59.035-04:002015-03-08T21:14:59.035-04:00OK, the exercise is called "Fishbowl Discussi...OK, the exercise is called "Fishbowl Discussion" or "The Twitter-enhanced Fishbowl Discussion." After the activity, and after the meta-level discussion of the activity, what then? How to evaluate that students have done anything more useful than to talk about "[h]ow did it feel to be in the inner or outer circles?" Does the exercise demonstrate something that is thenOgre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89064874741931418982015-03-08T21:07:42.228-04:002015-03-08T21:07:42.228-04:00My take was that the student in question could wel...My take was that the student in question could well have been taking the piss out of the assignment. Possibly a lot more savvy than Dr. S is.EC1https://www.blogger.com/profile/13414931249618049097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48195126786282059292015-03-08T21:04:49.125-04:002015-03-08T21:04:49.125-04:00So I'm with Hiram and the RGM on this one. I t...So I'm with Hiram and the RGM on this one. I think this is mostly bullshit. I recently started twittering on the tweeter, and my impression is that it is an awesome medium for the quick-witted like Ben to toss of excellent one-liners. What I conclude from this is that this 140 character essay assignment would make a lot of sense if the course were a creative writing course in comedy writing.<Angry Archiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348431132289025339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-30254319165203004192015-03-08T21:03:29.400-04:002015-03-08T21:03:29.400-04:00That's from the link that aemilia provided low...That's from the link that aemilia provided lower in the comments. The question left begging was that "disrupt[ing] . . . the primary organizational structure" and "disrupting how we tag ideas" is necessarily a good thing. I felt like the reason I didn't get it was because maybe I'm at the limits of my understanding of that topic. Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-43056964253358093742015-03-08T19:51:43.864-04:002015-03-08T19:51:43.864-04:00The examples he cited as being positive were a tot...The examples he cited as being positive were a total shambles. Stop reading now...<br /><br />For example, in my upper-division writing course, “Queer Rhetorics,” I instructed the students to,<br /><br /> Write an essay about #queer in 140 characters that does real work in the world, not wasting one character. Make something happen with words.<br /><br />The most interesting response I got to EC1https://www.blogger.com/profile/13414931249618049097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-62321359168881679392015-03-08T19:39:15.716-04:002015-03-08T19:39:15.716-04:00Don't edit yourself. Tell us how you really fe...Don't edit yourself. Tell us how you really feel ;-)<br /><br />Aside from the parts that are just good habits to apply to other assignments, I think one outcome of the exercise could be showing that after all the workshopping and winnowing, the 140-character essay always pales in comparison to what was left on the cutting-room floor, i.e. to demonstrate that tweets are almost always just theOgre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-49572092116891244472015-03-08T17:38:11.981-04:002015-03-08T17:38:11.981-04:00Thanks, aemilia. The discussion was great, the pdf...Thanks, aemilia. The discussion was great, the pdf that was referred to looks interesting (will read it later), and O'Neill's own page seems a lot more sensible on tech-related teaching.EC1https://www.blogger.com/profile/13414931249618049097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-27929404045907038932015-03-08T15:09:34.285-04:002015-03-08T15:09:34.285-04:00There's a fascinating conversation between the...There's a fascinating conversation between the creator of the assignment and another prof in the comments here: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/the-twitter-essay/. The other prof keeps trying to find out how the assignment is actually evaluated. It's an exchange well worth reading. aemiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773130677505720954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-19255413087364056202015-03-08T12:30:07.108-04:002015-03-08T12:30:07.108-04:00I am stupefied that anyone thinks a 140 character ...I am stupefied that anyone thinks a 140 character essay should or could be a thing. This is not a world worth saving. I probably need some time away from the blog. Sorry if my annoyance is not tempered with any good humor. I'm fucked up about this issue. College Miseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371354682300032653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-26765005343909009492015-03-08T12:22:40.453-04:002015-03-08T12:22:40.453-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-40424195621480232922015-03-08T12:17:26.786-04:002015-03-08T12:17:26.786-04:00Yeah, but, they'd be 25 REALLY GOOD WORDS.
I ...Yeah, but, they'd be 25 REALLY GOOD WORDS.<br /><br />I should have written 140-characters, but ah, well...Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-7357093742954239772015-03-08T12:07:05.669-04:002015-03-08T12:07:05.669-04:00Word.Word.Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-18015962969135770202015-03-08T11:47:40.434-04:002015-03-08T11:47:40.434-04:00I agree. But this is not a series of tweets. the e...I agree. But this is not a series of tweets. the entirety of the essay is a single 140 character piece of text, and some of that is hashtag. <br /><br />Why not just have my 100 students write one word essays. Just "Truth" or "Thrones." Think of the concision that would teach my students. And I have to tell you that my grading would be easier. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-8934251033677573842015-03-08T11:40:51.096-04:002015-03-08T11:40:51.096-04:00I used to write Letters to the Editor: the forced ...I used to write Letters to the Editor: the forced brevity was good exercise. Twitter's limits aren't really that bad: I write tweets in series all the time if I have more to say, And jolks like Heer Jeet have made the numbered twitter essay a form of it's own.Jonathan Dresnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04356112719229675996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-77394990819689831462015-03-08T10:25:23.837-04:002015-03-08T10:25:23.837-04:00See, I could live with a 140 WORD essay, but 140 c...See, I could live with a 140 WORD essay, but 140 characters would be about 25 words. Compound Calicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059155949950433688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34141568940056460502015-03-08T09:33:19.275-04:002015-03-08T09:33:19.275-04:00If you want to see some more serious work dodging,...If you want to see some more serious work dodging, you could google on the first phrase, "A Twitter-essay condenses an argument with evidentiary support", and look for hits that include the exercise of the "Discussion Circle" or something like it. Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-3576242840933996942015-03-08T09:30:14.922-04:002015-03-08T09:30:14.922-04:00A true typo, with Y and T abutting on the typical ...A true typo, with Y and T abutting on the typical keyboard. <br /><br />The other usual typo I see: studnets.Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-70957869453833070492015-03-08T09:27:44.651-04:002015-03-08T09:27:44.651-04:00I was discussing the merits of all the parts of th...I was discussing the merits of all the parts of the assignment that might lead up to a 140-word essay or other type of work product. The final essay itself could almost be tossed in the trash.<br /><br />But you've inspired me regarding the merits of the essay itself. Someone should do an analysis, perhaps using <a href="http://blog.oup.com/2008/07/dawkins-infotheory/" rel="nofollow">Shannon Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-55048376559133541562015-03-07T20:44:03.375-05:002015-03-07T20:44:03.375-05:00Thanks for the comments. I've thought about th...Thanks for the comments. I've thought about this all day, and I just feel like it's complete bullshit. I'm not right or wrong about this. But if I had a colleague who was doing 140 character essays (25-30 words!) I'd call him/her on it in public.<br /><br />Of course there's something to be learned from concision. But Twit-essays is pandering, and in the worst case scenario, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-58945909771349291942015-03-07T19:22:46.618-05:002015-03-07T19:22:46.618-05:00Studenys? Students.Studenys? Students.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02906546940408742913noreply@blogger.com