Will using Facebook, IM, Skype, etc. make me a better teacher?

Probably not. Though your choice of tools should probably be related to the kind of communication network you want/need to establish with your learners. For some this will be as simple as e-mail or online discussion forum in WebCT/Vista. For others, it may involve a range of instant messaging for office hours, Wimba for online [...]

Facebook, Fear and Frustration

The latest Facebook incident, reported recently in the Toronto Star, involves an online study group, a charge of academic misconduct and university policies that seem outdated and open to misinterpretation. It seems a classic representation of the clash of two cultures being played out in higher ed these days: the open, collaborative, network [...]

Things Unseen

Words
I don’t take your words
Merely as words
Far from it.

I listen
To what makes you talk -
whatever that is-
And me listen.
Shinkichi Takahashi (Zen poet).

For me, Zen poetry (all poetry) brings the things unseen in everyday life into sharp focus. There is a power in the things unseen that can’t be measured, evaluated, planned [...]