The best of both worlds: an anecdote
I have been asked to ‘lecture’ at the University of Wollongong this year. This position gives me the privilege of working with tertiary students preparing to become English teachers. This is an exciting opportunity and while preparing, thinking about the idealistic and the pragmatic, it became evident to me that the experience of organising to teach at the university might make for a useful introductory anecdote about the mixture of traditional... Read More
Your Daily Bread?
What online and tech tools do you use daily in your personal and professional life? Have they changed in the last two years? What has failed to ‘work’ for you? I am having a little tidy – before the New Year – and was thinking about 2011. This is a brief ‘Christmas’ post (a list really) of sorts. I hope you have the time to add a comment. Firstly, the following are dearly beloved but now departed: My iPod(s)... Read More
My Spines
@LiteraryMinded asked about ‘our spines’ today and I have obliged below. However, it is my Kindle that has the most titles, especially chapter samples to read. 11 pages of titles to sample or read Read More
Anthill: A Novel
“The cycles of other species can be destroyed, and the biosphere corrupted. But for each careless step we take, our species will ultimately pay an unwelcome price – always” EO Wilson I have just finished Anthill, set mostly in Alabama and occasionally underground, by two times Pultizer Prize winner and first time novelist, aged 81, E.O. Wilson. Pre-ordered ages ago, it arrived on my Kindle Monday and was enjoyable enough that... Read More
The Genius in All of Us: Part II
Now, having finished David Shenk’s, The Genius in All of Us, I’d like to continue my reflection on the importance of this work to educators, students and parents. The notes I made while reading, using that function on my Kindle, highlight that our quintessential thinkers, in Western civilisation, have always suspected that giftedness’ was a ‘process’. For example, Nietzsche described ‘great artists as being tireless... Read More
The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong
‘Intelligence is not an innate aptitude…’ It is difficult to shift paradigms and I have just started a book that may assist us to change perceptions about the potential of all our students – and ourselves. Steven Johnson, one of my favourite authors and thinkers, recommended via twitter last week, The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong by David Shenk. I have... Read More
My Kindle Review
I’ve now read a book on my Kindle and feel the time has come for a brief review. Firstly, I’m glad I purchased the device and have no reservations about the outlay of approximately $300. I am happy with the leather cover and the weight of the Kindle. The fact that one can add documents , as Judy O’Connell explains, is great. My colleagues at work have been impressed with the potential of this e-reader, especially when travelling,... Read More
Disruptive Technologies: Kindle in Australia
Disruptive technologies You may remember that I almost bought an iLiad last year. I had been after an e-reader for quite a while but the available product was just not good enough to purchase. The release of the Kindle 2 re-awakened my digital lust earlier this year. Today, my Google Reader presented *drum roll* Amazon’s Reader Comes to Australia and, the exchange rate being excellent, I immediately pre-ordered my copy, after checking... Read More
The Kindle 2
iLiad
Actually went to Dymocks in George Street and checked out the iLiad. I really wanted to buy one with the money earned judging the SMH Young Writer Comp but couldn’t justify the outlay for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I had the salesman search for the PDF of the last few novels I read and really liked. When there is no download for Tim Winton’s Breath you know that a lesser known Australian author like Toni Jordan has no hope of being... Read More
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