#MOOC my day ~ the next chapter

…another round of #highered disaster (and/or hysteria) blogging…but that's the way it breaks today. For today's post, I added selected links and a few amusing images to an existing Storify about MOOCs ~ or, as recently renamed by David Wiley,“Massively Obfuscated Opportunities for Cash.” 

convergences: coming together

"spiral" from convergences series by tom cartmill

…this month has been a time of convergence for #adjuncts, precarious & #academiclabor issues. The adjunctiverse is buzzing; the flow, unrelenting.

The myriad issues and concerns related to and unforeseen consequences of the Affordable Care Act and preparing for the IRS contributed to the deluge (and still are) but are not its entirety. No doubt these have influenced, even initiated, other actions, and certainly contributed to increased coverage and thus public awareness.

movie break

…now showing…last of the profs aka the great train wreck…still on topic…#academiclabor featuring the #adjunct as Gunga Din, post inspired by The Last Professors: The Corporate University and the Fate of the Humanities by Frank Donoghue, Fordham UP, 2008, the  most recent entry in  the Academe blog series, Reviews of Recent Books Concerning Current Issues in Higher Education,

Donoghue thinks (2008) it's too late to turn back and that we've already passed the tipping point. Asked at the beginning of the interview above to describe last profs in ten words or less, he replies, "a train wreck with no survivors."

while #adjuncts were sleeping

A typical May 1 in NYC

…#MayDay started in the rest of the world. I leave the radio turned on and to NPR so awoke to news of Philippines (demonstrating for the right to organize), Bangladesh (working conditions), Turkey, Greece, Egypt. I had hoped to get this global notice out with coffee and well before the East Coast and Ohio actions got underway. With a few hours before scheduled late morning and midday start times,  I may make that last...if I type fast and don't get too distracted.

In DC and NY, SEIU and New Paltz  UUP are getting ready for their busy day. If the Steelworkers are on parade in Pittsburgh, their Adjunct Faculty chapter will be with them. OPTFA is already up and tweeting, telling every one to wear red and pin on / display their big red A's, set them as social media avatars and so on. Yesterday, I created A Gallery of A's for Adjuncts on the NFM Facebook page. Go pick one to print out or use as an avatar

Sources to start your personal #MayDay4adjuncts