break is over—back to the #edblog beat & #adjunct blogging

…with something no matter how short or recycled. Not that it was a 100% break what with the persistent ubiquity of social media and email. The combined effect of information/project overload and sandwiching a holiday into a grim news news cycle had me dropping out wherever I could...

The time it allowed reading ed blogs and getting up to speed with my new colleagues on the Education Bloggers Network was well spent. There are 200 now. Just today I posted to the EBN Basecamp area explaining my ideas on configuring personal or open blog/social media networks. Most of the bloggers there are in K12 education. Some currently teach in both K12 and education courses in higher ed, most likely as adjuncts in the latter. I've been bookmarking their blogs on Diigo as I come across them. 

Anyway, when one of the members teaching in higher ed asked me about my field, I made my reply more of an introduction since I hadn't really posted one yet. Here it is, somewhat edited and with the obligatory apologies for tiresome redundancies:

My field is now "retired" with digital ankle biting and online community media as "retirement hobbies." I notice I am not the only ed blogging retiree here. [Aside: Is blogging the educator version of "old soldier" fading? Or just the persistence of longstanding habit?]

I started in English (UL Lafayette) and then Comparative Literature (ABDammit, UC Davis, representations of city space in literature). My move from multi-language lit to social media/web curation traversed teaching Spanish, developmental writing/study skills and 1st composition, ESL, GED, local Family Literacy and after school programs while doing web pages, email newsletters and groups and then onto blogging and social media. That's just the last 25 years...and leaves out non-academic teaching and other workplace byways,

Short version: precarious faculty is my home base / hub blog for what I consider an independent information network that takes in other blogs, aggregation platforms and social media.

on the #precariousfaculty network & around the #adjunct/iverse

I just finished watching Ivory Tower online but should watch it again when I am not multi-tasking. It's definitely on the recommended list. Yesterday, when CNN aired the documentary, my viewing plan was watching skimpy clips and reading reviews. I don't often wish for cable or TV: don't miss the latter; never had the former so can't really miss it. This morning David Millroy's post to the CPFA list about watching Ivory Tower sent me looking for longer clips. Lo and behold...seek and ye shall find. Sometimes.

As for the rest of today (besides not taking all afternoon finishing and posting this), a PD "in the the News" on #HigherEd set up yesterday to have at the ready, awaits my attention. "News," being what it is, dates sitting in draft and will need updating ...the longer it waits, the more updating. 

Briefly noted and recommended, plus links to recent posts in the network

November…month of #writing—#edblogs…#digiwrimo…#nanowrimo & more

…which includes joining the Education Bloggers Network as well as adding a blog challenge to #nanowrimo and #digiwrimo (already a #wrimo surfeit). Still, since I already write at least one blog post a day, just not all on the same blog, #nablopomo seemed a trifle. The rub is that all +BlogHer daily posts have to be on one blog to qualify for the challenge. So I registered Computers, Language, Writing and will post a daily blogging recap ~ so very meta but something I'd been thinking about doing anyway. I most assuredly am not doing #AcWriMo. 

But back to the Education Bloggers Network, which has made a huge difference for K-12 advocacy against privatization, testing excesses and Common Core.  It could be a really big deal for us as well. I'd already added a number of  these K-12 bloggers to our blogroll and here are more for you to check out. I'm in. Are you? PS I'm making a list of adjunct and other higher ed bloggers who ought to be too. Email Jonathan Pelto at jonpelto@gmail.com. Let's do this. Now.

Jonathon Pelto replied to my request to join the network (blogged about earlier here and here):