http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php en khampton@bedfordstmartins.com Copyright 2008 2008-08-28T03:07:00+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/101_ten_minute_meals/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/101_ten_minute_meals/#When:03:07:00Z Mark Bitman of the New York Times presents 101 ten minute meals.  If you are worried about your time to prepare food during the coming term, why not take a look at some of his ideas and paste a few of them into your calendar? Health & Welfare 2008-08-28T03:07:00+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/tech_tips_for_the_college_bound/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/tech_tips_for_the_college_bound/#When:04:06:01Z Dave at AcademHack posted this list of tips some time ago, but it is certainly worth revisiting.  Consider writing down at least a few of these tips to remind your students during the first couple days of class. Adjunct 2.0, The Classroom 2008-08-22T04:06:01+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/open_source_survey_anyone/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/open_source_survey_anyone/#When:02:05:01Z Courtesy of AcademHack, a site that offers an Open Source Survey application.  While certainly not for everyone, this will hopefully improve the quality of some adjuncts’ experiences out there! Adjunct 2.0, The Classroom 2008-08-19T02:05:01+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/living_economically/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/living_economically/#When:21:08:01Z Courtesy of Lifehacker, eight tips on living frugally through the summer from The Simple Dollar blog.  As adjuncts are constantly on a tight budget, some of these tips ought to be helpful throughout the year. Adjunct Culture, Health & Welfare 2008-08-10T21:08:01+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/synch_your_google_calendar_with_your_desktop_calendar/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/synch_your_google_calendar_with_your_desktop_calendar/#When:21:45:00Z Google Calendar is a vital tool for me; it organizes my life.  Instead of depending on different desktop calendars, my loyalty remains with the web-based option.  I know that no matter where I am, I can find my calendar.  If you rely on your desktop calendar, but have thought about using a web-based one, now is the time to expand that direction!  Lifehacker presents a useful tip for many folks out there: how to synchronize your Google Calendar with your desktop calendar.  Adjunct 2.0 2008-08-09T21:45:00+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/references_for_adjuncts/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/references_for_adjuncts/#When:02:49:00Z Dean Dad offers insights on adjuncts tactfully requesting letters of references from current (and future?) bosses. Professional Development & Service, The Academic Scene 2008-08-07T02:49:00+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/adjunct_work_in_the_dc_area_philadelphia_and_florida/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/adjunct_work_in_the_dc_area_philadelphia_and_florida/#When:21:41:00Z Over the past week, several e-mails have shot across the WPA-list indicating adjunct positions at a school in the DC area, Philadelphia, and at USF Tampa.  This alone is a good reason to join.  If you just want to search the archives for these positions, click here. Jobs 2008-08-05T21:41:00+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/wpa_denver_working_with_librarians/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/wpa_denver_working_with_librarians/#When:01:46:00Z The first session I attended at Denver included a presentation by Sara Jameson, the current acting WPA at Oregon State University.  I have a special place in my heart for OSU because I grew up on that university (my pops taught there for 30+ years).  Anyway, I was excited to see Sara’s presentation not just because she works at OSU, but also because she’s worked extensively with Michael Faris, a queer comp colleague of mine.  This was a great way to start off the conference. While Sara had a bunch of great material and ideas, the one that resonated most deeply with me was her ongoing collaboration with Anne-Marie Deitering.  This is one example of their work: a piece about embedding information literacy in FYC.  As I see it, this kind of collaboration across disciplines and departments is exactly what we, as compositionists, should be doing. Given the current pace for tech development, the flurry of new online tools, and the overwhelming tides of information, there is no way we can be experts at everything.  Therefore, it behooves us to not just work with people to get things done; collaboration, in and of itself, seems like one of the best and most efficient ways to harness our own unique skill sets with others and work toward a common project. As a side note, it has been my experience that librarians can be some of the coolest, quirkiest, and most interesting folks around (outside of comp, of course ).  Compositionists work with texts.  Librarians work with texts.  If we share our perspectives, means of categorizing (please do not hit me with theories about categorization!  Please!), and tools for organizing, perhaps we can better crystalize our own understandings and pass on the best, most efficient tools to our students so that they can achieve the success they construct for themselves. Professional Development & Service, The Academic Scene 2008-08-05T01:46:00+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/how_to_take_notes/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/how_to_take_notes/#When:01:58:01Z Courtesy of AcademHack, a number of useful suggestions on how to take notes effectively. Adjunct 2.0, Professional Development & Service, The Classroom 2008-08-04T01:58:01+00:00 http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/academic_freedom_comes_with_higher_pay/ http://adjunctcentral.com/index.php/site/academic_freedom_comes_with_higher_pay/#When:01:44:00Z Academic freedom is one of the biggest reasons given for fighting to maintain and protect tenure.  Hey, I am with you there.  But, before I can be free, I need to eat and have decent health care.  So, while academic freedom concerns me, parity in pay and benefits is more important. I am sure that some adjuncts—maybe even a majority—want to preserve their academic freedom and protect their work.  Near as I can tell, the universities largely devalue and dismiss our work.  Why?  Because if they actually valued our intellectual contributions, we would be paid more.  And if we were paid more, then we would accrue more social standing, power, and respect.  Unfortunately, pay scale equals respect in this culture (this is true in the academy as well in spite of cries of denial), and if you make more money, you have greater value.  If you have greater value, as determined by pay scale, it makes it harder for a university to come after you.  Oh yes, they can still come after highly paid and/or tenured folks if they are motivated.  However, it is far easier to dismiss a low-paid adjunct than a high paid tenure tracker. Parity in pay means an increase in respect from colleagues and the institution.  This respect means being heard, and it means greater protection from the whims of power holders and public personalities.  If you do not have decent pay, then you are accorded little respect.  Little respect equals little protection which means little academic freedom.  Not only can you not pay your power bill, but you have to keep your mouth shut in order to keep your job. While tenure trackers are our colleagues, and we like to regard them as peers, it is hard to struggle or be concerned about our tenured colleagues’ academic freedoms when we cannot pay our bills.  And when we have to pay for dental work on an over-taxed credit card, the freedom to trash the president or the bourgeoisie pales in comparison.  It really is a matter of priorities. Academic freedom and protections usually arrive with pay increases, not before.  Pay us more, give us health benefits, and you will likely see academic freedom flourish. Health & Welfare, The Academic Scene 2008-08-03T01:44:00+00:00