On Speaking and Twitter
You didn’t think I’d stay away forever, right? There have been so many twitter/speaking controversies lately, and I wanted to add my perspective. Last week it was the two Chronicle stories (here and here) rehashing the #heweb09 keynote. This morning I read Danah Boyd’s rant in her blog about the debacle at Web 2.0 Expo. I fail to see why anyone is surprised when a speaker gives a sub-par talk and this happens. Do I feel

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming…
I’m taking a break from this blog….not sure when/if I’ll be back. Catch you on the flip side.

Shocked that a school would sue a student? I’m barely surprised.
It’s no news by now that Butler University is suing a student, Jess Zimmerman, over a blog. I won’t rehash the story, as you can read about it on Inside Higher Ed and the Huffington Post if you haven’t already. Instead, I want to offer a different perspective. Well so many are in shock that a university, a supposed bastion of free speech, would stoop so low as to sue a student for exercising that free speech, I am not remotely surprised it has come to this. Nor should anyone else be that has worked in

Colleges Put Money Where Their Mouths Are - But At What Price?
Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. I hear those words and I instantly think of things like Snuggies or Shamwows or the Magic Bullet (a blender/food processor for those of you with your minds in the gutter!). I don’t often think of colleges. But consider this: Mercer University guarantees that if students follow their plan and don’t graduate in four years, the additional classes and room and board they need to finish their degree on absorbed by the school. Keystone College pledges that if students work with their Career Development Office, they will receive at least one job offer, or be accepted to graduate school, w

My reflections on HighEdWeb
I spent the last few days out in Milwaukee, for my first journey to HighEdWeb. Wow. Just wow. It was great to meet so many of you in person, and to see so many old friends in one place! I wish I had had more time to spend with all of you. I’d heard it for years, but this is definitely the premiere web conference in higher ed (and now I’ve been to just about all of them and feel like I can make that judgement!).  From start to finish, this was a very well done event. Everything from the presentations to the more social aspects of it…it was everything I could ever expect from an event and has surpassed my previous “favorite conference ever” choice of A