Online Subscriptions

If you’re like me, you have lots of e-mail to sort through every morning. Some e-mails bring good news, some bring additional work. We may not, however, get many e-mails that focus directly on our jobs as teachers. To remedy that situation, today I’m going to suggest a couple of on-line subscriptions to teach us new ways of reaching our students and give us something to think about.

The first resource is Faculty Focus. This newsletter is published three times a week and has a variety of topics for those in higher education. Some of the topics that are discussed are educational assessment, learning styles, distance learning, online education and more. The articles are archived on the site. The only problem with this site is that there isn’t enough time to read all of the articles that sound interesting!

The second resource is On Course. The e-mails from Skip Downing always include a teaching strategy or activity. At the main webpage, move down to the On Course Newsletter.  The annual conference is highly publicized in the e-mail, too, but if you’re not interested, just move down to the activity. (The conference, by the way, is one of the best I’ve ever attended.) The activities are archived on the On Course website. They are divided into the topics of getting on course (being a good teacher and student); self-responsibility, self-motivation, self-management, interdependence, self-awareness, lifelong learning, emotional intelligence, self-esteem, and staying on course. The activities vary in complexity and effectiveness, but they will get you thinking about what you can do to engage students in the class.

If you sign up for these resources, you’ll have something to look forward to. If you find you just don’t have the time or interest in them, you can always unsubscribe.