For anyone who’s been a J201 TA, this comic (thanks to Hans for sending me this link) speaks to what we spend the first few weeks of the course discussing – and what our students write their first paper on (or at least they did when I taught the class). I really enjoyed the distilling …
Continue reading ‘Journalists' role: Taking the amusement out of news’ »
This will probably come to no surprise to anyone who’s taught an introductory university course that requires students to do research, but for all the time they spend online, students remain uncertain about how to find credible information. A new study by Northwestern University researchers demonstrates that when performing a wide range of information-seeking activities …
It’s unusual for MTV to get praise for its television programming. But while other outlets and channels are getting criticized for their lack of positive portrayals of gay and lesbian characters, MTV has received the first-ever “Excellent” rating for their programming from GLAAD, or the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. And the primary source …
2010 is looking to overtake 2005 as the hottest year ever recorded on the planet. But the heat isn’t the only thing unusual this summer – for example, the torrential downpour that hit the Midwest last week is also causing dams to collapse, airports to close, and residents to seek alternative housing, as their own …
Can a debate about the relative merits of one cell phone over another lead to true learning and understanding? When can motivated reasoning and the workings of cognitive dissonance be overcome with issues people are committed to? Is limiting the goals to minor concessions and information a way to overcome natural biases and can these be used to better political discussion?