As mentioned in previous posts, I like having a cross- and inter-disciplinary approach to scholarship, academia, and pedagogy. I think that any discipline can get itself into trouble when only their own crowd dictates and informs what topics they approach and the methods they use to interact/solve/answer them—academic incest, if you will. To that end, I always try to bounce new ideas off of friends in many different fields, each of whom have varying philosophies on interpretation. (There\’s nothing quite like discussing ancient Semitic grammar with an engineer to help you write with concision and clarity.)
To this end, I also try to read from perspectives outside of an (excellent, surely) bibliblogosphere. However, my google-reader subscription has been somewhat lacking in blogs of that nature. However, thanks to expanding my net and some helpful citations from fellow biblioblogers, I\’m happy to add a few more to my list and figured I\’d share them with you.
ProfHacker: ProfHacker is to education what LifeHacker is to electronics. I\’ve not read through the entire backlog, but this certainly looks to be helpful for those of us who are, or plan to pursue, teaching. A few key entries immediate jump out: Encouraging Effective Note Taking, and (a personal favorite because of a personal problem) Hacking the Office (aka, desk management).
Chronicle of Higher Education: The main page for ProfHacker. Though far more broad, and therefore somewhat less useful, this site hosts a tremendous amount of information to be sifted for gems.
LifeHacker: While we\’re here, I might as well mention LifeHacker. LifeHacker, honestly, has little to do with education or academia at all. Except for the fact that most of us have to deal with issues of time-management, computers, smartphones, and other accessories which make our professional lives easier, better, and quicker. LifeHacker is particularly useful in letting me know about new MacApps, ways to use my iPhone, and other internet downloads that just make life easier (think notation software or citation software).
Matt Might: I\’ve mentioned Matt\’s blog before, but he always merits a second mention. Matt focuses in on the math and science aspects of education, but his advice consistently hits home for anyone, particularly his Illustrated Guide to the PhD, but really you should just peruse his article list and read the ones that seem relevant (and most of the ones that don\’t).
What other blogs or resources have y\’all found that are helpful in forming yourselves as students or professors?
Ben Neviim 