At long last, after at least one year of work, Web pages by the rules is finally released. What a relief to get that one done! Now all I have to do is keep up with the orders so that everyone who buys a copy gets one quickly.
While the content may not surprise anyone, the form of the book will. It has been published on DVD. The entire book was written in XHTML (with CSS of course). Nothing really fancy, this is a book for people trying to learn how to make web pages and web sites. Why publish on DVD? The book becomes a giant web site. The Table of Contents acts as the navigation tool to each chapter. Every chapter has its own set of links for its sections and every chapter is linked back to the Table of Contents. In addition there are many internal links and references. Readers can move around from place to place in the book simply by clicking with a mouse. So the book is easy to use, and easy to use in whatever sequence the reader wants.
In addition to ease of use for the reader, having the book on DVD means all of the code for every page is completely accessible. Readers can learn by copying the pages of the book to their own computers and editing the code. There is nothing in the book that cannot be done by anyone who follows the information in the book. No magic, no hidden codes, no specialist jargon.
One further advantage of the book on DVD is it allowed me to include some videos for people who are just getting started. So readers can watch and listen to some explanations instead of having to read the words and imagine the actions. The video section may be expanded in later editions, depending on requests from readers.
If you are interested check out my publisher's home site. There is a sample chapter available for download. The complete book costs $25 and can be purchased using PayPal through handsonweb.com
2010-05-11
2010-04-18
New policy at Yale
A couple of weeks ago I read in the newspaper that Yale is (or has) put a new regulation in place that expressly forbids sexual intercourse between faculty and students. I had a couple of immediate reactions. 1) Why is such a regulation necessary? 2) Why is such a regulation necessary now?
I ask the first question because it has always been my understanding that sex between faculty and students has always been unacceptable behaviour. I have heard stories, read novels and seen movies where such relationships were described or portrayed. However intimate relationships between faculty and students have always been not acceptable and usually grounds for dismissal, particularly if there was any suggestion that the academic integrity of the institution was being bent. In other words if sex was being traded for marks, both the professor and the student would be disciplined. So why is a written regulation needed? And that brings me to my second question, why now?
I have two possible answers. The first answer has to do with the increasing average age of students at post-secondary institutions. It is fairly easy to justify a "no sex" rule when almost all students are coming to college directly from secondary school. The age and the role differences give a middle-aged faculty member a great deal of power over teenage students. However, as the average age of post-secondary students has gone up and is projected to continue to go up that argument begins to lose power. While the role difference is still obvious, the age difference has been significantly reduced. Intimacy between a 25 year old and a 40 year old is acceptable, but intimacy between a 17 year old and a 40 year old is not usually acceptable. The new regulation makes sense in the light of this change in the age profile of students.
The second possible reason is the continued growing of what M. Scott Peck has called "secularism": the idea that I am the centre of the universe, that what I want counts first, that my rights are at least equal to and probably superior to society's rights. We have policies and regulations at colleges and in other organizations for many things that were common knowledge a generation or two ago. For example, cheating now has to be defined, the boundaries of academic integrity have to be described in such a way that they will stand against a legal challenge in a courtroom. In course outlines professors have to write things such as "Printed assignments will be submitted with one staple in the top right hand corner. Work that is not stapled will not be accepted. The instructor will not supply a stapler or staples." A common verbal reaction from students when they are about to be disciplined is: "you didn't tell me I couldn't". I wonder if this new regulation at Yale is meant to say "we said you could not do this. Don't do it or there will be consequences."
If the second alternative is part of the reason for this new regulation, it is a predictable but sad result of a significant change in our relationships with each other in our society.
I ask the first question because it has always been my understanding that sex between faculty and students has always been unacceptable behaviour. I have heard stories, read novels and seen movies where such relationships were described or portrayed. However intimate relationships between faculty and students have always been not acceptable and usually grounds for dismissal, particularly if there was any suggestion that the academic integrity of the institution was being bent. In other words if sex was being traded for marks, both the professor and the student would be disciplined. So why is a written regulation needed? And that brings me to my second question, why now?
I have two possible answers. The first answer has to do with the increasing average age of students at post-secondary institutions. It is fairly easy to justify a "no sex" rule when almost all students are coming to college directly from secondary school. The age and the role differences give a middle-aged faculty member a great deal of power over teenage students. However, as the average age of post-secondary students has gone up and is projected to continue to go up that argument begins to lose power. While the role difference is still obvious, the age difference has been significantly reduced. Intimacy between a 25 year old and a 40 year old is acceptable, but intimacy between a 17 year old and a 40 year old is not usually acceptable. The new regulation makes sense in the light of this change in the age profile of students.
The second possible reason is the continued growing of what M. Scott Peck has called "secularism": the idea that I am the centre of the universe, that what I want counts first, that my rights are at least equal to and probably superior to society's rights. We have policies and regulations at colleges and in other organizations for many things that were common knowledge a generation or two ago. For example, cheating now has to be defined, the boundaries of academic integrity have to be described in such a way that they will stand against a legal challenge in a courtroom. In course outlines professors have to write things such as "Printed assignments will be submitted with one staple in the top right hand corner. Work that is not stapled will not be accepted. The instructor will not supply a stapler or staples." A common verbal reaction from students when they are about to be disciplined is: "you didn't tell me I couldn't". I wonder if this new regulation at Yale is meant to say "we said you could not do this. Don't do it or there will be consequences."
If the second alternative is part of the reason for this new regulation, it is a predictable but sad result of a significant change in our relationships with each other in our society.
2010-04-13
Cheating -- Again
A couple of weeks ago two students handed in the same assignment. This is the second time this semester for these two students. So I immediately handed the files to the Dean who then passed it to the Associate Dean. The penalty imposed was a zero in the course. It could have been worse: the "normal" penalty for a second offense is dismissal from the college for one academic year. While I felt a strong penalty had to be imposed, I thought dismissal for one year to be too severe for the work submitted (2 5% assignments). I think the zero in the course is reasonable and it is one of the options listed in the Academic Integrity policy.
I am really bothered by cheating, but then I am really bothered by lies. In some situations it is not appropriate to tell all the truth. But lying is not acceptable. Many students protest they are not cheating when they have done exactly what the college policy labels as dishonest. Many seem not to understand that sharing computer files is cheating. Presenting work as your own if it is not is dishonest and deserves to be penalized.
I am really bothered by cheating, but then I am really bothered by lies. In some situations it is not appropriate to tell all the truth. But lying is not acceptable. Many students protest they are not cheating when they have done exactly what the college policy labels as dishonest. Many seem not to understand that sharing computer files is cheating. Presenting work as your own if it is not is dishonest and deserves to be penalized.
2009-12-08
Students Cheating
Now it is nearly the end of the semester I have a little more time to focus on things outside the classroom. So two comments today, this one about cheating and another about office mates.
_____________________________________________
I caught seven students cheating on one assignment this semester. There was one group of four and one group of three. Since each group handed in identical assignments it was easy to identify, and easy to defend. I am quite sure more cheating goes on that I never detect. However seven out of over 200 students and seven assignments for each student is probably about the same percentage as I have been detecting for the last several years. Whatever the actual level of cheating I don't have any evidence to suggest it has dramatically increased or decreased since I started teaching here in 2001.
Some students have always cheated, some always will. It is easier to share computer files than paper ones. It is easier on the computer to modify a file copied from someone else than it was from a paper copy. I think the technology available enables some students to cheat who would not otherwise do so.
People cheat because they think the likelihood and/or consequences of getting caught warrant the risk. Cheating is similar to gambling: an opportunity to earn something desirable without working for it. The probability of "winning" at cheating is almost certainly higher than the probability of winning at roulette or blackjack or craps or any lottery. The consequences of losing (getting caught) are lower, at least for a first offense at this college.
I would like two things to change.
1) I would like all faculty to enforce the existing policies about academic dishonesty. Some instructors ignore cheating because they are not willing to put forth the effort it takes to follow the current procedure (don't like doing paperwork, don't want to face student anger, don't want to face an appeal, don't think they will be supported by administration, etc.) I have hearsay evidence from faculty and students that gives some support to these various reasons.
2) I would like the consequences for cheating to be more onerous and more public than at present. I think the current penalty for a first offense is reasonable. (minimum zero in the assignment or test, other sanctions can apply depending on the severity of the situation). However I would like to have knowledge of the offense and the names of those involved to be more widespread. The names and crimes of all people who are found guilty in criminal court are available to the general public. Why not do something similar for academic crime? At the very least let us publish the names and methods of those who cheat to faculty. If I catch students cheating in one of my first year classes then I should be able to tell all of the faculty who teach those students. If we make this part of the procedure, we need to let students know this is part of the procedure.
_____________________________________________
I caught seven students cheating on one assignment this semester. There was one group of four and one group of three. Since each group handed in identical assignments it was easy to identify, and easy to defend. I am quite sure more cheating goes on that I never detect. However seven out of over 200 students and seven assignments for each student is probably about the same percentage as I have been detecting for the last several years. Whatever the actual level of cheating I don't have any evidence to suggest it has dramatically increased or decreased since I started teaching here in 2001.
Some students have always cheated, some always will. It is easier to share computer files than paper ones. It is easier on the computer to modify a file copied from someone else than it was from a paper copy. I think the technology available enables some students to cheat who would not otherwise do so.
People cheat because they think the likelihood and/or consequences of getting caught warrant the risk. Cheating is similar to gambling: an opportunity to earn something desirable without working for it. The probability of "winning" at cheating is almost certainly higher than the probability of winning at roulette or blackjack or craps or any lottery. The consequences of losing (getting caught) are lower, at least for a first offense at this college.
I would like two things to change.
1) I would like all faculty to enforce the existing policies about academic dishonesty. Some instructors ignore cheating because they are not willing to put forth the effort it takes to follow the current procedure (don't like doing paperwork, don't want to face student anger, don't want to face an appeal, don't think they will be supported by administration, etc.) I have hearsay evidence from faculty and students that gives some support to these various reasons.
2) I would like the consequences for cheating to be more onerous and more public than at present. I think the current penalty for a first offense is reasonable. (minimum zero in the assignment or test, other sanctions can apply depending on the severity of the situation). However I would like to have knowledge of the offense and the names of those involved to be more widespread. The names and crimes of all people who are found guilty in criminal court are available to the general public. Why not do something similar for academic crime? At the very least let us publish the names and methods of those who cheat to faculty. If I catch students cheating in one of my first year classes then I should be able to tell all of the faculty who teach those students. If we make this part of the procedure, we need to let students know this is part of the procedure.
Office mates
As we are near the end of the semester I have time to add things here. Two comments today, this one about working with others and another about cheating.
_________________________________________
I had to move to a new office over the summer - a management decision. For the first time in perhaps six years I am in an open office. We can all see each other all the time. When students come in, every word is available to everyone without the pretense of cubicle dividers. It is more difficult to concentrate on my own work when I can just turn my chair half way round and participate in other people's conversations. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable sitting with my back to the "action", something that rarely happened to me when my office mates sat in different cubicles.
This time I have one office mate who regularly expresses their opinion that the students this semester are the worst ever. They talk about the usual: courtesy to each other and to faculty, lack of responsibility, poor work ethic, bad time management, low levels of academic skills, chronic complaints, etc. While I have a few students who fit into these categories (see today's other comments about cheating) most are reasonable people most of the time. This time of year the pursuit of marks generates many more screams and yells and angry messages, but that is expected. I have begun asking myself how I should react to these discourses. And I have begun asking myself if these discourses affect what I do in the classroom. I hope not.
I also wonder how I come across to my office mates. I am generally a quiet, introspective person, able to get along with most people and quite happy with my own company. I have been seen as aloof and arrogant by some people and distant by many others. I wonder about how to work in this particular room for the next five years? Life never stays still for more than a few moments. There is always a new challenge, change is never-ending. That keeps things interesting.
_________________________________________
I had to move to a new office over the summer - a management decision. For the first time in perhaps six years I am in an open office. We can all see each other all the time. When students come in, every word is available to everyone without the pretense of cubicle dividers. It is more difficult to concentrate on my own work when I can just turn my chair half way round and participate in other people's conversations. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable sitting with my back to the "action", something that rarely happened to me when my office mates sat in different cubicles.
This time I have one office mate who regularly expresses their opinion that the students this semester are the worst ever. They talk about the usual: courtesy to each other and to faculty, lack of responsibility, poor work ethic, bad time management, low levels of academic skills, chronic complaints, etc. While I have a few students who fit into these categories (see today's other comments about cheating) most are reasonable people most of the time. This time of year the pursuit of marks generates many more screams and yells and angry messages, but that is expected. I have begun asking myself how I should react to these discourses. And I have begun asking myself if these discourses affect what I do in the classroom. I hope not.
I also wonder how I come across to my office mates. I am generally a quiet, introspective person, able to get along with most people and quite happy with my own company. I have been seen as aloof and arrogant by some people and distant by many others. I wonder about how to work in this particular room for the next five years? Life never stays still for more than a few moments. There is always a new challenge, change is never-ending. That keeps things interesting.
2009-09-21
End of Week 2
I have felt significantly burdened the last eight weeks with constant pain in my right shoulder. Of course I am right handed, and that includes using a mouse with my right hand and using two hands to drive. I have had to take two days away from classes in order to go to medical appointments to try and get a diagnosis (which would be nice to have) a way to relieve the pain (absolutely necessary) and a solution (also absolutely necessary but I can wait for it if the pain is bearable). Today the medical consensus is there has been no nerve damage so there is probably no need for surgery. Yeah! I have a new medication to reduce soft tissue swelling and I have been told to get physiotherapy which may also reduce the swelling and help the joint to heal. I have had good experiences with both physiotherapy and Shiatsu so I think I will try both. What does this have to do with teaching?
As well as missing two classroom days, not being able to use my right hand and arm efficiently and predictably is a problem. It means I feel less than 100% when in front of a class. For one or two days that's not so bad, but it is going to be at least one more week and I am not happy about that. It means I am slower getting things done in and out of class. Being slower in class might be a good thing for students. However I have a backlog of marking to do for my online students because of shoulder pain. I will get at the marking tomorrow and the marking will only be a few days late. So I should let up on myself I guess.
If I keep up this computer work I will not be able to sleep tonight. So I will sign off now and come back to this blog in a few days time.
As well as missing two classroom days, not being able to use my right hand and arm efficiently and predictably is a problem. It means I feel less than 100% when in front of a class. For one or two days that's not so bad, but it is going to be at least one more week and I am not happy about that. It means I am slower getting things done in and out of class. Being slower in class might be a good thing for students. However I have a backlog of marking to do for my online students because of shoulder pain. I will get at the marking tomorrow and the marking will only be a few days late. So I should let up on myself I guess.
If I keep up this computer work I will not be able to sleep tonight. So I will sign off now and come back to this blog in a few days time.
2009-09-12
End of Week 1
When I said to another faculty member that it was the end of the first week, the response was "only thirteen weeks to go". While that is true, the statement also feels somewhat negative to me. However I have not been teaching in this system for very long compared to many of the faculty.
As yet I have not experienced any of the routine rudeness I remember from the Fall semester last year. That is a good thing. I hope this continues. Perhaps last year was an anomaly? Perhaps last year I had lower tolerance for inappropriate behaviour? This Fall the inappropriate behaviour has come from college employees. The all faculty startup meeting was announced to be in a completely inappropriate location: a student pub. And it turns out to have been a bad choice as a meeting room. There were not enough seats. The pub equipment (coolers, ice makers, telephones, etc.) was all left running and made various noises throughout the meeting. The A-V system was not adequate. And sight lines were not good from parts of the room.
On Wednesday I received a package of information from the Faculty Professional Development Office thanking me for agreeing to do a particular task. While I am happy to do the work, I would have liked to have agreed to do it beforehand. I expect this kind of behaviour will continue through the semester and probably for many years to come.
It seems to me this kind of behaviour, along with other events that I have heard about but not experienced directly, is an indicator of a change of corporate culture. It seems to me people at the top of the organization are now operating as if the college is a large institution. Unfortunately it seems no one thought to talk about the change in corporate culture with the long term faculty, and probably also not with the long term support staff either. So many long term employees do or will feel the organization is not the same organization as it used to be. That is true. Unfortunately many long term employees will feel they do not want to work in this "new" organization (what they mean is they do not like the new corporate culture). So they will either leave as soon as they can, or they will not work the way they used to. These changes in personnel or in the way people work will accelerate the change in culture.
As yet I have not experienced any of the routine rudeness I remember from the Fall semester last year. That is a good thing. I hope this continues. Perhaps last year was an anomaly? Perhaps last year I had lower tolerance for inappropriate behaviour? This Fall the inappropriate behaviour has come from college employees. The all faculty startup meeting was announced to be in a completely inappropriate location: a student pub. And it turns out to have been a bad choice as a meeting room. There were not enough seats. The pub equipment (coolers, ice makers, telephones, etc.) was all left running and made various noises throughout the meeting. The A-V system was not adequate. And sight lines were not good from parts of the room.
On Wednesday I received a package of information from the Faculty Professional Development Office thanking me for agreeing to do a particular task. While I am happy to do the work, I would have liked to have agreed to do it beforehand. I expect this kind of behaviour will continue through the semester and probably for many years to come.
It seems to me this kind of behaviour, along with other events that I have heard about but not experienced directly, is an indicator of a change of corporate culture. It seems to me people at the top of the organization are now operating as if the college is a large institution. Unfortunately it seems no one thought to talk about the change in corporate culture with the long term faculty, and probably also not with the long term support staff either. So many long term employees do or will feel the organization is not the same organization as it used to be. That is true. Unfortunately many long term employees will feel they do not want to work in this "new" organization (what they mean is they do not like the new corporate culture). So they will either leave as soon as they can, or they will not work the way they used to. These changes in personnel or in the way people work will accelerate the change in culture.
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