What I am Reading
When I stumble upon a new blog or website that gets me thinking or helps me do my job better, I immediately bookmark it and make a note to myself to share it with the readers of this blog. I know there are lots of usual suspects, but today I thought I would give you look at what I’ve been following online recently:
Chronicle of Higher Ed: Besides scanning the front page, I always look forward to columns by Lesboprof, who has a great take on administration and its inner workings. Since I talk with individual institutions a lot it helps me get (and keep) perspective. This week she is talking about assessment, so I confess to being particularly interested.
Inside Higher Ed: Just like many of you, I get the daily email update and use it to find articles of specific interest, but I also keep tabs on Confessions of a Community College Dean, for his insights on everything, but particularly when he talks about how to keep conversations moving on campus. I also read University of Venus, because I am always interested in issues of equity for women in academia and otherwise, and the global perspective of this collective is fantastic. I read Mama Ph.D. because I am a parent who is trying to balance work and life, and these posts both keep me sane and remind me I am not alone.
Far and away my favorite column at Inside Higher Ed is a relative newcomer. Maria Shine Stewart writes A Kinder Campus which at its heart talks about relationships on campus. The columns are well written and really support her tag line– “workplace morale, civility, and collegiality count.” When you work in administration, relationships are everything, and this column reminds me that everyone on campus has a place and a voice.
Not everything I read is related to higher education. Every so often you need perspective. Nate Silver’s 538.com has it in spades. I love the ease with which he makes complicated data analysis accessible, and the way he displays data. I even read when he talks about baseball instead of politics.
Speaking of presenting and talking about data, I am always interested in how to do this better for myself and in helping institutions make better use of data. I find David Eubanks blog to be a great source. In the interest of full disclosure, David’s most recent post shows a pretty ingenious way of investigating correlates in large datasets. In the interest of full disclosure, he is using CIRP data, but to me, that just makes it even better. I can’t wait to hear how his graphics and results are received on campus.
In terms of assessment specifically, I like Assessment Matters. It is a nice resource for information and resources in assessment in one easy location
Now it is your turn. What am I missing? Do let me know in the comments section below of other good online resources related to higher education, assessment and data analysis/display.
