Monthly Archives: July 2025

Writer identity and voice

Writer identity and voice

Still reading. This month it’s Schmit, John S (2022)The sociolinguistics of written identity, Constructing a self. Cham, Switzerland: PalgraveMacmillan. Schmit is a writing and linguistics professor. His book examines how students develop written identities in academic settings and the complex relationship between language, power, and social class in educational settings. I found it interesting- well, I always […] … learn more→

How Disney classics help me teach real-world economics

How Disney classics help me teach real-world economics

Disney celebrated the 75th anniversary of Cinderella in February this year, with the message that she didn’t just believe in dreams, but did something about them by going to the palace to get Prince Charming. The message emphasizes individual persistence for a happy ending, and projects popular ideas often entrenched in how undergraduate students learn about economics — […] … learn more→

Too many em dashes? Weird words like ‘delves’? Spotting text written by ChatGPT is still more art than science

Too many em dashes? Weird words like ‘delves’? Spotting text written by ChatGPT is still more art than science

People are now routinely using chatbots to write computer code, summarize articles and books, or solicit advice. But these chatbots are also employed to quickly generate text from scratch, with some users passing off the words as their own. This has, not surprisingly, created headaches for teachers tasked with evaluating their students’ written work. It’s also created issues for people seeking advice […] … learn more→

“No Kids” Hotels, “Adults Only” Vacations: What Social Issues Are Behind the Exclusion of Children?

“No Kids” Hotels, “Adults Only” Vacations: What Social Issues Are Behind the Exclusion of Children?

Beyond the media hype, what do child-free tourism options really represent? Beyond the marketing rhetoric of some and the outrage of others, the situation and motivations are more complex than the fantasized image. While they call into question the place of children in our society, these new offerings also reveal fundamental social problems. We can […] … learn more→

Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life changing

Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life changing

“Earning a humanities degree was not only life changing, in terms of opening up a world of knowledge otherwise beyond my reach, it also turns out to have been enormously productive – for me and many, many people around me,” said Tim Winton this week. “My little arts degree has created jobs and cultural value for over […] … learn more→

How to improve university EDI policies so they address Jewish identity and antisemitism

How to improve university EDI policies so they address Jewish identity and antisemitism

According to Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes against Jews rose by 82 per cent in 2023. In the months following Oct. 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza, university campuses across Canada became sites of tension, protest and divisions. Jewish students and faculty increasingly reported feeling alone, excluded and targeted. As our research has examined, despite these urgent realities, Jewish identity and antisemitism […] … learn more→

Planning to take a degree taught in English when it’s not your first language? Here are some tips for success

Planning to take a degree taught in English when it’s not your first language? Here are some tips for success

Every year, millions of students from all parts of the globe study for a degree through a language other than their first, usually English. In 2023, 25% of all higher education students in the UK were international students. The understanding is that the incoming students will have, or develop, enough proficiency in English as a second language to study engineering, history, […] … learn more→

AI can be responsibly integrated into classrooms by answering the ‘why’ and ‘when’

AI can be responsibly integrated into classrooms by answering the ‘why’ and ‘when’

Scroll through social media and you’ll find numerous videos such as “How to Use AI to write your essay in 5 minutes” or “How to skip the readings with ChatGPT.” The discourse surrounding AI in education is deafening and it’s almost entirely consumed by the question: How? How do we write the perfect prompt? How should educators […] … learn more→