There and Back Again — The subtitle for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is There and Back Again. This phrase seems apropos for today’s Monday Missive since I just returned from Oxford, where Tolkien wrote The Hobbit. I went to Oxford to participate in the Oxford Education Research Symposium and to present a paper titled “LeVar Burton and the Evolution of Language Arts and Literacy Education in the Digital Age.” While I was there, however, I had dinner at The Eagle and the Child, which is the pub where Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the other members of a group called the Inklings gathered every week to discuss their writing projects.
The Oxford Education Research Symposium is known for bringing together scholars from around the globe to share pedagogy-related research. At this symposium, participants came from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, India, Israel, Malaysia, Norway, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain,Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Many of these participants gave presentations on the impact of digital technology on educational programs in their countries. For the most part, they emphasized the educational benefits made possible by using digital technology. One of the participants, for example, discussed how he used Smartphones with indigenous students in northern Canada to record and share community stories. Although nearly all of the participants expressed support for the use of digital technology in educational settings, they often sounded a note of caution. Several of the participants mentioned a book titled The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr. As one of the participants pointed out, Carr’s book provides evidence that “online reading” does not always result in the same levels of comprehension associated with reading from the printed page.
My return flight back to Charlotte was delayed by seven hours on account of the snow storm that hit London on Sunday. While I was sitting for hours in the Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight, I had plenty of time to reflect on what I learned about the educational use of digital technology. Like most of the symposium participants, I think that digital technology can be used to great advantage in a teaching context. However, I urge all of us in the English Department not to view digital technology as some kind of pedagogical panacea. Digital technology provides us with tools but not necessarily with answers.
Kudos — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Lara Vetter’s book A Curious Peril: H.D.’s Late Modernist Prose (2017) was reviewed in the most recent issue of The Review of English Studies.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about upcoming events and deadlines:
December 13 — Bill Hill’s retirement reception will take place in Robinson Hall from 3:30 to 5:00. RSVP here, or call 7-0051.
December 16 — The Commencement for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will take place in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center (SAC) on Saturday, December 16, at 3:00 pm.
December 18 — Final grades for the Fall 2017 term must be submitted by Monday, December 18 at noon.
December 19 — The CLAS Faculty Achievement Celebration will take place in the Harris Alumni Center from 3:30 to 5:30.
Quirky Quiz Question — Tolkien used his first three initials when he published his creative works. Does anybody know what J.R.R. stand for?
Last week’s answer: Sullivan
What is the name of the composer who frequently collaborated with William Gilbert?