After not completely stopping before making a right turn on red — what I’m told is called a “California Stop” — I had to sign up for online traffic school. The experience was not as bad as I feared, as students are allowed to proceed at their own pace, and there is no penalty for finishing earlier than anticipated. (When I took online training as part of new employee orientation here at SJSU, for example, one could not proceed from one section to the next until the time allocated for the section had expired, so lots of time was spent watching the counter count down.) Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see that social science research was cited. Here’s an example: “Different people have different beliefs about what causes road rage. A sociologist might say society as a whole has broken down and the values we shared have deteriorated. A psychologist might say vehicles provide drivers with a sense of power as well as anonymity, which can lead to road rage. If you ask traffic engineers they may claim lack of proper driving skills and driving at variable speeds leads to acts of road rage.”

Later in the section on road rage we get this: “Lack of respect for the law is another factor that encourages aggressive driving. The moral values of our society have changed over the years, and it has led to the growing lack of respect for law enforcement authorities. Many people believe factors like breaking down of the extended family, influence of media, and other aspects of modern society have led to this attitude toward the law and authority.” It would have been really nice if the authors had thrown in sources for further reading, but at least some basic information is presented. Hopefully some students will take the initiative to do additional research on their own!

Lots of folks don’t understand the nuances of capitalism, socialism, and communism. To better understand a comment Donald Trump made about Bernie Sanders being a “socialist-slash-communist,” a reporter asked a high school teacher and a university professor to explain the concepts. The university professor interviewed was the chairperson of SJSU’s Department of Political Science, Professor Lawrence Quill!

The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting new interactive feature: why campus traditions matter. I don’t remember any traditions quite like these at the two institutions I attended as a student, or at the two institutions of which I was an employee prior to coming to SJSU. Perhaps I’ll learn about some that exist here!

Inside Higher Ed is reporting that the California State University System has signed an agreement with a private company to make electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) available to its students and graduates. San Jose State is part of the CSU system, so I’ll have to keep an eye on this partnership as it rolls out. Any tool that helps students better highlight their accomplishments is something that we should encourage!

Halloween is coming up in a couple of weeks, so student affairs offices around the country are gearing up warnings about offensive Halloween costumes. I really like Wesleyan U’s poster campaign:

My college has a tradition of holding a lunch hour Halloween party. I’m not worried about anyone showing up in inappropriate gear. I’ll go as Darth Vader, and a few others will dress up in Star Wars costumes. I expect Boba Fett to make an appearance, along with at least two stormtroopers. Should be a fun event!

In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article, sociologist Patricia Leavy argues, “let’s give student researchers the credit they deserve.” She notes,

Just as college students often serve as research samples because they are convenient populations for academic researchers, so too do students routinely serve as research assistants and co-authors. Credit and compensation is typically attributed to student collaborators based on individual negotiations with faculty mentors. In other words, whether the student is listed as a research assistant or a co-author, whether the student is listed as the lead author or a secondary author, or how the student’s contribution is both defined and monetarily compensated (especially with a work such as a book) is based on whatever arrangement the student strikes with the researcher (who is usually the student’s professor)…

Credit and compensation should be based on the level of collaboration and how much each collaborator has contributed to the final product; it should not be based on career level. It really is that simple.

Indeed!

The Atlantic‘s CityLab website has an interesting article: “Why Are Little Kids in Japan So Independent?” Here in the Unites States some call children who are allowed to travel and/or play without much adult supervision “free-range kids.” As a child growing up in the 1970s I remember a time when “free-range kids” were just “kids.” I wonder if the U.S. can ever return to that state…

One of my former colleagues in the University of Wisconsin system has posted an interesting article to the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ (AAC&U) LEAP Challenge Blog. Check out his “Learning Through Friendship” reflection. LEAP, by the way, stands for Liberal Education and America’s Promise, an AAC&U national public advocacy and campus action initiative. I should think more about how I can use LEAP in strategic planning for the college.

Last summer I posted an article about a short presentation I developed for first year students about the “keys to academic success.” This week I used the guide for the first time at SJSU, but revised it. Here is the new structure of advice to students:

1. Study Smarter: How you study changes; it’s all about quality, not quantity.
2. Time Management: There is a seismic shift from having a schedule planned for you to making your own schedule. Consider The Three T system:
   1. Triage: Determine priority of tasks
   2. Track: System for getting things done [a to-do list process; a great resource is rememberthemilk.com and its apps]
   3. Trace: Establish good habits and patterns
3. Navigation 1: General Networking. University is a bureaucracy, but there is navigation assistance. Talk with classmates. Talk with resident advisors. Use campus services, like the college advising centers.
4. Navigation 2: Professors. Learn how to decipher professors’ demands, and then select the best strategies to meet them. This is about studying smarter (point 1) and also being proactive: go talk to professors!

I also encourage students to read the book College Rules! How to Study, Survive, and Succeed in College [Sherrie Nist-Olejnik and Jodi Patrick Holschuh, authors. Ten Speed Press, 3^rd edition.] I begin to wrap up the presentation by reading the last paragraph in College Rules!:

“While in college, think about gaining the following skills – thinking critically, writing persuasively, problem solving effectively, and speaking convincingly. If you can develop these competencies over the next four (or five) years, you are ready to learn for a lifetime. These are also likely the skills that will help you land (and keep) your dream job.”

I then conclude by telling the students: “college is serious business, but enjoy it too. Have fun!”

In a blog post from my first year as a new dean I referenced technorealism:

“In this heady age of rapid technological change, we all struggle to maintain our bearings. The developments that unfold each day in communications and computing can be thrilling and disorienting. One understandable reaction is to wonder: Are these changes good or bad? Should we welcome or fear them? The answer is both.”

My technorealism post popped into mind today while reading an online article by the chair of the Political Science department here at SJSU, “Our love of technology risks becoming a quiet conspiracy against ourselves.” Lawrence Quill wonders “why so many people outside the charmed circle of technology innovators in Silicon Valley seem willing to embrace its vision – especially when it undermines something as fundamental as the liberal democratic right to personal privacy,” and muses about how elements of the dystopian vision in Dave Eggers’ book The Circle are viewed as inevitable by some current politicians. We need to have a more critical engagement with technology innovation.

The Circle is the 2015 common reading selection at SJSU, and activities include talks by faculty members in Psychology and Communication Studies. Maybe a student will be motivated to launch technorealism 2.0!