I want to share a recent NPR story about how employers expect applicants to have moved beyond the paper resume. The interesting thing is that I don't think this is true in the teaching field. When I go to school district websites to look for job openings, most of what we must submit is in hard-copy, such as a six page common application for Pima County schools which is distributed as a downloadable .pdf file. Without a full version of Adobe Acrobat, an applicant must print the form and then either type it on a typewriter (and, seriously, who has one of those anymore?) or hand write it. And I don't know about any of you out there, but my handwriting just gets worse and worse as I become more dependent on typing.
At any rate, this story confirmed to me as an English teacher that I do need to have students publish online and become part of online communities. We need to have conversations about internet legacies and the rules of engagement online. Students need to create online profiles and learn to market themselves. There are definitely risks with this type of online activity, but it seems to me that we need to find creative ways to deal with these risks and to create classroom communities where students learn to support each other in these endeavors.
Hey, I checked out your blogspot. Damn! it's a trap! Can't we just use email?
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