Blogs

On Monday our authors discussed some of the things that they think would be great gifts for grad students. Today, the rest of our authors give their suggestions on even more gifts for grad students. Grad students can always use more Amazon credit. You may also consider purchasing a subscription to Amazon Student Prime to get free two day shipping and access to Amazon's streaming content.For those networking grad students in your life, a leather portfolio is always a good idea. They’re helpful for meeting on campus, conferences, and just looking like an all-around professional. Plus, you can find a portfolio to meet all price points from $15 online all the way to a couple hundred dollars if you’re looking to really spoil someone. And a unique suggestion is to donate in their name. For any man or woman of letters, giving the gift of literacy is a great way to honor his or her work. Also consider the National Writing Project, which seeks to impact literacy K-16. Warmest holiday cheers from GradHacker!

I spent one night having drinks with the late Christopher Hitchens, and it was a night I'll never forget.

Is a free textbook a good deal?

Looking forward to reading about your favorite nonfiction books of 2011. Without exception, every book in my list was purchased from Amazon as an audiobook (through Audible) or a Kindle e-book.

Teachable moments are sometimes incredibly ironic. Last week, when leading a discussion on feminist criticism for a literary theory class, I began by asking my students what questions they might pose when taking a feminist approach to a fictional text. I am often met with an awkward silence at the beginning of a lesson, and so, as usual, I waited next to the chalkboard for someone to respond rather than providing an answer for them. One of my male students finally said angrily, “I feel like you’re mocking us when you stand there waiting for an answer. You look sardonic.”

Microsoft launched a new social network for students last week: So.cl. Is it time to declare "peak social"? Or at least "peak social networks"?

I'm in the process of reading William Morris's 1896 utopian novel "News from Nowhere", of which I'm sure I'll have more to say in a bit.

Efficiency is important. Being more efficient usually means that you have more time. Having more time generally allows additional space for innovation, planning, conversing, thinking, creativity, etc. Technology can be instrumental in making us more efficient. For Student Affairs professionals, efficiency is something that we can usually increase.