Defining Future Ready by reflecting on the past

Confession: I’m a bit of a hoarder. I’ve kept every email, text message, and document I’ve ever written.  It’s probably the journalist in me. Or it’s being the daughter of two antique collectors and the granddaughter of a collector of everything. 

Yet quite often, calling on history can help us make more informed decisions about the present. 

As I reflected on the structure of this article, my archived files got some exercise as I reflected on the origins of Future Ready Librarians® and why the journey we took to create the program has never been more important than today. …Read More

Accessible text message-based courses

Artist is a pioneer in accessible text message-based courses, they believe that they are uniquely suited to make a positive impact in this difficult time. As a result, effective immediately, Artist is making their platform available free-of-charge to all professors, teachers, and institutions affected by COVID-19.

More Information on the Artist Website

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Mobs are born as word grows by text message

So-called “flash mobs” that form with the help of social technologies have become part bullying, part running of the bulls in Philadelphia as teenagers sprint through the streets, sometimes brawling and vandalizing, reports the New York Times. The flash-mob trend started innocently enough seven years ago as an act of performance art, where people linked through social-networking web sites and text messaging suddenly gathered on the streets for impromptu pillow fights in New York, group disco routines in London, and even a huge snowball fight in Washington. But these flash mobs have taken a more aggressive turn in Philly, where police on March 24 said they’ve had enough. They announced plans to step up enforcement of a curfew already on the books, as well as to hold parents legally responsible for their children’s actions. They are also considering making free transit passes for students invalid after 4 p.m., instead of 7 p.m., to limit teenagers’ ability to ride downtown. “This is bad decision making by a small group of young people who are doing silly but dangerous stuff,” Mayor Michael A. Nutter said. “We intend to do something about it immediately.” Flash mobs are not unique to Philadelphia, but they have been more frequent there than elsewhere. Philadelphia officials say they have begun getting help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to monitor social-media networks, and television and radio stations are helping to recruit hip-hop artists to make public service announcements imploring teenagers to end the practice…

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Professors, beware: Your nasty eMail could go viral

A Georgetown professor found out last week how fast the blogosphere can spread a rumor.
A Georgetown professor found out last week how fast the blogosphere can spread a rumor.

The prospect of an eMail bouncing to every corner of the internet has college professors measuring their words carefully after a New York University (NYU) professor’s acerbic eMail to a student went “viral” last month and drew worldwide attention.

Scott Galloway, clinical professor of marketing at NYU’s business school, responded to an eMail sent Feb. 9 by a student complaining that Galloway had dismissed him when he came to class an hour late.…Read More