"As I Radiate Thought, I Let off Pure Energy..."
I'm glad to know from the comments on the last post that I am not the only one who does not like buying plane tickets, but I just purchased ours. We're flying to Phoenix, and the price is good. We might be pressed for time in some spots, but Da Man will see lots of desert, southern Colorado, and Four Corners. I'll get to go through Santa Fe and Navajo land. So, there will be something new for us both. I plan to get over the annoyance with ticket buying soon so that I can look forward to the newness of the trip and being with Da Man again. I think I need to break out my copy of Cather's Song of the Lark, a book I remember loving (read it in Women Writers as an undergraduate senior). It will probably go on my deserted island list once I read it again.

Today, we had a fantastic presentation for our professional and technical writing students, speakers from United Technologies. I was thrilled because they discussed how, when it comes to hiring interns and employees, they want to see passion and energy. They want students who really are committed to writing, and who show that commitment by having written whenever they had the opportunity to write. To write for the school newspaper or local organization. I challenged students (and, yes, I did use that verb) to contact five organizations when they are home this summer and offer to write something, a newsletter article or a press release. Small nonprofits would love that, as would a small business. And the student/writer ends up with clips, contacts, and experience.

But one incredibly interesting thing happened at the end. According to one of the speakers, someone with lots of experience in corporate writing cultures, said that he has been told that the idea of people going to websites and pulling information off of them is on the way out. Instead, technologies like blogging (and things like news aggregators, too, I think), where there is more interaction with digital space, more give and take, are where things are headed. Of course, I smiled, as did a couple of my students who took my argumentation course where we discussed blogging. He even said that he wanted applicants who have experience working with digital spaces and posting information online. I was so glad to hear that because I have some students who do not understand why I care about the format in which they email essays to me or whether they post information to the right spot on Blackboard. I tell them that it's a skill that employers want to see, and now I have some concrete evidence for that (not that I didn't have it before).

And I also asked, when it came to clips and writing samples, if a well-written blog could help, and he said it could. We all know bloggers who have gotten book deals or positive attention and jobs through their writing. I've gotten a couple of speaking engagements and publications from this. And, for those younger writers who do not have publications, it's good to know that a blog might be a way to get positive public attention and experience. I knew that was true, but confirmation always helps.

Speaking of students, I mentioned a couple of days ago that working with students this week pulled me out of my bad mood from the weekend. So true. I've had several conferences with students about revisions and other projects, and even if the student was not happy about a grade, I think we had good discussions that revealed some positive directions. At the very least, I felt like students were getting what they needed to get. They may not agree or like it, but they heard and understood it. And registration just started on Tuesday, and my argumentation class has nine students already. I'm quite happy about that, as we're not even halfway done yet. And there are three in my summer course, and one student at the meeting today said she would be there, too. If I get five, I get paid more, but these four would be a great group that would make it almost effortless.
- posted by Nels @ 3:55 PM | | | Link |