TAA member Dr. Nicole Dillard, an Emerging Technology Fellow at the University of Minnesota, was recently interviewed as part of the Extra Points Blog series where she shared insights into her work with Generative AI (GAI) and how it’s shaping the future of education and workforce development. Congratulations, Nicole!
2025 TAA Conference Bookstore Featured Book: ‘Neoclassical Physics’
Neoclassical Physics by Mark A Cunningham is an introductory text in which physics concepts are introduced as a means of understanding experimental observations, not as a sequential list of facts to be memorized. The book is structured around the key scientific discoveries that led to much of our current understanding of the universe. Numerous exercises are provided that utilize Mathematica software to help students explore how the language of mathematics is used to describe physical phenomena. Published by Springer.
Trying to Organize Your Work? A Content Curator Can Help
By Sierra Pawlak
During the November 27, 2024 TAA Conversation Circle, Janet Salmons, co-moderator and qualitative methodologist, shared an analogy of what she meant by the term “content curation” in the context of her work:
“If you go to an Art Museum, the curator doesn’t just hang all the stuff. They make sense of it. Like, ‘Oh, okay, here’s these George O’keefe paintings, and here are the Kachinas that were depicted in the painting,’ the artifacts and the history and the social context. So, I’m not just walking through a whole bunch of different pieces, but I’ve got something that’s making sense of it and looking for themes and pulling in other context that would help to build more meaning around it. That was the inspiration I had for using that term.”
Do Your Publishing Research; Then Follow It
By John Bond
I have spoken to a fair share of happy authors over the years. Conversely, I have spoken with some disenchanted ones. They may have submitted their book idea (or whole manuscript) to several publishers and gotten no offer of publication. Also, some authors may submit a manuscript they labored over to a peer review journal and gotten nothing but the dreaded reject. No doubt this is a disheartening experience. It can hurt.
2025 TAA Conference Bookstore Featured Book, ‘Business and Professional Communication Playbook’
Business and Professional Communication Playbook, by Michelle T. Violanti and Stephanie Kelly, teaches students the essentials of business communication and necessary skillset that employers look for today. The authors use engaging examples, provide tips on how to carry yourself professionally, and incorporate real-life experiences from recent graduates to teach students how to communicate like a professional through focused, bite-sized chapters. Published by SAGE.
Busy TAA People: Steven Barkan Publishes Updated Edition of Sociology Textbook
TAA member Steven Barkan, a retired professor of sociology at the University of Maine, recently published an updated edition of his textbook, Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Brief Edition Version 4.0 (FlatWorld, 2025). This update includes a new “Critical Thinking About the Media” feature that discusses contemporary news or social media to stimulate analysis and class discussion and incorporates over 30 embedded hyperlinks to streaming videos to enrich online and hybrid courses. Congratulations, Steven!