TAA member Micki M. Caskey is a Professor and academic author in the education and middle grades education writing disciplines.
Her most recent publications include Literature reviews in support of the middle level education research agenda (2018), Imagine a place: Stories from middle grades educators (2017), and The encyclopedia of middle grades education (2016). She has also published 8 other academic books and two other textbooks.
TAA member Joan Wink is Professor Emerita at California State University, Stanislaus and is both a textbook and academic author in the ESL, TESOL, curriculum & instruction, education, literacy, pedagogy, language acquisition, and critical pedagogy writing disciplines.
Her most recent publications include The Power of Story (2018) Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO, Critical Pedagogy: Notes from the Real World (2011, 4/e) Pearson, Teaching Passionately: What’s Love Got To Do With It? (2004) AllynBacon/Pearson, A Vision of Vygotsky (2002) AllynBacon/Pearson, and scores of academic refereed publications, years of presentations and keynotes, and her blog, WinkWorld, since 2002.
The TAA Writing Gym has officially opened its doors for the first time and we are excited to announce that 173 TAA members have committed to a six-week workout regimen in writing accountability.
From July 16 through August 26, TAA Writing Gym participants will be held accountable for their weekly writing goals by logging hours as they work on their individual writing projects. To support and encourage their progress, the gym provides weekly motivational writing classes, writing stations filled with exclusive TAA resources, and a listserv for communication with other gym members.
This week’s collection of articles from around the web start with some writing motivation including the question “Have you started writing yet?” and the discussion of writing productivity through a daily writing habit. There is additional advice on how to get your manuscript submitted, proofreading tips, and developing diversity in your reference lists. We close our list with other topics of interest, including what cannot be said in academia, new tools for open access research, quality concerns related to OER, and one college’s efforts to save on textbook costs.
According to Ayn Rand, “Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.” This week I encourage you to use your words, focus your mind, and move forward on your summer writing projects.
We’ve all seen some excellent videos (and some really awful ones) for instructional purposes. It’s no secret that video is a powerful medium for learning, but as with any technology, it should be used strategically, and done in a way that enhances the learning process.
During his “Video Creation for Textbook Authors & Instructors” presentation at the Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference in Santa Fe, Sasha Vodnik, author of video courses with lynda.com (aka LinkedIn Learning), shared his tips on what to include (and what to avoid) in your instructional videos.
In this age of electronic submissions and instant gratification, the simple courtesies of yesterday are sometimes lost in the speed of today’s processes. Regardless, most people agree that good manners never go out of style.
As a result, introducing your article with a well-written cover letter to the editor can be the catalyst to a favorable review and acceptance of your submission for publication. These tips can help you write a cover letter that sells your research to the journal editor.
