Friday Focus: Christopher Sessums
Today’s recommended blog: Christopher Sessums.
Although his blog has been rather quiet lately (apparently his microblog is going strong if you need a quick fix), a timely post today reminded me that Christopher Sessums’ blog has been a regular stop of mine for quite a while. The Director of the Office for Distance Education at the University of Florida, Sessums’ blog is well-balanced in two important ways: between substantive, even formalish posts and (quality) link fests, and between enthusiasm for interesting ideas and a healthy amount of skepticism. Sessums is a little bit Edupunk and a little bit, well, something else. You will find Nietzsche and Pete Townsend comfortably inhabiting a single post. He’s keenly interested in participatory media/culture and social software, community of practice theory, and a host of other ideas that are dear to me. He’s not afraid to talk about the PLE. He reads poetry and is familiar with one of my favorite Dick Hugo books, recognizing that many books that aren’t about education or edtech have a lot to teach us. I don’t remember how I discovered Sessums… maybe through a link from Brian Lamb? Whoever it was, thanks. That gift to me is one I can pass on.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Good call; I think that Chris’ blog is one of the more literate blogs I read, which is always a plus. It’s also one of the few edtech blogs that includes citations to peer-reviewed literature in most posts. Blogs have such (all-too-often unrealized) potential to bridge scholarship and practice–Chris’ blog is a good example of how it’s done (Lila Efimova’s blog is another that comes to mind).
October 13th, 2008 at 11:39 am
That’s a good point. While there are limits to how much value-add I find in peer-reviewed lit, it is certainly appreciated! Lila’s blog is in my reader too… it would definitely be a worthy Friday Focus subject.