Weekly Reader

Are You Approachable?
"When I interview the stakeholders on the strengths and gaps of the leaders I work with, it’s not unusual for me to hear that the peers and direct reports may see that leader as “aloof” or unapproachable. The fact that they may be in senior management can compound the issue, as there is always that hierarchical block that may keep employees away." -- Mary Jo Asmus, Smart Blog on Leadership, 6/4/14

The Everything Library
"I’ve had a couple of my buttons pushed recently. (Yes, it is known to happen. I am practically an accordion. Press my buttons and watch me swell with indignation and make noise.) One was a discussion on a library Listserv that I haven’t been participating in regularly, so I missed much of the texture of the conversation but couldn’t resist chiming in."-- Barbara Fister, Library Babel Fish, 6/3/14

Mr. Tiger Love at Last
"Readers of Calling Caldecott — and all my students — will understand my joy at hearing the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards announced Saturday. FINALLY some award love for Mr. Tiger Goes Wild! You can read the press release and reviews of the winning books here. We’ll put up photos from the announcement soon and you can read the tweets here." -- Lolly Robinson, Lolly's Classroom, 6/2/14

Is All this Student Data Changing the Way Teacher's Teach
"With so much access to student data these days, teachers are experimenting with different tactics, and figuring out what’s working and what’s not. As with most scenarios using education technology, it’s a mixed bag. But questions of privacy aside, how it’s used depends on a variety of factors in each school and in each teacher’s classroom. Some teachers are embracing student data to inform their teaching, while others believe there’s a risk of an over-reliance on hard numbers that doesn’t take into account the human factor." -- Francesca Segrè, MindShift, 6/2/14

Open Thread Wednesday: Twitter Tools for Summer
"It’s no secret that many of us at ProfHacker are big fans of Twitter, using it for everything from conferences to classes to bot-making to, yes, posting pictures of our cats. Several ProfHackers have shared their favorite tools and hacks for working with Twitter: Natalie gathered several of them in her recent retrospective post." -- Anastasia Salter, ProfHacker, 5/28/14

What Did You Eat for Breakfast?
"What you eat for breakfast may not merit space on your C.V, but a new website called Academic Breakfast is based on the idea that how professors start their days matters. The website invites academics to post a photograph of their breakfast, and to answer six quick questions: where they live, their institution, their job, their research in five words, their breakfast in five words, and their food philosophy in 10 words." -- Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed News, 6/2/14