What have you been reading for inspiration lately? None of us needs additional work to do, but I find that I do need additional fuel. Reading books and articles together with others in my field and across fields can sometimes transform an onerous process into something energizing and also allow space to process some challenging ideas and recommendations.
How do I save my books and articles to be read… someday?
Since I already use Zotero to organize the readings that are less optional and also share sources with others, I just add a <README alanier> tag to items I am adding to my list. I also often add them to a project called “Research Writing Amanda” in Asana, my preferred task management app. To be honest, I don’t work through that README list very quickly, but it allows me to retain some agency and keep track of current topics when it is all too easy to let the everyday effort of teaching and program administration take over my entire brain and schedule.
Would you like to join a virtual reading group?
For students and faculty in the MAFLT Network, we have a Zotero Group with collections for each course and other topics that have been popular and valuable among our teacher-learners.
The easiest way to join is to create an account on Zotero and then follow me. You will see a list of groups I manage and can request to join. You can also contact me and ask for an invitation:
If you are in the MAFLT Network and think you should have access to the Zotero Group, search your MSU email for an invitation or send me a request via Teams.
Collections on current topics for a form of digital social reading, primarily for alumni, colleagues at other institutions, and others in my wider network.
What would you like to read socially?
Upvote, downvote, add
- Advocacy for Language Education
- Digital Literacy and AI
- Language Teacher Pipeline
- VITAL Faculty (on non-traditional PhD career pathways)
- Enneagram Exploration (for personal growth and resilience)
Interested in Zotero?
If you are looking for citation management software or want some tips for using Zotero (https://www.zotero.org) to access this library or for your own reading and writing, take a look at this brief guide. You can copy items to your own Zotero library by clicking and dragging them into your preferred folders.
