Random Things to Inspire: From bibliophiles to Grammarly

by Lara Sanderson

So another month has slipped by and its time for another RTtI. Inspiration comes from different places for everyone - often looking out the window can help - reading this blog may also generate some creative juices (so humble eh?). This month's RTtI is another two parter - this first part is all about books or rather stuff to tempt that inner bibliophile that I know has been struggling to emerge from the 'reading for research only' pile. 
The second part explores the randomly useful grammar checker, Grammarly.

This smallish series is randomly interesting BUT this website is damn interesting! (published at random times!). They have built up a largish archive of short stories that are true and possibly useful for quiz nights?! Best of all, you can listen to them - so you can keep up that multitasking, typing/reading/listening function that comes built in with research experience! 

If you are in serious want of actual books (not just e-books or maybe e-books) but you're not sure or you've been in research reading for so long you wouldn't know your John Donne from your John Green, GoodReads is the place to go - also its a useful research tool as well in that other GoodReads Readers often post comparative book suggestions e.g. when I looked at Alphonse Daudet someone suggested another author Anatole Broyard - AB is way better than AD for those playing at home, good call GR Commenter.

GRAMMARLY.

As an aside but maybe a RTtI  or maybe its antithesis? A quick review of Grammarly.

Aaah Grammarly, I succumbed to the social media pop-up, such shame! I am not afraid to admit I suck at editing my own work. I am partially blind and find editing large chunks of my own work difficult - I often think I have written a perfectly good sentence only to find out later that I have missed a linking or integral.....(add your own here). So I thought I would give Grammarly a crack.

Firstly I want to stress that Grammarly is a TOOL that you can use as a part of your thesis toolbox it is NOT the be all and end all. Editing with beta readers and other unwitting people is also a benefit (mainly because they are human). Grammarly is not the magic do my-thesis-for-me wand, though if you have one of those I'm open to any gifts! In fact it can lead you down the wrong path if you're not careful. There are many reviews, a lot good, a few not. I'm on the fence.

I said this is going to be short because you can actually get a free trial to try it out for yourself and I'm all for the inquiry based learning, so just a few observations then. It has different grammar settings e.g. informal and such. I placed mine to formal academic, this meant that all my personal pronouns were highlighted. Its a bit like spell check stuck in Americanese you have to keep ignoring all the suggestions for added z's only a lot more work. 

 

I have an old (but mainly reliable) version of Word so the "you might have plagiarised there" is an interesting aspect of Grammarly. Most of the time it was soooo sooo very wrong - with only one correct citing of a work which had been cited properly (ugh).

The overuse of a word function was interesting and in someways comforting - comments like you have used Education too much consider revising were comforting because my PhD is in Education I would hope I had used the word at least a bit! 

So final judgement for Grammarly - its a tool and like all tools, they can be useful if you understand how, when, and where to use them....see I told you - fence sitter!

Have you used Grammarly? What are your thoughts? What about your favourite non-research book at the moment? Or do you have a favourite book blog that you want to share?

Postcard from Darwin

by Sylvia Robertson

Water garden MGD©.jpg By MGDboston

I am sitting working in a tropical rainforest garden. At 34 degrees and near 100% humidity, my brain is fizzing. Distraction is inevitable so I will scribble something about my PhD experience to date.

I am one of those annoyingly passionate, conscientious mature-age students. I can’t leave learning alone. I graduated with a BA in philosophy and English literature in 1982 and reluctantly left university to attend Teachers College. With some reservations, I began teaching for three years to satisfy the requirements of my bond. Three turned into thirty years across Wellington, Sydney, and London. I taught all primary and intermediate years, and held several leadership positions. I loved teaching. It allowed me to keep learning and discovering. Children present you with rich perspectives on all things from forked tongue lizards to fantasy friends. While teaching in London and Sydney and still addicted to learning, I completed two thirds of a Masters in sociolinguistics and educational leadership. Back home, I finished the Masters in Education and began my PhD.

Now I feel somewhat guilty about the luxury of ‘just’ being a student. After working fulltime, raising two kids and the effort involved in transitioning countries and cultures, I have almost total control over how I choose to spend my time. If this project fails, I will only have myself to blame but if it succeeds, it will be because I chose to make it happen. This is powerful stuff after being at the beck and call of others for years. Intellectual freedom, I suppose, in that I don’t have to conform too much to the thinking and direction of others. Incredibly humbling, I think, as we tiptoe in the footprints of giants who have grappled with similar issues since the dawn of time. Also incredibly humbling, in that I am working with real people and the issues they face in often-difficult contemporary contexts. 

There have been challenges. The skills you bring from the work place are very useful – time management not the least. However, Humanities in the late seventies did not prepare me for studying with technology. When I started we had microfiche. Despite surviving a technology rich workplace nothing has prepared me for EndNote! But I have found the support of university staff and my colleagues invaluable. And at my age you can get away with asking really dumb questions!

Lastly, if you are contemplating this – do it. Not only will you get to reflect on years of work experience and relationships but you will learn about yourself as well. Make the most of every precious minute but be kind to yourself as well. This is also hard work.