Matt Jadud

The best research mentors are those who help their students learn to be productive, obtain funding, publish good results, and do so without abusing the people around them. Just because it is academia should not mean that humane operating procedures don't apply. Sadly, there are plenty of examples (too many?) where abuse, negligence, or just plain poor management damage the lives and careers of would-be PhDs.

At my institution, the requirements for tenure and promotion are spelled out in the faculty handbook:

http://www.allegheny.edu/administration/dean/handbook.php

My teaching matters most, my research second, and my service to the institution and my community third. I have no idea whether writing for opensource.com "matters" in the eyes of a tenure and promotion committee. It is almost certainly the case that peer-reviewed publications matter and blogs don't. (That said, if FLOSS is to continue to play a role in my teaching, and if I want others to collaborate with, my writing here might be useful/valuable -- so... evaluating utility is a bit more complex in reality, but we'll ignore that for the moment.)

My work with the Arduino is part of a larger teaching and research context. I'm ultimately interested in programming language usability, as it blends my passions for computer science education research and programming languages. The Arduino is a physical manipulative that I can use to motivate both student learning of parallel programming as well as provide an authentic, resource-constrained space in which to explore VM and compiler technologies with colleagues and students.

So as a "scholarly activity," my work on developing and distributing language tools for the Arduino becomes a core part of both my teaching and my research. Because my institution is teaching- rather than research-focused (and collaborating with undergraduates on research often has a pedagogic quality to it), these things come together nicely. I would focus my energies differently if I were in a different institutional context.

That feels like a long non-answer. I think, however, that my work with students must, first and foremost, be excellent for me to remain at my institution. Maintaining active research and involving students in that work is necessary and good. What, however, is "good enough" in any given context is not something I'm able to easily define at the moment.

Hi Paul,

I believe our students are capable of great things. I don't mean to suggest you shouldn't expose them to everything and anything... I only suggest that when working with teachers or recommending tools that one is prepared to support the teacher and students fully.

It sounds like you're in a position to support your students well. In which case, you're able to provide positive educational experiences. When the technology gets in the way, that isn't a good thing.

Keep up the awesome work.