Publishers do a wonderful job of obtaining reviews for our work. I don’t know how I would manage without these underpaid (in my view) but hard-working people. Still, nothing beats meeting people face-to-face to discuss their reactions to your books. Just about one year ago (wow, time flies), I met with some fabulous and engaged students and faculty at College of the Canyons to talk about Discovering Biological Psychology. One of the ideas we implemented out of that discussion was the incorporation of a coloring book feature into our Student Study Guide for the second edition.
Last Monday, I met with Skirmantas Janusonis of the University of California Santa Barbara to hear his reaction to the second edition. It was obvious from our discussion that Skirmantas is a gifted and enthusiastic teacher–his major concern is that students see the “beauty” of the nervous system. He had some great suggestions for new art–glad I brought Mr. F, my art consultant, along on the trip. I even got a tour of the lab, which was great fun!
One of the other practical suggestions coming out of our conversation was the need of instructors to have video content at their fingertips. Perfect timing–As I’m revising the Instructor’s Manual, I’m going to be able to incorporate some suggested videos. At Karen’s insistence, I’m also going to include some suggestions for using Twitter and other social media in the classroom. If you have any other suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them!
