Category: Blog

Ok, I’ll bite: First take with the new NotebookLM infographic feature: Surprising? Sure. Slop? Yes. Biased and mostly useless? Definitely. First, context: I have a Notebook called “Remi’s Annotation Research” that contains 46 sources. It’s all my original scholarship, articles and chapters and posts and notes, from nearly a decade (but not, intentionally, my latest…

Yes, some discrete “students don’t read” observations are true. And, this discourse is easily weaponized with harmful implications. Perpetuating “students don’t read” amplifies deficit narratives about learners’ academic practices and intellectual pursuits, and whether those learners are in kindergarten or in college. Perpetuating “students don’t read” disrespects the professionalism and dedication of educators, across disciplines and…

Highlights of my academic year related to generative AI: Yes, I read the Times article “Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It.” And yes, I have thoughts. (Before I begin, please know I’m a big fan of Kashmir Hill who wrote this article, and I recommend her excellent book about privacy.)…

For the third year in a row, my end-of-year charitable contributions included all the royalties I earned in 2024 through book sales. Annotation, my first book with MIT Press, was published in April of 2021; about eighteen-months later, I started what’s now become an annual practice. It’s a privilege that one concrete outcome of my…

“A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary.” – Gloria Anzaldúa I wrote Gloria Anzaldúa’s phrase on the border wall at Playas de Tijuana. Then I photographed my annotation. The image is now my book’s cover. As a scholar of annotation, what drew me to the…

If you enjoy my writing about annotation, read my latest book Re/Marks on Power: How Annotation Inscribes History, Literacy, and Justice. Update 11/23/25: NotebookLM Infographics: Ultraprocessed, Biased Slop How might educators use NotebookLM? Playing with Google’s “personalized AI research assistant,” I have five suggestions. If you’re unfamiliar with NotebookLM, it’s received quite a bit of attention…

I’ve been teaching—with kids and adults, in schools and online—since 2005. But not this academic year. As the new year starts, ten provocations about education are on my mind. Perhaps one will resonate with you. 1️⃣ Joy and curiosity are more effective motivators than penalty or competition—and that’s true for both students and educators. 2️⃣…

Family Announcement! I’m delighted to share that everyone in our family—me, Ebony, and young Ade—will soon be starting at new schools in North Carolina. A few months ago, Ebony accepted an invitation to join the faculty at Wake Forest University. Starting this fall, she’ll be an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Fiction in the Department…

Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed a new year-end tradition: Increasing my charitable giving by donating my book royalties. This post is about celebrating and uplifting the good work of amazing people and organizations. So I’ll shelve my commentary about the fact that academic authors are seldom paid for the words we write. And…

Update: Pre-order my latest book Re/Marks on Power: How Annotation Inscribes History, Literacy, and Justice today. Bard, Claude, and ChatGPT walk into a bar. Start of a bad joke. Make it a library. And rather than ordering drinks, let’s say they’re “reading” and responding to books. That’s the basic premise of what became a rather…