So far, in these posts, I have mostly discussed tech tools or Blackboard features that I like, think are useful, and use with various frequency. In this post, I want to turn the tables and talk about the tools and features I don’t like, the tools I don’t use, either because I think they impede[…]
Remember when metacognition was going to be the theme for the semester (year?) and we all got a free book (raise your hands, how many of you read it??)? And then the world pandemic hit and our priorities shifted to making to the end of the term on remote instruction. And now, after pushing Summer[…]
Shannon and I, that is. We decided to send out a few quick tips regarding moving from remote instruction to online teaching. Here goes: I would also like to provide a couple of resources for those of us looking for ideas and inspiration. The first one is The K. Patricia Cross Academy. They have a[…]
I read somewhere (and for the life of me I can’t remember where and I have too much to grade this week to look it up) that a good idea to help students learn is to generate a unifying theme for your students, a grand narrative of the course, so they can see that there[…]
Back in the days of the Great MOOC Craze [periodic reminder that there are no good reasons to jump on every Gates-funded bandwagon], I took a MOOC titled Learning How to Learn. I can honestly say that it completely changed my perspective on how I do my job, teaching, grading, designing. I passed it too![…]
Anyone who follows the current pedagogical discussions in higher education has encountered the vilification of the lecture. It’s pretentious (the much-reviled stereotype of the sage on stage), it’s boring, it’s passive, it’s anti-learning. It’s not too often that one comes across a research-based, full-throated defence of the lecture. Such is the book I want to[…]
First off, we’re all stressed out, and this Tik Tok of Gloria Gaynor washing her hands for 19 seconds while singing I Will Survive is EVERYTHING. Don’t say I never give you anything nice. [Tik Tok is generally bad but every once in a while, there’s a stroke of genius.] Obviously, we all have a[…]
But there is this pandemic thing. What do we do if the college has to close because of the COVID-19? We know quite a few campuses have already closed and others are taking measures in case they have to. In this post, I do not want to discuss what our institutional response should be. You[…]
I am one of those people who like to maker her work simpler and more streamlined, hence my elation at the discovery of the date management tool in Blackboard, which I posted about in an earlier post. The second key tool I use to streamline my workflow in Blackboard is the column organization page, accessed[…]
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a designer. This is not my field. I’m just a community college prof trying to use best practice to the best of my abilities. In this post, I want to showcase some of the tools that I use the most commonly with respect to design. Again, I make no claim[…]