It’s been seven days since any post appeared in MAA’s Online Teaching and Distance Learning Forum. I conjecture a few reasons for the decline. The urgency has abated. All the decisions that needed to be made about “how” to transition to emergency remote teaching have been made. New information only makes us doubt our choices.Continue reading “April 21 Day 44: Conjectured Cause for this Pause”
Monthly Archives: April 2020
Why this? Why now?
I started journaling the day after the announcement that the University of Washington’s three campus’s classes would suspend face-to-face interactions and go online. Mostly posts were on Facebook. Some were on MAA Connect, the Mathematical Association of America’s member platform. Maybe it’s because I was in the leading edge of the emergency transition. Maybe itsContinue reading “Why this? Why now?”
April 20 Day 43: Whiteboarding it
Today I had a positive interaction with my precalculus students and the shared whiteboard in Zoom. We were using transformations to graph basic functions. Starting with a simple power function, they individually contributed by computing points, plotting them on the axes provided, and connecting the dots. The same process was repeated with a related butContinue reading “April 20 Day 43: Whiteboarding it”
April 18 Day 41: Change of Scenery
I needed a change of scenery today. So I chose to grade student work downstairs in the family room rather than upstairs in the study. I really know how to live on the edge….
April 17 Day 40: COVID Disruption to Scholarship
Three of ten weeks in Spring quarter are done. I am choosing engagement and humanity over coverage — so I’m a little behind. This Spring more than ever I dread the joyous announcements of folks finishing their Spring semester many weeks before our quarter ends. After a three hour reappointment zoom meeting, I am thinkingContinue reading “April 17 Day 40: COVID Disruption to Scholarship”
April 16 Day 38-39: No Visual Cues
I miss my students. Today I had a meeting with three students doing a reading course. We all know each other and have shared several classes together. The interaction online is easy—not exactly like being in the same room but we trust each other enough to make mistakes and not worry about what we say.Continue reading “April 16 Day 38-39: No Visual Cues”
April 14 Day 37: Work-Life Balance?
There is no separation from work and the rest of life when work is happening at home. There are no physical or visual cues that says “you can turn off now.”
April 13 Day 36: Don’t Call it Online Teaching
I was struck by the words of a colleague today. He said “this isn’t online teaching, this is emergency teaching” and he is absolutely right. There was no plan, no training, no intentional curriculum development—there was only a global health crisis. We responded because we had no choice. Every day, faculty, students, and staff battleContinue reading “April 13 Day 36: Don’t Call it Online Teaching”
April 11 Day 34: A Duchenne Smile
Weekend Edition. This morning I made a foray to Trader Joe’s in my new Corona mask. They were letting about 30 people into the store at a time. I think more of us were waiting outside at socially respectable distances than were actually inside shopping. There we were, venturing out and craving human contact…but everyoneContinue reading “April 11 Day 34: A Duchenne Smile”
April 10 Day 33: On the MAA Recommendations for COVID-19 Response
Sometimes we get to contribute to meaningful work.
Math Belongs to All of Us 