Today should be my niece Margo’s wedding. The big wedding plans were pared down to something small and intimidate with immediate family. The small wedding plans were cancelled when her parents (my brother and his wife), couldn’t responsibly travel to be there. Margo is a nurse and she understands the risks and responsibilities. I realizeContinue reading “April 24 Day 47: Lost Joys”
Category Archives: community
April 21 Day 44: Conjectured Cause for this Pause
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”
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.
April 9 Day 32: Confession Edition
1) I like to wear my heated Narwhal slippers during class.2) I wear pants during Zoom meetings but often they are things I should have thrown out years ago–too short, too tight, too loose, or too many holes. Ditto for undergarments. What is worn under the desk, stays under the desk.3) We say we areContinue reading “April 9 Day 32: Confession Edition”
April 8 Day 31: A New Hope
Today was the first time I felt ready and fully prepare for class (I even took time out to have lunch with my family beforehand!) Not sure what is different—maybe it’s me being more prepared, maybe it’s them being more used to online interaction, or maybe it’s some combination of the two. Whatever it is,Continue reading “April 8 Day 31: A New Hope”
April 6 Day 29: Zoom Frustrations Again
How did the Zoom settings change again? Videos that were purposely public now require authentication of the user to watch. And I couldn’t share my iPad screen today (something I have been doing for over a year. It wouldn’t even occur to me to check something that is so second nature.) I figured it allContinue reading “April 6 Day 29: Zoom Frustrations Again”
April 5 Day 28: Sweet Dreams to All
Can it really be only 28 days ago that UW started online-only classes for the winter quarter? It feels like a lifetime ago. It’s late. I’m mostly ready for tomorrow and I need sleep. So good night all. Sweet dreams. May tomorrow bring unexpected joys—because we all need a little sunshine right now.
April 4 Days 26-27: I Believe in Academic Freedom
I hear a lot of certainty about the “right way” to approach online teaching in this crisis. That makes me nervous. Opinions are being presented as fact. What if I chose to do something differently—either because it works well for my style or I see it fills a need for my students? Will I be judged poorly because I was not following recommended guidelines?
March 31 Day 23: Thinking Forward
What will teaching look like when our “splendid isolation” is complete? As professionals, we are learning to be more flexible, more forgiving, and more humane.
Math Belongs to All of Us 