It’s Wednesday the traditional hump day of the week. By the title of this post, it is also the 45th day since I started emergency remote teaching. Now June 5, the last day of instruction for the University of Washington not including final exam week, is 45 days in the future. This moment marks theContinue reading “April 22 Day 45: Hump Day in a Big Way”
Category Archives: Pandemic
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 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 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”
Math Belongs to All of Us 