Gingerbread house under construction. A different sort of build than I’ve been working on lately.
I didn’t get to my last weekly reflection for the year. It was a busy week just trying to wrap up the Blackboard course I was working on. That, and it was time for a break.
The direction of the course changed a couple of times and the focus near the end became organization, navigation and creating multiple pathways. So, I took some things out and added some things in. The organization piece is so important. I don’t think there is much consistency in Blackboard usage across the college and that is very frustrating for students.
I really wanted to have information on managing a course, things like setting a tone and being explicit about expectations. The intent is to take a more holistic approach beyond, how to use the tools.
Margaret and I are working on some sessions for the new year. It will be good to be working with people again. The two I’ve planned on my own tie back to the content in the Blackboard course mentioned above and Margaret and I will be drawing from out Lilly conference experiences for a joint session.
I thought about doing a year in review based on the weekly reflections but I think I’ll just enjoy my last little bit of time off instead. It was an ‘interesting’ time for sure. I think 2021 will still have us thinking on our feet because I believe that the sand is still shifting under them. I was excited about the possibilities that the big changes of 2020 presented but the change was too big, the team was too small and the timing was too quick. Still, we managed to pull a lot of resources together and we have some foundation to work with even if we have to rebuild some of the walls with whatever new changes are coming.