Full cup and a warm glow after some time learning and creating with colleagues.

Back at work this week. Monday we had a couple of meetings about hiring for the new Teaching and Learning Specialist. There are quite a few applicants.

In and around the meetings I picked up ‘Small Teaching Online’ by Flower Darby. She used a really good analogy and I had a small epiphany that spurred me to go and write some content in the Blackboard sampler course.  I have a good vision for it and I made some notes so on Monday next week I am going to dig in and work on content and start refining the design.  What I think was missing in my planning was the importance of explaining why best practices are best practices. I’ve read that the term ‘best practice’ stifles innovation but practically, you have to start with what works and innovate from there if necessary.

As I’ve already mentioned, I volunteered to host a morning radio show for the BCcampus Studio 20 conference.  For that I got a free pass to the conference. Hosting the show and interacting with the participants on the event site was even more fun than I expected. Tracy and I have a good rapport and Grant Potter made everything run seamlessly.

Sadly I missed the day one keynote because I had to see my surgeon (4 more weeks of immobility but I can practice bending my knee). Each day had a theme,  Day 1: Vision, Day 2: Voice, and Day 3: Active Learning. I got something out of each day and was feeling quite rejuvenated by the end.  The student panel on day three was fantastic. It was a diverse panel  and they shared their experiences of being students in general, and through the pivot. I am even more determined to continue spreading the word of kindness and flexibility with assessments after listening to them. For example,  one trans student in a wheelchair(Aaron – who is going to make a great teacher)  was describing having to write a 500 word timed answer – he types slowly as his fingers sometimes dislocate – he knew the answers and could literally scream them at the screen (paraphrasing) but still failed the exam because he couldn’t type it out. We can do better for all students. One more big takeaway that relates to accessibility was our keynote presenter Arley who described each of the images used in her presentation. It took nothing away from the content and it was like having an audio alt tag – fantastic. I think doing this would also make one think very carefully when choosing images for a presentation.

It was a very active event with opportunities to draw, make recordings, and collaborate. I was shocked that I could learn how to draw a 3D eye in such a short period of time. Participants were invited to share their creations to a SPLOT and it was cool to see the contributions coming in.

From etug last week I have a few browser windows open:

The KPU Open resources catalogue that includes ‘How to Learn online’ and ‘Academic Integrity’.

Capilano U’s ‘Student Digital Ambassador‘ Built by students for students

UBC’s Open for Learning Challenge

Teaching Without Walls from TRU

I had some email exchanges with Mike and Albert around Ultra and I shared this upcoming event with faculty: Care in Crisis: A Crisis of Care presented by Brenna Clark Gray of TRU. I found out the registration link wasn’t working when several faculty who had tried to sign up emailed me about it. I think there is an appetite for this conversation.

“They” say that you can’t pour from an empty cup, and  it’s true. I am re-filled and I have a lot of ideas to put into practice next week as I work on the Blackboard course for instructors.

This is Joey. He lives at the Views, a long term care facility, and is a good friend to my mother-in-law. Something about his posture seemed fitting today.

I took most of the week as sick days but allowed myself 4.5 hours to work to ease back in. I expect to work next week and I also have  Studio 20 going on. Since I volunteered to host a radio show on Wednesday morning I got a free pass for the event. Even better – my co-host/DJ buddy is Tracy Roberts. I imagine we’ll have a little fun with that. Studio20  looks awesome and it’s suggested that I have some coloured markers and paper ready so I am in! The them of engaging learners online and the promise of active participation are also compelling.

What I did manage for work this week was to catch up on what’s been happening while I’ve been down, provide a little feedback on a draft and read through some cover letters and resumes for the Teaching and Learning Specialist position.

Margaret has been sending me daily photos of Wilbur to help with my recovery. He’s very therapeutic.

I see my surgeon next Tuesday that will be just over two weeks in to my eight week (expected) recovery so we’ll see what he has to say. I hope I can be a little more mobile and get some physio started up.

I’ve been drafting this post in my head but didn’t get it down during the week.  There isn’t much work to reflect on because I took the week off. Probably better that I waited to post, there were some painkillers involved in those mental drafts.  This picture is what I had for dinner Saturday night. Not the rib-eye we had planned.

Everything happened very quickly.

I broke my leg last Saturday, had surgery on Sunday and was home Monday afternoon. There wasn’t a lot of time to think or to worry.   I came to ‘acceptance’ pretty early in the process. There was really nothing I could do and there’s no point in being frustrated about it.  I spent the week between the couch and bed moving with a walker so as not to put any weight on my left leg. I have another ten or so days like that until I see the surgeon. I am very fortunate to have someone to take care of me at home.

I did do a couple of work-adjacent  things in between naps. As the days went by, I had more lucid periods and could concentrate a little. I checked in on email and managed to complete the last two challenges for the OER challenge. Next week I’ll follow up with the other NIC participants. I won a Massey Books gift certificate in a draw last week so that was nice. I’ll need some reading material for recovery.

Friday it was a nice treat to attend the etug conference.  The day was planned with breaks between sessions and the sessions weren’t too long so it was manageable. So nice to see and hear old friends and some new faces.  It was a good mix of content too.

I am going to try a little work next week and see – will probably take a few more sick days until I’m sure I can be up for it.

Playing with the H5P image slider again. I put the after picture first.

This week has been about possibilities, direction(s), moving forward, circling back, building on existing foundations and laying some new ones. 

The plan (Widening our Doorways) came out on Monday and I started the day watching the videos created by the Senior Leadership Team. It was a good way to start the week. I felt quite proud of ‘us’. I think it’s bold to plan for an uncertain future and not just hang back and wait for things to go back to ‘normal’. I like this declaration that things are never going back to what they were so let’s get on with it and do what we’re really good at. 

Here are some plans from other institutions that I got from  Academica

Last week I signed up for an OER challenge starting in October. with BCcampus  There will be 10 Challenges no more than 10 minutes each to learn more about OER. I got 9 people from the college interested enough to sign up with me.  I’m looking at the challenges as a springboard to increasing interest and awareness of Open practices at the college and as a way to get myself more versed in the definitions. Open has been a bit on the peripheral of my practice and is now becoming more integral and  is definitely related to access. 

I have started compiling some resources gleaned from Twitter and other places as I think about the new direction(s) in my job description. Again, a lot of my professional interests have been on the peripheral and it’s been enjoyable to re-visit them.  I really want to spend some time on this blog too and add some categories. I haven’t made the time and just keep adding posts to my post page (because it works) for now. 

I attended a webinar Thursday morning: 

“Description: The Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (CDLRA) surveyed faculty and administrators asking whether they feel prepared as they embark on another semester of online learning.

“This survey is part of the CDLRA Canadian Pulse Project. The Canadian Pulse Project is a multi-stage effort to track the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education institutions across Canada. The survey was a collaborative effort between CDLRA/ACRFL, Bay View Analytics, Academica Group, and eCampusOntario.”

427 people responded to the survey and the results were generally positive with regard to feeling prepared to teach online this fall. Most respondents said that they had received beneficial support from their institutions and teaching and learning centers. There were some interesting stats from B.C. I won’t bother sharing but one important thing (to me) that came out was that those who taught to outcomes had an easier time altering their assessments and making the shift (go figure).  Almost 80% said they would be making changes to their assessments going forward. 

After a good chat with Liesel I have a to do list for next week. One of the things on it is to create a to do list (meta?).  I’ll do a shared Google doc to keep track of what I’m working on now and will work on in the near future.  I’ll be working on the overview of what someone who does what I do does in a Teaching and Learning Center as well as finishing up the ten Blackboard DIY things that faculty can do ‘just in time’ without help. Going forward I’ll be sourcing resources related to access and open while planning to build something on the topic – maybe collaborating with another institution.  I feel like I want to play on what Mary Burgess wrote about Exams: Who are we Leaving Out?  and think about it in terms of delivery – and beyond. Lots to think about. 

I listened to the delivery of the Widening our Doors plan on Friday and feel the same as I did on Monday.  The team did a great job presenting it. I feel like we’re revisiting the familiar with new a new lens and new technologies and years of combined experience.  What would you tell your younger self if you knew what you know now? 

Looking forward, looking up. Monday was about direction, re-defining/ re-branding my role and what I do – or as Liesel puts it ‘Terri 3.0’.

I’ll be putting my attention toward access and Open, and I like it. Access is what got me started on the path to Instructional Design and Distance Education so to be circling back to that – more of a Bruner style spiral than a circle back really – feels good.

I spent some time looking at the 10 DIY actions instructors can take on Blackboard Learn. The things they don’t need helpdesk or a tech for.  We have quite a few resources available already and I’ll be creating some more.  I did a couple of practice videos for things like customizing the home page. I’m working on my cadence and timing and the closed captioning gets better as I do.

Next week we will hear about the 10 point plan for the College going forward and I’m really looking forward to a) knowing that we have a plan, and b) hearing more about it.  I’m feeling optimistic about the possibilities.

Short one this week. I’ve got some direction for next week and some interesting things to work on.