Spent 5 months puzzling over how to design a study. Took it super easy on work this week, & immediately solved the problem on return today. Friends, I know you haven't heard this before...but time away from work can actually IMPROVE productivity when you return to it.

I attempted to attend four sessions this morning, and succeeded once.

I guess it's also no longer customary to post a notice on the door when a session is cancelled or moved.

I thought it was polite to keep my phone off during conference presentations, but apparently it's now expected that everyone can scan QR codes at a moment's notice.

Last week, Girl Scouts of the USA posthumously bestowed upon Amerie Jo Garza, 10, of Uvalde, Texas, one of the highest honors in Girl Scouting: the Bronze Cross. The Bronze Cross is awarded for saving or attempting to save life at the risk of the Girl Scout’s own life. 1/3

Attending my first in-person conference since January 2020. My own campus is hosting, so I can eat in my office and avoid communal dining. There are about 35 people in this room, and I'm one of three wearing a mask.

This was not my experience at all, and it's a helpful reminder to question all statements of basic historical fact that are presented as universal. We waited in silence.

After a two days of hot takes about Uvalde, where I've lived for 13 years, here's a thread for very online people who actually want to understand it and maybe change it and places like it. This will be based on my own experiences; my excuse is that I'm autistic. Thread:

Saw these two baby cards beside each other in the store yesterday. Baby boy: the world is all yours Baby girl: 500 pairs of shoes So common that it's not really noteworthy, but still extremely annoying.

Grades are due tomorrow. I'm close to the end, but not quite done. This calls for another four-hour Brightspace training session at 8am today.

I am horrified by the number of email and text notifications that can be turned on. Let's normalize checking for work/school updates at reasonable intervals.

(I want to be clear that the trainers are lovely people, and the general information about online pedagogy, accessibility, and universal design for learning is interesting and important. But it's not necessarily new, and this is a busy time of the semester.)

Two hours in. I think we're going to start learning about Brightspace now.

I'm already failing at this training: the second item on the "expectations for trainees" list is that it's helpful to have two screens.

Looking at the workshop outline, there's a substantial amount of material on pedagogy in general before we get to anything Brightspace-specific.

My first four-hour Brightspace training session begins at 8am today, on Zoom. I would much rather be grading right now.

I recently met with a student on a Friday evening, talking for more than an hour about paths forward after potential disqualification. Completed courses can still count for something, so she shouldn't give up now. It was a good discussion, but this isn't the work that counts.

I teach mainly lower-level math for non-majors. Success means getting students through the course and increasing retention at the college. I celebrate when they make it to graduation.