Robert B Parker
It is rare that I hit upon an author whose books I want to devour. Also odd, in this case, that I read many of them out of order. Today is the day I went on a search to see what order, and which books, by Robert B Parker I …
A succulent idea
After going through a lot of Pantone colors looking for just the right HTML color codes to freshen up the look of my site, I decided to work on a miniature crochet project. This will be for the Tanana Valley State Fair in Fairbanks, Alaska for 2023. Succulents are the …
Love the local library!
Just a few of the titles I read, and checked out, this month from the public library: Light-hearted reading I’ve used Kindle Unlimited since September. I’ll need to go back and review all the titles I read on my devices. The above are just those from October.
Recent (and not so) Writing
A few of the titles and dates plus excerpts follow Transitioning from on campus to online by Janene McMahan | Jul 26, 2021 Your use of Canvas can help you translate your face-to-face course into an enjoyable online experience for you and your students. Here are a few steps to get you started, …
Accessibility includes retrieval of materials
What does access mean? In addition to the accessibility of your materials, consider other types of access. Students may not have the money to pay for good internet access or be in an area where it is available. Use the lens of ‘if you can’t reach it, it doesn’t matter …
Address uncertainty in your syllabus
Recommend strategies and language to include in your syllabus to help address the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, try surveying students about their current routines and internet access.
Adapting to recent changes in Blackboard
Blackboard was upgraded last month to provide users with better performance and reliability. Get comfortable with the recent changes by reading our tips and solutions for some common tasks. These are the top things you need to know: The editor is more powerful, allows for distraction-free writing, dispels with the …
Three ways to make your course more accessible
Originally posted 10/20/2020 on iTeachU. I’ve been a web developer and a teacher for decades. These worlds overlap when it comes to accessibility. So, for this tip I’m going to define accessibility as making your materials usable for every student regardless of their abilities. More students than you’d suspect do the …
Recent reads
What am I reading right now? Jim Butcher 17/17: Battle Ground (on my Kindle) – ordered 10/8 and started! Done 10/12!16/17: Peace Talks (Finished last week or so). What else? Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen mysteries including:3. Blueberry Muffin Murder2. Strawberry Shortcake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery What else?While this was …
Rolling out a renewed iTeach Online
iTeach Online “iTeach Online offers foundational training in online course design. Through a series of 5 modules, faculty start to build a solid online course founded in current research and relevant learning experiences. Faculty who complete the self-paced version of iTeach Online are prepared to design and teach an online …
Go back to your happy place
As an instructional designer, I help faculty with their courses. The faculty member is the content expert; I’m a support person. I want to help them make the course easy to navigate, engaging to the student—learning can be fun—and, whenever possible, inspire or remind the teacher why he or she …
Week three ‘school at home’
I’ve joked a bit about being a brand new homeschooling mom. However, that’s not really what is happening. ICS, Immaculate Conception School, in Fairbanks where my son is in first grade is doing an AMAZING job of providing resources, a layout of what is due each day of every week …
Credly consolidation to Credly Acclaim
Credly is consolidating… Ah. Are we using badges much anymore? I sure like collecting them. Creating them is a fun experience as well. I’d say Madara’s far outpace mine in style and class, but the few I built got the job done. Perhaps when I go back to making more, …
Love Your Data
I’ve been a data geek for quite some time. Right now you cannot see it on my site so much because I have not been explicit about it. However, I will be filling in how data and I have been happily intertwined over the years. At UAF in 1993 I …
One perspective on Quality Matters course certifications
We embraced Quality Matters (QM) as a framework for continuous improvement of online and blended courses just over four years ago. To get a faculty perspective I reached out to Gary Copus, professor emeritus, and asked him to share any highlights, benefits or challenges experienced as part of certifying three …