I’m slightly relieved to make it to the weekend, not because I haven’t enjoyed the week, it has gone well, but I am tired, I’ve been in and out of campus, the house is drying out after our basement took on water and I know I have to get everything together ahead of a busy weekend and the new semester. If that sounds a little jumbled up, then that’s a good indication of where my head is at. Things will settle down and find their natural order but for the time being, all these things are churning around the washing machine of my mind.
At least I won’t be anywhere near a computer or thinking about work or home (maybe a bit) for the next few days cycling through Ohio from Columbus to Cincinnati. I’m almost ready, just a few extra items to pack and early tomorrow we’ll take a drive and start on the trail. Apologies if this week gets a little bike heavy (the next issue will be even more challenging for you) but this trip is something that I’ve wanted to do since we arrived here and once I get it out of my system then we can all settle into routine reflection on teaching, learning and research.
I’ll be cycling around 60 miles a day which isn’t too bad considering there’s the whole day to do it and can take breaks and stop to refuel with lunch. I’m hoping the weather is going to be good, there might be a few drops of rain on Sunday, but hopefully not too much. I’m slightly intrigued to find out how my body reacts. It hasn’t been the best week of preparation with work and ferrying kids about and I haven’t managed a mid-week ride, but I can tell I’m excited and looking forward to being on the bike, riding with friends, and clocking up the miles.
Stephan
Teaching & Learning
I’m into my second week of teaching, planning, and preparing lessons, and I wanted to share what I said in our department meeting, that I’m missing some aspects of teaching remotely, in the hope that others might not feel too bad if they are feeling similarly unsure and slightly ill at ease with a return to the classroom. I also wanted to say that I think this feeling is hopefully temporary, and unsurprising given the amount of work that went into moving a sizeable chunk of thinking to the online space. Teaching in person with masks (because that’s what it is, and it is still something different again) requires consideration. I can’t read what the students are feeling, so I struggle to pick up on those reactions of uncertainty or sense when they want to ask a follow-up question, so I leave plenty of gaps, and the conversation feels a little stilted, but at least we are together, talking and sharing the same space.
A blended approach was always supposed to provide the opportunity to select the best combination of activities, so readings, podcasts, videos might be better viewed online, and hands-on practical work, discussion, experimentation, play, and collaboration might be more readily done in person. The pandemic has confused some of my thinking about this and I’ve encountered some separation between the tool or platform and the reason you might choose to use it, as much as the modality that you’re required to teach in, for instance, in-person, remote, hybrid, etc.
This is going to be challenging for Education Technologists, I mean what do you recommend? I feel that so many suppliers have taken advantage of the increase in demand for edtech, so much so that educators and administrators have struggled to perform the sort of due diligence that is needed, what is happening to the students’ data, where is work going to be stored, how will I be able to access work in the future?
In some ways, I realize that this week’s T&L section is inspired by Michael B. Horn’s newsletter on Why the time for flipping the school day is now.
Life Lessons
I’ve noticed that many news organizations don’t want to emphasize the fact that the increase in high category hurricanes is linked directly to the climate emergency, that they would rather use the phrase natural disaster when it comes to the rain, wind, and flash floods that have impacted the US in the past week.
You know when it’s bad when friends and family back home message you to ask if you’re ok. On Tuesday there was a huge downpour, with water leaking into the basement and soaking our things, the high school lost power and there were roads where the water bubbled over the storm drains so that houses were cut off. News in PA contrasted with footage from New Jersey and New York where flash floods claimed lives and high winds caused damage to houses and businesses.
The weather here feels more volatile in many ways, much more extreme than back in the UK, although I have lived through big storms and floods, even one in 1987 that knocked out power for about a month and knocked down trees and houses. I slept through it and remember getting ready for school, waiting at the bus stop and wondering where everyone was, and marveling at the sight of a caravan tipped over and carried through a few neighboring gardens.
Looking at the news today, I hope that people are okay and that they are getting the help that they need. Here the fire brigade was out pumping water from houses, people were checking in on each other and clearing branches from the streets.
Lost and Found
Here are just a few things that caught my attention this week.
Finally finished the first series of The Chair, which I thoroughly enjoyed and entertains a cheeky portrait of life at a private university in the US. Many institutions have suffered similar reputational controversy and the show did a good job of showing how compromised and clumsy attempts to fix things are, and the toll on relationships, and the desire to get on with life, teach and keep enjoying their passion.
The Chair was filmed a few blocks away from where I work at Chatham University and already I’ve discovered how many movies and television series have been produced on location in Pittsburgh, especially horror and vampire flicks.
This is a tough read, photojournalist Wil Sands was shot in the face with a rubber bullet while covering the BLM protests outside the White House. In the article, he talks to similar victims of “non-lethal weapons” who have had their sight damaged by shots fired by US law enforcement officials.
Language and Linguistics teachers might find this useful. A speech synthesis tool that you can manipulate and play with to find different sounds.
Also, have a listen to this episode of API Storytelling with guest Audrey Watters talking about her book Teaching Machines which I am about halfway through and can’t put down, I even wondered if there might be space on the bike for a 300-page hardback.
Thank you
So, yes - back to the trip. We managed a dry-run/test of our kit and I packed the bags and took part in Bike PGH, a short loop around the city that looked fine on the route map but in reality felt like a tour of Switzerland, heading up switchbacks and long drags through the hills around the city. Schenley Park felt like Alpe du Huez, especially with the extra weight. I was absolutely finished by the time we got back to the car and spent the rest of the day napping and sipping green tea.
Hope that you’re having a good week, don’t worry too much if your teaching is a little bumpy as we arrive into the new semester, it will sort itself out and you will get your head around the new normal as you did the old abnormal.
Look forward to catching up next week.