tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post295713687459208690..comments2024-03-28T16:34:30.003+00:00Comments on Top Left Quadrant: Summer Session, Week 7 JaneBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-29900039027605058822020-06-28T03:39:17.530+01:002020-06-28T03:39:17.530+01:00I'm glad to hear you're getting some helpf...I'm glad to hear you're getting some helpful treatments. I envy your ability to go swimming! It's not an option here.<br /><br />For the waking up hot problem, for a year or so I slept with a cooler beside my bed, containing a frozen gel pack for deployment as necessary. Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05375888639449362655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-67257844821598709692020-06-28T03:36:08.929+01:002020-06-28T03:36:08.929+01:00Heu mihi, if you're following the saga on my b...Heu mihi, if you're following the saga on my blog, it lags behind reality. TLQ gets the real deal. Since I've been hoping to move for the past 2+ years, though, I can see why people might miss that it has finally happened!Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05375888639449362655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-41388642459224181862020-06-27T11:41:10.628+01:002020-06-27T11:41:10.628+01:00Good luck on the unpacking with intention! Sounds ...Good luck on the unpacking with intention! Sounds like a great plan. oceangirl101https://www.blogger.com/profile/10494213221026763844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-56429216094285310472020-06-27T11:38:30.787+01:002020-06-27T11:38:30.787+01:00Hi All,
I am making some headway on post-COVID ...Hi All, <br /><br /> I am making some headway on post-COVID complications, so thanks for the shout out about that! Tongue/mouth issues are clearing up with anti-histamines and thrush outhwash. Bloodwork suggests the virus pushed me into rapid menopause, which is ok given my age. And it pushed me into major anemia, so taking B12 and iron to fix that. These issues are likely why my hair has been falling out and why I am so exhausted. Also explain waking up in the middle of the night hot and trouble sleeping. Head/sinus scan shows I need sinus surgery so I am scheduling that for late July. This gives me a real deadline to try to push for the end of the book writing- ideally I can wrap up Ch 7 and write a quick Ch 8 before the surgery. I mourn going to the movies but mostly being able to do fieldwork abroad and to travel to see family. I have managed to get access to my lab, so I do social distance lab work with my two graduate students which allows me to feel like my research is being pushed along. Social distancing walks and meals with friends outside on our yards helps with the need for social contact as well. <br /><br />Oceangirl101<br />1. Work on Ch 7 4 days Yes<br />2. Reread Ch 6 to outline rest of Ch 7 Sort of<br />3. Medical appts Yes<br />4. Exercise x 4 No- need to refocus on this in the coming week<br />5. Fun x 2 Yes<br /><br />This week: <br />1. Ch 7 x 4 days<br />2. Outline list for upcoming pubs with post doc and collaborator<br />3. Tax stuff, finalize<br />4. Medical appts<br />5. Exercise x 4 including some swimmignoceangirl101https://www.blogger.com/profile/10494213221026763844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-11981270454358680402020-06-26T03:23:01.481+01:002020-06-26T03:23:01.481+01:00Yes -- I especially liked that the end has discuss...Yes -- I especially liked that the end has discussions of various "disciplines" which emphasized that joy was different from fun, and something you cultivated. And reading it now -- there was a lot (discussions of forgiveness, for instance) that was very resonant. Esp. the whole idea of reframing, changing perspective. Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-7319786465183822282020-06-25T22:30:37.706+01:002020-06-25T22:30:37.706+01:00Would you recommend Book of Joy? It's on my li...Would you recommend Book of Joy? It's on my list of considered books next to Pema Chodron...<br />humming42https://www.blogger.com/profile/12124332870168394148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-33979795150193106022020-06-24T21:56:15.544+01:002020-06-24T21:56:15.544+01:00Wow! I somehow missed that you'd found a place...Wow! I somehow missed that you'd found a place. Congratulations, and what a relief!<br /><br />I always unpack everything right away and have pictures on the walls within three weeks, because I can't do anything else until the chaos is settled. But I approve (in theory) of the slow and careful method.heu mihihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08529298049179816825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-34112907672890888202020-06-24T21:53:33.280+01:002020-06-24T21:53:33.280+01:00I'm amazed at how much you got done!I'm amazed at how much you got done!heu mihihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08529298049179816825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-9736328643676566182020-06-24T19:18:32.174+01:002020-06-24T19:18:32.174+01:00Collaboration with colleagues makes it much better...Collaboration with colleagues makes it much better. I felt better about everyone when we agreed how to respond to the provost's "not enough people volunteered to teach F2F, we need more people to take health risks and we might make you" email... Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-11187834139992908132020-06-24T19:14:33.355+01:002020-06-24T19:14:33.355+01:00One little thing often makes me feel competent aga...One little thing often makes me feel competent again, so it really does help.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-64496305778308367702020-06-24T18:17:31.727+01:002020-06-24T18:17:31.727+01:00Good luck with the hated paperwork! It will be ver...Good luck with the hated paperwork! It will be very satisfying to check off, even better with a reward added?Daisynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-76834109272018048102020-06-24T18:15:48.203+01:002020-06-24T18:15:48.203+01:00That's great that your colleagues are being wo...That's great that your colleagues are being wonderful! It is quite nice to see the slightly less polished version of them sometimes. A lot of my colleagues now routinely ask about my cat when she doesn't appear on the video meetings immediately, she's very enthusiastic about those!Daisynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-80243660835673093832020-06-24T15:40:01.520+01:002020-06-24T15:40:01.520+01:00That's still a lot of stuff that got done!
I h...That's still a lot of stuff that got done!<br />I hope the online conference goes well and gives at least some of that nice conference-inspiration boosts we so desperately need.Daisynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-88990048466902255002020-06-24T14:33:15.915+01:002020-06-24T14:33:15.915+01:00oh no! Falls are awful! Even with minimal damage i...oh no! Falls are awful! Even with minimal damage it does shake one up. <br />Glad you are feeling better and chugging along, chugging is a underappreciated method of forward motion and should be celebrated!Daisynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-59887265235106090072020-06-24T14:03:46.360+01:002020-06-24T14:03:46.360+01:00Thanks for the link! I'm definitely going to d...Thanks for the link! I'm definitely going to do that one. I like the idea of seeing stuff from a school teacher perspective too, and OU has such a wealth of experience in online teaching so I'd much rather hear it from them!<br />It is so very frustrating for best-practice pedagogy and university rules to be so at odds. So hard to navigate through that! I hope you find a way to juggle those very different expectations!Daisynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-67262205685574353052020-06-24T10:10:44.539+01:002020-06-24T10:10:44.539+01:00THIS WEEK
1) self care - going to bed before midni...THIS WEEK<br />1) self care - going to bed before midnight (already failed twice...)<br />2) more setting up work for the theory workshop - finalise the web site and get the adverts out<br />2a) finish draft text from LikesMaths<br />3) make progress on big outline for the giant first year thing (sigh. Thinking about this causes the Mood Mammoth to get grumpy for university-politics reasons)<br />3a) do action points from last CollaborativeThing meeting<br />3b) spend a tiny chunk of time on Hated Paperwork, as I don't really have time - see external examining, I have about 110 long projects/reports/essays (3000-6000 words) to read for another uni and have to be done by next Monday<br />4) reply to an email from FormerPDF which will take an hour or so as I have to hunt down details from years ago... well, tell her I'm aware of its existence anyway<br />5) tick off another 5 things from the list of small but necessary jobs<br />6) have a two day weekend!<br />JaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-82092225175718548492020-06-24T10:10:34.920+01:002020-06-24T10:10:34.920+01:00Right, well, bad days just come. I'm not doin...Right, well, bad days just come. I'm not doing great, because there is SO MUCH RIDICULOUS WORK - and some of it is self-inflicted, like CommunityThing, but on the other hand that is often the only thing I do that feels meaningful and kind and valued by other humans (as opposed to demanded by bureaucrats. They don't seem to know how to <i>value</i> anything), and doing a bit of that often helps with the bad days. It's a mix of grief for what was and grief for the future and hoping I'm WRONG and watching the Arctic blaze and hoping I get to die in the opening scenes of the dystopian future movie because I'm struggling NOW - though at least the Deanlets wouldn't be sending me contradictory demands in a burning wasteland? Although... actually, that sounds exactly like the sort of petty power a Deanlet would retain! External examining and exam meetings this week so still mired in the closing academic year, mostly. YUCK. And a heatwave. And my desk is in the hottest point in the house. BUT on the plus side there are still oscillating fans in stock on Amazon, so I have ordered one on the basis that a) it's arrival will probably coincide with (if not cause) the current heat to go away and b) this won't be the only heat wave this summer.<br /><br />Aargh ran out of self-appointed blogging time. Feck it. Quick report & goal-setting:<br />LAST WEEK<br />1) self care - going to bed before midnight would be a sensible focus but we'll see... it would be but I often didn't.<br />1b) finishing up my summer plans - well, sort of. I've made some very pretty charts!<br />2) setting up work for the theory workshop - made a start<br />2a) working on a draft text from LikesMaths - I'm up to the discussion section so nearly done<br />3) making a big outline and setting up a meeting for the giant first year thing (sigh. Thinking about this causes the Mood Mammoth to get grumpy for university-politics reasons) - had two meetings so far, it's... a big hill of stinky mammoth poop but thank heavens for wonderful colleagues who keep reminding each other that at least mammoths are herbivores and making jokes about how other teams have to climb Smilodon poo heaps and generally being their creative, delightful selves (and I have to admit I like them all the more for being the tired, sweary, pet-and-child-accosted versions of themselves, because it's so good to have colleagues you trust enough that they are honest with you and you are honest with them when <i>everything is crap</i>)<br />3a) resist urge to nag about CollaborativeTHing except for one small area where I actually care, and postpone that until Monday evening in case someone else acts - worked wonderfully! Possibly because in that area all the volunteers are female and at least three of us are compulsive volunteers...<br />3b) spend a chunk of time on Hated Paperwork, since I HAVE chunks this week... face it and it might turn into something easily squished, right? - spent a chunk. Hate it. Not easily squished.<br />4) reply to an email from FormerPDF which will take an hour or so as I have to hunt down details from years ago... nope<br />5) tick off another 5 things from the list of small but necessary jobs - made it to 9! Added another 11! Hey-ho.<br />6) have a two day weekend! - yes and it went better than the last one (found new enjoyable YA novel, made cake that was not a failure despite high level of improvising involved, ate cake...)<br /><br />JaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-72766905532679260002020-06-24T09:53:24.342+01:002020-06-24T09:53:24.342+01:00Hugs and empathy coming your way!Hugs and empathy coming your way!JaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-84715160417664581082020-06-24T09:52:37.462+01:002020-06-24T09:52:37.462+01:00YAYYYYY wonderful news and very glad the talking c...YAYYYYY wonderful news and very glad the talking cats finally deigned to be actively useful as opposed to passively and snarkily not unuseful!JaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-25148845848359621732020-06-24T09:51:10.925+01:002020-06-24T09:51:10.925+01:00We used to be good at rules in England too, but th...We used to be good at rules in England too, but the tussock-headed buffon has made everyone so confused, and 30-40 years of "rugged individualism" seem to have eroded that very nice qualityJaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-25152726171868835572020-06-24T09:49:43.353+01:002020-06-24T09:49:43.353+01:00Our university training has been very good - howev...Our university training has been very good - however, many of the things it recommends are in direct contradiction of the instructions on how to teach from the University and Faculty (e.g. training says use multiple small assignments both to drive engagement and to give students confidence and encouragement, university rules say switch to a single summative assessment at the end of modules, training says use the controlled work flows in the VLE where you have to learn/demonstrate one thing before the next unit opens for you, and university says you can't have formative pieces that have to be passed to progress in the module, and...)<br /><br />Daisy, if your training remains dire, I recommend the free OpenLearn course on "taking your teaching online" from the Open University (which has been 100% online from its start and is a UK public university) - it says it takes 24 hours, I'm finding it takes about half that. It addresses school and HE teaching, but it has really useful overviews of theory and jargon, and references - even though I had good material from my university, this free course is still giving me useful stuff. Link <a href="https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/education/take-your-teaching-online/content-section-overview?active-tab=description-tab" rel="nofollow">here</a>JaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-51100498791069532242020-06-24T04:43:12.045+01:002020-06-24T04:43:12.045+01:00I wish I had an effective way to manage the bad da...I wish I had an effective way to manage the bad days. Strategies include: picking myself up and doing one little thing for self-restoration, eating excessively, sleeping, lots of self-flagellation, and leisure reading. I don’t feel like I’ve had a decent stretch of productive days since before spring break/being homebound. I am really wanting to raise the bar for myself for the remainder of summer. There’s much work ahead, and summer teaching is just two weeks away. <br /><br />Last week:<br />1 write and submit one book review: yes<br />2 submit two essay peer reviews: one of two<br />3 write and submit two conference abstracts: one of two<br />4 write 500 words for Tiny Project: yes<br /><br />This week:<br />1 present at online conference<br />2 submit two essay peer reviews<br />3 write 500 words for Tiny Project/online class<br />4 write 1000 words for Performhumming42https://www.blogger.com/profile/12124332870168394148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-25404975831309074002020-06-24T04:34:25.355+01:002020-06-24T04:34:25.355+01:00Wonderful news and congratulations! I admire your ...Wonderful news and congratulations! I admire your wisdom in unpacking slowly and putting everything away. Six years after moving into my current residence, my office remains unmanageable because it was the dump site for everything that wasn't properly unpacked.humming42https://www.blogger.com/profile/12124332870168394148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-74762378440683072632020-06-24T04:16:44.841+01:002020-06-24T04:16:44.841+01:00I deal with the bad days in two different ways. So...I deal with the bad days in two different ways. Sometimes I just give in and crash: I've been giving myself quite a bit of permission on this through pandemic times. But I just finished reading the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu's Book of Joy, and they talked about how they reframed bad things -- pulling out from the immediate and local. So I've been trying to do that. (And face it, what those two have faced is much more challenging than what I'm facing!) So focusing on how to reframe is key. Not always successful, but an interesting discipline.<br /><br />Goals from last week:<br />1. Write four paragraphs of chapter, one a day for the rest of the week. NO, didn't touch it<br />2. Make final decision on book orders YES<br />3. Read essays for article prize #1 NO<br />4. Read essay for junior colleague to help her figure out how to reshape it for publication NO <br />5. Finish long overdue book review DRAFT DONE<br />6. 6 more journals YES<br />7. Keep walking YES, kind of<br />8. Make some healthy stuff with food from farmers market YES<br />9. Get regular sleep Maybe 5 days? <br /><br />Well, Tuesday morning I was out for my walk and tripped and fell. It turns out that the laws of physics are not optional: gravity and momentum matter! Since I was walking fast I fell hard; I had/have bruises on my face & chin, my shoulder, wrist and hand, and my knee. Nothing broken, but I was pretty shaken up by the experience. So I slowed down a lot. I cleared out emails, did minor things, but didn't push myself. I got back to walking after a few days, but... I also had to take my mother to a dr appointment, and I saw my own dr. both virtually and in person. Those things really break up the day. But I feel good about where I am, and I'm just going to keep chugging along. <br /><br />The week ahead will be shaped both by the arrival of my new desk on Tuesday and a heat wave with my fragile a/c. Repair person coming on Friday... The pandemic is peaking here (we hope) around now, so I'm not doing any in person stuff. <br /><br />Goals for next week:<br />1. Read essay for colleague<br />2. Read book proposal<br />3. Spend an hour three days on Famous Author, write something<br />4. Six more journals<br />5. Clear desk at weekend in preparation for the arrival of the new desk / reorganize books. <br />6. Keep walking<br />7. Try to turn out the light before 11 (this seems to be the magic divide between good nights and bad nights) <br /><br /><br />Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607718568717088162.post-22261287698299152402020-06-23T23:51:45.251+01:002020-06-23T23:51:45.251+01:00Oh boy... The training... Today we had two session...Oh boy... The training... Today we had two sessions, an introductory "getting to know you and the tech" type session, and one on pedagogy that I was quite looking forward to...<br />The only appropriate word for the entire day is clusterfuck... Seriously, it was chaos... We spent the vast majority of the time watching people try to log into the wrong meeting, from the wrong platform, with the wrong credentials, with the wrong mike/video settings, totally ignoring the (written, previously sent out, pinned to the public board) instructions, and generally just breaking every single thing they touched... The pedagogy session started off ok, but the "group work" was a disaster again... Turns out a 100+ people cannot edit the same word cloud document at the same time (No, really??), and when they all try the whole thing explodes, and kicks people off the original meeting because you can only do one platform at a time, and the way it is set up you have to bounce between three of them, and each needs a separate log-in... I quit halfway through session 2, it was just too painful to see the presenter try to manually add and fix 60% of the participants while we all watched in semi-fascinated horror... Needless to say I remember nothing about the actual pedagogy lesson...<br />So, I will try tomorrow's session because I promised myself I would make three attempts but if it does not get better I'm quitting for good and going back to my standby method for learning everything - read a damn book by an expert and apply the lessons by myself!<br />If nothing else it demonstrated with 100% effectiveness why every expert in online pedagogy recommends asynchronous delivery over trying to do live things... I'm totally convinced! There is no way I'm putting me or my students through that kind of thing! It is one thing to tune in for a live seminar and watch, it is an entirely different beast to try and make people interact and participate and contribute while also sorting out tech issues...<br />So yeah, training is what we shall call it!Daisynoreply@blogger.com