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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The joy of teaching undergrads...

Student's Email:

I'm sorry but I am REALLY confused about what I have done so far. I keep getting mixed up with the outline. I don't know if I have did it or not. I go from top to bottom but it seems as if I am back tracking. Please help me.

What do you think? Should I simplify my list? How? If you complete an assignment, you would remember, right? Especially if all these assignments can usually be completed in about one hour (according to other students).

My Reply:

You may want to print each list and check off completed assignments. Also, you can always check grades posted on Gradebook.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

So proud of myself today...

  • Get a faculty parking sticker for my car (can't reuse the old one)
  • Make copies
  • Teach a class
  • Make some important phone calls
  • Attend a pizza party at our department head's house (one of our senior secretaries is leaving and we will truly miss her efficiency)
  • Hold office hours (finish uploading files for online courses, grade some papers -- already, take care of email, register some students, etc.)
  • Get a tag for the new car -- our tag office is notorious for having a long, long line
  • Finalize insurance coverage for the new car
  • Mail some items
  • Get a haircut
  • Do a quick grocery/other stuff shopping

Done, done, done! Yay Hooray!

Monday, May 29, 2006

Party coming up? Check out this recipe...

Rosettes

Yeah, I know it's boring for most of you...



but I am totally focused on my new toy until tomorrow when our summer semester starts. I drove it (with top down, of course) for four hours from my parents' house and it was a total bliss!!! The weather was gorgeous, too!

However, when you buy expensive toys, you have to take care of them. I drove a nice car before but it was a hardtop so carport was not absolutely necessary. With this one, I had to get one. Fortunately, Dad is good with this kind of stuff and installed a reasonably sturdy carport today. So now my Red Dragon (any other suggestions for name?) has its own house.

Pics above show my brother's 67 Mustang and my new car.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Sorry but I have to brag a little...


Yeah, that's my new baby... Got an awesome deal, too, way below the invoice. Don't have a picture with a top down yet -- will post tomorrow.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Improved or staged?

You probably don't remember my postings about a rude student who was giving me a hard time and still enrolled in two of my online courses. Well, she came to 6:00 p.m. orientation tonight, acting like an innocent lamb and politely asking questions.

Sorry but I have mixed feelings about this:
  • The nice person and responsible teacher in me wants to pat this little "angel" on the back and praise a greatly improved behavior.
  • The hidden "revenger" in me wants to kick this little "angel" and remind her that earlier obnoxious behavior cost me a significant amount of nerve cells.

What did I do? Oh, smiled. :) What do you think?

What a long day...

  • I was working since 8:00 a.m. this morning, with only a quick stop for lunch (not a great lunch, either -- Slim Fast shake; see, I am being good and chose a nutritional shake over a tasty burger)
  • Registered like a gazillion students (not -- more like twenty or so; feels like more, though)
  • My phone is ringing non-stop (aaaaaaaaaah, ringing again...)
  • Conducted one online course orientation session (about 1.5 hours of reading rules, making threats as to what will happen if they don't follow rules, and answering questions); one more session to go -- at 6:00 p.m.
  • Then I can go home!!!
  • Meanwhile, I am nursing a bottle of cherry coke (diet, mind you) because I have an annoying headache
  • Tomorrow would be fun, though -- my baby brother is graduating from high school!!! I can't believe it -- he was such a cute (oh, and loud, very loud) baby with a mouth like a rosebud. Now he is several inches taller than I am and can twirl me around (even with extra padding I put on lately). He is going to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and wants to be an airline pilot (in another 20 years maybe?). Anyway, he is getting my car (yes, I decided to go ahead and buy a new one; maybe even a convertible? we are going to look at some cars tomorrow) so I already have a promise to be the first passenger once he gets his private pilot license this summer.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Thank goodness for laptops...

  • Power went out at 9:40 p.m. and it's pitch dark now everywhere. I don’t know what happened but it sure looks like a major outage (no lights in the entire neighborhood, creepy…).
  • Of course, nothing works
  • no Internet connection (don’t want to bother with dial-up)
  • no tea or coffee – I sure could use a nice cup just now
  • no filtered water from refrigerator
  • no air conditioning – and it’s hot outside
  • no TV
  • BUT
  • Laptop is fully charged!
  • So here I am, creating nonsense to be posted later…
  • I may watch a movie…
  • Just hate wasting all this time – after taking a nap this afternoon, I am not ready to go to bed yet and wanted to finish some stuff. Oh well!
  • Finished watching one short movie – still no power; it’s been out for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Come on, people, fix it!
  • It’s back, it’s back!
  • Now I will make some coffee and proceed with my plans for tonight.

Tired and sleepy...

  • Woke up at 5:30 a.m.
  • Left the house at 7:00 a.m.
  • Arrived at a workshop location around 8:20 a.m.
  • Workshop lasted until 12:00 noon. Did I learn anything? No! Was it worth getting up so early and driving for over an hour? No! And I had such high expectations... I was actually looking forward to this workshop.
  • Had to run some errands (bank, routine shopping, etc.)
  • Came home and decided that grass had to be cut like last week. Figured I would save money and get some much-needed exercise if I do it myself. Questioned my reasoning halfway through but you can't just stop when mowing grass -- my lawn would look like a monster's haircut.
  • Feel cool and refreshed after a loooooooong shower.
  • Getting sleepy though; maybe will get a nap...

Hmmm...

You Are Cindy Brady
Warm hearted and sweet, you have a childlike innocence that lets you see the good in everyone.But you're also a bit of a baby. You stick your nose where it doesn't belong... and cry when you get caught!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

AERA Listserv

How to annoy somebody:
  1. Send spam
  2. Complain about spam
  3. Brainstorm what caused spam
  4. Ask not to send, complain, brainstorm, etc.

Oh, yeah, use Reply All for steps 1-4. Come on, people, just STOP sending those annoying emails!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

While posting about locations...




I was born in Izmayil, Ukraine, on the Danube River.

Can you find Yalta, the location of Yalta Conference?

Oh, no, shame on us!

According to a recent National Geographic survey, many young Americans are clueless when it comes to locations of other countries and even US states (huh, news?):
  • 63% could not find Iraq on the world map
  • 90% could not find Afghanistan
  • 75% could not find Israel or Iran
  • 70% had no clue where to look for North Korea
  • 20% thought Sudan is in Asia and 10% thought it's in Europe
  • 50% could not tell the exact location of Ohio or even New York
  • 30% could not locate Louisiana and Mississippi
  • Although 69% could find China, 75% thought English was a predominant language in the region (natives, not tourists, of course)

Given these appalling numbers, I am determined to include facts about other countries in all of my courses. For example, in Word Processing, they learn how to format a basic report by researching a country of their choice and then organizing information according to my guidelines. In Business Math, we talk about exchange rates, trade policies, etc.

Do you do anything similar in your courses? I would like to expand assignments and any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Yikes!

http://www.wsbtv.com/travelgetaways/9249198/detail.html

I always wanted to be a flight attendant so I better shape up; maybe change careers when I grow up?

Not bad, not bad at all!

Usually, we schedule online course orientation several days before classes start and offer two sessions, 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. There are two problems with this arrangement:
  1. Because it's usually scheduled on a work day, many students cannot attend. As a result, we end up meeting with them individually. What a waste of time!
  2. Many instructors teach more than one online course and many students take more than one class online; imagine the chaos!!!

I decided on a new approach this time -- offer a session on Saturday. Honestly, I thought that if ten people came, it would be worth an effort since I would not have to meet with them individually. Guess what, 23 showed up today!!! That's 23 out of 60 enrolled in my online courses!

I wanted to celebrate with chocolate but I am working too hard to lose chocolate-induced padding... So I settled on a banana... Pathetic?

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Bored?

Hmmm... I don't think any of us are truly bored like in "nothing to do." More likely it's "plenty to do but tired and need a break."

Anyway, here is an article, just in case you are bored: http://www.bankrate.com/natl/default_frame.asp?sitekey=atl&link_address=/natl/news/pf/20060324b1.asp.

They forgot blogging!!! :)

Suspend or not suspend???

http://www.wsbtv.com/education/9239221/detail.html

I would say, suspension was reasonable in this case. Although the mixture is harmless, the idea behind this "learning activity" is definitely not. I just wish there was a direct way to punish parents, not kids. Where else did these kids learn to mix "happy crack"?

It's scary that one of board members actually agrees with parents and finds nothing wrong with imitating drug distribution at school. Am I too conservative???

Oh, please, let me enjoy my break...

UPDATE
Voice Mail Recording -- left last week before leaving the office:

Hi,

This is Alice. Sorry for missing your call. I will be out of my office until Wednesday, May 25th, so please do NOT leave any messages. Instead, call our main office at 123-4567 or email me at alice@cc.edu. Thanks and have a good day!

Stopped by my office today to pick up some books. Guess what -- twelve (12) messages, three of them from the same person! Hello?!

Dear Alice:

I am taking your Business Math course and may receive my course cartridge late but, if I do, is there a way I can be working on other things online until I receive it?

Student

Dear Student:

I ordered enough course cartridges for every student in this course. In order to avoid unnecessary delays, please purchase a copy from our bookstore.

Thank you and see you in June!

Alice

Just my luck...

UPDATE: My treadmill works again, after "consuming" $70.00!!!

I settled nicely into my exercise routine and actually lost 2 lbs (yeah, not much but I am building up muscles). Lo and behold -- my treadmill decided to develop a malfunction. For some weird reason, it stops for a fraction of a second and then starts again.

I hate running and holding to the rails, expecting the next "hiccup." It's so annoying -- dangerous, too! After studying the manual and trying all suggestions, I finally called and asked for a technician's visit. He is coming tomorrow so, hopefully, I will be able to get back on track.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Freedom of Speech vs. Common Sense

http://www.wsbtv.com/education/9223824/detail.html

I have mixed feelings about this case. Having taught at K-12 level, I know that reputation is everything, especially in suburban areas like Henry County. Nevertheless, maybe suing the kid is too much. I wonder if he misbehaved before or it's his first prank.

What do you think?

Monday, May 15, 2006

Question, y'all...

I am currently driving a Mustang (standard coupe, 2000, paid off) but it's getting old (already has 118,000 on it). My parents are looking for another vehicle for my brother and would like to pay the market price for this car since Dad has serviced it from the very beginning and knows for sure there are no "surprises." So, here are my options:
  1. Sell to my parents for a good price and buy a new vehicle (thus, adding another major monthly expense).
  2. Keep this car longer and buy another vehicle later (using this one as trade-in).

Oh, decisions, decisions... I was so happy when I finally received a clear title on this car... But dealerships are not very generous with trade-in offers so I may get only a fraction of what my parents offering if I wait a few years.

Well, it's even more complicated -- the guy who sold me a car in 1999 when 2000 model just came out is offering a pretty good deal on the current model; and it's premium, too (see below). So it's a vicious fight between my heart and brain signals...

I am certain about one thing -- I want another Mustang.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Home, sweet home...

We came back from Daytona Beach this afternoon and it feels great to be back home, even though we had lots of fun. Anybody else loves traveling but enjoys returning home?

Saturday, May 13, 2006

My Saturday


  • Woke up at 5:00 a.m. (went to bed early last night, though)
  • Left the house at 6:00 a.m. (with my mother and sister who came last night)
  • Drove to Daytona Beach
  • Arrived a little after 10:00 a.m.
  • Checked in -- 14th floor, luxury beachfront hotel, oceanfront room -- see picture above, FREE (had lots of points from previous stays).
  • Enjoyed the beach until about 2:00 p.m. (walking, swimming, roasting our hides, etc.)
  • Had a delicious lunch at Shell's restaurant -- strongly recommended if you are ever in the area.
  • Went shopping for a couple of hours.
  • Strolled on the boardwalk until it got dark.
  • Ate banana splits and watched the ocean while enjoying the nice breeze.
  • I am here now, enjoying your blogs

Aaaaaaaaaah, feels so good not to worry about anything for a few days... We take "girls only" holidays from time to time and it's so nice to just enjoy ourselves.

Sorry, guys, I am sure you never cause any problems for your female companions but guys in my life are rather high-maintenance (what should I wear? remind me to apply the sunscreen; I am hungry NOW! I am not hungry now so why can't everybody else wait? I got sunburned so pamper me!)

My Dad and brother went fishing today so I am sure they had a great time, too. :)

Friday, May 12, 2006

Busy, busy day...

My sister graduated with Master's of Accountancy from Auburn University today so we drove to Auburn to be with her. The drive there was fine and we had a great time walking around, enjoying windy but otherwise nice weather, taking lots of pictures, enjoying a lunch together...

Going back took extra three hours because the interstate was shut down after a horrible accident about 50 miles ahead; tractor-trailer hit a bridge support after colliding with another vehicle; truck driver was killed. I can't imagine what his family is going through tonight... My prayers are with them.

Because of this delay, we were almost late for my younger brother's Honor's Night. He received a sizable scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and we really wanted to be with him. It was such a relief when we finally got to his school -- with only 20 minutes to spare.

Needless to say, I did not take care of any school and/or work-related items on my long to-do list. Still, family memories were made today, to be cherished forever, so I don't feel bad at all.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Outrageous!

Vanes63 already posted a story about little boys attacking a girl on the playground. This story, I think, explains their actions. Appropriate parental guidance is sooooo important. What do you think?

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!


And I did -- two years ago.

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

On cleaning, sleeping, eating, etc.

After reading a number of spring-cleaning blogs, I decided my house needed a thorough cleaning, too; especially because I will have company this weekend. So I dusted, rearranged, vacuumed, etc. until almost 2:00 a.m. (can you tell I am a night owl?).

I did sleep in this morning -- would have slept longer but one of my cats woke me up around 9:00 a.m. She developed this annoying habit of purring into my ear when she decides I should be up. Go away, I am still asleep!!!

So here I am, sipping a SlimFast (don't believe in their diet but guilt-free chocolate shake for breakfast sounds good) and browsing through blogs. Am I addicted now?! I even considered sticking my laptop into a book slot on my treadmill this morning!!!

I have to run a number of errands this morning so I better get moving. Also, going to my parents' house this afternoon (it's a 4 1/2 hour drive). My sister is graduating with her Master's in Accounting tomorrow. I am a bad influence -- already convinced the poor girl that she needs to go for a Ph.D.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Wireless Celebration!

About a month ago, I bought Konica Minolta Magicolor 2400W color laser printer for only $200.00 which is a great deal since its retail price is $399.00. Although it's not as fast as high-end color laser printers, the quality is pretty good (both in BW and color) and it fits nicely in my home office. Unfortunately, it refused to "talk" to my existing wireless network via D-Link print server.

So I found an alternative print server -- SEH PS03. It arrived today, accompanied by a booklet in technical gibberish. Problems? Please call this number in Germany. Sure, if you pay my phone bill.

Hoping to save some time, I called Konica Minolta tech support. After being on hold for about 15 minutes, I was told to download their new driver. Yeah, like that would tell me how to connect the print server.

So I decided to just "play" with it. Don't ask me to give you a coherent list of steps but, after about 20 minutes of plugging/unplugging, uninstalling/installing, clicking, etc., it finally printed a test page. It works!

Now my two laptops and printer all "talk" nicely over the wireless network. Yeah!

I do have a question... What can I do to increase the distance of my wireless network? Are there fairly inexpensive distance/strength boosters? I know there is a new router on the market but hope to avoid spending too much money.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Don't drink and ride your lawn mower!

http://www.wsbtv.com/automotive/9178894/detail.html

My Shopping Expedition

I finished averaging and posting all grades last night (well, this morning)!!! Yeah!!!

Did I deserve a treat? Of course! So I went shopping today with a new friend who apparently loves to shop as much as I do. And I was good, very good -- spent under $100, including lunch!

I bought

  • skin conditioning tonic from Prescriptives
  • four bottles of soap from Bath & Body Works (hey, regular price was $4.50 but they were on sale, 4 for $10.00)
  • salad at Ruby Tuesday
  • two sheet sets (embroidered Lillian Lace, nice and soft; on sale for $25.99 each)

The best part of this outing was, of course, just wandering around, talking, admiring some items, dismissing other items, etc. It was a great expedition!

Saturday, May 06, 2006

I so don't want to complain but...

Student's Email: "How much more make-up work do I need to complete in order to get an A out of the class?"

My Answer: "All of it, of course."

Comment: This student had a questionable excuse to begin with; I am already doing him/her a favor.

Can we go on a cruise?

Update 1: He said YES! :)

Update 2: Our booking has been confirmed! Now, next emergency -- lose like 20 pounds to fit into my favorite evening gown for a formal night. This one is more challenging, I am afraid.

My family usually takes an annual vacation together. Last year, we did not go anywhere because of Dad's surgery. This year, I found a great cruise to Bahamas in late August-early September (yeah, hurricane season but it works great with our busy schedules; I am biased, too -- my birthday is on one of those days). It's not as long or nice as a cruise we have taken before (it was Jamaica last time) but it's nice enough.

Because of the Labor Day weekend, only Dad has to take two days off. Guess what??? Even though he has plenty of vacation days, he is a creature of habit -- those days are taken for Christmas holidays only. So now we have a big project -- convince Dad-the-Workaholic that it's OK to take vacation days earlier this year; and it has to be done before prices go up and/or this cruise sells out. Come on, Dad, cooperate!!!

Any useful persuasion tactics out there?

Pilot Test Update

  • I was at work by 8:00 a.m. -- on Saturday! This definitely goes on my annual evaluation.
  • Brought enough donuts, muffins, juice, etc. to feed a small army, I think. However, it was too much trouble setting up a coffeemaker. Maybe I should do it next time -- a cup of good coffee would very welcome just now. :)
  • Testing coordinator told me that 50% of people usually show up. This morning, I was bragging about all the effort I put into promotion. Huh, you should never brag! Guess what, exactly 50% of people who signed up are here today. Learned my lesson -- don't mess with stats and/or brag! :)
  • Students can take two tests, Basic Skills (Praxis I -- for those of you who may not know, it's a test required for education majors before they can take any major courses; usually during the third year) and Paraprofessional Skills (we have both transfer and two-year program students so I asked for both tests).
  • Each test takes one hour so we should be out by, hopefully, 11:30 a.m.
  • Meanwhile, I am too sleepy to accomplish anything serious so here I am, browsing through blogs and jotting down my own thoughts.

Friday, May 05, 2006

On a bright side... pilot testing is coming along just fine!

Our state is changing teacher certification tests so I agreed to sponsor pilot testing on our campus -- great chance for our students to practice (as well as earn vouchers for the real test) and excellent community service activity for me. I am usually very selective in agreeing to do anything since I stay so busy and don't want to overextend myself but this project is actually fun.

Originally, I expected about twenty students (our teacher education program is new so we don't have a lot of students). Tomorrow is a big day and we have 62 students (yes, sixty-two)!!! Hope all of them (or most of them -- am I being pessimistic??) show up!

Apparently, I inadvertently stumbled into something big -- just talked with a local school system superintendent and she is impressed we are the testing site. Cool! :)

Working for free? No, thank you!

Somebody in our Registrar's office made a decision fit for a "genius": since one of her online courses is closed, let's create another section and start enrolling students! Extra tuition money, right? Right! Extra pay for the instructor, right? Wrong!

We have a crazy systemwide policy stating than instructors cannot earn more than 33% of the annual salary during summer. Since I already have a full load, teaching an extra course will result in $0.00 reimbursement. I am the only one teaching this particular course online so no way we can add another section. Makes sense, right? Alas, took me over 30 minutes to convince our "bright" staff that they cannot do it, especially without notifying me first.

Now I have to call the student who was already enrolled and explain that somebody goofed and she cannot take this class after all. I know her personally so it's better to handle this matter on my own.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Hey, Student, suffering from a toothache by any chance?

Did you know that the ancient Greeks believed telling lies caused a toothache? Well, if it's true, one of my student's jaw should be swollen by now. He was trying to tell me not one, not two, but three very transparent lies! One, computer just stopped working so he could not work for a whole week. Um, how about computer labs? Two, wife's uncle (is this a variation of the monkey's uncle?) had a stroke so they had to spend several days at his bedside. Three, he had a sudden allergy attack -- just hours before the deadline. Poor guy -- do you think I am THAT stupid? Hope his teeth are OK. :)

Any fans of Russian culture, food, etc.?

I am not Russian but do speak Russian language. Here are three web sites that may be of interest:

To-Do List

  • Promotional event for the local high school seniors
  • On-going grading of projects
  • End-of-semester office clean-up (can I shove everything into a trash can?)
  • Department meeting (most likely, nothing pertaining to me)
  • Annual awards banquet (very fancy -- evening attire is required; lasts forever, though)
  • A nap? (without laptop nightmares)

Laptop addiction???

I woke up this morning, looking for my laptop, of all things! OK, I set alarm for 6:30 a.m. because I needed to leave my house no later than 8:00 a.m. to be on our satellite campus by 9:00 a.m. At 6:30, I just couldn't open my eyes (I am so not a morning person!) so I decided to catch another 15 minutes of sleep. Go figure how I could fall asleep so quickly and have this terrible nightmare in 15 minutes!

I dreamed that I was moving my luggage (going somewhere?) from a building (here is another crazy bit -- it looked a lot like this satellite campus but I haven't been there before; similarity did not occur to me until later today when I got there) to my car; for some crazy reason, I left my overnight bag and laptop in a trunk and ran back inside to get other things. When I returned a few minutes later, my car was surrounded by a group of kids, peering at something. It was my laptop bag! And it was empty!!!

I was horrified and outraged, so I grabbed the nearest guy and shook him, ordering to tell me what happened to my laptop! Before the kid could respond, my alarm went off! The dream was so vivid that I could not figure out for a few seconds just what was going on. Lucky kid -- saved by the alarm clock! :)

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

My Outdoor Office

My office hours don't start until 4:00 p.m. so I spent the entire morning in my "outdoor office" (want to see it?) at home.

Ahhhh, the air is so fresh... My on-campus office does not have windows so spending time outdoors is pure luxury. Add a cup of good coffee and laptop and it's a total bliss...

Did accomplish quite a lot: finished grading papers that have been submitted so far, cleared my mailbox, and balanced my checkbook. Now I need to get in a writing mood and finish two research proposals that have been on my mind for a long time now but never could claim a priority spot in my very hectic schedule. Both are pretty sound proposals, I think, and just need some polishing.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Online Course Orientation

I already blogged on this topic but would like to expand on my plan a little bit...

Maybe it's because my students come from a rural poor setting but many of them sign up for online courses without really knowing just what they are doing. Some don't even know how to check email! And we are talking about both traditional and non-traditional students. They see the benefits (flexibility, no need to drive, etc.) but don't realize that taking classes online requires certain skills as well as reliable technology.

Although I did not survey them yet, I think approximately 2/3 still use dial-up either because they don't know any better or DSL and/or cable is not available in their area. Very few have good (from my point of view) computers; while most have Windows 98 or 2000, some still use Windows 95 (I already forgot how it looks!). This is why requiring them to use an application that runs Active X was a huge headache this semester.

As I already mentioned, some don't even know how to check email. This is why we now have a mandatory online course orientation before each semester starts. We demonstrate the basics of BlackBoard and then highlight the requirements of each course. Although the idea is pretty good, there are two problems: (1) we cannot force students to attend this orientation without hurting our enrollment numbers and (2) one-hour orientation is an utter chaos, especially for instructors who teach more than one online course and students who take more than one online course.

This is why I would like to try something new before next semester starts. I drafted a nice letter to all students who already enrolled in my online courses (I teach three this summer -- two sections are closed and one section has two seats left, so I am pretty much covering all students). Hopefully, that will get their attention better than a hurried reminder by their advisor (if he/she remembered). Also, I am offering a Saturday noon orientation with some light refreshments (that usually gets their attention) and a chance to interact with future classmates and talk to me about course requirements and ask as many questions as they like. This orientation will be only for my own students so it won't be as crowded and hurried as usual. Also, I am hoping Saturday will be better for students working late during the week.

I will do a standard overview of BlackBoard, show them how to send/check email and email attachments, discuss time management tips, and talk about my course requirements. Then I will answer individual questions. Also, I will take pictures and post them on Bb so we can connect names and faces.

This is a totally different issue but I am so embarrassed to meet a smiling student in a grocery store, mall, etc. and have no clue who that person is even though I worked with him/her for one or more semesters. They usually know me because I do have a picture posted online.

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to do is not only provide the basic skills but also get a better picture of who is enrolled in my classes, what are their skills, what technology is available, etc. and at least try to meet those needs. By the way, I do use a survey that asks many of these questions.

Apology

I would like to apologize to all of you who posted a comment/question and never actually saw it displayed/answered. Don't ask me how it happened but somehow Moderate Comments option was turned on and all comments were sent to the email address I very rarely use. Yeah, I know -- that change had to do something with me... :)

Faculty Pay is Decreasing? News?

There is an interesting article in the Inside Higher Education: The Evolving (Eroding?) Faculty Job. It discusses a report stating that "professors’ pay fell behind inflation for the second year in a row." Nevertheless, faculty members are blamed for rising college costs. Go figure!

Not bad, not bad...

Landed contracts for two continuing education workshops, one for mining workers and another for the local K-12 teachers!!! It's a big deal at the community college level in our area because annual evaluations require at least one workshop. I already taught one this year so, with two more, I will scoop extra points, too. Yes, yes, yes!

The first project involves business writing consulting and training. It's not the most exciting area but it's my area of expertise at the moment and my students are eager for my suggestions as to areas of improvement. It will be fun identifying their weaknesses and providing appropriate instruction.

I am really, really, really excited about the second project. Having taught at K-12 level myself, I know how difficult it is to find relevant professional development courses. So I would like to establish a summer and/or online program for the local teachers. This is THE first course so I am excited and nervous at the same time. It will be fun sharing my teaching experience with these teachers but I need to impress them and their principals if we are to have more workshops. Any ideas, anyone?

avandia class action