Monthly Archives: May 2015

Reflection for 5/25/15 to 5/29/15

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It’s Wednesday, and I’m finally getting to this. Monday was Memorial Day, so it takes a bit to get caught up with emails and chart a course once 20% of the normal week has passed.

The weekend was traveling to Black Moshannon twice. I enjoyed the time and did better in the 5K race that I ran.

We tackled a bunch of projects around the house on Monday. I was glad to get the deck power washing started and finished it on Tuesday evening. We also put up 2 ceiling fans. It is nice to make progress. Hopefully, we can continue on that pace.

It was nice to not have to run around to activities. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday resumed the running around.

We are getting closer to a decision about the future. But we are doing it within the context of taking one step at a time.

Revisions and developments are moving forward. I contacted faculty for 242 and EA 576 today. Hopefully, we can get those on track.

I reviewed two proposals for COIL. It is interesting to see what interesting things are going on around the university.

It’s Thursday, and I’m back here before the end of the day. I had a chance to work with some revision stuff and spent time doing some more reviews for COIL grants. It has been a fast, yet productive day. I’m hoping to finish out the went strongly tomorrow.

Friday’s been a good day in that I was able to finish up COIL reviews and catch up on work in preparation for teaching in Fall ’15.

It was also an opportunity to share in a celebration for the time of a colleague who has worked with Penn State for 35 years. It is quite an accomplishment and we will miss her.

It looks like next week has promise to be tied up with COIL items. I’m hoping to learn a lot through the experience. I’m also hoping to keep up with my projects relating to design and development.

Reflection for 5/18/15 to 5/22/15

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It’s Monday of the first week of Summer ’15 courses. The week has started out well, and I’m hoping that we had a great start and wonderful semester.

I received a note on Friday about materials for the supervision series that I’m attending. I’ve enjoyed the sessions so far. I printed off materials as instructed. That was too much paper.

I attended a session for COIL RIG. I’m looking forward to my first review process. I’m planning to do a bit at a time to meet the deadline.

I’m continuing to work on my Fall ’15 230 course. It is nice to get a chance to update things. I’m updating a few problems and putting together a few videos since I used live sessions the last time. I’m definitely more in favor of making videos over live sessions because of the time requirement and the need of students to watch these according to their schedule.

I’m attending a meeting for Amy G at the OB and hope to interact a bit more with those around the university. It was a good meeting that highlighted the reasons for going through the formal process that involves risk and legal for using 3rd party tools in courses.

On Friday, I attended the LMS Transition Steering Committee. This was the first meeting. It should be interesting to see how the work of this group unfolds.

It’s been a busy week. I went to a ton of meetings and felt a bit out of sorts. We have vacation on Monday and will be back at it next Tuesday.

 

Reflection for 5/11/15 to 5/15/15

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I’m starting this week at the 2015 IST Statewide meeting on both Monday and Tuesday. It’s good to meet with faculty f2f that I often only meet virtually.

I’ve been busy with working on the first week of courses. Not big red flags are present.

I’m also working on 230 for Fall ’15. It’s nice to know that I can make a few adjustments to improve the course.

I also met with faculty for two revision/developments.

A staff retreat was on Friday. It is always good to spend time with colleagues. The focus of the retreat was on leadership. It was interesting to talk about a topic that was covered in my recent supervisory training. The topic was about work style. I found myself wondering about what others thought my style was and what it really is. Then, I began to think about those who I work with and what there style was. I feel like I learned a few things both about myself and others. I know that there are a few holes in our team in terms of style. I’m hoping to work on my skills in those areas to help complement.

Reflection for 5/4/15 to 5/8/15

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I’m starting this early so that I can keep it going next week. Looking ahead, I can see that this will be a busy week, so I’m hoping that I can keep up.

Monday – I spent quite a bit of time grading this weekend which means I’m a bit spent. My students put in alot of effort and did well. I’m proud of their efforts. I really like using the interactive textbook and plan to do so moving forward.

Most of the courses moving forward are set. I had a meeting about IST 140 and will have a follow up on Thursday. I’m hoping that by then we will be much closer to having things set for the opening next week. I’m reminded that trust is something that develops over time.

In my personal life, I’m hoping to continue to grow and learn more about next steps. If it means staying put, then I’m open. If it means making a change, then I’m open. The one thing that I know is that I’m excited about my employment. Whatever the future brings will have more to do with where I live.

We had our end-of-semester lunch at Chili’s. It was a good time, and I appreciated talking with the students about their view of Happy Valley turning into Silicon Valley. In the conversation, I realized that culture has more to do with success than location. I also realize that this geographical area is not currently ready for change. But it may not have a choice. I’m excited about the potential for change. I wish all of the seniors the best as they pursue the opportunities in their near future.

It’s Monday at 3, and I’m finally going to publish. Friday was a busy and fruitful day. I can see that WAH continues to be a good way to get work done.

Reflection for 4/27/15 to 5/1/15

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This is the last week of Spring ’15. I’m excited to be finishing up another great semester. But I’m also looking forward to completing last steps toward starting Summer ’15.

Monday has been productive in getting EA/UG IST ready. I’m really glad to have the help and support of an IPS in getting this to the opening. I had a chance to take a final pass through the sections that I’m responsible for and send final notes to instructors to make their final updates.

It’s now Friday, and I’m finally getting back to this. In the interim, I’ve been busy getting things ready for Summer ’15. There is only one course, IST 140, that is not done. I’m hoping that the meeting that I have for Monday will be one to tie up loose ends.

I found out about several new developments and revisions for EA. I’m hoping to get more clarity and have a plan to make these successful endeavors.

Today is the last day of Spring ’15 semester. I’m glad for a good semester and am looking forward to a good summer.

The personal items in my life are still up in the air. I’m not sure what I should do to remedy the situation, but I’m counting on things coming clearer before I make any decisions.