The immaculate vibes of the Zombie Pandemic Simulation
A few weeks ago, my intro to IR class engaged in my favorite activity of the semester- the zombie pandemic simulation, and, as a great class session always does, it reignited my joy for teaching and learning. The vibes were, as the youth say, immaculate. This assignment is adapted from International Relations Syllabus, United Nations […]
Open Ed Talk: Keeping the Person in Personalized Learning
On March 20, 2024, I gave a talk (rant?) about keeping the person in personalized learning. The slides can best be described as a collection of angry screenshots, so I won’t be sharing them, but in the off chance anyone is interested in the sources/information, here it is: Student Works I highlighted:
My scholarly valentine
Roses are red, violets are blue I love these open tools and I think you might too. Here are three of the essential open tools I use in my teaching and research* (that a certain ill-conceived draft policy would prohibit using for our online classes). CUNY Academic Commons – funded by CUNY specifically to create […]
You don’t have to mandate ice cream
I heard today that once upon a time, CUNY tried to mandate that every faculty member be required to use Blackboard and only Blackboard. That attempt was unsuccessful, as I hope this draft policy will be as well, for the same reason- if the LMS is good (as we have been promised it is), then […]
One LMS to rule them all?
one LMS to find them, one LMS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them The draft policy for mandatory sole LMS usage is a massive incursion into academic freedom. While the EVP has offered several reasons for this policy, none of them justify this curtailing of instructors’ academic freedom. Isildur had good reasons […]
Does it though?
(TL:DR summary: increasing administrative efficiency does not justify radically curtailing academic freedom, surveilling instructors and students, and limiting innovation and real world experience for our classes.) Does the draft policy forced LMS use actually do what it says it does? The University-supported LMS is CUNY’s only platform for delivery of online instruction that: Overall: increasing […]
Draft LMS Policy is a giant lump of coal for faculty and students
“Lump of coal” is the most suitable-for-work way I can describe the terrible draft policy on LMS usage I received today. I can’t find anything about this policy on the EVP’s website despite the memo indicating them as the “Policy Owner,” so I’ve put a digital copy up here if you’d like to read it; […]
Management is getting things done through others
My father had a favorite phrase he learned in business school* that was often repeated throughout my childhood, usually in response to protestions from my siblings and I that we had to do the chores** he assigned to us, yet he would still get credit for doing the job, since “Management is getting things done […]
CUNY Award Remarks
On May 18, 2023, I recieved an Alumni CUNY Award from the CUNY Graduate Center. While I certainly don’t feel like I’ve done enough to receive this award (especially compared to prior winners like the incredible Professor Dána-Ain Davis), I was proud to accept it. Winners were permitted to make a short speech, and the […]
Transformative Learning in the Humanities
Waiting for the last of the semester’s assignments to come in before my real feedback marathon begins, I’ve finally completed my part of Cohort 4, Group 2’s public knowledge project for the Transformative Learning in the Humanities Fellowship I was lucky enough to hold this fall. The fellowship was extremely cool- we got a big […]
