June. WTF.
⚙️ Work
Existential crises are fun.
🔗 Links
SoTL
- Fennelly-Atkinson, R. & Pakhira, Deblina. (2024). Revealing Hidden Proficiencies: An Intersectional Journey into Learners’ Realities with Micro-Credentials TechTrends. 68, 561–572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-00956-z 2 authors write about their own experiences.
Working
Jeffrey Zeldman: The gift of a three-month sabbatical. Automattic has a staff benefit that encourages staff members to take 3 months off work - paid - every 5 years. I’ve been thinking a lot about sabbaticals, research leaves, etc., and how only one staff group on campus gets them. I know that a sabbatical would be transformative. I also know that it’s not an option.
Robert Winter: How to Think Better: A Shallow Dive into a Deep Topic
Suzanne Lucas @ Inc.: Your Managers Think They’re Doing Great. Employees Disagree
Bangaly Kaba @ Reforge: Impact = Environment x Skills: How to Make Career Decisions - The whole thing is useful, but especially the “Impact = Environment x Skills Framework”.
Reading this, I realized why I’ve been struggling so much with my annual review self-reflection this year - the personal component is only part of describing/shaping the impact, and the environment component is outside of my direct control. It’s not a personal failure for not being able to change the environment at an institution (despite the fact that it sure feels like one, after trying for so many years). And, I need to be reflecting on the environment component as well - in a way, making an annual performance review on the institution rather than just on myself.
AI
- Lorelei Anselmo @ UCalgary News: Empowering teaching and learning experiences through GenAI - Lorelei describes her perspective on generative AI, as an instructional designer.
- Doreen Nicoll @ Rabble: How AI can be used to create post-secondary curriculum - rabble.ca. Featuring Dr. Soroush Sabbaghan’s work on generative AI tools for teaching, including SMARTIE.
- Stephen Downes: AI in Enterprise Learning Systems. A presentation given at Concordia University’s Summer Institute on AI and Education, May 27, 2024. (PDF of slides)
- OpenAI - Introducing ChatGPT Edu. Awesome. Now we’ll get asked to funnel money there, too.
📚 Reading
- ★★★☆☆ The Valley of Horses (1982). Book 2 of Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series. It was good, but I am not the audience for explicit caveman romance porn.
- Started reading book 3: The Mammoth Hunters
🧺 Other
The cold that’s been going around campus finally hit me like a tonne of bricks Thursday evening. Having a garbage immune system makes that extra fun. I took a few days off the bike while my lungs clear. Thankfully, I was well enough on Friday afternoon to go for the CT scan. 🎉
🗓️ Focus for next week
- Meetings - 1:1, team, TI, institutional. Meetings.
- My niece is graduating from UCalgary, so attending her convocation ceremony.
- Finishing. My. Annual. Performance. Review. Self-reflection.