After students watch an online lecture, what do they know? What do they think they know? How do you know what they know?
Instructors just venturing into online learning often have the valid concern that they might not be able to tell if their students are “getting it.” Without being able to see students during the lecture, they won’t see the encouraging nods, the confused raised eyebrows, the glazed-over look of boredom. And when your students have so many potential distractions available on the Internet just a click away, it can be troubling to not know how much of their attention you have when they’re watching your lecture.
For the first time in my working life, I am going to be out of the office for three consecutive weeks. Planning for this time away has not only forced me to be as efficient as possible in the time leading up to my vacation, but also has gotten me thinking about the importance of a great team.
Alignment is a core guiding principle in the 
It’s summer in Chicago, and with the abundance of fun activities to engage your attention the last thing you may want to do is think about how to improve the accessibility of your online course. Relax. I’m not here to harsh anyone’s summertime mellow. But the fall term is approaching, so step into Dee’s Course Spa® for a refreshing and therapeutic summer break course makeover. Your course will feel sparkly-new and ready for the next term!
When I was an undergrad, my “intellectual conversation crutch” was bringing up something from Jon Stewart’s Daily Show. After moving to Chicago, that crutch morphed into inserting something I read in The New York Times or New Yorker.
Recently I purchased a wheelchair for my mom on Amazon. I love shopping on Amazon. It’s quick, easy, and my packages come straight to the front door. I read the reviews to see what other buyers have to say about the product, and usually make up my mind whether or not to buy based on those reviews. Generally, I never have an issue.
I’ve always loved Rube Goldberg’s drawings. They lent a certain sense of the absurd to everyday tasks, creating a ridiculously complicated machine to handle something most of us could do without even thinking about it. Like many young people, I also delighted in building machines similar to Goldberg’s, using every toy at my disposal to produce something that, let’s be honest, may have been more satisfying to design and build than to actually deploy most of the time. A few hours’ work for ten seconds of payoff? Not a big deal, when you’re a kid.