Educators Succeed Despite Adversity

education is supposed to be about nurturing thoughtful creativity, yet we are often forced to “stay on script.”

Ramblings on Latitude and Longitude Using a Lightboard

Fall 2015 my university commissioned one of our on-campus engineers to design and build not one but two Lightboards. If you aren’t familiar with what a Lightboard is you’ve come to the proper blog. On Tuesday, March 1st, I gave a mess of lecture about the size and shape of the Earth, and double-down on…

60 Seconds on Teaching (Actually 75 seconds)

This is not my TEDTalk by any stretch of the imagination. In my wanderings and associated interactions around campus I’ve met a few people involved with teaching and technology. These individuals associate teaching and technology with me, too. Our local faculty development center IT manager asked me last week if I’d like to do a…

Overcoming the “College Students As Children” Mindset

In 2007 I began working for a nearby community college, my third such institution in Kentucky. In Kentucky, the community college system operates by a set of guiding principles and policies yet each institution also operates as a sort of franchise. The best way I can describe this is the application process. A person must…

Staying Enthusiastic As Higher Education Sickens

I know. My post’s title is morbid, especially coming on the heels of my previous post about the passing of my director and mentor. He would have appreciated the irony. During what would result in Dr. Wesler’s last semester teaching Kit co-taught a course with the dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts…

Small Schools Can Make A Big Difference

You probably have never heard of Julius Rosenwald. Even if you grew up in Chicago the name, “Julius Rosenwald,” may not mean a thing, may ring no memory bells. However, if you have ever visited the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago you have him to thank. He was one of the important benefactors…

My Comments On Geography-themed Writing Assignments

Below, I have provided the word-for-word Announcement I posted to Canvas today to convey some thoughts to my 100-level World Geography class. I post my Announcements here, on my blog, to see if people agree with me, to and show an example of an Announcement, as I am frequently looking for good examples of communicating…

Open Source GIS and Mapping Tools to Help You Get Started

I’ve been an ESRI ArcGIS user since the days of Arc/INFO Ver. 5.0. Having used “command line GIS” since 1991 the rise of open source GIS solutions intrigues me. Trying new products and new software and learning new terminology and getting familiar with many different data formats are valuable jobs skills for me. However, being…

When Students Are Ready To Listen

Tonight, I had an interesting conversation with a college drop-out. She is young so she still has a chance at a decent future for herself. This young lady will have a decent future for herself when she is ready to listen. When she is ready to stop talking and start listening she may be able…

Privatization of Higher Education Deserves Scrutiny and Skepticism

On March 18th, 2015, the Illinois Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) proposed a new set of hardened news rules for students to adhere to if they want grants from the good people of Illinois (News-Gazette, 3-24-2015). Senator Brady’s bill, SB 1565, creates a repayment schedule for students who have received a grant. Students who complete their…