Hello, all:
I hope this finds you well, and that you’ve had some time to get out and enjoy the nice weather. At times like these, it’s difficult to keep perspective, but getting outside can help. Remember, too, to limit the number of times a day you check the news–including the number of times you hit a link a friend has shared on social media. This allows more space in the day–and in our thoughts–for the things that help us thrive: our families, our students, our love of books and ideas and music and cooking.
This week’s e-mail will be relatively short. First of all, just a reminder that CARPE office hours are now two days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 am until noon.
Second, if you’re still looking for resources that might help you make better videos for your classes, I’ve included a short article forwarded to me by Jeff Rahl, chair of Geology, that contains some excellent tips.
Next, I wanted to share this webinar on trauma-informed pedagogy by Mays Imad. Dr. Imad was in her mid-teens during the 1991 U.S. invasion of Iraq; after surviving forty days of bombing, she returned to her school to discover empty desks in her classes. Dr. Imad is a professor of Genetics, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, and her talk is a powerful blend of science and the humanities. This video is rather, long particularly at the start (the webinar was over-enrolled, and the site crashed), but is worthwhile, particularly toward the end where Imad presents thoughtful pedagogical advice.
Still on the topic of student perspectives, I’m linking this piece, forwarded to me by Helen MacDermott, on students’ responses to the shift to virtual instruction. It’s a short article, and does a nice job of summarizing data–scraped from social media–on how students are seeing their own learning, their peers, and their professors as we make this giant pivot.
Finally, when W&L announced it was closing campus and moving to virtual instruction, Professor Toni Locy urged her students to document this moment of crisis in their lives. Some of the results are linked below. They’re a great read, both for their polish and insight, but also simply as a reminder of why we do what we do. I’ve included Tony’s introductions to each piece.
Many many thanks, all, for your hard work these last few weeks. Please continue to take care of yourselves and your families.
Best,
Paul Hanstedt
W&L Student Reporting on the COVID-19 Crisis
- Isaac Thompson’s journey back home to Tennessee
- Jackson Sharman’s news story about changes in Lexington
- Sophie Kidd’s journey back home to Houston
- James Laverty’s journey from his fraternity house to Woods Creek
Jimmie Johnson, a senior in Journalism 362, Producing for TV and the Web, put the Rockbridge Report website together today, creating pages for the stories and deciding their order of importance. He also chose national Associated Press stories about the coronavirus crisis to keep our readers informed of national developments.
Prof. Kevin Finch oversaw Jimmie’s work, and technical director, Michael Todd, made sure everything worked as it should.