Day 86, June 10, 2020
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| The back side of a bear eating chicken pellets. |
It is late, and the refrigerator quit working, and I just got off a Zoom with two of my kids and my parents, so just a quick post today.
Last night, a little after 3 am, we woke to the sound chickens squawking in alarm, wing flapping exasperatedly, and the sound to metal. The dog was barking. I tried to look outside, but could see nothing from the 2nd floor, so I put on my pajama bottoms and went downstairs, put on the rubber work boots and grabbed two flashlights. I'm not sure why I grabbed two flashlights other than there are a variety of flashlights by the front door, mainly for walking the dog at night and they tend to be at various stages of depletion.
So I went out thusly armed expecting the worst, carnage from a raccoon or a fox, and as I got closer to the coop, I couldn't quite understand what was happening. It was dark and the flashlights were disappointingly dim, until I got close enough to see the large dark shape of a bear crouched over the chicken feed container munching away. Mean while two of the chickens were frantically straining at the fencing just a few feet away. I couldn't tell how the bear had gotten into the chicken run, but its back was right by the gate so I was contemplating slipping up behind it to open the gate, but then decided maybe not to do that. I walked around to the far side of the coop and could see the bear's face, it's brown snout, and it gave a deep low moan. It did that a couple of times like I had disturbed its peaceful moment, and then it got up and in the dark, somehow slipped over the fencing and I could hear it making its heavy way into the forest.
I contemplated checking the fencing there, but the bear was still near, so I didn't venture too close to the woods. I righted the fencing as best I could where the bear had climbed in, and went in to comfort the chickens. Chicken #3 was hiding inside the coop and missed all the commotion, though her eyes were wide when I opened it up to check on her. I soothed chickens #1 and #2 and put them in the coop and then went back up to lie in bed and try to sleep. But it is hard to sleep when you've just had a conversation with a bear.
So that is how day 86 of the pandemic started.
Goodnight, stay safe,
Leo
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| The girls the morning after. |
From Our Friends:
From Yves Salomon-Fernández in Diverse Issues in Higher Education:
by Yves Salomon-Fernández
While still not universally embraced, there is a growing recognition that the Black Lives Matter movement cannot be ignored. This acknowledgement by some of the most unlikely individuals and institutions, like the National Football League, is a sign that change is afoot.
And also in Inside Higher Ed:
How Does Higher Ed Respond to the Sweeping Calls for Social Change?
Our country is going through a seismic transformation and, at some level,
so is the world.
Our country is going through a seismic transformation and, at some level,
so is the world.
By
From Lillian Ruiz via The Stanford Daily:
One final point — these protests are not only about police violence toward Black people — they are about white supremacy. They are about seeing the vestiges of white supremacist thinking in both blatant and covert forms. The aptly named group “Who’s Teaching Us?” is not just talking about demographic representation — it is talking about a curriculum in which they do not appear, or appear only as a footnote.
From Eric Sarmiento:
A cool episodic long-form musical poem/performance/collage piece. I really dig it.
From Jen Williams via Science:
A simple exercise on belonging helps black college students years later
Black freshmen who participated in the training had higher life satisfaction as young adults
From Diana Abath via The Massachusetts Women of Color Network:
"Keeping Black Women Alive: Best Practices for Understanding and Responding to High Risk in Communities of Color"
Date: June 11, 2020
Time: 10am-12pm
A dialogue by and amongst Black women.
Join us and our panelists as we discuss best practices for understanding and responding to high risk in communities of color. There will be a presentation of the existing data, an overview of the current Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT) models across the state, and a discussion with our panelists particularly examining the use of DVHRT teams to combat domestic violence homicide in communities of color.
Panelists will share their skills and experience working with Black women and working in their communities, while also sharing unique approaches and things to take into consideration when working to reduce risk for domestic violence homicide.
This panelists discussion will take place on Zoom. Attendees will receive the Zoom link one week prior to the event.
Please RSVP through Eventbrite using the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/keeping-black-women-alive-tickets-93520709961
We look forward to seeing you!
In solidarity,
MAWOCN
Email: masswocn@gmail.com
Email: masswocn@gmail.com
From ACE Engage:
The time to act is now. Join fellow higher ed leaders to advance issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff in the Race and Equity group.
From OpenStax:
Rene Sing, a student at Laguardia Community College in Queens, NY and participant in our National Student Internship, recently took to the OpenStax blog to share what he has observed about this moment and what it means for higher education. Read about Rene’s experience and his thoughts in this post, “Resilient learning in times of crisis.”
Rene Sing, a student at Laguardia Community College in Queens, NY and participant in our National Student Internship, recently took to the OpenStax blog to share what he has observed about this moment and what it means for higher education. Read about Rene’s experience and his thoughts in this post, “Resilient learning in times of crisis.”
From the NYT:
In Art |
The Gay Figure Artists Reimagining the Male Gaze |
Working largely outside the gallery system, a group of illustrators, including John MacConnell, Louis Fratino, Kou Shou and Martin Bedolla, is reviving the discipline of male figure drawing and redefining how queer bodies are represented in art. The male nude is, of course, one of the oldest artistic fixations: The Riace bronzes, Greek sculptures cast around 450 B.C., depict naked, bearded warriors as exemplars of masculine strength and beauty; “Farnese Hercules,” a third-century B.C. marble sculpture of the mythical hero, once stood at Rome’s Baths of Caracalla. Over the next 2,000 years, capturing the male form became an essential artistic skill. But while some old masters fetishized the male body in barely coded ways, the idea of an openly queer artist expressing his desires from a queer perspective was only born in the last century. Today’s practitioners of the form are more often following in the footsteps of artists like David Hockney and Robert Mapplethorpe, normalizing gay bodies and desire and, in doing so, upending the traditional notion of the muse. Read the full story here.
From College Promise:
- "Authentic leadership development would require that students become involved directly in activities that exert some influence over decisions that are being made about the education they are receiving and/or the learning environment they are experiencing. This is where the proverbial rubber hits the road." — Hearing The Voices Of College Students: University Leaders Need To Listen Up | Forbes
From The Daily Yonder:
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From The Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative:
The 2019 Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy is now available. Published annually since 1997, the Index provides a critical 30,000-foot view of the health of the Massachusetts innovation economy, providing a variety of data and insights that help inform our approach to economic development in the Commonwealth.
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| The poppy bloomed today! |
Today's Online Teaching Tips:
From Teaching Tolerance:
Resources for Teaching Black Lives MatterInternational protests in response to the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Tony McDade show the vast reach and profound importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. These resources can help you talk with students about the historical context and mission behind Black Lives Matter and work toward making your school a more affirming, safer space for Black students.Teaching About Race, Racism and Police Violence George Floyd should still be alive. Breonna Taylor should still be alive. So many should still be alive. Our nation’s historic and ongoing injustices can’t be ignored. These resources can help spur much-needed discussion around implicit bias and systemic racism and help you talk with students while prioritizing their well-being and agency. |
From REV:
REV'S FIRST-EVER ACCESSIBILITY WEEK!
Where: At your computer (We'll send you a link)
When: June 22-26, noon to 1 p.m. CST
What: A great group of speakers ranging from Panopto to NYU to West Virginia University, discussing their thoughts, experiences, and advice on how to meet the needs your university will no doubt find itself having come Fall 2020 (and probably deep into the future).
Check out our fantastic lineup!
REV'S FIRST-EVER ACCESSIBILITY WEEK!
Where: At your computer (We'll send you a link)
When: June 22-26, noon to 1 p.m. CST
What: A great group of speakers ranging from Panopto to NYU to West Virginia University, discussing their thoughts, experiences, and advice on how to meet the needs your university will no doubt find itself having come Fall 2020 (and probably deep into the future).
Check out our fantastic lineup!
From Academic Impressions:
Immersive Learning and Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed-Reality in a Time of Pandemic
Article | Campus Technology San Diego State University has created a center for teaching with virtual-, augmented- and mixed-reality tools that supports research in the cross-curriculum implementation of immersive pedagogies. According to the project lead, amid the pandemic, "the move to remote instruction...provides a unique opportunity to further explore the use of XR to provide engaging distance learning - particularly for hands-on activities, such as labs." Read more.
Free and Discounted Ed Tech Tools for Online Learning During the PandemicArticle | Campus Technology
Some companies are making their paid services free through the rest of the school year; others are lifting limits to services and/or adding premium features to what's free. This list is tracking these so that faculty and administrators can find them. Read more.
Quick Trainings: Online Teaching EffectivenessResource Hub | Academic Impressions
Get access to dozens of short lessons like these, as well as webcasts, articles, and downloadable tools with an Academic Impressions membership. We know that moving classes online is not a straightforward process. So we've pulled together a host of resources to help you get it done.
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From Online Learning:
Call for Articles on COVID-19
Special Issue of Online Learning
The Editors of the Online Learning Journal wish to invite researchers to publish in a special issue devoted to the lessons learned about online learning from the COVD-19 crisis, including the challenges faced by teachers and students in the unexpected transition to distance learning, institutional or community supports which helped teachers and students successfully adapt to online learning, and insights to apply as educators move forward with online learning (in both “emergency” and “business as usual” contexts). Visit our website for additional information on the issue, including topics, a timeline, and submission instructions.
The Editors of the Online Learning Journal wish to invite researchers to publish in a special issue devoted to the lessons learned about online learning from the COVD-19 crisis, including the challenges faced by teachers and students in the unexpected transition to distance learning, institutional or community supports which helped teachers and students successfully adapt to online learning, and insights to apply as educators move forward with online learning (in both “emergency” and “business as usual” contexts). Visit our website for additional information on the issue, including topics, a timeline, and submission instructions.
From MediaSite:
Streaming video’s power to connect people from all corners of the world in real-time has never been more prevalent. Now that you have all this extra demand for video, do you have enough bandwidth to handle the massive increase in viewership?
In this webinar, you’ll learn how moving to the cloud can:
- Give unprecedented worldwide access to your video communications
- Free up time for the new priorities on your list and let someone else do the heavy lifting
- Actually help ease your uncertainties right now
Plus, find out who to contact for help every step of the way to ensure a seamless, headache-free experience.
Join us at 1 pm CT on June 18 and use the hashtag #videointhecloudon Twitter to ask questions. Our presenters will respond to you in real-time!
From OpenStax:
We offer free webinars featuring our staff, partners, textbook authors, students, and book adopters. Whether you want to get to know our team better or are looking for courseware, we know you’ll find a webinar that piques your interest. With the help of the Michelson 20MM Foundation we are able to offer even more great webinars! Watch this video of Dr. Gary Michelson, a supporter of a diverse set of philanthropic causes, to see why they’ve chosen to support this work.
Explore webinars
Explore webinars
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