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EDWARD JACOBS

Author: Ed Jacobs

  • Tuesday, July 28, 2020

    Jackson’s 1st birthday!! Looking forward to the video-call I’m sure will come in a few hours.

    Am up too early (it’s 3:30 as I write this), feeling the press of the semester’s start in less than two weeks now–and also the need to get calamine lotion on this still-not-gone poison ivy.

    Am now feeling much more comfortable with the tech/software I’m needing to use in re-designing this course for fully-remote teaching. I realize that what I’m doing is an approach known as the “flipped classroom,” which I’ve heard about for the past 5+ years, but never felt a need to pursue.

    Between narrating brief presentations with PowerPoint, screen-capturing with QuickTime and Canvas’s built-in Studio, and just preparing one-page easily digestible documents/handouts and explanatory pages with Canvas, I’m finding this all invigorating, though time-consuming faaaaar beyond what I’d expected.

    The idea is really to put everything online–everything. Rather than planning to “teach” anything in realtime online sessions, I’m putting everything into brief lessons and presentations which students are to access whenever they want. The “synchronous” time will be working together on looking at specific problems, trying to create conversations, etc. The one element I’m very unsure about is when I usually have us all sing together; I’m checking with folks more knowledgable than I, but I’m not sure there’s a system capable of capturing multiple simultaneous audio inputs to create a ‘chorus’. We’ll see; my go-to guy here, Alex Davis, will know best, as he’s been an amazing resource for all things tech.

    At this point, I’ve got almost everything set for the “pre-class”; the how-this-course-works, the syllabus with lots of links, the instructions for submitting assignments, the basic layout of the class on the site, and the first few presentations. Hopefully, by the end of today, I’ll be set with what’s needed for the first week or two. Hopefully.

    Needless to say, once I’ve got the materials ready to go, there will be the inevitable tech-challenges; lags in connectivity, students who have problems with their providers, can’t navigate the ECU system, etc. Very little will work as planned, of that I’m sure.

    But, no matter how all of this works out this term, all of the materials I’m creating will change the way I teach going forward. I’ll undoubtedly re-record things in the future, but when the bulk of this is complete I’ll have a healthy storehouse of materials ready to go. And all of this will make me a more efficient teacher, I think, giving students more ways to access information, and freeing me to give them even more focused time.

  • Monday, July 27, 2020

    Yesterday’s diving was such a welcome and wonderful break from work. A long day, for sure, we enjoyed the company of some new folks–outside, wind taking care of health-threats (we hope), and just being on the boat.

    6am at the boat, left dock about 6:45 or so, about 1’15 to the first dive site. A pretty calm ride with a nice group of six divers, two dive-guides, and a captain. Good folks, no one too gung-ho, all pretty calm. This was a group of first-timers with this outfit/boat. I that’s unusual as their trips are usually drawn from a group of about 15-20 repeaters. Among the divers, three folks from G’ville (one the head of ROTC instruction at ECU), one from Raleigh, and us; the guides brought an EE student from ECU, and one who lives near Surf City and works for SAS in Cary.

    The first dive was the Ario, a real junked-up wreck from WWII. Very little was intact, so there wasn’t a ton to see. But it just felt great to be in the water, and to be enjoying the underwater space. This dive was the first (I think) for us where we were out of sight of land. Our past trips in Hawaii, Cabo, Key Largo, have all be 30+’ from shore, never very far out at all.

    The second dive was maybe 15′ from the first, (one of many spots) known as “The Ledges.” Essentially a nice strip of coral, quite teeming with life. This was really a beautiful, restful, colorful dive with so very many fish to see. Quite different from other dives, with a complete absence of turtles, but certainly no shortage of sealife. I didn’t bring the GoPro down, as i just didn’t want to be distracted; but it would have yielded some nice viewing, especially on this Ledges dive.

    Nothing super-deep, maxing out at 77′ on the second dive, 68′ on the first; and the water was so nice and warm. Some on the boat were just diving in shorts, though we wore our 3mm suits and were very comfy, even at depth. So nice to not be cold, and not need to put on extra layers.

    The trip back was an easy return, including a stop for fuel. We were back at the dock a spot before 3. So it was a 9-hour day.

    With so very much to do, so much on the work-list these days, it seems the only way to truly escape right now is to get to a space where work is simply not possible. Leaving the phone in the car at the dock, no computer; just the wide open space on the water, and the other-wordliness below. A very welcome break, indeed.

  • Friday, July 24, 2020

    Busy, filled days this past week, and more ahead.

    Torrential rains last night brought some welcome relief to a few weeks of very dry days; browning yards seeing changes in color this morning. Nice to see some green return to Greenville, for sure.

    My need to get in about 8 more hours in the yard cleaning out a long-neglected area may have to wait until next week, though, as I’m very much feeling time pressing in as the start of classes is only a few weeks away.

    Thankfully, it seems that the poison ivy reaction i got in cleaning the yard last weekend may be subsiding (thank you prednisone). As we’re looking forward to a dive this Sunday, and I really don’t want to spend a hot day in a wetsuit with p.i. beneath, I hope this trend continues. We’re excited to get out on a boat and dive with a new group, as it’s been since Kau’i (March) that we’ve done so. We did get in a few trips to the quarry a few weeks ago, just Pattie and I, but this will be the sort of trip we really like. It’s on a small boat–a 6-pack, as they say–on what they call an ‘inshore’ dive which, i believe, means about an hour from shore. The offshore dives go out considerably further; am sure we’ll do those in due time, but want to start with half-day, rather than full-day, to get to know these folks. W’ve a really good feeling about them so far–the folks who run these charters–and look forward to meeting their ‘regulars’ this weekend.

    As Jackson approaches the big 1st Birthday milestone next week, we sent along a stepstool-table/desk, and just got these pictures of him posed appropriately… Wish we could get them down here for good!

    Ready for some serious work
    Let’s get cookin’!

    Yesterday felt like getting over a serious hump in the design of one of my classes. Have now recorded a little video-presentation using powerpoint and posting on the LMS, have created a quiz, a few discussions, and learned to used the grading system. Progress in getting comfortable with the system’s capabilities, and increasingly focusing on the organization of, and presentation of materials. If all goes well, by the end of today I’ll have the first 3-4 ‘classes’ complete. So much of the class is ‘flipped,’ i.e., the teaching materials are online, ready for students to engage at their own pace, that this is really an interesting change in approach. If the plan holds (ha!) our synchronous meeting times will be spent working on assignments together, answering questions, etc. The best laid plans…

  • Thursday, July 23, 2020

    Coming to our senses? No, not really.

    https://www.chronicle.com/article/colleges-hoped-for-an-in-person-fall-now-the-dream-is-crumbling

    But after nearly 40 years of teaching, I am finding this process of converting /adjusting/reconsidering how to teach in this remote format all very interesting and, in its way, reinvigorating.

    This process is enormously time-intensive; working on learning the software, using familiar programs in new and different ways and, of course, re-designing how materials are delivered, how students can access materials and lessons at any time–not at a set meeting time. Every “class” takes days to organize at this point, but I’m sure I’ll get more efficient at this process.

    These days are all about designing these classes now, as things begin August 10 and that’s looming large. Writing has been back-burnered at this moment, which is frustrating. I’ve three projects I’m chomping to get into, but when August 10 arrives, I’ve got to have things together for these students, and I want that to be a strong experience for them.

    Off to it.

  • Tuesday, July 21, 2020

    Echoes from history, ringing loud and clear. None of them good.

    Trump’s Occupation of American Cities Has Begun (Michelle Goldberg, NYTimes)

    The politicization of everything is his only approach to anything, and he’s proven so clearly that his toolbox is only adept at making any situation worse than it was when he got involved.

    Last few days have been filled with ups and downs; lots of yard work that has led to good-looking areas of the yard, and healthy-looking poison ivy on my arms. Nothing serious, but have to clear it up before diving this weekend. Really don’t want to experience p.i. under a wetsuit in this very hot weather. (Yesterday reached 103 here; certainly better on the water, though.)

    Starting to walk more confidently now. Just love this.

    Sunday night brought a bizarre incident of vandalism, as best we/police can tell targeted for someone else…awaking at 1am to a ‘boom’ and the sound of the water hose turning on. Someone smashed two windows on Pattie’s car (in our carport), put the garden hose in it and turned on the water.

    I got there within about 2 minutes, turned off the water, but lots of damage, of course. Yesterday was lots of cleanup, dealing with insurance, getting rental car, dropping car off for repair, etc. Just a useless, costly hassle.

    But on Sunday also received rough cut recording of Six Humors, another of ACA‘s Shelter Recordings Project. This recording comes a month of e-conversations and a zoom-rehearsal with violinist Anton Miller. He’s fabulous, and really poured all of his technique, creativity, and interpretive aplomb into this hard piece, and I’m again thrilled with the results coming from this project. I expect it’ll become available within a month, and Anton mentions creating a video, as well, so I’m curious to see what he’s come up with!

    And given that the start of school is just a few weeks away (August 10 is first class), and that I’m teaching everything online/remotely, the past days have also been filled with creating content and learning alot about our delivery system–Canvas. This system is certainly a huge improvement over our previous system, offering so many more possibilities and flexibility. But, of course, that all means a bit more learning to be done. Trying not to overdo things–the job is to get the course together, not to master every one of the system’s capabilities–but it still all takes time. Very glad to know (from personal experience) that Canvas’s 24-7 support is really 24-7, and is very helpful.

    Lots to do, and today will be a better one that yesterday. Hoping it is for you, too.

  • Sunday, July 19, 2020

    https://www.ncvoter.org/absentee-ballots/
    Take action

  • Friday, July 17, 2020

    and more good news:

    http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2020/07/17/pw-exclusive-unc-system-exploring-worst-case-scenario-budget-cuts-of-up-to-50/

  • Thursday, July 16, 2020

    A man on the move

    We’re up in VA, helping Christine and Stephen with their move from an apt in the Neon District of Norfolk, to a lovely, big house in Suffolk. It’s about 20-25′ drive, and really feels like a trip to the ‘burbs. All has gone very smoothly, and certainly we hope they’ll enjoy this quieter and more roomy locale.

    Delighted to get a video call this morning from Joe and Jackson–always such a fabulous way to start the day! During the call he was displaying lots of his mobility, crawling all over, then to the walker and taking in much of the house. Though the clip above wasn’t from this morning, it’s a good indication of how he’s spending lots of his days of late. Could just eat this little guy up!

  • Tuesday, July 14, 2020

    The past few days very interesting.

    Having taken steps to have all my teaching moved online, we got fast ‘net for Surf City, to allow for online teaching from here. Was pretty easy, though pretty expensive.

    As I read the news these days, I’m reminded of a graphic I posted some time ago, of the 1918 flu pandemic’s progress. The “we are here” was a comparison to the coronavirus state-of-things in mid-March. I guess we’d now be comparing to about October on this graphic–well into the “second wave.” Though i’m not convinced we ever got past the first wave.

    The daily news about the coronavirus, with intense surges, outbreaks, hospital and equipment strains, feels and sounds very much like the news from mid-March. Nothing’s getting better. And this administration is just so completely inept, so completely unwilling to look facts in the eye, that it seems to me the only way through this will be for everyone to get sick. And sick again, and again, until a vaccine is developed.

    And now there’s an insistence that schools return to ‘normal’ in the fall. “It’s just not a big deal for kids, and they’re not big transmitters of this virus.” May be so, but kids aren’t the only ones in schools, now, are they?

    So I’ve taken the administrative steps to move everything online. I’ve no doubt that everyone will be teaching fully online before the term’s two weeks old, but this way i’ll not put myself, Pattie, her mom, etc., in peril; and i’ll know from day 1 that i won’t have to make a ‘pivot’ in teaching approach.

    I’ve begun the process of developing one of my courses into an online format. It’s a class i’ve taught since 1994. And i’m learning alot, re-examining lots of things, and hopefully honing the messages…

  • Saturday, July 11, 2020

    A fascinating exchange via open letters: the first in Harper’s

    “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate“

    and a response, “A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate” in The Objective.

    As far as I can tell, TheObjective is quite new, perhaps just beginning in early June. Some very interesting writing in there, and i’ll keep them on my newsfeed, for sure.