Please click here to see new posts. I have migrated to a new domain. 
Moving!
Apr 10
Letting Go
Mar 1
You may, or may not , have notice my absence from social media and email lately. I have been at a point where there were so many projects and tasks on my list that I was paralyzed. When I find myself only doing the minimum to get through the day, snapping at people, and getting overly snarky (beyond my usual snark) I know it is time to reassess.
For as long as I can remember reassessing meant diving in for long periods of time and churning out work, and not always my best work. Something has shifted in the past year and I’m finding myself unable to ‘churn’. I don’t know if it is age, life situation, or lazy (but let’s hope it isn’t lazy). So, no more churn means something has to give. Which means…
Image Creative Commons Licensed by flickr user infomatique
Letting Go
Even though it may disappoint others, which is difficult for me. Or passing on an opportunity, which I hate to do.
On the upside it means really focusing on those things that will help me grow.
It is still difficult. I recently had to send an email to an editor and co-author that article wasn’t coming together and a new project at work was going to be taking up some of my free time.
I’ve had to let go of my dream of earning a PhD. Calm down, calm down. I should have said “let go for now”. Getting back into academic life isn’t feasible at this time.
And yesterday I found out that I’m going to be letting go of some time at work. July 1 all ‘part-time’ people will be limited to 24 hours a week. I currently work 37 hours a week and could use those 3 hours that would make me full-time. I’m not sure of what duties I will need to let go, or what parts of my current caseload. I understand why, but that isn’t making it any easier. I never intended to work part-time after graduation and 37 hours a week has been difficult to swallow, 24 might choke me.
So, for those of you on the wrong side of my ‘letting go’ I apologize. But I also promise that when things clear I will come back to our projects and be a stronger partner.
Community College Love
Feb 16
Working at a community college is not what I anticipated doing after grad school. I pictured myself on a traditional campus with the ebb and flow of semesters and summer breaks, residence halls and football games. Which now seems odd considering my focus has been adult learners (aka nontraditional students). While there are increasing numbers of nontraditional students on traditional campuses there are by far more to be found on community college campuses, online institutions, and for-profit colleges or universities.
Fast-forward (trust me, it seems like I have gone in fast-forward) 2 years after grad school and 20 months into a position at a community college and – well, it’s not that I can’t see myself at a traditional institution, but I’m finding that my passion is the community college (CC) and community college students. Which brings me to three recent readings and thoughts.
A recent posting at DistanceEd.org titled Community Colleges: The Pros and Cons was not as thorough as I would have liked, and I think it could be misleading to potential students. Yes, CCs are less expensive, and yes class sizes are smaller, but I don’t believe you will necessarily find classes geared toward adult learners any more than you would at a traditional institution. Adjuncts and faculty members, like their counterparts at other institutions, often don’t receive any training in teaching (pedagogy or andragogy). Some adjuncts come directly from high schools and teaching traditional students. However, what you will find are classrooms with a mix of ages, and depending on the CC a predominance of nontraditional students.
“Not the traditional college experience” I agreed with this statement until I read further to the statement that you won’t find “extracurricular activities, on-campus social life, intellectual discussions in the hallways” on a CC campus. Hmm – yes you will. CCs have activities and social life on campus. We strive to have these because of the retention benefits AND because students benefit from them. No, it isn’t a midnight dance at the Greek house. We are cognizant of the students’ roles in life and the demands on their time. So we might opt for brown bag lunch speakers, a 5pm ice cream social, or club meetings that occur at an odd hour when a majority of members are already on campus. No, we don’t have division I sports and stadiums that can hold a small city’s worth of fans, but we do have sports and believe it or not we have fans. As for not finding ‘intellectual conversations’ in the hallways, I would have to challenge you to find this on a traditional campus. CC students do enjoy challenging and stimulating conversations, but they may have them in the car, or via email, or at one of the jobs they are holding down in order to support a family and attend college. ”Tough to transfer credits” False! Transfer agreements are standard at most CCs, and in many states courses taken at CCs are designed to transfer to state schools. ”Limited degree options” Also false. Many CCs offer a WIDE variety of degrees and then we can also add certificates and licensure prep to those.
Inside Higher Ed published an article today titled Is Completion the Right Goal. I’m still processing most of my thoughts on this article. I see both sides of the completion issue. Is it going to water down the quality of higher education in order to push students through to completion, or is it going to challenge us to help students complete. But what stood out was something that I find frustrating almost every day.
“Hauptman also said that attention should be paid to increasing the number of certificates and apprenticeships, which are not counted in “traditional measures” of success but help meet work force needs, a point reinforced by several other speakers at Tuesday’s event.”
We need to start counting certificates and transfer students in our completion rates. Not everyone wants, needs, or is able to achieve a ‘traditional’ degree. The applied knowledge that comes with certificates and alternative degrees is just as valid as the liberal arts or professional knowledge that comes with associates, bachelors, masters, or doctoral degrees. We need to invest in students who are seeking alternative routes to knowledge and employment.
So how about some more Community College love. We are hard working professionals and our students are smart, capable, and just as important as the typical undergraduate at Important State U.
From Student Affairs Women Talk Tech the prompt is <insert drumroll> “Pick a relationship, any relationship, and describe what makes it special to you.”
Wow, this is a tough one. Do I do revealing or stay safe. I’m not much of a ‘gushy gusher’ unless you ask me about my kids. And why did I pick this week to try and get back on the blogging train? HMM??
Oh well, on with it then. I’m going to use this prompt as a way to say thank you to one of my long long long (yes, we are getting that old) time friends Suz (aka S to my J).
S and I met on line 17ish years ago when our youngest kids (Emmy and Bry) were just babies! We’ve been through a LOT together, and sometimes gotten into some good natured trouble together.
S was there through my divorce, when I met TheRPh, the moves, the hours and days and years of school. We’ve lost touch once or twice because life just gets in the way.
What makes our relationship special? The fact that we can go months, and at one point years, without talking and then pick right back-up like almost no time as passed. We don’t exchange hours and hours of phone calls or chat sessions like we use to. We don’t visit several times a year as we did in days past. But she still knows where the bodies are buried, where my heart is, and what truly matters to me. Through all of it she is always on my side.
When I see cute little sayings like “We will be friends until we are old and senile…then we’ll be new friends!” I think of S.
Thanks S, and I love you MOSTEST!
So many interesting things
Jan 25
My reader was full of great things this morning. Most of these I’ve only had time to skim, but I thought it would be an interesting exercise to post what interests me.
I like to do some ‘crafting’ and I’m really interested in using recycled materials. My current favorite is old music sheets, but I would love to try some Lightbulb Glass Sculptures.
And because I like to do so many things I’m a big of getting things done. It always surprises me when someone is impressed that I follow through on something. Two of my favorite places for all kinds of hints, tips, and tricks is Lifehacker (.com) and Stepcase Lifehack. Today Lifehack brought me Twelve Steps to Get Things Done. Always a good reminder!
Joshua Kim writes a great blog for Inside Higher Ed and today he’s taking a look at Amazon’s Kindle and why it is so far behind the iPad in terms of higher ed use. Joshua’s thinking always gets me thinking.
The title of Libby Gruner’s post today caught my attention. I have just had the chance to skim “Mothering at Mid-Career: Tiger Mothers and Drifting College Students”, but it will take a bit of research to get into the post because I haven’t heard of the two books she mentions.
I have a weakness for LOLCats – and LOLDogs – this one made me smile.
I’m going to have to come back to Andy Shaindlin’s post about Diaspora, but it was this quote that caught my eye “”People aren’t addicted to technology. They’re addicted to other people.” – danah boyd Which means I also need to take a look at danah’s site. I think this is so very true. I don’t log on to Twitter because it’s Twitter. I log on for the people I engage with on Twitter.
Again Inside Higher Ed brings me food for thought along with one of my favorite organizations, Lumina Foundation. I will try to post my response to this article about “What College Degrees Should Mean” at some point.
I thought I had picked-up this new site (Xplana) from my friends over at BreakDrink, because they do a great Daily Dose of Student Affairs, but now I’m not sure where it came from. Anyway Student Trends to Watch should prove to be some interesting reading.
And that, dear readers, is what caught my eye and made me go Hmm… this morning.
What are you finding interesting? What blogs do you follow?
Blog Prompt Monday! Seriously, my procrastination and inability to get anything done after work is getting to be a major problem. But that’s a different post!
The Student Affairs Women Talk Tech blog prompt for this Monday was “What is your favorite tech tool/toy for work (gadget, app, accessory, etc.)? For play?”
I have to go with an app(ish) because I don’t often purchase new gadgets (despite what TheRPh might try and tell you). My can’t live without for work and play is Google Reader. I use RSS feeds to keep-up with everything Higher Ed, great blogs from SA folks, and other assorted news. But I also use it for play with feeds from LOLCats, When Parents Text, and tons of crafty and self-help type blogs. Although lately I’m thinking I need to cut the number of feeds down and get rid of some of the ‘play’ sites.
I also can’t live without Gmail, Excel, and Dropbox.
Several great people have blogged about their word for the year, and I’ve heard several words put out via Twitter. I like the idea of having one word to bring focus to all of my activities for the year. Which is partly why coming up with a word for the year was a bit of a challenge. What word could I use to encompass all of the roles that I have? After spending several commutes considering various options the one that seems most fitting for what I want to accomplish is. . .
photo by Flickr user Chiot's Run
It is going to be a year of growing for our family as TheGirl leaves the house for college in the fall and TheRPh and I look at where we want to go next.
I want to focus on growing professionally. Learning, listening, working with students, working with faculty and staff, writing, presenting. I want to grow my professional relationships with some of the fantastic women I have met this past year at conferences and via Twitter. I want to grow as a mentor and resource for new professionals, grad students, and colleagues.
I want to grow personally working on self-discipline, self-confidence, and becoming the best me I can possibly be.
So – here’s to 2011 as an opportunity for us all to grow together.
The #sachat blogging community has been very active lately. So many wonderful people starting blogs or pledging to blog more. Every time I log in to Twitter or open my RSS reader I am instantly inspired to write, try something new, or just simply engage in the conversation.
Earlier this week I was inspired by @BrendaBetman‘s post about Virtual & IRL friendships, and not just because she mentioned me! 
It was the truth in that post. The lighthearted exchanges between Brenda, @tbump, @dschmidtrogers, and me really helped me re-frame my state of mind at the time. It is always nice to know that people think you have something valuable to say, and it is powerful when they are women that you (meaning I) greatly admire. I consider these women just some of my unofficial mentors and I look for them daily.
So, I’m instantly inspired. I’m not always able to act on that inspiration and find myself composing responses or posts in my head and not quite getting them ‘on the page’. I think part of this is because I don’t trust that what I have is valuable to say. When I originally started this blog it was with the intent to post as an ‘expert’ in adult student services. That should tell you why the blog is often dormant, who am I to be an ‘expert’. But watching, reading, learning, lurking, and being befriended by wonderful women (like those mentioned above!) is like getting permission to have a few skinned-knees. I think the delayed gratification comes from having to sit on things for a few days before getting them out and the delay I’ve experienced in my search for women who inspire and mentor without even trying.
Thank you Brenda, Teri, and Deb!
A post worth reading
Aug 20
Kevin at MistakenGoal has a great post about the Beloit College Mindset list for the incoming class of 2014. He points out the growing numbers of nontraditional and part-time students that are reshaping our campuses, but more importantly he talks about the assumptions we make about students.
Thanks Kevin!
ProfHacker recently posted a question about essential technology skills for incoming students. Within the article and the responses there are several “essential” technology skills. I don’t disagree with any of the skills listed.
However, I think there is one essential skill that was left off the list. What I would most like incoming students to know about technology is where to find help. I’m not referring to just a friend that can walk them through something, but help in actually understanding and using technology as a tool.
It is important for students to be able to access and understand the help function of the software they are using. How to find help via the search function and the index, and how to interpret and follow the guides provided.
How to Google for help, and how to determine what is quality help when looking at the results.
How to find help on campus and the benefits of taking a basic computer course. I find the assumption that all (or most) ”millennial” students know how to use technology frustrating. Sure, students know how to text and access the internet, social media, email, and possibly a few Office programs. But knowing how to use technology doesn’t always equate to knowing how to use it as a tool. Email is a prime example. I have many students, but not all, who are familiar with using email, however, I am often frustrated when I receive emails from students because they are a) written in “text” speak b) have no signature c) do not have a clear subject line and d) are not sent from school accounts as it states in the syllabus (and several other places).
So the essential skill, for me, is the ability to learn proper technology use via a variety of sources. Then we can move on to information literacy!