When a student gets your reference to an "old song," it makes you think the kids will make it someday.
There’s hope for the future
10 things to do on a long, snowy weekend
Supposedly there's a decent-sized storm heading this way. All basketball games and kids activities have been cancelled for tomorrow. The fridge and freezer are stocked. The semester starts on Tuesday, and we're off on Monday for the MLK Holiday. Here's a few things on my to-do list for the weekend: Finish Harry Potter and the... Continue Reading →
I made my students 49% smarter and I can prove it
"Well looky there, you learned something! You're 49% smarter than you were 5 minutes ago!" This aha! moment occurred while teaching over 400 business students this fall. Using Tophat in my business research instruction sessions, I was able to assess that my students did in fact learn something through my teaching. The Challenge Each semester... Continue Reading →
“Please” and “Thank You,” they are the magic words
I posted this on Facebook, but figured I would also post it here to preserve it for good measure (plus I got an itch for actually publishing something on this cob-web-infested blog). I received the following email from a student that I helped with some research: Good Morning Chad, Within 3 clicks I found... Continue Reading →
Teaching a one-shot library instruction session with TopHat
This spring I used Tophat to shake up the delivery of my large research sessions. This is one example of how I have used Tophat to enhance my library research instruction. The scenario Each spring I am invited to give a one-shot, hour-long orientation to approximately 125 students who are part of the Global Consulting... Continue Reading →
My first experience in our new active learning classroom
Today was my first time teaching in our newly remodeled instruction space. It was one of the best teaching experiences I have had in my 14 years of library instruction. The Room The room is outfitted with three presentation screens at the front of the room. There are six tables which seat 7, with a 48... Continue Reading →
A change in my video recording process
A while back I posted about how I was occasionally finding lip sync lag (ala "Kung Fu Theater" when I recorded my on-camera video introductions and conclusions using Screencast-o-matic. No matter what I did, I would still experience some lag when recording my face, and my lips and words did not quite match up in... Continue Reading →
Testing audio and video quality (and lag) with Screencast-o-matic, a Blue Yeti microphone, and Logitech C920 Webcam
I made this short video to test the audio and video quality of the Blue Yeti microphone and the Logitech C920 webcam using Screencast-o-matic. Sometimes if you use the audio from another mic like the Blue Yeti, but record your video another source, such as I do with the Logitech C920 Webcam, there can be... Continue Reading →
My first best attempt at my YouTube channel trailer
YouTube had been nagging me forever to put a trailer on my channel so that unsubscribed viewers can get to know what my channel is about. About 4 months ago I put together the clip below. I recorded the opening of the trailer with my Logitech camera and Blue Yeti microphone. For the other video... Continue Reading →