In trying to model this whole work/life balance thing, Luminaris.link will go on “sabbatical” until August 1st. If you’re interested in reading and learning more about teaching and learning in higher ed, here are two suggestions:
 
1. Catch up on your Luminaris.link reading. Here a few of the most popular posts over the last year:

• Field Guide: Annotating PDF Files
• Twitter in the Classroom?
• iPad Pro for Academics: Review
• Reducing Barriers without Reducing Rigor
• Leveling Up Inquiry in Higher Education
• Resources for Design Thinking
• Taking Technology Tools for a Test Drive
• Higher Education Learning Activity Taxonomy
• What Higher Ed Can Learn from Personalized Learning in K-12
• What the Amish Can Teach Faculty About Technology Use

2. Want more formalized learning about teaching in higher ed? Consider enrolling in the College of William & Mary’s College Teaching Certificate Program. For more information, view the intro video below and follow the link. 

I hope you all have a great summer. Be sure to recharge those batteries to be fresh for the new academic year!

In an attempt to reduce stress and bring a little bit of tranquility and calm into my life, I’ve made a commitment to start meditating. I’ve tried several times before but always lost steam within a few days. In my most recent attempt, I found a really good app to get me started called 10% Happier. It’s a humorous and approachable introduction to mindfulness meditation. The highlight for me, though, is the amazing Buddhist teacher, Joseph Goldstein.
 
I appreciate the approach of 10% Happier and Goldstein primarily because it helps you develop your practice, but it doesn’t feel like too much pressure. One of the phrases that he weaves in to the different guided meditations is, “Simply begin again.” When you recognize that you’ve lost focus, rather than to get frustrated, angry at yourself or disillusioned, he instead urges you to simply begin again. Those are three powerful words. They have applicability way beyond meditation.
 
The end of the academic year is a great time to take stock, reflect, talk with others, consider priorities, and plan next steps. If you’re like me, you’re never entirely satisfied with how a course went. Or maybe you didn’t complete the writing project you’ve been working on. Or maybe your conference proposal or fellowship application wasn’t accepted. The great thing about working in academia is that we can simply begin again. Here are three things I’ll be working on this summer in this spirit of starting fresh.
 
Reimagining a course
I wrote recently about a faculty seminar I participated in focusing on Universal Design for Learning. The major outcome of the course was revising my course syllabus through a UDL lens. It was an interesting and productive experience. As I’ve thought more about it over the last few weeks and in light of an excellent course I’m taking on the Fundamentals of Online Teaching, I’m considering an even more radical redesign for the course. I’ve always enjoyed teaching it, but I really want to make an effort to truly personalize the experience for my students, so that the course topics, readings, and projects are driven by their needs.
 
In order to truly begin again, I thought it would be helpful to consult some others to generate some new ideas. I’ve talked with colleagues who teach similar courses at other universities. I’ve also done an abbreviated review of the literature. Finally, I’m meeting with practicing teachers next week to test some of my ideas with practitioners in the field for which I’m preparing my students. I’m confident that all these resources and ideas will help me to start fresh in the fall.
 
Resetting my scholarship
For the last two years, I’ve served as Associate Dean in my school. While it’s been a great experience in many ways, it really set me back in terms of my scholarship and writing. While I was able to work on some small projects and begin this blog, I’ve had to put the majority of my research on hold. It’s been a little disappointing, and I know it will take me some time to get back in the groove. But, this break has afforded me the opportunity to begin again with a clean slate.
 
With the benefit of having a little distance, I’ve been able to consider what I want my priorities to be for my scholarship. As a tenured faculty member, the direction and emphasis of my work is largely up to me. As I consider new research in the areas of innovation in learning design and engaging students in deeper learning opportunities, the ability to begin again has reinvigorated my desire for and ideas related to research.
 
Extending partnerships and collaborations
As I transition out of my current administrative position, I also have the opportunity to begin again in terms of my collaborations and partnerships. I now have the opportunity to nurture and extend some of the relationships I’ve developed with colleagues in teacher preparation and with our local school partners. I’m particularly excited to work more closely with my colleagues on professional development and research related to an innovative pilot program at a local high school – the Pathways Project at Warhill High School.
 
As one project winds down, it’s exciting to consider how to begin again with a new partnership or collaboration. We draw on our past experience and lessons learned as we engage in new efforts. If we’re reflective and apply what we’ve learned, each successive partnership offers greater potential for success or even transformation. We just have to have the courage and make the conscious choice to begin again.
 
What does it mean to you to “begin again”? 
Please post your comments below.

I can’t remember the last time I referenced a physical journal or requested a hard copy article or book from inter-library loan. Instead, I rely almost completely on PDF files for articles and manuscripts I’m reading. One advantage of having articles in PDF form is that you can save and organize them in folders for future reference. The other advantage is that you can read them and annotate them on your computer or mobile device. A tablet like the iPad is almost ideal for this purpose. So throw away those reams of paper and ink highlighters and read on…
 
In this Luminaris Field Guide video, I walk you through how I use PDF Expert to markup PDF files with highlights, underlined text, shapes and images. I also reference iAnnotate PDF, which is also a great option. While I demonstrate the process with a 12.9” iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil, the process works with any iPad and any stylus. I hope you find the video helpful and informative.

What other tools and strategies do you use to annotate or markup PDF files?
Please post your comments below.

As we wind down another semester, it's time to consider student course evaluations. While there is certainly much discussion, disagreement, and critiquing of the validity and utility of student evaluations, I've found that they can be very helpful in informing my course design. The key is crafting questions that provide the kind of information that will be helpful to you as a teacher and instructional designer.
 
Standard course evaluation forms
My university uses a standard course evaluation form across courses which is required across the university. This standard form includes the typical kinds of items that I imagine are pretty common across higher education. For example, students are asked Likert scale questions about:

• The instructor's knowledge of the subject matter of the course
• The organization of content and learning experiences of the course
• The instructor's presentation and explanation of course content
• The instructor's openness to diverse opinions and questions

 
I'm sure your unit has similar standard questions. While I find these helpful, I like to ask a few additional questions that provide me with the information I need to modify the course content or my teaching in future semesters. We now have a way to do this within our course evaluation system. Prior to this, I used Survey Monkey to create a second course evaluation form for students to complete. Below I offer some suggested item types that you might find helpful in eliciting productive student feedback.
 
Mode and format
When trying out different course modes and options, it can be very helpful to get feedback on what the students think. For example, two years ago, I flipped much of the class, so that students would work through material prior to class time. For the most part it seemed to work well, but on the course evaluation form I created, students reported frustration with using several different technology tools during this time outside of class. The next semester, I pared down the number of technologies, and students responded much better to these outside activities.
 
Key elements of the course
In a similar vein, if you're trying out new elements in a course, you should ask specific questions to gauge students' engagement. Last year I implemented a three-week fully online activity during a primarily face-to-face course. I initiated this in part so that students could work more independently and at their own pace. On the evaluation form, however, students reported feeling isolated and disconnected from both me and their peers during this online module. In the fall, I plan to build in more opportunities for communication and collaboration to encourage this sense of connection.
 
New strategies or ideas
This semester, one of my colleagues is experimenting with Zaption - a tool that allows the instructor to create interactive, video-based lessons. The instructor selects and sequences video clips, interspersed with questions, discussion prompts, and other activities to guide the learning experience for students. While her in-class feedback on the activities has been positive, sometimes students are more reflective and/or honest in their feedback on an anonymous evaluation.
 
Assignments/activities
In my courses, I often have a number of different assignments and projects over the course of the semester. It can be difficult to judge, however, which of these experiences are most beneficial for students. Typically, I ask students to rank them in order based on what was either most interesting or most helpful in their learning. I've also offered opportunities for students to add comments on particular assignments as well.
 
Most significant experience
I've just recently started adding questions like this, "Please tell me about the most significant learning experience for you in this course. Be sure to include why it was particularly meaningful for you." This question has elicited some interesting and substantive responses from my students. When I see that a particular course reading, assignment or activity was most significant for a number of students, I know that I'll want to keep this in future iterations of my course. I also suspect that as I use this question across courses, I can better understand the kinds of experiences that are most powerful for my students.

What course evaluation questions do you find helpful?
Please post your comments below.

Recently, I came across this survey that was pretty sobering. According to a Business Insider reader survey, 33.8% of Americans check their email on their smartphone as much as 150 times a day. This was sobering for me because I realized that I am probably at least on my way to being part of that group. Think about this for a minute. If I was checking my email on my phone even 60 times a day and each time consumed an average of 2 minutes, that’s more than two hours a day glued to my phone. Checking email. I’m in a line of work where crises are relative. If I don’t see an email for an hour or even a day, catastrophic outcomes are not likely to follow. Maybe if I was a homicide detective…
 
The inspiring news from this survey was that an even greater percentage of respondents (39%) check their email a total of only 1-3 times per day. I wonder which group is more productive? I wonder which group has more balance in their lives. I wonder which group is better able to engage in deep work. I don’t know about you, but I want to be a 39%er.
 
Cold turkey
When I first read the survey, I thought I’d try to monitor myself a bit. I was thinking that surely I could limit myself to a reasonable diet of cell phone emailing. I was wrong. Apparently I have the self-control of Lucy Ricardo wrapping candy. I scaled back for a bit. And then I was right back at my normal obsessive checking. I needed to take a more drastic approach.
 
I deleted my work email account and my personal Gmail account from my iPhone. I then began obsessively tracking Twitter, Mailchimp, my Weebly stats, etc. I basically replaced one addiction with another. I needed to take even more drastic measures.
 
I reviewed all the apps I’d installed on my iPhone and asked myself a question: “is this app critical for me, or is it something that just consumes my attention?” If an app fell into the latter category, I deleted it. I started with 5 screens of 20 apps. I now have 26 apps total. The only one that I check with any kind of regularity is my Fitbit app. I figure if there’s an app I check frequently, one for my health isn’t too bad.
 
The results
It’s been ten days since the great purge. When I’m at home now, about the only thing I do on my phone is check my step count or the weather outside. I’ve used the Outlook Web app once. Between trying to type my secure password in with the onscreen keyboard and the horrible Web interface, it will take one heck of an emergency to make me do this again.
 
Now when I take the dog out, I don’t grab my phone on the way out the door so I can check in while I’m outside. Instead, I watch the squirrels in the yard, listen to the birds, or enjoy checking on the progress of the budding leaves on our trees and bushes. At night, I watch the stars. I also realized that I’m not checking my phone as I’m walking in the neighborhood. All in all, I’d say I’m definitely more present now. Am I still picking up my phone unconsciously to check my email? Absolutely. Will it get easier over time? I hope so.
 
My challenge to you
If you find you’re checking your phone more often than you’d like or that it’s interfering with your ability to be present with your colleagues, spouse or kids, it’s time to go cold turkey. Remember, you can still do all the things below on your computer. It just won’t always be in your pocket or purse. Here’s what I recommend:
 
1. Delete your email accounts. (all of them).
2. Delete Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, and anything else that you find yourself obsessively checking.
3. Delete your games.
4. For everything else, ask yourself, “Is this app critical for me, or is it something that just consumes my attention?” If it’s the latter, delete it.
5. Hide things in folders. They’ll still be on your phone, but less accessible.
 
Be ruthless! You can always reinstall an app you find you need. Just try to make sure it’s something you need and not something that will control you. I’ve wrested control from my phone. I hope you can too!
 
Have you made the purge? How’s it going? Any advice for the rest of us?
Please post your comments below.