Nice job, ltc.

Hil, I'm sorry your pain is increasing and you have to wait until December to see your doc. I wonder if you call and explain the recent escalation, if they would be able to get you in sooner.

~ma to you, Becky.

Dear ltc,

When you throw your toys out of your play yard because you're mad at me, the only thing you accomplish is no longer having access to those toys. It doesn't actual affect me.

I got caught up in a show last night on the mechanics of how animals launch themselves into the air. One of them, a bug called a planthopper, has actual gears between its legs that allow it to launch both legs at the same time. And I so wanted to be able to turn to Hubby and say "Gears! On a bug!" because that was the kind of thing we would be excited about and talk about how they would evolve and on and on. I nearly turned off the show because half the fun of watching those things was sharing them with Hubby.

I don't want to go back to the house and hang out with my in-laws. I can just sit in my car in the CVS parking lot and drink my chai, right?

Absolutely!!!

I can just sit in my car in the CVS parking lot and drink my chai, right?

Definitely! Especially since you can use your phone to catch on email or FB (or here!)

I went home because I knew if I didn't, ltc wouldn't get her nap. How is it that adults don't know to lower their voices when a baby is napping?

OK. So. I'm teaching an online course this semester. For the exams, I was told that we were doing a trial of an online proctoring system. I'd put the exams online, in a system where they could only be opened once, and then the students would each connect to a service where they would sit at their computers and take the exam while someone watched them through their webcams and also kept an eye on their screens. I think it was also supposed to shut down any browser windows other than the one that had the test, and a couple of other security things. They said that it would be up and running by this week. Our first exam is scheduled for this Friday. I hadn't gotten any information from them, so I emailed them over the weekend, to ask what was up.

Today, I got an email from them, saying that they've got a new timetable, and the system won't be working until the end of September. So, now, I've got to scramble to find ways for my students to all take the exam. A lot of them will be able to come to campus and take it as a group, but some of them won't, and so I've got to figure out things with each of them individually.

ARGH.

So they want real Proctoring - not open book , open note. So it will cost. ( i do open book open note proctoring at the library - check id, note time - scan or fax things back - no charge ). That's interesting

So at the library there has been some issues - that involve coverage and scheduling. So someone came up with the genius idea of doing a one week schedule - instead of a two week schedule. that loses all flexibility and has everyone that is not a manager working either every Saturday or Sunday. some people just found out today. and flipped out. theperson who is representing my branch asked for solutions. She got a list of problems with the proposal. Now, despite the fact that I am going to put my resume together, I came up wth some actual partial solutions. You'd think librarians would be better at using their brains. sigh ( honestly , i don't think this 1 week schedule will work, it has some major flaws, but I decided I should be prepared)

There are also proctoring services at places like Kaplan, but again there is a cost. At my school this would not be up to the instructor to solve on their own- IT and the department admin(me) would be involved and the school would probably pay for a different service. Unless it is IT telling you this, and then they are sort of incompetent!

Without proctoring, we minimize cheating in online tests in Blackboard by making people take them at a designated time, and making the time frame they have to take the test so short that they do not have time to look things up, but I don't know how well that would work for math. Alternately, we make the tests really difficult, but open book.