I spent over a decade pouring my heart and soul in this site. I perfected the pages for my classes, constantly updated to new plugins, read up on WordPress changes, and generally spent lots and lots of time making the site as useable and pretty as possible. And then COVID.UMW required that all courses be … Read moreThe new normal
I’ve now spent over a decade railing against the use of LMS. I’ve put my money where my mouth is, too, developing my materials on this site, keeping them available without a paywall, and making interfaces as easy as possible. My ethical objections to the LMS hasn’t changed, and I still hate the way it … Read moreback to the drawing board
Leaving for France in two weeks exactly. You think after having taught this course three times already, it would all be routine by now. And mostly, it is. Still, lots and lots to get done. Teaching a course abroad is an interesting experience. Some of it is just like teaching a regular class: syllabus prep, … Read morePrepping for Paris
I haven’t really talked about readings yet in this series on syllabus development, and that is no accident. It’s too easy to overfill a course, or base a course around readings instead of the other way around. If you’re an English prof, it may make sense to have book(s) at the heart of what you … Read moreReadings that’ll get read
This post is the second in my syllabus/course development series. The intro is here. Creating a course from scratch is paralyzing. There’s just so much to figure out: readings, assignments, format, and it all interconnects. A good course setup is a balancing act that takes years to really master. One mistake I think is widespread … Read moreThe cart before the horse
Winter break is over, the semester is underway, and the winter doldrums have set in. It’s long past time I get back to this blog. I’ve been mulling ideas of what to discuss but much of it is too depressing (the news) too self-aggrandizing (I replaced the screen on my iPhone all by myself!) or … Read moreSyllabus (de)constructed
October is the spookiest month of the year. It’s also, for senior HISP students and yours truly, a very challenging and busy month. Every fall, I teach HISP405, arguably the most difficult course in the historic preservation department. The course has lots of challenging assignments, starting with surveying historic sites, and finishing with a National … Read moreThe spookiest – and workiest – month
Gamification is not universally accepted or respected. However, LEGO and architecture go together like peanut butter and chocolate. There’s no need to convince architects. They’ve been on board for a while. Though I wasn’t exactly toy deprived as a child, LEGOs will forever hold the place of honor among the playmobil, action figures, pirate and … Read moreLEGO for work, or my idea of heaven
On December 12 2013, in the midst of finals, Smith was interviewed by Jim Groom about this site, Surveying the Burg, and other assorted web activities like Twitter and Tumblr. Interested in learning more? Check out the video here.