@derekbruff
Educator, author, consultant. Associate director at the University of Virginia Center for Teaching Excellence. Author of Intentional Tech from West Virginia University Press. Host of the Intentional Teaching podcast. Birder.
TIL that the National Parks Pass has Trump’s face on it instead of, you know, nature.
I also learned that if you sticker over his face, the pass is void.
I have ordered a card sleeve showing Arches National Park from a seller on Etsy.
So I need to finally ditch Evernote. What tool should I use instead?
At my old job, we built a custom event registration system. It worked fine for a couple of years, but when the code needed maintenance and the staff member who made it moved on… we switched to Google forms and sheets for the job. Anyone on staff could maintain those!
Anna's humming birds. Everyone gets a food from the birdfeeder.
Cormorants, always posing
Pretty sure this is a song sparrow. There were a couple of wrens (marsh and Pacific) that I heard and was hoping to see. This was not one of them. Still, a nice shot.
Here's the wren I saw! It's a Bewick's wren, and a lifer for me.
The birding at Union Bay Natural Area in Seattle this morning was outstanding. The highlight was a close encounter with an Anna's hummingbird, one of five lifers for me this morning. Also cool: Four juvenile bald eagles in one tree! I'm very glad I got up early and braved the Seattle rain. #birding
Purpose Seeking human instead of programmed and programmable ends Autonomy Preserving freedom from algorithmic control and for responsible action Strengthening and preserving human social interactions and connections Relationships Agency Augmenting and not annihilating human creativity and responsibility Development Cultivating complex skills that enable us to grow in virtue Imagination Imagining possibilities beyond past patterns and predictive models Goods Contributing to, improving, and sustaining the common good Merit Doing things worth doing and creating things with enduring value
Those elements of meaningful work spell out PARADIGM! How can we apply that to the use of generative AI in work? Here's how Paulus connects the dots:
Now onto the shaping of the future of work. What is meaningful work? Paulus uses Sisyphus as a counterexample. Meaningful work has purpose, autonomy, relationships, agency, development, imagination, goods, and merit.
At Paulus' institution, Creighton U., they've operationalized this ethical framework in an instrument for the evaluation of AI technologies and tools: culibraries.creighton.edu/ld.php?conte.... This is a useful set of questions for those considering AI adoption.
Paulus helped (with Leo Lo and others) the ACRL develop a set of AI competencies for librarians. Paulus chaired the task force on ethics. The ethical competencies went to the top of the list: www.ala.org/acrl/standar....
Other elements include privacy, autonomy, equitable access, representative and accurate data and processing, intellectual property, explainability and responsibility, social and environmental impacts (the common good, work, peace. So many connections to Catholic social teaching.
Paulus is now shifting to ethical questions that AI brings. He sees a special role for Catholic and Jesuit institutions in helping answer these questions.
Paulus' ethical framework starts with attention. How do we protect ourselves from being distracted, manipulated, and severed from reality?
But @jenaecohn.bsky.social also argues the adaptations we've made to new media--responsible use, critical thinking, agency--aren't new, either. We're just still sorting through the last disruption (the Internet) while now also dealing with AI.
Paulus' review of the history of AI includes ELIZA, Deep Blue, and Roomba. Very glad to see my home robot vacuum cleaner in the mix here!
He's also citing @jenaecohn.bsky.social 's _Skim, Dive, Surface_ on teaching digital reading. Worries about info overload, fake info, and memory loss aren't new.
The Vatican has called on Catholic universities to be "laboratories of hope" in response to AI. Paulus: "Libraries are about resourcing hope."
The worry is that like those in Dante's Inferno, AI will lead us to the loss of "the good of the intellect."
I'm very excited about this opening keynote from Michael Paulus, exploring the intersection of libraries, hope, and AI. Seattle U. is a Jesuit institution, so he's already used the term eschatological. How can AI help us realize our ultimate hope--creating a better world?
I will sadly miss Hao's talk. I have to catch a flight home. :/
Y'all, I'm presenting to the faculty at Seattle University today about AI-aware teaching. And I just learned that Karen ("Empire of AI") Hao is speaking here tonight!
That's not the least bit intimidating.
And here, unlike on LinkedIn, I actually used the correct link! :-)
This reminds me of the MOOC mania in higher ed in the early 2010s. Just because some new approach to teaching works for computer science students (at Stanford no less!) it doesn’t mean it will transform higher ed.
I know it's got that email newsletter feature, which isn't blog-standard, and I don't know about its RSS options. But I'm not fond of crediting one particular company with what is actually a medium that's been around for 30 years or so.
I've decided that Substack is a blogging platform. Instead of saying "check out his Substack," I like to say "check out his blog."
Yeah, that sounds very awkward! :/
Also, @annamillsoer.bsky.social has shared a thoughtful update on her use of AI detection tools in her online writing courses. I've cited her post last year on this topic many times, and I was eager to read this update!
annamills.substack.com/p/a-brief-up...
Over on Grading for Growth, @roberttalbert.bsky.social has a very useful new post on using AI to support alternative grading practices (esp. standards-based grading) with both instructor and student use cases. Very glad I had time to read it today!
gradingforgrowth.com/p/six-ways-t...
Working on an airplane means using the track pad on my laptop. Am I the only one who can't seem to left-click and right-click consistently on these things?
Call me GenX, but I prefer a mouse.
When the airplane seat pocket is labeled “literature only” but I’ve left my copy of Les Mis at home
Amy and Kathryn came on the podcast back in 2023 to talk about the journals: www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/epis.... They use them as textbooks in their online math courses. I was exited to get a couple of journals in the mail this week.
Cover of Deconstruct This Business Calculus Journal, a spiral bound workbook (which lays flat) about the size of a paperback novel
This activity asks students to use their phone’s map app to understand linear approximation.
This activity involves making a roller coaster shape with a charging cable and using that to explore secant lines. Note the frame from a flip book style animation in the lower right corner.
This page gets torn out an turned into a desk ornament / study aid.
I am so impressed at the Deconstruct Calculus journals! Each one is packed with creative explanations and activities, sometimes involving tearing out journal pages. Props to Amy Langville and Kathryn Pedings-Behling! www.deconstructcalc.com
Especially for students who have been taught math with calculators for most of their K12 experience! That’s not remotely fair.
Banning calculators on a placement exam is such a math department move.
Heatmap showing migration activity
Sunday is BirdCast Day, when daily radar-inspired forecasts start for the spring migration.
It's traditional to buy small gifts for all of your birder friends.
birdcast.org