I have a few favorite resources and tools I use in my teaching practice. They’ve made it to my favorite list because they are functional, well-designed, and essentially make life easier for me and my students. My first favorite tool is Google docs, slides, websites, forms, and spreadsheets. As a teacher who started my career with chalkboards and overheads and paper files…ALL THE FILES, Google suite has been this writing gal’s dream come true. I can create a document that saves automatically, can share it with anyone at any time, and they can edit it, too?!? I use Google docs for EVERYTHING: peer review, writing workshop, class voting, embedding syllabi into Canvas, surveys, student information forms, student book selections, e-portfolios, demonstrating MLA and APA formatting, class projects (right now my EDU221/ENG102 Learning Community students are working on creating presentations specific to various stakeholders), showcasing student work like my ENH112 students’ stories about identity, and housing my millions (maybe billions?!?) of files.

My second favorite tool is PearDeck. PearDeck makes my life easier as an instructor because it makes formative assessment interactive and fun. I can ask thought provoking questions or ask how everyone is doing before class starts, and I can garner an immediate response from all students simultaneously. The drawing option certainly livens up things. Imagine 18 different images representing research topics or, for fun, 18 different interpretations of adding a costume to a jack-o-lantern. Other tools along the same vein are PollEverywhere, Padlet, and Kahoot. To sort groups, I like to use Random Team Generator, and to keep time during collaboration, I like to use any version of an online Egg Timer.

My third favorite resource is Spotify. I use it to create a playlist for each class based on responses about songs they find uplifting and have used it in the past to create theme-based playlists for different writing projects like This I Believe. I’ll play it while students are trickling into the classroom, grabbing snacks, and getting situated or in-between tasks. Spotify makes it easy to embed the playlist into Canvas, too.

Finally, my last favorite tool is Loom. As a Chrome extension, it makes it super simple to record a screencast or a video and embed it into Canvas to support instruction or weekly tasks. I’m sure I’ll think of something else as soon as I post this, but these are some of the tech resources and tools I use regularly.

I began using Generative AI to help with my marriage. I would ask for different activities my husband and I could do together to connect. I was surprised at how many activities the AI systems could create so I started to push a little harder.

For example, I do enjoy hearing that my husband loves me but then I start to think “why does he love me?” and “are the words ‘I love you’ what I really wanted to hear?” So I started to ask ChatGPT what are other ways to say I love you? As well as what ways can you show how you love someone? These two prompts have helped my husband and I feel more connection and love from one another. 

I am not going to say that ChatGPT is a counselor or therapist but if you are looking for small tips that can help you in your relationship day-to-day, I would suggest giving it a try. In the end, after all the suggestions from the GenerativeAI of your choice, you still need to choose which ideas are comfortable and actionable for yourself and your situation. 

I believe that this same mindset can be used for Generative AI in the classroom. Take things slow and use your judgment to determine the best fit for you when integrating ChatGPT suggestions/ideas into your instruction. 

One of my favorite things about my office is all the color. I have an interior office with no natural light and that can make my space feel somewhat dreary. One of the ways that I have created an inspiring office space is with color. This can be found before opening my door. 

You will see in the image I have used colored transparency on my door to bring more color. Circles are my favorite shape so they are also showcased. 

Once inside my office you will find bright summer colors that complement the white walls and black file organizer on my wall. I wanted to create a happy and inviting space. In my research I have found that having plants (real or faux) have a positive effect on your mood which is why I have two fake plants and am looking to add a third soon. 

I hope that you have found some inspiration in looking into my office space and maybe you will consider adding a faux plant to your work space to boost your mood in a positive way. 

As a mom of four boys, there is a lot of testosterone in my house. Decorating schemes include various shades of blue, red, and purple (as well as planets, Star Wars, and dinosaurs). But my office is all mine to decorate as I see fit. And that means a space with quite a lot of pink, family photos, humorous images, and just a touch of glitter. When I look around my office, every object and decoration fills me with joy (Marie Kondo would be so proud.)

Please join me on a virtual tour of my office!

The first thing you’ll see is my rustic brick wall, adorned with as many decorations as I could fit using custom brick-hanging devices. There’s a cross-stitching of shoes made by a former colleague, photos of my boys when they were younger, a punny piece of art from First Fridays, and a light up R from a former student.

Next, you’ll probably notice the side of my file cabinet / shelving unit. It is adorned with artwork from my children, spanning back to preschool all the way to this year! I also have a Glitter Board, where students can contribute their own artwork, stickers, fliers, and snowflakes (Why? Who knows! I’ll take it!) I offer students extra credit to add something to the board, which also sneakily gets students to my office to hopefully create a habit of visiting Office Hours and reaching out if they need help.

On my blue wall (painted by the school during last year’s renovation, without even consulting me about my preferred shade of pink), I bought deep shelves from Amazon to display more awesomeness. At the top are family photos from 2019 (simpler, pre-pandemic times) which probably should be updated to more recent pics, but I just love remembering their little faces! The bottom two shelves are devotes to student project pieces: a cross stitch of a student and her boyfriend as well as a broken heart from Interpersonal Communication, a fake cigarette carton (culture jamming assignment) and a magic broom from Intercultural Communication , a fake plant from a Xeriscape service learning project in Public Speaking, and a mock graduation cap and self portraits of a student in Introduction to Communication.

This file cabinet was in my office at GCC in 2013 when I was an OYO. I was so excited to have my own office on campus after being an adjunct and part=time speech team coach for five years. I lined the shelves with adorable wrapping paper to give the look of wallpaper to an otherwise (let’s be honest) pretty ugly piece of office furniture. When I returned back to GCC in 2019, I was in a different office, but a year later, after some office switching musical chairs, I discovered my old file cabinet! When you love something, let it go…

Since then, I’ve developed a pretty serious addiction to Starbucks tumblers… so much so that I had to expand my display from home to school (mostly to protect my partner from knowing exactly how many cups I now own). I found a three-tied display shelf to but on top of this cabinet along with fun prices of art and travel memorabilia. And a few books are stored here, too.

My primary view is facing my computer screen… and screen… and screen. It is somewhat overwhelming to have so many screens’ I feel a little bit like Batman in the Bat Cave, just without the sweet Batmobile.

I have my degrees hanging proudly on the wall, a corkboard covered in art and speech team awards, and more photos of my babies. I got a ring light during the pandemic, and it comes in handy to prevent me from looking quite as ghostly on virtual meetings.

So, that’s it! My office is a place of joy even on days that are not quite as joyous. I turn on my Scentsy fragrance, grab a chocolate from the “In case of Dementors” jar, and enjoy my colorful work oasis. Swing by the next time you’re near FO-2!

As an adjunct/dual enrollment teacher, my workspace is the frantic–often smelly–high school classroom. There are always crumbs on the ground, some combination of Takis and Cheez-Its crushed into an ancestral carpet. Said carpet has been sliced in places, duct-taped back together to rectify persistent speed bumps that have risen up from years of traffic and heat. On the weekends, when I journey to GCC’s Main Campus to teach, the classrooms in the HT2 building feel comparatively otherworldly with their clean white walls, well-maintained carpets, and movie theater quality projectors. I must admit that I take an excessive inhale whenever I step into HT2 to appreciate its consistently clean smell–please tell me I’m not alone in doing that.

Despite the adoration I have for the pristine campus at GCC, I will forever love the personality and homeliness that my high school classroom provides. While GCC feels like some sort of champion bloodline hound on a pedestal, my classroom is the mutt in the shelter–a mixture of everything, impossible not to love.

On the walls, I’ve plastered posters from all walks of life. Like any English classroom, there are references to literary stuff–my love for The Great Gatsby can never be suppressed–but there are also tons of pop culture references. Comic books, anime, sports. memes, musicals, movies–take a look at some snippets of my wall and see how many you recognize. Indeed, that’s a favorite pastime for students of mine. And that’s the best part.

Every poster, no matter how random, is a conversation starter. Students will excitedly come and dork out with me about the latest chapter in an on-going manga or we’ll chat about our favorite songs from a certain musician. These decorations help me build the bonds with students that encourage them to succeed in my classroom. 

You don’t have to look far to find evidence of that success. It’s all documented in my favorite part of my classroom: the inspiration wall. These are all the tear-stained notes, letters, cards, and graduation announcements from previous students. If I’m ever having a down day, I look at my inspiration wall and remember the impact I can have. When we’re mired in the day-to-day grind of teaching, it’s easy to forget the long-term impact we have on our students.

So, anyway, yes–my workspace is quite unrefined. And, again, it smells awful. And yes, I still trip on the carpet from time to time. But it’s my heart on the sleeve.

My workspace is my classroom, and there are a couple of things that I do to make a room of computers and monitors feel more welcoming. I’m sure you do several of these as well! My unknown colleagues who share HT2 152 also add to the collection. I appreciate you!

• Supply corner for pencils, pens, post-its, stapler (when it doesn’t walk away!), tape, 5 x 8 cards for name plates, and markers
• Snack basket including some protein options and quick carbs. Students bring things when they’re celebrating birthdays or a new job.
• Kleenex
• Sanitizing supplies thanks to maintenance! We share computers so we’re staying safe!
• Oils and lotions for aromatherapy. We practice breathing exercises to help us transition and focus.
• LOTS of white board markers and erasers since we’re all adding our good ideas to the walls.

Do you have anything else in your classroom that I should add to ours?

In the era of remote work, and the habits of increased multi-tasking,  unconventional yet practical alternatives to traditional office spaces have arisen. Alas, office meet car! !  Now,  as innovative and convenient as this may be, I find this newly formed behavior of mine to be quite conflicting.  

While I love the idea of flexibility and improved efficiency in my daily schedule, I am fairly certain my  ‘73 Dodge Dart was not intended as a mobile office. Mechanically sound, but technologically challenged, my hotrod is not ideal for the multi-screened Google Meets, while shifting between gears and navigating so many open tabs on my browser with a laptop as my passenger. Don’t worry, I only turn my video on when I am at a complete stop. All joking aside,  I never would have thought that calling into a meeting, responding to a Chat, or answering an email, all hands-free while driving to my next destination would have become part of my new version of an office. 

Appreciating the inspirational moments where my office and my expressions of self collide, I cannot help wondering how I can optimally integrate these worlds into a balance that my mobile workspace simply wasn’t designed to do.  The balancing act of working and living have intertwined as I cruise in my hotrod, hearing the rumble of the engine, the chimes from email notifications, with the recognition that my office, my space, and my work will forever be changed. 

My Audible “read” of the week is Susan Cain’s “Bittersweet.” One of the topics she discusses is about “effortless perfection.” She explains it as this unrealistic state we attempt to achieve in order to fool others into thinking we have everything under control and life is cool. Underneath, we are all “train wrecks!” Okay, I speak for myself…

Yup, I do that! I didn’t realize that it was a thing and I didn’t realize that I did it! But it made me laugh. I started to conjure up images of people that appear to be effortlessly perfect! In the swimming world, Michael Phelps comes to mind, effortlessly swimming the impossible butterfly stroke at superhuman speed. Then I think of the years of grueling training to which he has subjected his mind and body. His world fame came at huge price to his sanity. But he is an icon of this era.

I think of famous musicians who sing their hearts out on stage in front of audiences all over the world. Yet, I just have to tell my phone to play their song and it effortlessly plays across the airwaves, And I think to myself, how many times have they sung that song over and over and over? How many times do you think Mick Jagger has sung “Satisfaction?” How hard that must be to tour the world and be away from home for so long. How many hours spent rehearsing and perfecting?

I look around at my coworkers who show up with a smile each day, knowing that they are making a difference, while carrying a mountain of endless stress brought on by an attempt to keep home life and work life in balance. The resilience they display is mind blowing. And they come back the next day and do it again and again and again. They seem to do it with ease.

Why do we strive for effortless perfection? Go on, admit it! You do it too!