tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41938163849399252892024-03-13T13:40:26.012-04:00Mary C. HenryTeaching, research, & service from an academic geographerMCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-70461634315314152822022-08-15T10:35:00.001-04:002022-08-15T10:35:16.708-04:00Back to classes with almost no concern for COVIDPhoto by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash Classes start next Monday and I will be there with my KN95 mask on. I might be the only one since Miami University is not requiring masks despite CDC recommendations for our county being to the contrary. I can't see how this will go well. People are still being hospitalized and dying of COVID. Why should we pretend otherwise? I had hoped they MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-67647922726240548362020-08-20T12:49:00.000-04:002020-08-20T12:49:57.746-04:00Teaching in the time of COVID-19That title is really overstating what I'm going to write about, but obviously that is what everyone, everywhere is thinking about a lot of the time! I'm lucky that my university has decided to keep classes remote the first five weeks (at least). We started classes this week (August 17th), which was a week earlier than originally planned. Initially they wanted us to start in-person so the logic MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-80107239893872432742019-08-10T17:27:00.000-04:002019-08-10T17:27:20.159-04:00August stream of consciousness post
It’s mid-August which means that classes start pretty soon- two weeks from Monday in this case- so it’s time to reflect on the summer and think about the year ahead. I took last week off from working at all- not that I’ve had an especially busy summer- but I have had various things going on up until August 2nd and didn’t get to go on any trips so figured a no-work-week was in order before I MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-51128814402073955782019-03-03T10:20:00.001-05:002019-03-03T10:24:57.498-05:00Teaching EvaluationsI think most of us in academia complain about teaching evaluations in one way or another and many articles have been written on the problems with student evaluation of instruction. Since we made the switch to online evaluations another problem is low response rates. Some faculty have "tricks" that they claim work: offering extra credit if a certain response rate is reached, threatening not to MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-19259099994165421722018-09-17T08:17:00.002-04:002018-09-17T08:17:32.319-04:00Friday afternoon meetings are the worst*
Is it ever appropriate for someone to yell at someone else in an academic faculty meeting? I would say no. Especially so if you’re a higher rank than the person you’re yelling at. Especially not during a brainstorming session on a Friday afternoon. Especially not if you’re a man and you’re yelling at a woman.
I just had another taste of how people at work don't value me or my opinions. The MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-16253925948627706902017-08-13T14:04:00.001-04:002017-08-13T14:04:53.468-04:00Teaching with DocumentariesAs I prepare for fall classes, I am having my annual dilemma over content I want to share with my students. This semester I'm teaching two classes that I've taught before: 1) Global Perspectives on Natural Disasters and 2) Global Change (I'm team-teaching the second one). In both classes, I use a textbook but also assign additional readings and show short and long documentaries during class. MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-22060823993400996782017-07-12T12:31:00.003-04:002017-07-12T12:32:26.851-04:00Summer Slump is RealAs I've written on here before, I've always struggled with making the most of these wide open weeks in the summer and rarely feel that I've accomplished much by the time August rolls around and I have to get ready for Fall teaching. I guess I'm somewhat comforted knowing that I'm not alone in this, but I still don't know how to solve the problem for myself. There's so little time for research MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-33515921513042222562017-07-08T16:10:00.001-04:002017-07-08T16:12:00.335-04:00Burnout for EveryoneCommencement was 56 days ago and Fall classes start in 51 days, so we're definitely in the middle of summer now. I was happy to realize that we're still only halfway through since I'm enjoying having a break from teaching after literally no break at all since January 2nd*. I taught j-term online (totally voluntary and for extra pay), then my usual load in spring, then I also taught the first MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-45180336006141278922017-07-03T18:47:00.006-04:002017-07-03T18:47:54.283-04:00Quick Check InHaven't blogged here in quite a while! I haven't been blogging anywhere, but I do have a tumblr for Geography things and spend a lot of time on Twitter. Maybe I'll get something up here in the near future. Otherwise catch me on the platforms above.MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-60829743555629846572015-08-23T15:03:00.001-04:002015-08-23T15:04:32.928-04:00Switching to CanvasMiami University has recently changed to a new LMS (Learning Management System) called Canvas. We used Sakai for a few years before this latest change- and faculty can choose to keep Sakai for this year if they choose. I decided to jump in and switch to Canvas this semester. It's been a steep learning curve, but I've put in a lot of hours setting up my courses and think I have a good MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-64083303261141798102015-02-07T14:02:00.001-05:002015-02-07T14:02:49.109-05:00Teaching Labs OnlineThe last time I posted over here (almost a year ago!) I wrote about teaching GEO 121 (Intro Physical Geography) online that summer. I think it went pretty well, but the labs were the most challenging aspect of that class. I write my labs with fairly detailed instructions and encouraged students to email with questions, but I think some students still struggled. It was hard to tell how many of theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340159235406380398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-6680947782401267012014-02-22T08:06:00.002-05:002014-02-22T08:06:30.175-05:00Summer Class is going Online!I was scheduled to teach a section of GEO 121 (Intro Physical Geography) this summer, but was told a few weeks ago and that we can't schedule any classes in our building this summer. We're supposed to move out in August so that (long overdue) renovations can begin on our building. Even though my class ends in June, we were told to move it. My class is usually scheduled in both aMCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-60318980988178276582013-12-27T17:04:00.000-05:002013-12-27T17:04:11.646-05:00*NEW* Winter Term
Luna Lovegood's first Christmas at our house.
I have been saying for years (since I was hired at Miami U) that I would love a couple more weeks between the Fall and Spring semesters and wouldn't miss a week or two less in the summer. This year, I finally got my wish! January 2014 will be the first winter term at Miami. It is three weeks long and we don't start Spring semester until January MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-17716258750210138182013-12-21T12:23:00.001-05:002017-07-11T11:51:50.808-04:00Important Advice for College Students Regarding GradesThe semester has just ended and I have received emails from several students inquiring about their grades. Most of these emails have asked me to reconsider the grades that I reported to the university registrar and are now released to students. These emails have become increasingly more common and also more brazen in their requests/demands. I would like students to think long MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-88632491857559104392013-07-23T20:03:00.003-04:002013-07-23T20:05:16.588-04:00Googling!I'm at a workshop at Google Headquarters this week and testing out this map tool:
MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-90352666371337500662013-06-30T12:48:00.000-04:002013-07-07T15:35:37.355-04:00Mid-Summer Check InIs it really the middle the summer of already?? Well, by official seasons it isn't since we only had the June Solstice nine days ago, but Miami had graduation on Mother's Day weekend (May 11-12), which was seven weeks ago. We start classes again in eight weeks, so we're just about half way through summer break. This year is a little longer because of the calendar change happening next year- we MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-17097492509315326622013-06-01T14:32:00.001-04:002013-06-01T14:46:01.771-04:00Official End of Sabbatical
Luna Lovegood joined our family on Star Wars Day!
My sabbatical (or Assigned Research Leave as Miami likes to call them) officially ended when the semester did (graduation was Mother's Day weekend), but faculty are on 9-month appointments and I am not teaching this summer. So I have the summer off, right?
Well, things have quieted down considerably since most of the grad students are out MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0Oxford, OH 45056, USA39.5069974 -84.7452309999999939.4579924 -84.825911999999988 39.556002400000004 -84.664549999999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-78167998999154971762013-04-26T13:54:00.003-04:002013-04-26T13:54:41.909-04:00Too busy to blog!Well, I thought I would get back to this blog a bit more this semester since I have not been teaching, but that did not happen- and now the semester is almost over! Even without teaching, I have been very busy- I am advising four graduate students, submitted a NASA research proposal with colleagues, went on a few work trips, and am now finally trying to settle in to work on learning some new MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-84426209953712303682013-01-06T15:24:00.000-05:002013-01-06T15:24:26.872-05:00Stay tuned in 2013!I have not been good about updating this blog, but plan to change that this year. I am on research leave (sabbatical) Spring 2013 and hope to share updates about my research here. Check back in the coming weeks!MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-62286479676390636782012-02-19T19:12:00.008-05:002012-02-19T19:22:30.342-05:00Faline: 1993-2012My companion for the last 18 years, Faline was with me through most of graduate school (from my second semester as a Master's student at SDSU), through PhD at Arizona, getting married, becoming a mom, moving to Kentucky (she flew with us on the plane), getting my first real job here at Miami in 2002, getting tenure, and everything else that happened during those years. She loved to help with MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-8860178096603618372012-01-31T21:13:00.003-05:002012-01-31T21:22:04.871-05:00Spring 2012Just a quick check in because I haven't posted here in such a long time. I have some ideas for blog posts, but just need to take the time to write and post them. My teaching schedule is easier this semester (2 classes instead of 3) and I don't have as many labs to deal with, either. I always seem to have plenty of other things going on:Writing letters of recommendation for studentsSome research MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-20520554710319471492011-08-21T06:31:00.005-04:002011-08-21T08:24:58.429-04:00Back to school!Classes start tomorrow for the 2011-2012 academic year- my 10th year at Miami! I had a pretty busy summer, teaching GEO 121 during the early summer session (ended late June), then taking a 3-week trip to Kenya to visit family and national parks. We stayed in Machakos, and visited Lake Nakuru National Park, Aberdare National Park, Mombasa, Tsavo West National Park, Nairobi, and even crossed the MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-44505315546013018222010-11-18T18:39:00.005-05:002010-11-18T19:45:25.301-05:00Three weeks left!Nothing like a big virtual pile of grading to make me feel like updating my blog! I have not been very good about blogging this semester, but I've been busy with lots of other interesting things (like revising a paper and submitting a proposal). Signs that the semester is winding down:I just gave the third exam in my GEO 121 (Physical Geography) class yesterday, so that just leaves the last one (MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-37418809064032056002010-10-02T09:25:00.005-04:002010-10-02T09:44:17.134-04:00October already?We're creeping closer to the halfway point of the semester and things are getting busy for me. My teaching load ended up being lighter than planned this semester, since one of my classes was canceled. However, I am busy with some research work right now. I have a paper revision due on October 8th, so I've been working on that the last few weeks- a little at a time. I am also working on a new MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193816384939925289.post-65120392308449629852010-08-29T10:53:00.004-04:002010-08-29T11:00:54.577-04:00Strange MapsA geographer friend of mine directed me to an interesting blog a few months ago, called "Strange Maps". A lot of us in geography have an interest in maps (shocking, I know) and this site doesn't disappoint. I just posted a link to two maps on the blog for my GEO 121 class (it's part of our university content system, so not publicly available). One is a plan to make a city in Southern Sudan look MCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241896344584567428noreply@blogger.com0