At some point near the end of last summer, my iPhone stopped synching my work email properly. For someone who was accustomed to picking up his phone and having access to work and personal email accounts in one convenient location, this caused a significant amount of stress. My first thought was to fix the issueContinue reading "Disconnecting"

Continue reading

Near the end of last summer I was beginning to feel that I was losing a battle with organization. There were too many projects to manage, constant updates to the courses I needed to teach, and increasing anxieties due to the state of our world. And then a friend introduced me to Bullet Journals. WhileContinue reading "Academic Bullet Journaling"

Continue reading

As of midnight tonight I will celebrate the end of 10 years as a faculty member in the School of Computer Science at the University of Guelph. What a wild and strange 10 years it has been. So much has happened since the day I first stepped through the door to my then-office. I’m moreContinue reading "10 Years On"

Continue reading

In August I sat down and created a list of rules that I hoped would help me better manage my life-work balance and improve my practice of self-care. Given how I felt at the end of the semester, it’s safe to say that I have a lot of work to do in this area. TheseContinue reading "Reclaiming My Time: New Rules For A New Year"

Continue reading

As I mentioned in my previous post, I ended the fall semester rather exhausted and more than ready to tie a ribbon around it and call it done. The year was challenging for everyone, so I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that there will be a sense of relief and renewed hope as theContinue reading "Academic List-O-Gratitude"

Continue reading

As of Monday I submitted the last of the final grades for the fall 2020 semester, putting to an end one of the most bizarre teaching experiences I’ve ever had. While I’m normally happy to submit grades for courses I’ve taught, Monday’s emotional response was a mix of happy dancing, exhausted tears, and giddy laughter.Continue reading "Reflecting On Fall 2020"

Continue reading

I am really excited to announce that Marshall Asch was recently awarded an NSERC scholarship in recognition of his academic accomplishments and his proposed graduate research. Marshall is currently completing his Master’s in Computer Science. While we’ve known about his award for several months, we weren’t allowed to celebrate it publicly until NSERC had releasedContinue reading "Congratulations Marshall"

Continue reading

It’s Monday, November 2nd. Today begins week 8 of the 12-week fall 2020 semester here at the University of Guelph. The exhaustion I felt four weeks ago has not let up. Everything, everything, absolutely everything is challenging in a way that I have never quite experienced before. I am raw and tired and drained, andContinue reading "One Foot In Front Of The Other"

Continue reading

Today I began the 4th week of the Fall 2020 semester, and I can honestly say that I am more exhausted now than I have ever been this early in the academic year. My energy and motivation levels are incredibly low, I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, and every single news story seems designedContinue reading "I Am Exhausted"

Continue reading

As I was revamping CIS3750 for online delivery this summer I began searching for a better way to do peer evaluations. The course is highly dependent on team work and I wanted students to be able to easily identify when peers were going above and beyond or perhaps not living up to expectations. To assistContinue reading "A Wake Up Call"

Continue reading