kismetism

So this summer really took me by surprise. It hasn’t become particularly warm yet, and there are still some weeks punctuated by random showers, so there weren’t a whole lot of worldly indicators of the time. But at some point it occurred to me that ATDP is going to start like, this month and I haven’t done a single thing to prepare.

Because, you know, I’m not teaching. For the first time in seven years.

It’s a source of much melancholy for me, honestly, but also some relief. I think I was an okay instructor and generally was proud of what I was doing. Seeing students go from knowing nothing to producing surprisingly polished final projects was really satisfying. But for the most part, I don’t feel like I really had any hand in “producing” amazing web designers: all the students who I’m most proud of generally took their learning into their own hands, which is why they turned out great work.

And working with struggling students to hit a baseline could be frustrating, but also rewarding in its own way: helping them figure out that if they just keep at it, and not be afraid to experiment, they could come up with some neat stuff, too. In this way, I was pleased to be teaching a more creative course where student effort literally equates better final products.

There are some things I won’t miss, of course. Dealing with problem students. Having to underline and enforce the cheating or the plagiarism policies. Listening to student whining, whether or not it’s actually heartfelt. Sitting through faculty meetings where I’m not really learning anything new, or possibly being passive-aggressively scolded for running my class the way I was.

Berating my TAs for not turning their weekly student evaluations in on time. And yeah, I probably won’t miss writing student evaluations, myself.

I will miss, however, the general interaction of students and TAs and instructors. I’ll miss collaborating with my TAs and our inability to decide on where to have lunch. I’ll miss meeting the clever students that floor me with their quickness, their adventurousness… something I feel like I don’t have enough of myself these days.

I’ll miss being a part of a force of teachers who are genuinely passionate about inspiring and pushing their students to be better than what the regular school system makes of them, to try and help them understand that there’s more to life than grades and test scores and even college.

But… I guess, as they say, I’ve had my time. And it was a phenomenal one. So thank you to all who were involved in this particular period of growth for me, both as a student and an instructor. You know who you are.

The best part about evals is going through all the final journal entries and reading about how the student was totally not expecting to have fun this summer.

The fact that absolutely no one stated that they disliked the “quest” system is a plus, too.

… GARY: ericdlee’s turn (action phase)

EricDLee: !0

GARY: ericdlee played Proton Beam.
gor’s turn (reaction phase)

GoR: !1

GARY: gor played Electron Sponge.
gor dodges ericdlee’s Proton Beam.
gor’s Electron Sponge absorbs the Proton Beam and turns the energy into health!
gor’s turn (action phase)

GoR: !0

GARY: gor played Mirror Shield.
ericdlee’s turn (reaction phase)

EricDLee: !0

GARY: ericdlee played Vorpal Sword.
gor tries to slam with Mirror Shield for 16 damage.
ericdlee’s Vorpal Sword swings for 36 damage.
ericdlee has no more items.
gor’s turn (final retaliation).

GoR: !0

GARY: gor played Proton Beam.
gor releases Proton Beam for 65 damage.
gor has no more items.
gor has 69 HP remaining. ericdlee has 69.
Duel has ended in a draw!
Final status:
Challenger: [21] gor | level 13 | hp: 69 / 139 | strength 35, accuracy 22, armor 8, dodge 45 | 0 cards remaining.
Defender: [41] ericdlee | level 15 | hp: 69 / 150 | strength 31, accuracy 28, armor 9, dodge 13 | 0 cards remaining.

Not going to write much, since I’m quite tired and I still have to wake up early for badminton.

First day of ATDP, first time in many years where I was only teaching one section. Felt really weird breaking for lunch and not feeling the pressure to be back by 1:00pm. First time eating at the Brazil Cafe.

First time giving a placement test to students, first time working with two co-instructors, one from a freaking ‘nother state who has been working as hard as, if not more than, me at getting everything to come together.

First time since the first TIC that the Evlan server had a total meltdown when we were instructing students to sign up for accounts. Not the first time ever, but I was stressed when the problem turned out to be more severe and more cryptic than anyone was able to figure out. We managed to “fix” the problem by restoring to an earlier state, but it’s kind of skirting the issue.

Did I mention, we’re not doing points or grades for TIC this year? Inspired as I was by all the talk of games improving student motivation, we decided to try a leveling system for this year’s TIC. They get XP for doing assignments (quests) instead of grades.

Definitely was a first hearing the reaction from the students when we revealed this little tidbit to them; I’d like to think it was excited. :x I’m definitely surprised by how many of them have already done the next couple of quests without prompting for the second time, because their first submissions were ruined by the IoCM server crash.

More on the whole system later… I wish I could find a good way to document this upcoming insanity…

[01:28:17] DITTO: WELCOME TO TIC: THE RPG.

[01:28:18] Kass: !challenge kass

[01:28:18] DITTO: kass has challenged kass! Challenge will expire in 1 minute.

[01:28:20] Kass: !accept

[01:28:20] DITTO: kass has accepted the challenge. Duel is beginning: kass vs kass! kass rolled 2 for initiative. kass rolled 2. kass goes first.

[01:28:25] Kass: !hand

[01:28:25] DITTO to kass: [0] Strike [1] Strike [2] Strike [3] Strike