Thursday!

Apr. 15th, 2021 08:09 am
lunabee34: (sga: john's ear by prone_tastic)
[personal profile] lunabee34
1. Have some pen reviews!

JetPens Purple Pen Sampler

Scroll down to Products Included in This Bundle for info on each pen included.



This is a really good way to try a variety of brands, tip sizes, and kinds of pen.

The clear winners for me are the two Pentel Energel pens; I prefer a .7 tip size, and these write very smoothly with highly pigmented and saturated ink.

Next in line is the Platinum Preppy. It writes smoothly, and the ink is a lovely purpley-pink.

I also really like all the markers (Marvy Le Pen, Stabilo 68,Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, Zebra Mildliner).

The rest of the pens are finer tipped than I would normally use. The more I use them, the more I'm coming around on them. The Pilot Juice .5 and Zebra Sarasa .5 are the most comfortable for me to use. I like the Uni-ball Signo .38 in lavender black much more than I thought I would. Even though it's a fine point, it's not difficult to write with, and that ink color is gorgeous. In a .7, I'd have a hard time choosing another pen to write with. The Pilot Frixion Ball Slim is a mystery to me. I'm not sure why anyone would choose to write with a pen whose ink could disappear accidentally with heat. (Incidentally, I'm conducting a test with this pen; I scribbled some things on a piece of cheap notebook paper and stuck it in my glove box to see if/when the ink would disappear; it's been in there a week, and we've had temps in the mid-80s; the ink has not yet been affected; I'll edit this review if it does disappear).

I don't like the Uni Jetstream .5 or the Uni-ball Signo .28. The .28 tip feels like trying to write with a tiny knife. I write too large and with too much pressure for that to be a viable option. I just don't like the Jetstream; I really prefer the smoothness of gel.

2.

Online Teaching at Its Best: Merging Instructional Design with Teaching and Learning ResearchOnline Teaching at Its Best: Merging Instructional Design with Teaching and Learning Research by Linda B. Nilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is excellent, one of the best teaching online books I've read. I've been teaching online for over a decade, and I've been really disappointed that most of the books I've read about teaching online are very elementary--great for beginning online teachers but not a lot to offer the intermediate or expert teacher.

This book fits the bill. It makes explicit the research that forms the foundation of its suggestions for teaching in a way that most books on teaching don't (and so serves as a really excellent lit review of scholarship of teaching and learning which helps someone who wants to do that kind of writing know what to read/research next). It also has some ideas that were new to me that I'm looking forward to experimenting with/implementing.

Highly recommend this one. I don't think it's for someone who's never taught online before; I'd tell a brand new online instructor to read Small Teaching Online first and then read this book next.



View all my reviews

Date: 2021-04-15 12:41 pm (UTC)
elfin: image:  olivia;  text: invincible (Default)
From: [personal profile] elfin
Hey, just curious, what platform do you all use for your online classes? We use Canvas.

Date: 2021-04-15 12:57 pm (UTC)
elfin: image:  olivia;  text: invincible (Default)
From: [personal profile] elfin
Yeah, we used Blackboard a long time ago, too. No good memories there.
I've never used Brightspace, but I know that was one of the platforms we considered when we switched away from Blackboard.

Date: 2021-04-15 01:33 pm (UTC)
elfin: image:  olivia;  text: invincible (Default)
From: [personal profile] elfin
Yep, Blackboard was a nightmare. We used something before Blackboard, but I can't remember what it was called. It was worse than Blackboard, lol.

Of course, my experiences with the platforms are not actually teaching with them, but providing support for them, but I think Canvas is pretty good. The stuff I need to do in it is easy, and I can almost always figure out how to answer customer questions without pestering our Instructional Design team.

Date: 2021-04-15 07:12 pm (UTC)
nyctanthes: (Default)
From: [personal profile] nyctanthes
I realize I have a pen preference! I like the Sakura Pigma Micron 01 and 02 (.25 and .3) They require a light hand; they're more marker than pen and have a very fine tip. But I prefer them to ballpoints. I ran out a while back, but you inspired me to put in an order at jetpens. I'm excited!

Profile

lunabee34: (Default)
lunabee34

June 2025

S M T W T F S
1 234567
891011121314
15161718 192021
22232425262728
2930     

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 11th, 2025 06:57 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios