Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my webpage.
I requested a website to put together all the materials I have been building since I started as an instructor at Waterloo. I had no clear goals of reaching this point when I started in 2019, but after having to get creative during the pandemic, I wanted to set up a home for the resources I have been building.
The pandemic really forced us all to kick into high gear and adapt our practices so that we could meet as many of our students’ needs while following public health guidelines. This was particularly tricky for those like me who teach high-enrolment courses for Chemistry non-majors. I had to remain online for two years (far too long..!) due to limitations of my space not allowing me to build an equitable schedule for students. I like to think some of the ways we have all innovated (more video content, building interactive lessons) to teach labs while working online are useful outside of emergency remote learning so I want to keep building and improving resources.
With this blog, I hope to take time to explain why I made certain decisions and how I created some of the tools. I think being transparent with the challenges I experienced during these projects, some of the aspects I wish I could improve will help me achieve the goals I set. Throughout my career, I have had the best success when I took time for reflection. In my current job, I fear being swallowed by the workload of the three-semester teaching and becoming complacent. By forcing myself to think on various topics to keep this blog going, I will hopefully continue pushing in Open Education Resource development.
I am very open to feedback and listening to shared experiences has helped me learn so much. Should you want to reach out, my contact information can be found on the website and I would love to hear from you.
Thank you again for visiting!
–Leanne