Live From the 10th Annual TLC

Greetings from the 10th APSA Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC) in sunny (not) Long Beach, California. A few thoughts for now; I’ll be posting more later:

• It’s a big strange to run into blog groupies (bloogies? grobs?) who exclaim “Oh! You’re so-and-so!” Or to find out that one’s blog posts get re-transmitted across the Internet via Twitter feeds. It makes me feel a bit like Kim Kardashian.
• In the interests of creating more of a person connection with readers, I’ve inserted a photo of myself into this post.

  

• The professional development and networking opportunities afforded by the TLC are amazing. It’s hard for me to believe that this blog originated at the TLC two years ago and is now read regularly by people around the world. It’s also hard to believe that my participation in the TLC has led to four peer-reviewed publications, with two more manuscripts currently under review — all on topics that highly relevant to the most important aspect of my job (teaching).
• It’s comforting to realize that one is part of a much larger community that regards teaching and learning as personally rewarding and socially important. It I didn’t have this community, I’d probably feel like I was toiling away in a dungeon more frequently than I do now.