A Mid Winter Canvas Stock Take - TTWWADI

Bobby2
Community Champion
8
1731

It’s mid-winter here in Tasmania. Time to hunker down by the fire or brave the elements when well wrapped up. However, a brisk walk in the snow up our mountain and Dark Mofo were well worth rugging up for this past weekend. Dark Mofo numbers break records, as thousands brave Hobart's wintery weather - ABC News (Australian ...  Mind you I avoided the nude swim on the shortest day!

 

It does remind me that sometimes it’s preferable to stay comfy and warm inside, but with a bit of effort and time you can still have adventures and fun. Not dissimilar to staying comfortable with a way of teaching, or a favourite tech tool, when with a wee bit of effort and time extra adventures can take place.

 

Ian Jukes (Ian Jukes - Springboard21 ) was a keynote speaker at a conference in Auckland over a decade ago.  He introduced me to TTWWADI. That’s The Way We Always Do It. And he made me push myself in all sorts of ways with my teaching, some successful and some total disasters (that I learned from - of course). I bumped into a TTWWADI conundrum online today too TTWWADI | The Thinking Stick . Made me think.

 

I’m in a new role at work and have to challenge myself, rather than relying on TTWWADI. It’s oh so tempting to stay snuggled up inside my own comfort zone, but I know I need to wrap up warm and step outside for an adventure. Some tried and true skills and knowledge will still be used but there's a whole lot more for me to learn and try. Bring on the new adventures! 

 

Recently my new buddy from Virginia faustj1‌ was kind enough to share some amazing work that he and his team have created to support teachers in their district. Through the wonders of our Canvas Community Jeff has been such an amazing colleague across the globe and given me food for thought and a challenge to work on. Thanks Jeff. 

 

Here's a story of how we changed our presentations as an example. Presenting with Canvas – no more power points! 

 

Have you got a case of TTWWADI (That's The Way We've Always Done It) that you are battling with? 

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8 Comments
jayde_colquhoun
Instructure
Instructure

Hi Bobby Pedersen

TTWWADI. That’s The Way We Always Do It. 

I had a colleague say to me yesterday that during a recent project conversation about digital uplift and re-designing curriculum etc., they were facing the same round-about discussions and arguments that they were 20 years ago.

I similarily overhead a conversation on public transport between two students heading to their exams (held early morning in a very cold warehouse....) and they had quite an animated discussion on why they still receive letter grades and comparative scores based on a review of learning materials and essays that they would never use in their industry. They were suggesting their skills should be evaluated against their industry standards and scaled on their own proficiency so they can prepare and are ready for work. Interesting thoughts while they were heading to their warehouse exam because, TTWWADI Smiley Wink 

Bobby2
Community Champion

Perfect example.

It's even fun to say TTWWADI.

ProfessorBeyrer
Community Coach
Community Coach

Do you pronounce both ts? I'm trying to decide if I'd rather say /ˈ twɑdi/ or /tˈ twɑdi/

Bobby2
Community Champion

Both ts. Every time.

It's now a word!

Now use it in context  @ProfessorBeyrer . There's your challenge for today. 

ProfessorBeyrer
Community Coach
Community Coach

How's this: Officially a class I'm teaching began yesterday and the first assignments are due tonight at 11:59pm. Some require that I read their submissions (a paragraph or a couple of term definitions). Each semester I do these assignments and think I'm going to give the kind of thorough feedback that I do on longer writing assignments, but I end up giving them points for being on the correct side of the touchlines. In other words...

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I hope my students don't see this reply! :smileyshocked:

Bobby2
Community Champion

You nailed it! Perfect pronunciation. 

Now how will you change your approach to these assignments? A TTWWADI challenge. 

ProfessorBeyrer
Community Coach
Community Coach

That's a good challenge. I just crossed into the witching hour so will pass into slumber with dreams of how I might un-TTWADI these assignments. Thanks for a great blog post!

Bobby2
Community Champion

This could become a 'thing'!