TTT: Please describe
your work at UW-Milwaukee.
AA: I work full-time as an instructional design consultant at the
Learning Technology Center, and teach a buyout course each semester in
cultural anthropology (the latter was my main occupation for over 30 years).
At the LTC, I have numerous
jobs. Fortunately, I now share these tasks with two other instructional
designers! I organize the teaching-with-technology workshops that we offer
to faculty each semester, help prepare the workshop materials, and co-teach
the workshops (several per week). This includes our new online and hybrid
faculty development programs, which are becoming very popular with a number
of programs here at UWM. I am a system administrator for our campus course
management system (Blackboard) -- more than 500 courses and 12,000 users
each semester. I usually am involved in one or more LTC grant projects
or public presentations at UW-System or Educause or somewhere. Like everyone
else here, I handle scores of emails, phone calls, and drop-ins from instructors
each day: training, trouble-shooting, consulting on effective ways to
teach with technology. Over the last year or so, I've also been looking
after the hardware and software purchases, installation, and maintenance
in the LTC.
TTT: How long have you
been in your current position?
AA: This is my fourth year at the LTC. Before that, I was a professor
for many years in Canada.
TTT: What do you enjoy
most about your job?
AA: There's an enormous amount of variety day to day, and many
new opportunities to learn in a field that's rapidly changing. You learn
something new every single day! We work with most UWM faculty at one time
or another, and it's wonderful to have acquaintances (including many new
friends) throughout the university. Unlike most who work at UWM, my social
network isn't limited to my particular area. And by and large, the faculty
are extremely happy with the help we offer -- and say so. When you're
teaching, it's relatively rare to get immediate positive feedback, but
it happens all the time at the LTC.
TTT: What's the most
memorable thing that has happened to you at this job?
AA: We went through a scary period in September 2001 (yeah, I know)
when Blackboard wouldn't work properly, and everything slowed to a crawl.
I put in about six weeks of 12-15 hour days trying to help get things
back on track. Eventually we succeeded, and nothing like that has happened
since, but that was something that remains vivid (most unpleasantly so)
in my mind.
TTT: What do you enjoy
doing in your free time? Any hobbies, recent trips or hidden talents you'd
care to tell our readers about?
AA: I enjoy traveling and shopping and eating at nice restaurants,
all of these with my wife, who's a professor here at UWM. I also enjoy
time with my American family (two daughters in college) and see my Canadian
family (a son, his wife, and two granddaughters) whenever we can. I'm
an enthusiastic exerciser, reader, and chessplayer.
|