• Access,  Art(s)

    Art vs Access: Thoughts on the Art of Making Beautiful Boy

    Yesterday was the final showing of Beautiful Boy at a local arthouse movie theater here. I HAD to catch the movie. I couldn’t let it end its brief run here without making an effort. I had read Beautiful Boy (by David Sheff) and some of Tweak (by Nick Sheff) to prepare myself to watch the movie. (P.S. I also cared about the message of the film, of course.) Does that sound odd? Maybe it does –sound somewhat odd. It’s that chicken or egg argument. Do you watch a movie first to enjoy…

  • Access,  Educational Technology,  Writing

    Screenreaders, Twitter and OCR

    In between living with sink-lessness and unpacking in my old-new home, I find some time to read the #DigiWriMo tweets. After my guest blog post on Digital Inclusion, there were several people who tweeted about the Twitter tips and how my suggestions might begin to have them rethink how they write or tweet. It was good to read about these “wonderings” and to have folks talking about digital inclusion. @brunowinck @Maha4Learning @yinbk are uppercase chars generally easier on dyslexics? #DigiWriMo #a11y — ℳąhą Bąℓi, PhD مها بالي 🌵 (@Bali_Maha) November 6, 2015 @drgbz @40houradjunct…

  • Access

    Adieu for Now, Inclusive Teaching Community

    Thank you Mary Shelden and Idella Glenn, co-leaders of the Institute on Inclusive Teaching, and everyone who I’ve come to know and will miss in our Inclusive Teaching community. You have all taught me much and will always be in my heart. The Institute and my work on the planning committee gave me a language to make sense of my struggles in the United States regarding race, diversity, and more. Here’s to more lives being touched by the Institute for Inclusive Teaching community! A toast to friendship forged in a shared understanding of what it…

  • Access,  Teaching

    In Faculty Words: From Desire to Educated Ability to Promote Inclusivity

    Simulating different sensory perceptions

    Faculty Development. A phrase I’ve long considered rather odd and incongruous. Maybe it’s because I’ve been emotionally damaged by the words of one of my ID professors in grad school. He told me that faculty (in his world) hate the term “faculty development” because they are already developed. They don’t need to develop anymore. They are possibly open to training, but not development. Another reputable ed psych and edtech professor who upon learning that I was going to tread the path of a practitioner (and not join the hallowed halls…

  • Access,  Instructional Design

    Institute on Inclusive Teaching: Quick Notes

    Restorative justice, dignity of risk, structural poverty, traumatizing awareness, food shock

    [Related blogposts: 2014 Reflections on the Institute on Inclusive Teaching; There’s a Place for Us; EdContexts full version] [Image description: Words: Restorative Justice, Dignity of Risk, Structural Poverty, Traumatizing Awareness, Food Shock] Last year, it took me a couple of weeks to distill my thoughts into a blogpost. The above image captures some of the ideas I’m mulling over. Structural Poverty. We meet again Through veiled window glass frosted by body heat Rain pelted outside and within Wetting my white linen and polka-dotted leggings My guilt and helplessness remained What…

  • Access,  Inclusion

    There’s a Place for Us

    VCU Summer Institute on Inclusive Teaching 2015

    [I revised this piece quite a bit and it is published at EdContexts: http://edcontexts.org/diversity/theres-a-place-for-us/]In late 1999, I relocated to the USA and have had much adventure navigating cross-cultural zones of change. As a Singaporean Chinese, I am often perceived as someone from the Republic of China, which is not a problem or a bad thing at all. It is when I am expected to exhibit behaviors that go along with that misperception that things get awkward and challenging. What follows are little snippets of the faux pas some people have committed…

  • Access,  Educational Technology

    A Bold Experiment: Live-Skim-Tweet Journal Article #tjc15

    Laura Gogia, a.k.a @GoogleGuacamole, my ALT Lab colleague (NOT a Google App as one of my Twitter friends thought!) invited me to her community’s experiment to live-tweet reading a journal article. I needed little persuasion because #1. I enjoy Twitter chats and #2. I am highly curious and like to learn new things. It turned out to be a thoughtful learning experience.There are 2 dimensions about the event I’m going to highlight in this blogpost and a third one I would need to think a bit more about: 1. The…

  • Access

    Whole Me’s Mystery Theater and Spaghetti Dinner

    “Whole Me Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization providing educational and social services designed to promote the success of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, their families, and their communities.” It works particularly with deaf and hard-of-hearing children to ensure their successful transition to adult life; this is done by establishing strong partnerships among key individuals in the child’s life. Read more. This coming Saturday, September 10, Whole Me will be hosting a spaghetti dinner and mystery theater. I can’t wait to go! Check this out: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108494662579738

  • Access,  Learning

    In Celebration of Last Access Class for Spring 2011

    The students had a great time showing off their final products — Ann with her brochure for Deaf patient advocacy; Tara came later but we got to see some awesome video clips starring a few Deaf individuals, and  one created by Mj herself. Hers was really funny. We plan to use these videos for Deaf Awareness Week. In this project group, I find humor, intellect, compassion, and many other good stuff.  I feel happy to watch researchers enjoy each other’s company, turn goofy sometimes, collaborate and show the way for…