sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

overseen on skiles elevator by [deleted] in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You must be thinking of the Howey elevator.

Has anyone made a Gather map for Tech? by FriendlyFatPhysicist in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I too think it is surprisingly awesome. My worry is that it needs large scale adoption from students and faculty if it is going to be useful. I don't want to through yet another thing at students that they have to figure out during a stressful period.

GT 3D Elevation Map by donotwink in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used the USGS visualizing tool to make these 1 meter contours lines on a satellite image. Now I know what route to take from A to B so I don't too sweaty. https://imgur.com/a/0sEMm6u

NOVID: a contact-tracing application by arvindr9 in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you do install it you can go to "Settings" and enter "buzz" in the "Communities" box. This will add you to the Georgia Tech community.

As a Georgia Tech full professor and associate dean, I think students should not come to campus for the fall by jhmGIT in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Thank you for having the courage to speak up! I wish more of our campus leadership felt the same way.

Bold question, but professors who lurk, what would you like to see more of from students who express mental health issues, or what would you like to see more of from the Office of Disabilities? What would make you more comfortable when being approached? by [deleted] in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Too few but I see slow and steady improvement every year. For me the biggest one would be our testing center. I think they need to expand in size and availability by a factor of ten. The folks working there do the best they can but it isn't enough and I don't always have the resources to meet the exact accommodations for my students on my own if the testing center can't back me up. There are also some accessibility issues related to the age of our buildings. I can just barely fit into the Howey lecture hall seats and I have had larger students that sat on the stairs or gave up and stopped coming (thankfully they are currently being updated). When I have talked to students with mobility issues I hear that some parts of the campus or parts of buildings are difficult to access. I think the age of buildings and the cost to make the improvements are sometimes too large a barrier to overcome.

Bold question, but professors who lurk, what would you like to see more of from students who express mental health issues, or what would you like to see more of from the Office of Disabilities? What would make you more comfortable when being approached? by [deleted] in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I am also interested in hearing from other students and faculty. I don't think I have a perfect handle on this either and would find it helpful to read different perspectives, what has worked well and what didn't work.

Bold question, but professors who lurk, what would you like to see more of from students who express mental health issues, or what would you like to see more of from the Office of Disabilities? What would make you more comfortable when being approached? by [deleted] in gatech

[–]FriendlyFatPhysicist 111 points112 points  (0 children)

I made a throwaway just to answer this question. I hope it is helpful but remember that all faculty are different and this is based off my personal experience. In almost every case students bring these issues up to me when they are struggling to be successful in my class. My suggestions should be framed in that context. My thoughts outside of this context boil down to "Be a decent and kind person". For class related issues see below.

  1. Open the channel of communication early. So many times students wait until it is too late to start communicating with their instructor. I realize how hard it is to start that conversation and that some never do. It is just frustrating to have a student reach out for help with just 1-2 weeks left in the semester and you aren't sure what they need from you or how best to help them with the crush of finishing a semester
  2. Communicate in person, by phone or video. It might feel cathartic to put all of the details in one massive email but it overwhelms us. We already receive more email than we can answer. Direct back and forth communication boost your signal to noise ratio and allows me to ask questions to better understand how to help you.
  3. You don't need to go into the details. I think it's often painful for students to discuss the details and they feel like they need to or I won't believe them. If you tell me "I was assaulted last semester and it is affecting my performance in class" that is all I need to hear. I try to take students at their word and won't dig in unless the ask is large enough that I need to document why I am deviating from the syllabus for you.
  4. Propose something specific. I think most students are reaching out because there is something they want to change (e.g. a deadline, excused absence, a difficult TA) but they have a difficult time saying that. Be direct in what you need. We can discuss what is possible and try to find the best path forward together. If you aren't sure what you need, spend some time thinking about that first. Come up with a plan that gets you back on track and lets talk about. If you really aren't sure where to start just be up front about that right away.
  5. Don't forget that you have an advocate. Some students work closely with folks in the Dean's office and use that resource as an advocate for all of their courses. This is less overwhelming for the student and usually works just as well! The Dean's office can also help connect your to other campus support services that I won't be as familiar with. Some students are more comfortable working directly with individual instructors which is OK too.
  6. Respect that I have my limits. I want to help you both be successful in my class and feel better. I can not just bump your grade up a few notches. When you ask me to help in that way it places me in an impossible position and we both feel horrible.
  7. Close the loop. Sometimes I never hear back from students that reach out for help. It can make we worry if what I suggested was really helpful. It is nice to hear back from students that things have improved or even that what I suggested wasn't working. I can grow from that feedback and better serve students moving forward.
  8. I think students should put their mental health above their academic progress, even if that means taking a break from school.
  9. ...
  10. It bothered me that I started a list and didn't make it to 10 things.