|
Dear Colleagues,
I sincerely hope your semesters are off to a great start.
In the past few months, we have had to take on the daunting
task of redesigning our classes, tests, and orientations. Being part of
the International Teaching Assistants Interest Section (ITAIS) has
helped all of us navigate our new reality. Our members have always been
supportive, but in light of all the recent changes, we needed each other
more than ever. Several members engaged in weekly meetings to plan for
the new semester; others contributed their knowledge through videos that
were shared with the community. This newsletter highlights these
initiatives, and I would like to thank Sarah Emory and James Coda for
putting together this edition.
I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce
Ekaterina (Katya) Arshavskaya, the newest member of the steering
committee, who joined us in the summer as event coordinator. Katya hit
the ground running by organizing webinars with both synchronous and
asynchronous components. In this flexible format, presenters submit a
video that participants are able to watch whenever it is convenient for
them. Two weeks after, Katya hosts a live Q&A session with the
presenters. The first webinar was a huge hit, with very practical ideas
for online classes and meetings. Our next webinar series is scheduled
for early November, and the live Q&A will be held on 14 November
2020. As usual, the details will be shared through the listserv.
These are difficult times, but we have each other. We are all in this together!
Best wishes,
Maria B. Mendoza |
