I've been really enjoying heading to the gym in the morning, greeting the sun and feeling those soothing rays on my face to match the warmth of my muscles when I workout. Periodically I reflect on how a little over a year ago, I couldn't really do this at all while soldiering through chemotherapy and radiation care. My transitions lenses block out a very different kind of bright light radiation from my eyes, as I head eastbound to exercise. And fortunately for all of us, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see my trailing shadow, or his own, so it's a sure thing that our short Winter has now come and gone. Let's hear it for leap years!

2024 has arrived with a flurry of new resolutions, the turning over of a new leaf, and all the best intentions in the world. Decluttering our home, after nearly two years of enduring cancer treatments and recovery, has been the first priority. As a result, my husband Paul and I have been hard at work Fung Shui'ing our home into a new status quo, removing the accumulation so that my home office desktop and our family wall can regain prominence within their respective spaces.

With the holidays upon us, I thought it would be fun to introduce some levity with a riff off of an old classic song. However, there are a lot of syllables to try to match up. Especially when you match up Change by Design solutions to a department's challenges, all while trying to rhyme with words like birds, leaping or doves. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this small labor of love!

Dubbed "The Princeton of the South", Davidson was established in 1837 as a men's college by the Presbyterians of North Carolina. 136 years later, the first women's class was admitted into Davidson. I was a member of that class when I started my freshman post-secondary academic year. Over time, we became labeled the "Pioneers" because we were exploring the unknown together.

I recently achieved a career milestone: receiving the Florida State University Distinguished Alumni Award, from the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. It was a deeply satisfying occasion, but it also made me call into question some of my own perceptions. For instance, I frequently perceive myself being positioned firmly in the middle of my career, with many things yet to accomplish. I'm a doer, an achiever, and constantly seeking continuous improvement.

Fall is here, and Halloween arrives just over a month from now. This enduring annual holiday that combines the surprising, the macabre, and the creative, is a fascinating social exercise in overcoming fears. Because in most circles of life, fear causes many of our ills as people, whether they are physical, emotional, psychological, or even spiritual. Fear stymies us in the present by robbing from our future, and leaves us feeling powerless. And fear cuts across all educational and socio-economic levels. But Halloween throws all that aside for one day, providing a familiar platform for non-traumatizing, temporary frights.

Chocolate! Greek yogurt! I love sweet things, and dairy. But both increase my cholesterol, which isn't a good move after the past year fighting Cancer. I think: shouldn't I just be able eat this stuff, like everyone else? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Because for whatever reason, my body doesn't do well with certain foods like these, and I really have no ability to change that. I've tried. I've struggled. But it is what it is, despite what I think it should be, or what I'd like it to be.

Evaluation is an analytical accountability process that critically examines a program, its materials, its implementation, and its results. The two goals of evaluation in the instructional design realm are (1) ensuring the program under scrutiny is effective, and (2) holding those responsible for the program to account, based on the promised goals or scope. This simplified list of evaluations discusses the top 5 most important and essential types of instructional design evaluations for helping ensure high quality standards for curricula, trainings, and other learning resources your association, business, or non-profit organization produces.