21 April 26

National Kindergarten Day, on 21 April, celebrates the birthday of Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel (1782-1852), who created the concept of the kindergarten and coined the word, which soon entered the English language as well. We meet our own kindergartner granddaughter almost every weekday! She's very familiar with everything on my tie.

21 September 23

Today I'm leading a workshop about using Blackboard (our online learning system) in traditional classroom courses. So I'm wearing my chalkboard tie. I've taught with Blackboard for 23 years, and I've trained faculty in all departments at Eastern Kentucky University.

17-18 July 23

I am attending the "Anthology Together" conference in Nashville this week. It's focused on educational technology, specifically for me the Anthology product called Blackboard Learn. Yesterday I wore my one QR code tie, and several people scanned me to reach my tie blog. Today I am representing EKU for an Exemplary Course Program award, so I'll show my EKU swoosh logo, but most of the time I'll be wearing my chalkboard tie, for Blackboard.

6 August 21

 Today at EKU we are participating in the New Faculty Orientation "showcase," telling them about the Blackboard system. So I'm wearing my "blackboard" tie!

19 August 19

For the first day of classes at EKU I'm wearing my chalkboard tie! I am starting both my Beginning Ethics and Honors Freshman Seminar classes, but I'm also helping many faculty get their courses rolling on our Blackboard system. (Well, most faculty don't need my help, but there are enough with first day panics to keep both me and Jonathan Sikora busy!)

9 August 18

To help introduce the Blackboard software to our new faculty at Eastern Kentucky University, I'm wearing my "blackboard" tie. It's also a reminder that school starts very soon for many of us.

8 May 18

Teachers, do you remember using chalk on blackboards? Today is National Teachers' Day, during Teacher Appreciation Week. In my earliest teaching experiences, with introductory philosophy and logic, I used chalky blackboards a lot, along with overhead projection transparencies!

3 May 17

Today I'm part of a meeting with staff from the Blackboard company, to talk about how their software fits into the future needs of Eastern Kentucky University. So I'm wearing my blackboard tie!

23 January 17

Today is National Handwriting Day, honoring the birthday of John Hancock (1737-1793) -- because he signed his name on the Declaration of Independence in letters large enough that the King of England could not overlook it.

17 August 16

I'm wearing my "blackboard" tie today in hopes that its karma might help us with our currently desperate situation regarding the Blackboard® learning management system. We are trying to install upgraded software during a short break between summer and fall classes, and the upgrade process is resisting the best efforts of our network engineers and database administrators. I am a believer in the power of prayer, and a miracle would be nice, but we're talking about resolving very ordinary issues in telecommunications and computer programming, and we already have all of the right people "laying their hands on the equipment." Over the next few days I will have to deal with quite a few upset/angry faculty . . . Classes begin on Monday!

24 August 15

First day of classes at Eastern Kentucky University, and yes, I do get to meet my new students! Twenty live bodies in a physical classroom at 4:40 p.m., and then twenty-one ethereal voices (well, typed text) via the Internet this evening. There are still chalkboards in some of our classrooms; I think I may have last touched some real chalk in 2013. And of course this tie is appropriate for my continuing work with the Blackboard course management system.

6 May 15

This is the middle of National Teacher Appreciation Week. I feel well appreciated by my students, current and former!

14 August 14

Today I am running four workshops for faculty, to introduce them to our Blackboard system and to the new features added through a system upgrade this week. My tie reminds everyone of their early experiences with chalk and writing!

23 January 14

Happy National Handwriting Day! 23 January marks the birthday (in 1737) of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress and first signer of the Declaration of Independence. I never achieved excellence in cursive penmanship, and now some people never even learn about it! My tie shows only block-printed handwriting, which is still my own habit.

19 August 13

First day of school at Eastern Kentucky University! (Monday)

14 May 13

Today is Blackboard Update Day at EKU, so I'm wearing my tie with chalk-on-blackboard. I am spending part of the day at an honors faculty workshop, and then this afternoon I will be applying the finishing touches to the Blackboard system before we open it up to the public.

20 August 12

For the first day of school at Eastern Kentucky University, I'm wearing my "blackboard" tie!

23 January 12

Today is "National Handwriting Day," celebrated to honor the birthday of John Hancock. As he signed the Declaration of Independence he said he wanted to use handwriting big enough and bold enough that the King of England could not overlook it.

10 May 11

The second Tuesday in May is (apparently) the annual celebration of Patching EKU Blackboard Day. Every year we grab this chance between the semesters to update the software, which gives other people new chances to find things to complain about. But we're getting better at it, which makes it harder for the complainers!

22 February 11

Whenever February 22 falls on a Tuesday, that 2/22 day should be known as TWOSDAY. I will celebrate somehow at 2:22:22 p.m. (although it would have been appropriate at 2:22 a.m., two). My son Ben suggested that I wear two ties two-day, so I picked two that have the number 2 on them, and tied them two-gether. (On the Einstein tie you can just barely see the 2 in E=mc².) On Facebook one of my cousins suggested combining a bow tie with a necktie, but I had no bow tie with which two do that.