KitchenAids, Cookies, and the LMS

We have a wonderful cobalt blue KitchenAid mixer. It is well used. And it is well loved. It matches the hand towels in the kitchen, the antique blue vases and glasses, some of the art on the walls and our dinner ware. It matches the matting on some framed pieces of art in the kitchen. But mostly I love it because it makes cookies. Or I should say my wife and daughters make me cookies with it.

I know that the cookies could be made with a bit more effort and work if they were mixed by hand with a heavy spoon. Would Todd know the difference between a cookie mixed with the blue KitchenAid or mixed with a heavy wooden spoon? Probably not. So why the pretty blue mixer? Certainly not because we have the money to buy lots of things that make mixing easier. I suppose that part of it is that when we, and I mean me or members of my family, walk into a kitchen, we expect to see certain things. A refrigerator. A range. A sink. Coffeemaker, cutting board, toaster, hand towels…. You know.

Here is a part of the story I love. It is my hope that because the KitchenAid is a pretty blue and looks like something that should be in a kitchen, that I get more cookies. I know that sounds selfish, but I am the one telling this story so I am going to talk about me and what I stand to gain from the mixer. Would I get fewer, or lower quality cookies if we did not have the mixer? What if it was green? Or rather than KitchenAid, it was a Hamilton or Cuisinart? What if rather than on the counter, it was out of sight in a cupboard?

I firmly believe that Todd gets more cookies more often because it is blue and it is pretty and it is visible and looks like it should be resting right where it is!

Let me tell you about the LMS and KitchenAid mixers.

One of my favorite things to do when I first stared to work with faculty was to make them “Course Banners.” It allowed me to be creative and use my Photoshop skills. It let me make something that was essentially really simple, and it gave the faculty real happiness. I always tried to get the faculty to let me know what kinds of images they would prefer and what colors they might like. I would usually send them three different versions and we would go from there. I didn’t just make one and say, “Here it is.” It was a process that involved their input. They felt like the images I made with them made the class more “theirs.” It differentiated it from the countless other courses that looked essentially the same in color and organization. If you have ever made cookies, I mean a banner for faculty, or you are a faculty who has had one made for you, you may know the feeling.

Here are about 100 of the ones I made with my colleagues. Help yourself.

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”1″ display=”basic_slideshow” gallery_height=”180″]This last week I had the fortune to have several faculty come by looking for a bit more aesthetic looking Canvas sites. I show them what other faculty have been done and they get inspired by the possibilities. It is one of my favorite parts of working with faculty. Essentially, we get to design the kitchen. We get to pick color schemes. Art. Some aesthetic elements and some more functional pieces. The faculty seem to take more ownership of the course and of the content. And equally as important, they seem to enjoy it more. I know that rubs off on students.

Here are a few I did this week and one I did a while back all for myself 🙂

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”2″ display=”basic_slideshow” gallery_height=”600″]

So if you have not really wondered about the aesthetic elements of your course, or you would like to but don’t feels you have the time or technical chops to make it happen, there is someone just like me at your institution who could likely assist. You might give them a ring. Or wander into their office with some coffee and cookies.