Thomas J. Tobin

this episode with @microcosm.bsky.social was so fun to record! This interview encapsulates my approach to organizing inclusive events.

Check it out! @mcgillarts.bsky.social

Cartoon of Tom Tobin, highlighting his gray hair, glasses, and giant black mustache.

Everyone is posting their AI-generated caricatures again.

So here is a cartoon image of me, done by an actual human artist, Kiko Yamada (@NinjaSketch).

Tom Tobin smiles in a suit and time in front the stage in the theater of the University of the Cordilleras, where a title slide for the Fulbright Specialist program orientation is displayed behind him.

Good news, everybody!

I'm proud to kick off 3 weeks of intensive professional development for the University of the Cordilleras today, thanks to a Fulbright grant that brought me to the Philippines.

Great people, great culture, and great foundations to build on.

#Gratitude

The U.S. Declaration of Independence, a handwritten document from the 18th century.

WATCH OUR AMERICA 250 VIDEO [11 mins]

I celebrated the US's 250th & Fulbright's 80th by reading the Declaration of Independence w/Fulbright Hungary friends.

The complaints from 1776 are familiar today. I pledge to support "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

youtu.be/UYBfmRO5aPc

Thank you--you were kind to do it. Good pic, too!

Title slide for "Restoring Positive Rights: The Freedoms to Learn, Teach, & Run Our Institutions" session from Liz Norell, Kevin Gannon, and Thomas J. Tobin, showing the title, photos of the presenters, the AAC&U logo, and a background image of a mural showing people navigating the education system as if it the board game Life, with hidden taxes, secret cheats, and unexpected challenges.

Good morning, @AAC&U Annual Meeting Goers!

My seminar with @liznorell.bsky.social & @thetattooedprof.bsky.social "Restoring Positive Rights: The Freedoms to Learn, Teach, & Run Our Institutions" is 3:45p today (Jan 22).

Archive room, M4, between the escalators & elevators. See you soon?

Hands carefully cup the flame of a single candle burning in the darkness.

Today, I re-commit to living my values:

Lower barriers for everyone.
Include more voices.
Care for & strengthen those with few privileges.
Respect & celebrate differences.
Speak up, speak out, speak truth.

When hate is loud, love must be louder.

Who's with me?

Should have em the win right there. Hip down, contested catch goes to the offense. This is heartbreaking to have it end in ref calls.

It is heartbreaking to watch my team lose on questionable officiating calls. Dang.

Title slide for the "From Accessibility to Access" keynote, with a picture of Tom Tobin in a suit (a white man with gray hair, glasses, and a giant black mustache) and the Maricopa Community Colleges District logo.

#ThankYou to the Maricopa Community Colleges for inviting me to keynote their District Day of Learning.

It was a pleasure to celebrate their hard work so far and help them take next steps toward #AccessForAll.

Hey-ey-ey-ey!

Josh Allen talks to a reporter after a Bills win.

Tre White tips an interception to seal the Bills win.

Josh Allen talks to the media in the scrum after winning in Jacksonville.

Hey-ey-ey-ey! My heart can't take many more of these super-tight games, but I will gladly take the W today. Rooting for the Chargers to take out the Pats and the Steelers to beat the Texans, now!

Brother, my heart can't take much more of this.

Screen image of Magna Publications Teaching Professor conference web site showing a pre-conference workshop on "Scaling Up with Universal Design for Learning . . . and How to Get Colleagues to Join You" from Thomas J. Tobin on June 5 from 1:00p - 3:30p. Text: "To help make educational materials and practices inclusive and useful for all learners, this interactive workshop radically reflects on how instructors and designers can adopt Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in order to create learning interactions that provide students with more time for study and practice in their busy days: broaden our focus beyond learners with disabilities and toward a larger ease-of-use/general-inclusion framework. Our workshop will contain three scaffolded elements: an overview of UDL, how to scale up UDL efforts beyond individual actions, and how to talk with colleagues in order to establish UDL communities of practice. Together, we’ll work through beginner, practitioner, and advanced-level UDL applications." Photo of Tom Tobin, a white man with gray hair, glasses, and a huge black mustache. Text: "Thomas J. Tobin is an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on technology-mediated education—especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practices, academic integrity, accessibility, and universal design for learning. Tobin helped found the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring. On Ed Tech Magazine's Influencers Dean's List, honored with the Wagner Leadership Award in Distance Learning Administration, and one of Eduflow’s global Top 100 Learning Influencers, Tobin serves on the boards of Advances in Online Education, InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, and the Oklahoma University Press Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed series.

SEE YOU IN ST. LOUIS?

My new #UDLatScale book is coming soon!

To celebrate, I'm hosting an all-new workshop at the Teaching Professor conference in St. Louis on June 5, 2026.

If you'll be there, I'd love to see you, connect, and hear your story.

www.magnapubs.com/teaching-pro...

A cartoon image of Tom Tobin says "I'm going to be a #Fulbright specialist in the Philippines during February, 2026. What should I know before I go?" A world map is behind him, showing an arrow between the United States and the Philippines.

HELP ME, HIVE MIND!

I'm going to be a #Fulbright specialist in the Philippines during February, 2026.

What should I know before I go?

An orange cat sits on a human lap and makes a derp face.

An orange cat lies on a desk looking weary.

Died January 7, 2026. TOBIN, "Purr-fessor" Webster Buddy-Buddeêëēé Dude Sir Mate Underfoot Snaggletooth.

There will never be another quite like you, lad. We miss you with our whole hearts.

Screen grab from the EDUCAUSE 2026 annual conference site, with "highlights" and a photo of Tom Tobin and three new friends at a table, under the word "connect."

Mustache sighting!

I'm grateful to the @educause.bsky.social team for putting my mustachioed mug on their 2026 annual conference site.*

Will I see YOU in Denver this Fall?

events.educause.edu/annual-confe...

*H/T to @davelong.bsky.social for spotting this one.

Looking to lead a teaching center? Here's a job!

Assistant/Associate Director at the new Center for Inclusive Excellence in Teaching: College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Bonus: you'd get to work for Kathy Takayama!

apply.interfolio.com/179045

Tom Tobin smiles as he reads "An Educator's Guide to ADHD" by Karen Costa.

#HigherEd, PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK!

"An Educator's Guide to #ADHD" by @karencosta.bsky.social, from @hopkinspress.bsky.social, coming Jan 20, 2026.

I was honored to be an early reviewer, & I recommend this book to everyone.

Get yours, and re-post to your friends.

www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

Home Depot Introduces New 12-Foot-Tall Baby Jesus Skeleton ATLANTA—Touting the item as a must-have for seasonal lawn decoration enthusiasts, Home Depot confirmed Thursday that it had begun sales of a new 12-foot-tall baby Jesus skeleton just in time for the h...

If only this were real . . .

theonion.com/home-depot-i...

Us, too. Too close to lived reality and hilariously funny at the same time. Also, write "BABY."

Merry Christmas, everybody! Grandma Tobin's sugar-cookie recipe plus Grandma Chasko's rolling method = delicious, and I got to burn some extra smoky ones just for me. I hope Santa likes the ones I will leave for him.

Letting the days go by . . .

In the spirit of the current administration, I declare that regardless of the actual voting, here is your winner for 2025 Headline of the Year, because I like it the best.

Seriously, read them all and follow Paul.

Look no further, this is the winner!

A card with text "May your holidays be merry and bright! Season's greetings from the Doctors Tobin: Mary Ann, Tom, and Purr-fessor Webster." The card shows a porch lit with holiday lights and a Christmas tree visible through a window, with inset images of Tom & Mary Ann Tobin standing against the Chicago skyline, and Webster the orange cat underneath a holiday tree.

Happy holidays from our home to yours!

We are grateful for all of the friends, loved ones, colleagues, and furry companions we've known in 2025. We hope 2026 will bring you fulfillment, joy, justice, and peace.

Love to you all!

My heart can't take many more of these squeakers, but I will celebrate the win. Go Bills!

Key ALT+0161 and ¡voilá!

12-month FACULTY-line CTL job!

In a new center! Ho, ho ho!

Assistant/Associate Director, Center for Inclusive Excellence in Teaching

The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA

apply.interfolio.com/179045

Should I be worried that my New York Mets are spelled correctly?