Sue got caught texting while sitting in her car at a stoplight. She was just sitting there when law enforcement nabbed her. But that's another matter. We are here to talk about how Sue dealt with the ticket she got. In California, those of us who get tickets may reduce the penalty via traffic school. Some turn to Clown Traffic School or my personal favorite, Shop 'til You Drop Traffic School. There are even gay and lesbian training options. Sue decided that e-learning made the most sense for her. She did it for the usual reasons associated with online education: access on demand, novelty, and location, location, location. She paid up. … [Read more...]
Reflections on Two Decades and Three Degrees
October 7, 2012 by
Jolie Kennedy is my guest blogger. I think you will enjoy her take on her learning experiences. Jolie writes: Summer 1989: Queens College, City University of New York. Madonna’s Like a Prayer blares on my headphones. It’s my first semester and I’m low man on the totem pole. I get classes no one wants… statistics and ethics. Ugh. College sucks! Stats class is a bust. I struggle with those pesky word problems. I don’t get them and the teacher doesn’t care. I fail stats. I am more interested in learning about Hasidic Jewish culture from my classmate. I work and pay my own bills. Soon I will get my first credit card. I will graduate with a … [Read more...]
How We Helped Faculty Move Their Courses Online
July 7, 2012 by
Suzanne Aurilio is my guest blogger. She and our SDSU colleagues have enjoyed some solid successes in bringing faculty to rely on and appreciate technology. Here is her story. I've been working with university faculty on teaching, learning and technology for almost ten years. During much of that time, I led a well-funded program in which we incentivized faculty to experiment with technologies to improve teaching and learning. The program had impact. It catalyzed strategic alliances with key units and leaders. It created a flexible infrastructure of personnel and resources. It was a sustainable effort that grew into an ecosystem that … [Read more...]
Webinars are better, but not yet best
April 10, 2012 by
From my sunny office in San Diego, I checked into the happenings at CLO's spring conference in Miami. I did this by tracking the twitter stream, #closym. One tweet grabbed my attention. A researcher reported that the keyword, webinar, was searched more often than the keyword, elearning. Think about that. People are seeking information about webinars more often than they are drawn to elearning. A few years ago, Colleen Cunningham, Antonia Chan and I examined the webinar phenomenon. The article, published in CLO magazine, had this snarky title: What Stinks about Webinars. It traced Colleen and Antonia, graduates of the SDSU EDTEC program, as … [Read more...]
Cal State Online Plays Small Ball
March 12, 2012 by
The California State University (CSU), the largest state university system in the United States, has at long last settled on an online learning strategy for its 23 campuses. With more than three decades as a professor in the CSU, now retired, I decided to take a look. The goal. "The goal is to increase capacity at California State, where massive budget cuts have coincided with a rising demand for higher ed degrees," wrote Steve Kolowich in a review of the plan. The doubts. Many faculty extend their doubts about CSU leadership to online education, an easy target for professorial skepticism. What about quality? What about relationships? … [Read more...]
