SUMMER 08 UPDATE
(posted 08/19/08)

It has been an exciting second summer at the Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences in Orlando, FL.  In my role as Assistant VP for Educational Technology and Distance Learning, I’m working with a faculty advisory group in rolling out a new course management system.  It will debut in several pilot courses in early September.  It was a very helpful process, involving a group of voluntary faculty in the evaluation and determination of a learning system that would meet our needs.  The key was not what system we selected but the sense of ownership emerged among the faculty.  It’s a part of the cultural change I would like to see on campus.

Another piece of the cultural change happening on campus is Blended Learning.  The Interactive Blend that took roots in one department will be initiated in another department in Fall.   The goal is to integrate the best practice of distance modalities into the classroom on campus.  We’re piloting in Fall a Synchronous Blend via a high-end video conferencing system in preparation for delivery in future satellite sites.  Overseeing the newly formed Distance Learning Department of 14 staff does add a new and interesting twist to my responsibility.  The purpose is to consolidate our distance learning efforts and provide better customer service to distance students.  Accounting for more than half of our student body, the Fall distance enrollment is going to be the highest ever. 

Besides the busy and exciting work on campus, I went with a couple of accreditation teams to Tampa and California in June.   I evaluated their game design programs and learned some interesting emerging developments in the gaming world.  In August, I presented back to back at the Distance Learning Conference (on Mobile Games) in Madison and MERLOT Conference (on Blended Learning) in Minneapolis.  While visiting California in June, we spent Sabbath worshipping at the Loma Linda Chinese Church and the Loma Linda Japanese Church.  We saw many old friends from SAUC days. Please check back for the next seasonal update. A Happy New Academic Year to all!

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My Nature Window

A reflecting moment with the turtles while canoing on the Wekiva River (Taken on August 16, 2008)

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Most Recently...
Most recently, I was the Dean of Academic Technology at the Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, where I continued R&D on interactive academic gaming which led the campus to be recognized as one of the Campus Technology Magazine's 16 Technology Innovators in the nation in 2006. I founded the university's Online Campus in 2006.

Previously...
Previously, I was the Director of Instructional Technology Center, and Assistant Professor in Information Technology Management at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, the nation's first laptop campus. Seven years at UMC gave me numerous opportunities to research and innovate.

on PERSPECTIVE*

"Complete possession is proved only
by giving. All you are unable
to give possesses you."
~ Andre Gide (posted 09/05/08)

"Some men see things as they
are and ask why.  Others dream
things that never were and ask why not."
~ George Bernard Shaw (posted 09/04/08)

"In the ideal sense nothing is uninteresting;
there are only uninterested people."
~ Brooks Atkinson (posted 09/03/08)

"What we see depends
mainly on what we look for."
~ John Lubbock (posted 08/29/08)

"When one door closes another door
opens; but we so often look so long
and so regretfully upon the
closed door, that we do not
see the ones which open for us."
~ Alexander Graham Bell (posted 08/28/08)

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
~ Winsdon Churchill (posted 08/27/08)

"If the only tool you have is a hammer,
you tend to see every problem as a nail."
~ Abraham Maslow (posted 08/25/08)

*Tropical Storm Fay brought a lot of water damage to Central Florida this past week. This is our first experience with a significant named storm since we moved here. Although living in Florida is nice, we need to put things in perspective during the hurricane season, which is stormy and hot. Some folks here told me that it's the flipside of Minnesota.
~08/25/08

Previous Quotes: 2008, 2007