Experiential learning is the latest pursuit across disciplines for the college. Have you implemented or entertained any thoughts on how or what you will do to support this agenda? Experiential learning has existed in the skilled trades courses since inception so I...
4 x 4 x 16 Challenge Articles
Something Is Not Right
I just read a New Yorker article about the Sackler family who own the pharmaceutical company that makes Oxycontin. It is a shocking story of how the company, by marketing directly and aggressively to doctors, almost singlehandedly caused the current crisis of opioid...
Fatal Flaws, Errors, Mistakes
This week in my mythology class we discussed Oedipus the King, the famous ancient Greek tragedy about a man (a king) who discovers that he accidentally, unknowingly killed his father, slept with his mother, and had offspring who were also his siblings. The day of that...
Born Digital – Part Three
In this post, I will discuss the results of using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to analyze the interview data in my study and the conclusions about students and the adoption and use of distance technology-enhanced learning. The...
Beginner’s Mind
Last week at a conference I learned the term “Beginner’s Mind.” I had never heard that term before but it comes from Zen Buddhism. It is the idea that as we become more expert at something, we stop seeing possibilities. We close our mind to new ways of seeing and...
Non-Violent Communication in Action
The most interesting thing about doing NVC in Michigan is how many people want to say they’re sorry as part of the NVC process. However, NVC doesn’t require that you say you’re sorry, especially when you haven’t done anything wrong. So, here’s a scenario to...
24-hour Job
8:30 pm is the time I typically stop doing ‘work-related’ stuff. This isn’t just grading, but this is often the monster load of it. I find myself researching topics related to class content, reading updates that are related to my field, answering the never-ending...
Green -> Sustainable
The common term used for several years has been “Green.” This usually referred to a practice or lifestyle that sought to use significantly less petroleum products, recycle, renewable energy, and basically minimize one’s impact upon the Earth. “Green” has slowly faded...
The Holy Grail
Do you <3 your textbook? If you don’t, your students probably don’t either. What would it be like to teach a course with text materials that did exactly what you want them to do? This is the Holy Grail of the OER project. Yes, the price of textbooks is insane...