Putting Educational Innovations into Practice.

2014 MERLOT Fall GRAPE Camps

Please take this opportunity to introduce yourself here and tell us a little about you. We have many people who are partcipating asynchronously, so it will help them as well as help you to know what other types of people are going through GRAPE Camp. It's another form of networking and you might find some connections.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nicole Doran on August 26, 2014 at 11:42am

Hi Cathy and fellow Fall 2014 GRAPE Camp members,

I am joining GRAPE Camp as a student in the Texas A&M Commerce global eLearning Master of Science program. Fall 2014 is my first semester in the program.

I have 2 years of experience as an English teacher in South Korea. I really enjoy learning about other cultures and enjoy studying Korean in my spare time. I was also a political science major at Rutgers University. Additionally, in New Jersey I am a certified substitute teacher for students age K-8. In the future, I hope to become a more qualified teacher and also learn more about intercultural communication.

Nice to meet you all!

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on August 26, 2014 at 2:20pm

Welcome, Nicole. I'm sure your experience in Korea has really helped you learn a lot about intercultural communication. And congratulations on pursuing a Master degree.

Permalink Reply by Nicole Doran on September 2, 2014 at 8:54am

Thank you Cathy! So nice to meet you. I am looking forward to getting involved in MERLOT.

Permalink Reply by Kenyada McLeod on November 12, 2014 at 11:32am

Nice to meet you, Nicole! Congrats on your upcoming graduation!

Permalink Reply by Minjuan Wang on June 7, 2015 at 9:39pm

I share your research interest!

Permalink Reply by Kenyada McLeod on November 12, 2014 at 11:28am

Good afternoon everyone,

I am Kenyada McLeod, an Instructional Designer for John Tyler Community College in Chester, VA. In this full-time role, I support faculty in the areas of teaching, learning and technology. Topics such as implementing technical strategies in the classroom and in the online environment as well as course design are my focus in this role.

In addition to this full-time role, I also serve as an adjunct faculty member for two community colleges teaching web design, introduction to computers and student development. I love what I do and this mixed bag of experiences is working out well. I am loving this!

After having been introduced to MERLOT through a faculty development course, I soon became a member and was impressed by all of the resources. I am looking forward to not only become a reviewer, but to also having my materials reviewed.

I'm looking forward to connecting with everyone (asynchronously).

-Kenyada

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on November 12, 2014 at 12:06pm

Hi, Kenyada:

Welcome. You sound as if you have a lot of experience in Faculty Development. I know our Editorial Board will be happy to see you in GRAPE Camp and will have plenty of work for you when you "graduate."

You mentioned getting your materials reviewed. A hint: If you can provide me the Material Detail URL of any materials you have cataloged in MERLOT, I can recommend that they are reviewed by the Ed Bd, so just let me know.

Permalink Reply by Kenyada McLeod on November 13, 2014 at 2:19pm

Thanks Cathy! That is very encouraging.

I will be certain to take you up on that offer.

Permalink Reply by Denise Landry-Hyde on December 15, 2014 at 1:24pm

Greetings! I'm Denise Landry-Hyde, a Reference/Distributed Learning Librarian at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. I hope to get that title changed to "E-Learning" or "Online Learning". I respond to Reference questions, take part in our library instruction program, help with collection development in my liaison areas--Nursing & Health Sciences, Education, Sociology, and Social Work. I co-ordinate our "Ask a Librarian" e-mail reference service and help ensure that the library is supporting our online/distance learners. I serve on our university's Center for Faculty Excellence Committee and on our Instructional Technology & Distance Education Committee. I truly enjoy serving on these committees!

Embedded Librarianship, OERs, and Open Access & Scholarly Communication are a few of my research interests. I've "embedded" in select Nursing courses--research-intensive ones, and offer WebEx sessions, upon request.

I hope to become a reviewer for MERLOT, a resource that I truly value, particularly as more and more of our courses are being taught online.

Cheers,

Denise

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on December 15, 2014 at 2:42pm

Hi, Denise:

Kudos to you for trying to get a change to "distributed learning," and out-of-date word. I wish you luck with it. You have a lot of responsibilities in your position. I'm so happy you are willing to review for MERLOT also. Many of the people who go through GRAPE Camp are new to MERLOT. It's wonderful that you "truly value" our resource!

Permalink Reply by Florence Gilzene-Cheese on December 15, 2014 at 6:03pm

Hello Cathy and Colleagues,

I am Florence from Jamaica and I work at the University of the West Indies Open Campus. I am happy to be joining you all in this community and look forward to our ongoing communications.

I have been involved in course development before and want to keep that connection through the peer review process. I am in my third year as an Instructional Development Coordinator where I support the development of Best Practices for Faculty who teach online. I am really pleased to engage in this process as i already see persons who are engaged in Faculty Development... Hello Keyanda! I look forward to sharing with everyone we apply the knowledge gained through our interactions.

I already see the opportunities for networking and learning and am committed to sharing for the benefit of the group.

Its nice to meet everyone and I look forward to our engagements

Flo

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on December 15, 2014 at 7:05pm

Hi, Flo:

We're happy to have people reviewing in Faculty Development. We have a LOT of resources in that category and can really use the help. I know we can easily "put you to work."

Thanks for your interest in MERLOT