Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura B Widenor on August 7, 2019 at 1:29pm

Hi Everyone! My name is Laura Widenor and I am an instructional designer for Kansas State University Global Campus. Looking forward to being a part of MERLOT. 

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on August 8, 2019 at 6:46am

Hi, Laura,

We're happy to have you in GRAPE Camp this month. I've already informed the Editor of Faculty Development that he may have a new Peer Reviewer.

Also happy to see that you took on the assignment of reviewing materials in your field right away.

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Bogie on August 11, 2019 at 11:55am

Greeting to all in the August GRAPE session. My name is Rebecca Bogie and I am an adjunct instructor for Louisiana State University-Shreveport (teaching 2-3 sections per semester online and remotely from Dallas, TX metro area). I also occasionally teach online for the University of Dallas where I graduated in May 2019 with a DBA and work as a subject matter expert for Rasmussen College (I started my academic career as an MBA-level evaluator for Western Governors Univ. back in 2014).

Right now, I am a bit of business generalist -- teaching in management, managerial accounting (a.k.a. corporate financial planning & analysis), and business ethics. I still work full-time in corporate finance roles (currently consulting for Toyota), but would like to make a transition to full-time academics one day as I love teaching (and am learning about the publishing aspect).

My interest in online resources stems not only from my current teaching experience, but my own overall experiences as a student. When I was pursuing a bachelor's, I worked full-time and struggled to find classes to take to finish the degree when I could attend (many, many years ago before online programs and programs for working adults were a norm). 

Online programs do much to solve this issue (as well as access issues for those who do not live near educational institutions), but place much more of the burden on students' own levels of initiative. The quality of the resources used for teaching in this context play a huge part in helping (or not) students complete online courses successfully. 

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on August 12, 2019 at 8:08pm

Hi, Rebecca,

Welcome to MERLOT. I look forward to working with you in GRAPE Camp and then in the Business discipline. Where do you live in Dallas? I'm in McKinney, which is north of Dallas.

I think your experience as a student at UTD will help you understand how students learn in the classes you teach.

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Bogie on August 13, 2019 at 4:53am

I live in Irving (but I almost always just say Dallas because then people know where you mean).

Permalink Reply by Cathy Swift on August 13, 2019 at 7:03am

LOL - Same with Mckinney

Permalink Reply by Laura B Widenor on August 14, 2019 at 7:27am

Hi Rebecca, Nice to meet you!

You have quite a full plate! Thank you for sharing your take on online resources from both the student and faculty position.

Laura