When you fail to plan...

I had a call yesterday from a fellow faculty development professional who was concerned about a new online program being developed at her institution. The program is intended to provide training for an underserved population (great), was conceived of in the past couple of weeks (fine), and will start in about a month (WHAT?). The infrastructure for providing the training is not in place, the courses have not been developed, and the instructors have no training whatsoever in distance learning.

This is a recipe for disaster. While it may be possible to develop a new face-to-face course in a short amount of time, that development is based on experience regarding what works in the classroom. Teaching at a distance is different. It requires planning, planning, and more planning. That is, making certain the infrastructure is in place, faculty understand best practices for teaching online, and a support system is in place for both faculty and students. Can it all be done in a month's time? I doubt it. Will they do it anyway? Yep.

Taking the fear out of Facebook

A number of students, friends, and colleagues have shared their concerns about privacy when it seems everyone else is putting everything online. Facebook is a big topic of conversation - and rightfully so in my view. I'm all for the caution and reflection. What I don't like to hear, however is when someone is afraid of what might happen if they join a social networking site like FB. I am pretty sure the fear stems from lack of information. So, I offer a list of 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know (h/t Deb Stanley).

Feel better?
>>Sherry

If you had not seen it before, the h/t is a "hat tip" to the person who brought the article to my attention.

Multimedia Content Resource

Looking for multimedia or Web-based resources to facilitate understanding of a particular topic? Try a little MERLOT! Not the wine, but the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching at merlot.org.

MERLOT is a Web site where you can search or browse for resources in your discipline, submit reviews, or submit your own resources. Some resources include complementary lessons or assignments.

Find anything useful?

>>Sherry