Cheryl Blain

Having completed my dissertation on Corporate Culture, I would like to interject something I've found to be important. Quite often during projects that take a long time to complete (more than 8 months)it becomes very important to bring the whole team back together at critical touch-points to remind them why the project is happening. The Project Leaders need to remind team members of the company culture, it's mission and vision. Often, team members become tired or distanced from the project goals and deep into their specific taks and details. They forget about the dynamics of a team and how strong… >>>

It can be challenging to provide students with the accommodations needed to be successful. This challenge is greater still in the Online environment. Because instructors must manage a virtual classroom, and an asynchronous environment, relating directly to students becomes a skill of great experience. Tone and inflection cannot be seen online; physical qeues cannot be seen online; voice can be heard by the instructor but often not the student. When a student in this environment has a disability, they may even have a more difficult time expressing it to or sharing with the appropriate staff or instructors. Sometimes the disability… >>>

It becomes increasingly difficult to manage corporate strategies in the wake of extensive external forces we must address. Today, the economy, job rates, homeland security, war, politics and individual survival weigh heavy on every employee's mind. We all come to work concerned about ourselves, our families and our futures. Employees remain under high stress levels every day. Trying to help employees focus on a corporate strategy can seem so far removed from where their mind is at in the midst of all this turmoil. A company can be wise to address the emotional aspects impacting employees during this process and… >>>

It may seem to go without saying, however it must be said; faculty need a Code of Conduct too! SOmetimes we need to remind our faculty that there are proper and unacceptable ways to interact with students online. For example it is not acceptable to discipline a student in a discussion forum in front of all other students. Once it's out there...it's out there! The thing about the INternet is that once something is on the Internet it never goes away, and being on an online environment you cannot take something back. I believe instructors and faculty should be required… >>>

I never thought of it until taking this course, but Netiquette is something I am now going to write into our Intro. course. We've had some issues with students who have really gone off the deep end and made racial comments and told some hazing stories that really offended other students. Those students then complained to the school. One student even felt afraid. One thing we do not have in place is a Netiquette Guide but I am going to write one now. Thanks to this course I now have the idea. I would like to learn more in depth… >>>

This is the first time I've managed a learning program in an online environment. It has been very challenging trying to seperate what students need between academics and technology. When they say they don't understand something we have to ensure whther they are referring to the topic and content itself, or the way in which it is being delivered. Because the student is not right in front of us to see whether the knowledge connection is taking place, we have to dig deeper for knowledge acquisition. It has been a challenge and because we do not use testing it adds… >>>