Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

About me

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the College of Health Care Professions based in Houston, Texas. Prior to this post he worked as an e-Learning consultant for companies across the USA. His primary research focus over the past four years has been the development of online learning Engagement Metrics. Dr. Vaillancourt’s 27 years of service in education includes multiple levels of experience in both private and public educational institutions. His professional positions include Online Campus President for Virginia College, National Dean of ITT's Online Division, Director of Education for Ultimate Medical Academy, President of a two-campus allied health college in Utah, Certified Cisco Academy Instructor, Master Certified Novell Instructor, and K-12 public school science teacher.

Dr. Vaillancourt’s BS and MS in Education were earned from Samford University in 1983 and 1989, respectively. He completed his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in May 2004. Dr. Vaillancourt designed, founded and chaired the non-profit National Math Bee (2006-2011), which provided an online learning community for over 15,000 elementary school mathematics students in 37 states across the country.  He was a US Army soldier prior to his career in education.

Activity

Tina, Absolutely! This is one of the reasons I enjoy facilitating online courses for other educators. Engaging with so many professionals from different segments of the industry can provide great deal of depth to the topics discussed on these discussion boards. Every now and then a new dimension opens up and provides answers (as well as new inquiries) for online class facilitation. Great point. Thank you. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Eryn, Very sound. A straightforward, individualized approach for each learner is the right way to go. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Matt, I strongly agree with your position on the "2 x 2" method. While some may view it as a balanced approach, sometimes finding two negatives to "balance" the positives is counterproductive. Thank you for your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Matt, Good question. I don't believe a formal analysis has been accomplished. However, my experience with this class is that a mixture of corrective, affirming and inquiring responses seem to engage the maximum types of learners. Frequent interaction (24 – 48 hours) is sometimes difficult to maintain, but I like it best, also. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Matt, You make an excellent point. As others have indicated on this thread, involving the school team can have many benefits when re-engaging a student. Thank you for your insight. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Tina, In today's online learning environment there are many deficiencies for addressing all learning styles. While technologies exist to address most of these, many have not yet been implemented in the virtual classroom. So it seems, in our current situation there are some students who need the face-to-face classroom. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Matt, I understand and agree that everything you stated. As long as the online classroom remains in its current state I believe your perspective is accurate. However, do you think the advancements in technology that facilitate human to human interactivity may eventually replace the traditional classroom – say 25 to 50 years? Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Eryn, You are so right in your description of the differing dynamics. However, your continuous outreach and encouragement to students is very valuable to many of them. While you must allow students to "attend" as their schedule permits, a consistent encourager being present in the classroom when they login is often a powerful difference for some students. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Matt, That is a big constraint to overcome. In that environment, your best approach is probably to provide consistent encouragement and outreach for the students to interact. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Arijana , I strongly agree with almost everything you said. Setting the expectations for instructors as well as students as definitively as possible can go a long way toward a successful completion of the course. The only point you mentioned on which I may diverge, is the "log in 2-3 times per day." In my experience, asynchronous environments can vary greatly on the expectations for instructor login. While some may require logins more than once a day, most of the undergraduate programs of which I am aware have a 24 to 48 hour response window for instructors. In some graduate… >>>

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