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

Kelli, Your 'two-pronged' approach sounds like a good strategy. I especially like the synchronous component used to support the asynchronous. Do you experience a better result with this over only asynchronous posting of expectations?
Steven, Confirmation of successful performance is a powerful instructional component - very good. Using the rubric to confirm performance (both positive and negative) provides credibility and confidence for the evaluation. Your metacognitive approach with Kathy is a strong position to take for this adult learner. Nice job.
Nia, Good point about the social skills. The kids' social skills today seem to be developed primarily online (facebook, twitter, etc.). I agree that sometime in the future - probably distant future - technology will develop to the point where the majority of formal schooling will be available totally on line. Thank you for your post.
Ward, The maximum of 25 you identify is the number many experienced online instructional experts agree with. Having a minimum at 10 - 15 to adequately facilitate student-to-student interactivity is also an accepted standard. Good call.
Nia, Good points and sound rationale. I especially like your consideration for the student discussion activity and peer to peer collaborative work. Nice.
Jeremy, The positive approach with detailed reinforcement and improvement feedback is the way to go. Providing appropriate affirmation of correct answers is a strong instructional tool to gain studnet confidence in you and themselves. Then provide the improvement insights to both for an unbiased and equitable learning environment. The extra encouragement for Kathy is probably a good move. Thanks.
Hi Ward, I understand your point. Today's technology certainly doesn't accommodate all. Do you think the technology could advance to the point of replacing face-to-face sometime in the future?
Hello Vincent, I agree, the trend will continue to move students into the online environment. Big improvements will make it much more effective with enhanced interactive media and increased synchronous instruction.I appreciate the insights.
Donna, Great analysis and intervention for the learner. Encouragement and directing student focus are two very powerful tools for the classroom facilitator to use. Nice going!
Steven, Individual outreach is a key factor in getting to the root of student engagement. Private emails encouraging class participation can set expectations without embarassing the student. Then when the student makes a good showing in class, public acknowledgements can often get them to continue. This is just one of many techniques to help overcome the 'lack of face-to-face feedback' in this online environment. Any other thoughts of ways to engage the students and increase likeliness of continued engagement?

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