Jean Waddy

This section on ethics and regulations was interesting. The need for separation of responsibilities reminded me of the best practices followed by those in accounting roles. We also separate responsibilities to protect company money.

From an instructor's point of view/responsibility, I need to continue to be aware of what I tell my students when answering questions. My enthusiasm for the program may lead me to say more than is legal regarding completion rates, competing programs, or job opportunities after graduation. This reminds me to keep guarded and positive.

As an instructor, I am often asked by current students about potential jobs, where could they get hired, will they be able to get a job. I realize I need to be careful about what I say to them, because I could easily mislead them and violate compliance guidelines. I my program's track record and what we are legally allowed to say may not always line up. I will be more careful when communicating.

I find the content very interesting. In regards to electronic communication with students, the difference between commercial interaction and transaction/relationship interaction are specific. When communicating with my current students through my work email, I will evaluate my taglines to make sure there is nothing that could be construed as commercial.

Discussions in an online environment has always been difficult for me.  I always have some who contribute and some that do not. I know that this builds our community and I want to build it. The suggestion on having a personal DQ post is great. It might get some students talking. I think I will also try to reward questions so students will want to respond, by using less technical more relational questions. I have a lot to learn in this area.

Effectively communicating online leads students down a path to success.  It leads to the exchange of knowledge and develops community.  I was an online asynchronous student and saw the challenges in generational communication. I was part of teams where one or more did not communicate or do their part, causing the rest of the team to stress.  My students are synchronous learners, so some of the non-verbal communication is still present, but that does not mean there are not generational or ethnic communication issues. I agree we need to lead and demonstrate proper communication. I also agree that we need… >>>

Our school has clearly outlined communication expectations in the catalog. I never thought of drafting a communication policy for my classroom or a conduct policy.  I have not encountered a need for it. If an issue ever arises, I remind students of the school policies.  I have had coworkers who had more specific rules for their classrooms.  I could see the value in it.

This course is providing us with several options for I2S and S2S communication.  My classes are synchronous and we use webcam, mics, and email consistently.  I typically do not use text or calling, but am considering it to help improve I2S communication.  I would like to try using polling, especially when I want get students thinking quicker.

The idea of blogging is a concept I never considered.  I use discussions in most of my online classes.  The rules are very similar to netiquette rules I teach my students. I believe it is important to teach our students these types of rules and demonstrate how they should walk them out. I learned there are different ways to assess blogs compared to discussions.  Quality of content is more important than quantity of content.

Micro-blogging could be a good alternative to the traditional discussions used in my accounting classes.  It might motivate those who typically choose not to post, to try it. Conciseness in communication is a useful skill we all could improve on.