I returned to work this week after experiencing an enlightening time at the 25th Annual DTL Conference at the beautiful Monona Terrace Conference Center in Madison, WI.
I attended the conference with my Moraine Valley teammate (and learning/instruction buddy), LaWanda Burrell-Love and had a terrific time. It was a time to think and reflect on what we’ve been doing and experiencing at Moraine while learning with and from the scholars and practitioners we interacted with at the conference. I met and talked with some fantastic people (Shouts out to: Tiffany, LaTasha, Randy, Gary, Brandon, Carolyn, and Curt!!!) and learned so much from my conversations with them.
I learned a lot of strategies and ideas, but what I needed most from this experience was a different way of conceptualizing what my teammates and I are experiencing as we try to accomplish our college’s goals. So, here are some of the more philosophical “take-aways” from the conference (some of which I kinda already knew, but I just needed a lil’ corroboration)…
1. A lot of people who work in Distance Education experience the same struggles with facilitating change and promoting best practices in teaching online. We all struggle with issues related to faculty development, compensation for online course development, appropriate policy and procedure for distance education, ownership of the online course, diffusion of innovations, and best practices for student support and online instruction. To my team and all of my brothers and sisters in the struggle…we are definitely not alone.
2. There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for any of these problems—it’s really about “best fit” solutions that mesh with the culture and structure of the institution. It’s in our best interest to understand the culture and structures within which we work and the constraints created by the culture and structures. So, a solution that works for my institution may not work at all for yours.
3. Distance Education leaders must be creative and well-versed in their knowledge of instruction and technology skills, but also in their interpersonal and politickin’ skills. I am finding that my interpersonal skills are becoming much more useful to getting things done than the deep knowledge of learning, instruction, and technology integration that I have worked my hind parts off to develop over the past 10 years. In my life as a college educator and scholar, I used really different skills on a regular basis. This new gig is pretty challenging for me (and yes, I know I am not alone). Distance Education leaders are change agents—and that is a political position in and of itself.
4. As my son would say, “Don’t hate the players, hate the game!” which means: It’s not really about how the people (the players) react to the change you are trying to push; it’s about the system (the game) and how to work within it to achieve your institution’s goals. Again, quoting my son, “It’s gonna be all good, ma!!”
So, to sum it up, I left my college on the afternoon of August 3rd feeling a bit downtrodden and, quite honestly, dog-tired of the struggle that I’ve only experienced for just over a year. I came back with a renewed energy and a fresh outlook. Thank you Distance Teaching & Learning Conference for providing us with a forum we can use to re-energize our minds, reconnect with our colleagues, and revitalize our work!! Also, thanks for the wonderful resources that you post on your conference website (NOTE: Check the Resource Library for presentation notes, slides and other materials). I will see you all again next year (or on Facebook, or Twitter, or LinkedIn, or ...)!!
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