At Liberal-Arts Colleges, Debate About Online Courses Is Really About Outsourcing – Wired Campus – Blogs – The Chronicle of Higher Education

At Liberal-Arts Colleges, Debate About Online Courses Is Really About Outsourcing – Wired Campus – Blogs – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

I would say that this article’s title should probably more properly have been “At Liberal-Arts Colleges, Debate About Online Courses Is Really About The Fear Of Outsourcing.”

Pedagogy should always drive the “wheres and whys” of how and when technology is used in higher ed. And that is especially true for liberal arts colleges.

I am happy to see Hendrix College and Rollins College (as well as former Hendrix Colleague and now ACS Director of Blended Learning, Amanda Hagood) get a well-deserved nod, for an excellent class, with strong outcomes – and raves from both students and faculty.

And, for the record, these classes are much more than a professor appearing on a projection screen. The TART 120 class between Hendrix and Rollins is an engaging, interactive course where the professor, Eric Zivot, is present and active ten minutes before and after “class time.” I would place Eric’s engagement with his students at Hendrix – while he is quite literally a 1,000 miles away – on par with (and even better than, in a few cases, truthfully) in situ faculty.

Disappointed in the story’s “angle” – but grateful for the mention and recognition for a well-designed, and well-executed, immersive telepresence course.

Associated Colleges of the South CIO Hangout – BYOD

A panel of technologists and CIOs from the Associated Colleges of the South, discussing Technology, Tools, and Tactics.

David J. Hinson, EVP & CIO of Hendrix College, and Todd Watson, Senior Director of Information Technology ar Southwestern University, discuss the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) phenomena on campus, and what impact it is having on College and University infrastructures.

Associated Colleges of the South CIO Hangout – Google Apps for Education

ACS Instructional Technologists Meeting: Pat Schoknecht

Pat Schoknecht, CIO of Rollins Colleges, discusses school technology and support comparisons at the meeting of the ACS Instructional Technologists at Rollins College, November 6-8, 2013.

Building Collaborations: Digital Learning in the ACS

Amanda Hagood, Director of Blended Learning with the Associated Colleges of the South, discusses opportunities for building collaborations within the consortium.

Associated Colleges of the South CIO Podcast – Episode 3

Associated Colleges of the South CIO Podcast – Episode 3

A very special (and very truncated) episode of the ACS CIO podcast… travel to Rollins College for the ACS Instructional Technologists meeting, and a new president at Hendrix College.

Associated Colleges of the South CIO Hangout – Episode 2

A panel of technologists and CIOs from the Associated Colleges of the South, discussing Technology, Tools, and Tactics.

In our second Hangout, we’ll discuss the roles played by CIOs at Liberal Arts schools, and how Technology intersects with the Liberal Arts Ethos. Fred Miller, Chief Information Officer at Furman University, joins us.

#social media in the classroom: extending the learning community

On Thursday, Sept. 26th at 3pm  Central/4pm Eastern Time, we’ll be talking with Dr. Robert Williamson, Jr., Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Hendrix College, about how he uses Twitter-based homework assignments to deepen student engagement with course materials and create a richer learning  community within his classes.

This one-hour event – titled “#social media in the  classroom: extending the learning community” – will be hosted through Google Hangouts on Air  (For those of you who are new to this platform, additional instructions are provided below).

You’ll be able to tune in to the event  directly from this Google Events page: https://plus.google.com/events/cu0os9i93lflf37eaodgqh7iugk?hl=en&partnerid=gplp0. You can also use this page to sign up for a reminder about the webinar, and to learn more about Dr. Williamson and the tools he uses in his social media assignments.

About Google Hangouts on Air:

This video-conferencing tool allows you to view the webinar as it is taking place (3pm Central/ 4pm Central on Thursday, Sept. 26th), as well as view a recording of the conversation after it has been completed.

In either case, you’ll be able to tune directly in to the  webinar by visiting the Google Events page for this event: https://plus.google.com/events/cu0os9i93lflf37eaodgqh7iugk?hl=en&partnerid=gplp0.

You will also be able to tune in to the webinar (both in real time and afterward) by visiting the ACS Blended Learning Collaboration’s YouTube page:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-gnpQYbh3MADL2sBfSnjzA.

When you tune into the live event, the host will be aware that you are  present, but your image/audio will not appear in the conference. Because the number of video participants is limited, we will be using  a running comment field to gather your questions and comments during  the discussion.

You will be able to participate in the conversation by  typing your questions and comments into the comment fields in either  the Google Events page or the YouTube page, and the host will then  relay them to the group. The Events page also allows you to sign up for a reminder for this  event; simply choose the “Yes” option under “Are You Going?” and the  event will be added to your Google calendar. (You will need a gmail  address for this option to work).

Please feel free to contact Amanda Hagood, Director of Blended Learning, Associated Colleges of the South (hagood at colleges.org), with any questions that you might have.