Online Teaching Blog

This article serves as a bridge between my planting seeds and what’s in your portfolio articles.

Universities select an online learning platform as a foundation and shell in which to house the content of their online learning programs and classes. While customized offerings often add greater flexibility, it’s also critical to maintain a simple ease of use. Many students can thrive in a simple environment that gives them easy access to the material that they need. Customization is nice, but not at the expense of simplicity.

With a lot of miles (millions) under my belt and countless international trips to time zones not conducive to working from the minute you hit the ground, a good friend recently asked me for some tips for international travel to keep from going stir crazy when your hours hit 15 or more in the flying tin can. The truth is long hauls do not make me crazy, it feels like a bit of an office with wings; but her question is valid and points well taken.

I was asked by a few folks to share this with other educators who may also be traveling a lot. So here goes – my method to surviving long haul international trips and avoiding jet lag pretty much completely (admitting that lifelong insomnia plays an instrumental role in jetlag survival and staying awake for long periods of time without much downside beyond crankiness). My goal is to land, stay awake until nighttime after being awake the entire flight, sleep a full night, and hit the ground running the next day both at work and enjoying the new sights.

Recently, I participated in my second interview. The first interview was a phone interview. I thought I did rather well and was disappointed to learn I was not offered a position. I give credit to the panel for making the process rather easy and comfortable. For my first interview with an higher education facility, I was most impressed and ended the process on a favorable note.