Behind the Times?

I was expecting BMCC's distance education technology to not stack up well against the several hundred participants that carried lap-tops and who had cell-phones stuck to their ears. I figured we weren't at the bottom, but probably were at least a bit below the mean-line.

As expected, there is a great deal of variety in online and distance technologies employed between and within colleges and universities. Interestingly, many presenters were trying to come up with inexpensive additions to web pages and blogs they themselves had created. I remember a discussion about how you can add "chat" to your course, that discussion threads are a neat tool, adding photos and tests can be daunting...etc. All the while I am thinking "e-college lets me do that." In fact, one instructor from an urban Washington community college wondered what we used. When we replied "e-college," she said "I wish we could afford that. How do you pay for it?" Technologically speaking we seem to be ahead of many other institutions in providing a framework (e-college) that provides many of the tools participants were asking about.

There are some up-and-coming technologies. Blogs and podcasting are trends. Above this level are a few self-described "alpha-types" that are trying prototype gizmos. One presenter seemed buried in his 100+ blogs while lamenting the lack of more efficient programs to sort, save and query posts.

While listening to presenters share their hints, tips and "best practices" of teaching online, I gained perspective of BMCC's place in using distance technology. We are well above the bar. Linc