Another day another dollar (well, it costs me anyway - and a lot more than a dollar). Again, I seem to have slipped behind on my reading. I've been working at my online program, but not quite as much as I should have, and fairly quickly I get behind on all the stuff that I need to do around the program, in particular the reading.
So once again I'm working hard in the week to clear the weekend for a reading and note-taking marathon. Actually in some ways this "blitzkrieg" approach suits me, as I get totally absorbed in the subject for a couple of days and do nothing other than think about it. I even prepare picnic food for the weekend so that I don't have to stop and cook, although I usually don't work after around 7 each evening, and on Saturday have a gentle glass of wine and watch a video.
So I'm looking forward to my weekend, especially as the weather forecast is for a sunny weekend so I can sit on the deck and get a tan at the same time!
People skills are always in demand in management education, and there is a fierce debate going on as to whether we can deliver them online.
I believe we can, but it has to be done carefully and with much planning. It is obvious that we can insist on students communicating by written methods such as email and other downloadable documents, and we can use messaging to interact via the Internet. However we also have to make use of the telephone and even video conferencing for group work and for long distance face to face interaction.
However, in this kind of online program I think there is a real case for making sure that at least some of the work is done on the campus, or at group meetings. Blended learning comes into it's own in these situations, making sure that the balance of any online program works for the subject being studied.
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