Christine Horgan

Hello: I joined SCoPE just last year....I think as a result of a comment made at an EduCause conference (but please don't hold me to that). The community has been very helpful to me personally and professionally even if I am mostly a champion lurker.

What do I like about SCoPE?

It provides me with a window to the post-secondary world outside of my own institution (SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary)

It provides me with e-access to leading thinkings and leading learners within and without Canada

It provides me with valuable, ongoing, professional development opportunities

it's a supportive and friendly place to meet and exchange ideas with new colleagues; participants are very tolerant of those less knowledgeable, less experienced, and less able/willing to participate publically.

What would I like to change?

I can't thnk of anything. In any event, I don't think it's SCoPE that needs to change, I think it's me. I think I need to make or find the time to be a more active participant and/or to follow up on some of the valuable resources offered by participants. It's not that I'm unwilling, but it's often at the bottom of my "to do" list.

What are my ideas for future activities?

ummmmm, not sure how to capture this but my interest presently lies in making curriculum projects (especially distance projects) manageable for inexpereinced SMEs....and so my interest would lie in activities that would add to the tools I have in my tool box as a curriculum co-ordinator.

Cheers, Christine (Chris) Horgan

SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary

Hello Everyone:

Hot on the heels of Nellie's questions this morning....WIMBA has an online seminar coming up shortly (Augsut 27 2:00 p.m. EDT): New Ways to Collaborate. The seminars are always interesting.

Cheers, Chris

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Here's the Website in case you're interested in following up: Wimba [technicalsupport@wimba.com]

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...and the link for registration

Register here:
http://www.wimba.com/company/events/1633

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and here's the promotional material:

Dear Education Leader,

Wimba is offering these free online seminars exclusively to education professionals like you. Please feel free to forward this invitation to your friends and colleagues.

		New Ways to Collaborate This demonstration will show new ways of more effectively collaborating online to enrich your courses.

Wimba’s technology replicates and enriches the highly personal and dynamic elements of traditional classroom instruction in the online learning environment.

Wimba released its Wimba Collaboration Suite 6.0 in mid-July. Featuring new capabilities of Wimba Classroom™, Wimba Pronto™, and Wimba Voice™ - enhancements that defy the physical classroom and enrich the teaching and learning experience.

The Wimba Collaboration Suite 6.0 features advanced MP4, whiteboarding and assessment functionality that will enable the hundreds of higher education institutions and K-12 districts around the world to further enhance learning, improve outcomes and increase student retention.

This demonstration will show off all the new ways of more effectively collaborating online to enrich your courses.

Hello Everyone:

First day back from a week's vacation. I have, though, been following the discussions.

Nellie's questions:

1. How did you get involved in collaborative projects?
2. How are you collaborating?
3. What tools or environments are you using?
4. What is keeping you involved in collaborating?
5. How do you envision the future of collaborative projects?

1. On line collaborative projects, other than SCoPE I'm not. It's an interesting concept and I'm interested in dipping a toe in these waters. My collaborative projects are all the old-fashioned kind (F2F).

2. I'm collaborating by sharing ideas, resources, coaching, discussing.

3. Tools. Mostly the local coffee shop on campus.

4. Why Collaborate? Simply put, it makes me better at what i do. I know my strengths and I also know my weaknesses and so collaborating with folks who help balance my contribution to a project really helps me and really helps the project. Also, I learn from others, and if there's a better/more efficient way of doing something, I'm all for it. Collaboration also expands my professional network.

5. Envisioning the future: I seldom think of technology first (I'd much rather chat over tea) and so my vision of the future would include helping people become better collaborators...to see the benefits, to learn some collaboration skills. Collaboration works best then there are clear project goals and people with the "people" and project skills on the team. Choosing the right team is very important, although we don't always have that option. I'm preaching to the converted, here, of course. Some of the discussion over the last couple of weeks has been around how a team functions.

Off to catch up on a lot of accumulated email. Cheers, Chris (Horgan)

Hello Gladys:

Technology, like everything else in life, has its pros and cons. The trick is finding the right balance and making technology our servant rather than the other way around. What's the right balance? That will depend on the individual and his/her needs at any given time. Sometimes, the pendulum has to swing wildly back and forth a few times before it settles for  a smaller, more balanced, swing. As I watch my adaptation to social media, I realize that I am very much aware that I need to establish "balance" very quickly; I notice that my teenaged daughter's approach is quite different and that she'd be quite happy to be permanently plugged into her online communities. Perhaps the answers to your questions will be affected by the age group of your readers.

As I'm on vacation for a good chunk of this seminar, I may be a lurker for a good chunk of it. Interesting topic, though. I am looking forward to learning from my online colleagues.

Thanks, Christine (Chris) Horgan

Curriculum Co-ordinator, SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary, Canada

Thanks, Paul:

I'm a regular SCoPE participant--although "lurker" may be a more accurate term than participant. SCoPE discussions are always so interesting so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of this three-week seminar.

Thanks, Chris Horgan, Curriculum Co-ordinator, SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary, Alberta.