THIS WEEK:

More from the First National Forum on Post-Secondary Education. Read what AU’s own Judith Hughes had to say.

Coverage of the March 20th AUSU council meeting. Secretary Treasurer resigns and council member Sandra Moore is asked to take his place.

Tons of great information from AU’s The Insider, including a description of the Middle States Accreditation process and what it means to AU.

.

NEW TUTOR PROFILE
On AUSU Website

Learn more about Theresa Ferguson, AU Anthropology and Indigenous Studies Tutor, by reading her profile on the AUSU website.

“When Bruce Morrison, a former Anthropology coordinator, asked me in 1983 to conduct a seminar on Contemporary Aboriginal Issues at the Alexander reserve, I had no idea that this would be a “?20 years and counting’ part-time career:”

To read the entire profile to to:
http://www.ausu.org/tutor/index.php

.

WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT

Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a world where technology would allow us to communicate face-to-face though we lived miles apart.

Wouldn’t it be great if university lectures could be recorded – on audio tape, video tape, compact disk, dvd, mp3, mpg, avi or ogg, and mailed or broadcast to students in all corners of the earth to be viewed at their leisure.

Wouldn’t it be great if the technology existed that would allow students in diverse locations to comments and ask questions of a live speakers, and have the answers to those questions broadcast for other students to hear.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could see our tutors, share their wisdom, and learn a little more about their tutors before revealing to them our greatest academic aspirations, and our embarrassing shortcomings.

In such a world, distance education would have all of the advantages of in-class learning, plus all of the benefits of learning at home. We could work at our own pace, at our own time, but with the support and input of other students at our disposal.

We could listen to lectures over and over, until we were certain we knew the material inside and out, and by this method gain considerably more benefit from that lecture than a student who sat in a classroom and had to rely on her notes to remember what was said. Assuming, of course, that she was able to get enough information from the lecture as she scribbled furiously to capture a few salient points on her notepad.

In such a world, when events happened at a distance university, we could all watch together via live moving pictures on the university website, and possible even type in comments that other students could read as they watched. We could watch the grads walk down the aisle and type congratulatory messages to them, and those who could not make their own graduation could share the experience from afar. Imagine that.

Imagine the possibilities: stretch your mind.

Now ask yourself – if low-budget self-help TV shows and local news talk programs can use this technology with ease, why can’t the world’ premier distance education institution?

How come they can’t train all of their tutors to use email, so that they are not unduly distressed by the imposition of this ‘new’ technology, and so that international students can truly have access to their tutors any time of day?

Why can’t all tutors have an introductory video like Dr. Alan LeBoeuf (http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/Tutors/alanl.shtml)? Watch his video, get to know him – don’t you want him to be your tutor?

Thanks Alan. You really rock. I’ll even forgive you for using Real Player format 🙂

Tamra Ross Low
Editor in Chief