Yes, the first semester of the doctoral program is done! While it ended with an intense level of stress, I made it through unscathed. This past week and a half/ two weeks, I was a bundle of paper writing nerves. My wonderful wife of 13 years was an amazing support through this time.
First, we had to construct a Personal Leadership Development Plan (PLDP) for our personal leadership class. We were provided with a series of questions that would outline our paper based on our personal thoughts/ideas AND the theories covered in class and how we will apply them to our own lives. No page limit.
My PLDP was long at 20 pages, but I felt like it was a good honest representation of what I have learned about myself over the last semester and goals that I am setting for the future (which was probably the best part of writing that paper).
The second major assignment was a research paper applying a theory learned in class to a topic of our own selection. I focused on using Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman and applying to veterinarians' behavior in the exam room. I did weeks of research on the topic and ended up realizing that applying emotional intelligence to veterinarians in the exam room is more of a dissertation topic than a simple research paper. I managed to pull off the paper, but did a disservice to the depth of research that COULD be done in this area!
The final challenging part of this last week we had to write a 10, oh strike that, 5 page paper in class. Thank goodness the prof cut it to 5 pages, because in 2 hours most of us BARELY got it done. Although after talking with the prof after submitting the paper, she was expecting less from us than we were expecting of ourselves. I personally cited four different works to address the question. She was only looking for a review of ONE work - well that would have been easier!
Anyway, it is over and now my role is to rest for two weeks (yep, that is all we get off) and clean up my desk area, which looks like a paper mill blew up!
Thanks for hanging with me on this first semester journey, next semester looks like it will definitely be interesting - stay tuned!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Learning is Everyday
I was reading through several of the blogs that I follow today on Google Reader. Several thoughts struck me. A year ago, I did not know about Google Reader and other than my best friend, I did not know anyone that blogged. When I started class in the doctoral program, I learned about Wikis, Twitter, Blogs and Google Reader. Now, I really enjoy opening my Google Reader and reading blogs written by people that I do not know, but whom write about corporate learning. Some days it is just a simple "yep, know that" kind of day, but other days, I am fully engaged and really expanding my own knowledge of technology or social learning or elearning methodology. For someone that loves learning, like me, opening Google Reader is like finding the prize in a Cracker Jack box! I love being able to learn something new every day (and I am not even in school!). Doesn't get much better than this!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Connections
Okay this is an odd post. I just allowed my brain to flow....
The lessons learned are woven throughout our lives. As I learn about communication through attending the Pfizer FRANK workshop, I learn about impact of communication in an exam room and how to raise awareness of communication skills through sharing and evaluation with peers. I begin conversations about Emotional Intelligence with a colleague after seeing a presentation he created. I begin my doctoral program at Pepperdine and am asked to read Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence at Work and how that can have an impact on the way that veterinarians connect with clients. For a class assignment, I am asked to develop an online course. The course that I developed is Communication in the Exam room and will be rolling out this course in another month. My research paper this semester will actually look at how Emotional Intelligence might enhance doctor’s ability to connect with clients and therefore practicing better medicine. My worlds are crossing over and interweaving to the benefit of all.
In class this evening, we discussed different learning theorists. It became a very interesting discussion around how their theories flow into and out of each other. From Piaget’s stage theory to Montesori to communities of practice from Lave and Wegner, and so on.
The lessons learned are woven throughout our lives. As I learn about communication through attending the Pfizer FRANK workshop, I learn about impact of communication in an exam room and how to raise awareness of communication skills through sharing and evaluation with peers. I begin conversations about Emotional Intelligence with a colleague after seeing a presentation he created. I begin my doctoral program at Pepperdine and am asked to read Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence at Work and how that can have an impact on the way that veterinarians connect with clients. For a class assignment, I am asked to develop an online course. The course that I developed is Communication in the Exam room and will be rolling out this course in another month. My research paper this semester will actually look at how Emotional Intelligence might enhance doctor’s ability to connect with clients and therefore practicing better medicine. My worlds are crossing over and interweaving to the benefit of all.
In class this evening, we discussed different learning theorists. It became a very interesting discussion around how their theories flow into and out of each other. From Piaget’s stage theory to Montesori to communities of practice from Lave and Wegner, and so on.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
How time flies and oh, the things we learn
I am amazed at how quickly time flies! There are only two weeks left in the semester and I still feel as though I have so much more to learn. How can we be done already?
Anyway, I am feeling very accomplished right now. I decided as a part of an assignment for my eLearning class that I was going to build my personal website. Initially I did not think it was going to be nearly as difficult as it turned out to be, but hey, I am the one who purchased Dreamweaver and did not do it the "simple way". Needless to say, I have been glued to my computer and one of those learn everything in a book with pictures trying to learn the basics of Dreamweaver. Well...
I am definitely no web designer AND I am still a little leery as to whether or not anything I produce is web worthy (hey, wait - I know firsthand some of the "stuff" that is on the web - mine should be good enough), but I am days away from posting it on the web...
Keep your eyes peeled: www.christyritchie.com Original huh? I wanted people to be able to find me. Watch out Google - here I come... This should be interesting to say the least! All in the name of education!
Anyway, I am feeling very accomplished right now. I decided as a part of an assignment for my eLearning class that I was going to build my personal website. Initially I did not think it was going to be nearly as difficult as it turned out to be, but hey, I am the one who purchased Dreamweaver and did not do it the "simple way". Needless to say, I have been glued to my computer and one of those learn everything in a book with pictures trying to learn the basics of Dreamweaver. Well...
I am definitely no web designer AND I am still a little leery as to whether or not anything I produce is web worthy (hey, wait - I know firsthand some of the "stuff" that is on the web - mine should be good enough), but I am days away from posting it on the web...
Keep your eyes peeled: www.christyritchie.com Original huh? I wanted people to be able to find me. Watch out Google - here I come... This should be interesting to say the least! All in the name of education!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Insight
Thursday morning this week (yesterday), I got up EARLY to take a friend to the airport. So by the time I got home it was 5am and I was awake, so rather than climbing back in bed and catching a few hours of additional sleep, I worked on school work. I gathered up my computer and books and headed downstairs, so as to not disturb the rest of my family.
Once down there, I sat down and found myself marveling at the silence. Funny how odd silence becomes in such a busy world. I sat down and wrote my journal entry for my leadership class and actually was able to contemplate some of the theories that we were studying. This is what I came up with:
We spend so much time talking about leadership and different theories of leadership and the names of all of these people that everyone recognizes, but we forget that leadership doesn't start ONCE someone is famous, it starts now, today. Honest leadership begins with you and I. The world is like a still lake and you and I, we are the tiniest of raindrops, but even though we are small, we will make ripples on that lake that will continue to ripple. We may be small, but we make an impact on and act as a leader to those around us every day.
See what a little bit of silence at 5am does for me? Honestly though, for the first time in quite some time, I worked in a state of "flow" for three hours that morning. It was the most exhilirating experience. I hated to end it to go to work... Oh, well, maybe I will have to get up earlier more often!
Once down there, I sat down and found myself marveling at the silence. Funny how odd silence becomes in such a busy world. I sat down and wrote my journal entry for my leadership class and actually was able to contemplate some of the theories that we were studying. This is what I came up with:
We spend so much time talking about leadership and different theories of leadership and the names of all of these people that everyone recognizes, but we forget that leadership doesn't start ONCE someone is famous, it starts now, today. Honest leadership begins with you and I. The world is like a still lake and you and I, we are the tiniest of raindrops, but even though we are small, we will make ripples on that lake that will continue to ripple. We may be small, but we make an impact on and act as a leader to those around us every day.
See what a little bit of silence at 5am does for me? Honestly though, for the first time in quite some time, I worked in a state of "flow" for three hours that morning. It was the most exhilirating experience. I hated to end it to go to work... Oh, well, maybe I will have to get up earlier more often!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Long time...
Okay, JDC, I will give you credit, it has been WAY TOO LONG since I posted. Not because things have not been happening, but rather because so many things have been happening. Over the last month, I have written a research paper on the psychologist that created the FLOW theory, traveled to ABQ to review all 120 of our training presentations, so they could be loaded into our new LMS AND managed to do my training run of 10 miles in preparation for a half marathon. Oh, I failed to mention that I worked full time and attended school full time! Whew!
Things seem to be slowing somewhat now and I actually have some time to reflect. Some of what I have been reflecting on are that in order for me to truly gain the most out of the concepts and theories that I am learning about, I need to take the time away from the hustle and bustle to actually thing through how these things impact my life and the lives of those around me. All of this is fine and good, but if I cannot apply what I am learning (or even remember it), then what is the use. I have promised myself that I would carve several 30 minute quiet time sessions to allow me to review what I have taken in and really think it through, so I can use my knew knowledge.
Funny, I researched FLOW and learned about the 8 things that create an optimal condition to create a FLOW experience and realized that school many times creates a true flow experience. I just loose myself in research or reading or typing or just learning and time flies, I have no sense of any bodily needs such as hunger or needing to visit the bathroom; everything just comes together and connects. That, my friends, is the definition of FLOW. Maybe I really did learn something important from that paper.
Now I am looking forward to another evening of class tomorrow. I get so jazzed for the discussions that we have and the time FLIES!!! Seriously for a 5.5 hour class, it is over in what seems like an hour, maybe two on a slow night. It is really great! Hasta luego!
Things seem to be slowing somewhat now and I actually have some time to reflect. Some of what I have been reflecting on are that in order for me to truly gain the most out of the concepts and theories that I am learning about, I need to take the time away from the hustle and bustle to actually thing through how these things impact my life and the lives of those around me. All of this is fine and good, but if I cannot apply what I am learning (or even remember it), then what is the use. I have promised myself that I would carve several 30 minute quiet time sessions to allow me to review what I have taken in and really think it through, so I can use my knew knowledge.
Funny, I researched FLOW and learned about the 8 things that create an optimal condition to create a FLOW experience and realized that school many times creates a true flow experience. I just loose myself in research or reading or typing or just learning and time flies, I have no sense of any bodily needs such as hunger or needing to visit the bathroom; everything just comes together and connects. That, my friends, is the definition of FLOW. Maybe I really did learn something important from that paper.
Now I am looking forward to another evening of class tomorrow. I get so jazzed for the discussions that we have and the time FLIES!!! Seriously for a 5.5 hour class, it is over in what seems like an hour, maybe two on a slow night. It is really great! Hasta luego!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Putting my learning to action
After two days of eLearning class, I started my first assignment for that class. We are asked to increase our digital footprint. So for students that have never blogged, they can start a blog. And students that do not use Facebook or LinkedIn they can add those "services". I however do all of the above, so needed (and wanted) to increase my digital footprint, so today, I made the leap and registered my own website!
Yep, I am going to create a website all about me! Kinda of egocentric huh? Oh, well, according to our fine instructor, it is wise to have a presence on the web to share your work with the world. I took the leap and we will see how it goes. I will let you all know when the design and content of the site actually goes up. Right now it is just a parked site, so nothing to see. I am very excited to work on this.
We also learned about Diigo and Delicious, social bookmarks. Very interesting! These social bookmarks allow a registered user to mark sites that are of interest for them and save them all in one space, so say for example, I am doing research on a learning theorist, I can save all my links in one place and if one of my student colleagues would like to learn more about this theorist, then they can subscribe to my bookmarks! I am not sure that the general population has realized the value that these tools can bring to education and work. Anyway, I also have a ton of reading to do, so enough with working on the fun stuff that I WANT to do and now to focus on what NEEDS to be done!
Yep, I am going to create a website all about me! Kinda of egocentric huh? Oh, well, according to our fine instructor, it is wise to have a presence on the web to share your work with the world. I took the leap and we will see how it goes. I will let you all know when the design and content of the site actually goes up. Right now it is just a parked site, so nothing to see. I am very excited to work on this.
We also learned about Diigo and Delicious, social bookmarks. Very interesting! These social bookmarks allow a registered user to mark sites that are of interest for them and save them all in one space, so say for example, I am doing research on a learning theorist, I can save all my links in one place and if one of my student colleagues would like to learn more about this theorist, then they can subscribe to my bookmarks! I am not sure that the general population has realized the value that these tools can bring to education and work. Anyway, I also have a ton of reading to do, so enough with working on the fun stuff that I WANT to do and now to focus on what NEEDS to be done!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Trust
Yesterday we had our first paper due for class. The topic was trust in organizations. We were asked to review one of two articles that we read from HBR. The first article was about the suggestion that humans are hard wired to enter into social interactions and therefore trust. Some people trust too much and others do not trust enough and finding the appropriate balance. The second article was discussing how organizations should create a climate of candor or trust because it will "improve performance".
The paper and discussions that followed brought up excellent ideas around what role trust should play in an organization. Yes, we talk about management, leadership, communication, etc everyday in business, but what role should trust play? Obviously on some level we need to have some amount of trust with our immediate employee teams, but should the organization as a whole place trust in ALL employees just simply because they managed to get hired? Would an organization with a more rigorous hiring process be more likely to trust its employees because they had to work harder to become a part of the organization? Tons of questions around this issue and yet, the authors believe that trust is the next generation for organizational growth...
I just hope that the prof likes my paper... Okay, and I had fun writing it. It was the first time since I started the program that I actually felt a bit crunched to get something done. AND I had a bit of a panic attack after the second class when we set up a total of 4 different groups with which we have to write papers and deliver presentations. Oh, and did I mention that we have not even STARTED our third class yet? We meet the prof for the first time on Friday. I am actually really excited because it is an eLearning class. Right up my alley! Yippee! AND I get to go to school more this week. Later...
The paper and discussions that followed brought up excellent ideas around what role trust should play in an organization. Yes, we talk about management, leadership, communication, etc everyday in business, but what role should trust play? Obviously on some level we need to have some amount of trust with our immediate employee teams, but should the organization as a whole place trust in ALL employees just simply because they managed to get hired? Would an organization with a more rigorous hiring process be more likely to trust its employees because they had to work harder to become a part of the organization? Tons of questions around this issue and yet, the authors believe that trust is the next generation for organizational growth...
I just hope that the prof likes my paper... Okay, and I had fun writing it. It was the first time since I started the program that I actually felt a bit crunched to get something done. AND I had a bit of a panic attack after the second class when we set up a total of 4 different groups with which we have to write papers and deliver presentations. Oh, and did I mention that we have not even STARTED our third class yet? We meet the prof for the first time on Friday. I am actually really excited because it is an eLearning class. Right up my alley! Yippee! AND I get to go to school more this week. Later...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
One Week Down
I finished my first week of class and reading and I still LOVE it! Class was long, but incredibly engaging. I was able to stay involved in discussion for almost 6 hours. Although, it was LONG!
Reading was good and mediocre. The classic textbook reading is easy to follow along and stay engaged. However I was reading on organizational learning done by NASA post Challenger and Columbia accidents and that was DRY! I kept having to refocus on what the words were saying. Mental note: if I ever want ANYONE to read what I write, keep it somewhat easy to follow and ENGAGING!
As far as scheduling, looks like I will never be able to watch TV with Ann again... The reading does take time and it does not help that I am SLOW... I sat down on Thursday night (night after class night) and wrote out everything that I needed to get done, so that I could "enjoy" my time in Colorado next weekend. Yikes! It is a lot! Good news is that I got all of the reading done from the really big, heavy textbooks and now I only have reading to do from smaller paperbacks! Easier to pack and carry on the plane!
I think I may actually be able to do this! I am so excited!
Reading was good and mediocre. The classic textbook reading is easy to follow along and stay engaged. However I was reading on organizational learning done by NASA post Challenger and Columbia accidents and that was DRY! I kept having to refocus on what the words were saying. Mental note: if I ever want ANYONE to read what I write, keep it somewhat easy to follow and ENGAGING!
As far as scheduling, looks like I will never be able to watch TV with Ann again... The reading does take time and it does not help that I am SLOW... I sat down on Thursday night (night after class night) and wrote out everything that I needed to get done, so that I could "enjoy" my time in Colorado next weekend. Yikes! It is a lot! Good news is that I got all of the reading done from the really big, heavy textbooks and now I only have reading to do from smaller paperbacks! Easier to pack and carry on the plane!
I think I may actually be able to do this! I am so excited!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Today is the first day of the rest of your life
I know it is kind of corny... but it is so true! And today (actually tomorrow) really is the first day of the rest of my life. I am finally attending my last, first day of school EVER. Not many people can actually say that - law students, doctoral students, possibly medical students. Really there are not that many "terminal" degrees out there, but let's face it those of us that are crazy enough to pursue a "terminal" degree may choose to complete MORE THAN ONE! No comments J and A!
Anyway, I am very excited. I have completed all of my reading (and have read ahead a little bit). This evening, I punched holes in all of the hand outs from orientation and articles that I printed out from Blackboard (our online learning platform). The ONE 1.5" binder that I purchased is almost full AND I have not had a single class yet. Needless to say, I may have underestimated the number of trees that may fall prey to my pursuit of a doctorate.
Have I picked out the first day of school outfit - NO. However, I am planning on wearing comfy clothes. It will be a 16 hour day folks! Let's be real!
I even know my first homework assignment - to write a one page journal article on theinsights gained from my leadership/ethics class (due every week, so fairly easy to assume we have homework on this one). I guess Thursday night will be my first real study night. Up until now, I have just done a couple pages here and there and just plodded along on my reading and now I will have to actually produce.
I am not a fast reader, and this is a concern for me. My parents, who just left after a six day visit - we had a blast other than we all had a cold - recommending reading every third word. My very intelligent roommate said that she does that as well. She said that she has even read books two and three times not even realizing that she had read them before... Must not be reading the same "third" word every time... Not sure how I will improve my reading speed, but hopefully it will come...
Wish me luck as I venture into the great beyond. Gosh, it is kind of fun thinking of this as an adventure and not just school with homework and papers and stuff...
Anyway, I am very excited. I have completed all of my reading (and have read ahead a little bit). This evening, I punched holes in all of the hand outs from orientation and articles that I printed out from Blackboard (our online learning platform). The ONE 1.5" binder that I purchased is almost full AND I have not had a single class yet. Needless to say, I may have underestimated the number of trees that may fall prey to my pursuit of a doctorate.
Have I picked out the first day of school outfit - NO. However, I am planning on wearing comfy clothes. It will be a 16 hour day folks! Let's be real!
I even know my first homework assignment - to write a one page journal article on theinsights gained from my leadership/ethics class (due every week, so fairly easy to assume we have homework on this one). I guess Thursday night will be my first real study night. Up until now, I have just done a couple pages here and there and just plodded along on my reading and now I will have to actually produce.
I am not a fast reader, and this is a concern for me. My parents, who just left after a six day visit - we had a blast other than we all had a cold - recommending reading every third word. My very intelligent roommate said that she does that as well. She said that she has even read books two and three times not even realizing that she had read them before... Must not be reading the same "third" word every time... Not sure how I will improve my reading speed, but hopefully it will come...
Wish me luck as I venture into the great beyond. Gosh, it is kind of fun thinking of this as an adventure and not just school with homework and papers and stuff...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Where am I going?
So being the nerd that I am, I started reading "Working with Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman. It is making me really think and dig deep on where I am going in my future. It has asked questions about what energizes me in my work.
I started thinking about when I really do get ENERGIZED by what I do... when I am mentoring someone and helping them learn the ropes and grow AND when I am working on determining where to department is going in the future. Working on developing the strategy with a partner or team - exploring ideas and creating action plans.
It made me also think about the industry in which I work. Gosh, I may have my frustrations, but I really do work in an amazing industry. I love being around animal people. They are in the industry to the right reasons. But do we have the RIGHT people?
The book says that where IQ is high many times EQ is low. Granted not all times, but maybe we should not be concerned about grades, but rather about emotional intelligence. If we could determine ways to screen based on emotional intelligence and then continue to support and encourage growth with evals of emotional intelligence, we could improve productivity.
Part of the book discusses having a stream of FEELING that follows alongside a stream of thought. I never got "into" our COO's idea of sales training for docs - it just did not feel "right". The alternative of communications training with a vendor partner was better, but not quite there either. Now this idea of emotional intelligence THAT is what we need. If the metrics are true, for highly complex jobs "like insurance salespeople, account managers, lawyers, and physicians" (Goleman, p. 35) the added value was 127% more than a non emotionally intelligent employees. Just imagine what that could do for a company that relies on doctor production...
THIS is what I love about my job! The ability to discover ways to really add value and make a difference! Maybe this doctoral degree is about more than education alone, but about finding my way again.
I started thinking about when I really do get ENERGIZED by what I do... when I am mentoring someone and helping them learn the ropes and grow AND when I am working on determining where to department is going in the future. Working on developing the strategy with a partner or team - exploring ideas and creating action plans.
It made me also think about the industry in which I work. Gosh, I may have my frustrations, but I really do work in an amazing industry. I love being around animal people. They are in the industry to the right reasons. But do we have the RIGHT people?
The book says that where IQ is high many times EQ is low. Granted not all times, but maybe we should not be concerned about grades, but rather about emotional intelligence. If we could determine ways to screen based on emotional intelligence and then continue to support and encourage growth with evals of emotional intelligence, we could improve productivity.
Part of the book discusses having a stream of FEELING that follows alongside a stream of thought. I never got "into" our COO's idea of sales training for docs - it just did not feel "right". The alternative of communications training with a vendor partner was better, but not quite there either. Now this idea of emotional intelligence THAT is what we need. If the metrics are true, for highly complex jobs "like insurance salespeople, account managers, lawyers, and physicians" (Goleman, p. 35) the added value was 127% more than a non emotionally intelligent employees. Just imagine what that could do for a company that relies on doctor production...
THIS is what I love about my job! The ability to discover ways to really add value and make a difference! Maybe this doctoral degree is about more than education alone, but about finding my way again.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Keep Climbing Launched
Hello all,
While this is my second attempt at a blog, I feel that this will be more successful than the last blog. One thing I have learned is that by keeping a narrow focus for a blog, you can really only write about those areas of interest.
My areas interest span far beyond just triathlons, so my topic was too narrow. I chose keep climbing because it seems that I keep seeking out new challenges and want to climb the next mountain (and yes, the Miley Cyrus song was the inspiration). The prefect example is my next entree into education. I am beginning my doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine.
We just completed our three day orientation program for the Organizational Leadership program. The experience was very exciting and enlightening.
Thursday, the first day of orientation, was a "technology camp". Basically it was the administrative day for the program. We met the director of the program, a librarian, a career center representative, did a writing sample and went through several hours of tech training. Jenith set us up with Skype accounts, Tapped In, Blackboard, etc and gave us tons of tips on programs that can be used for screen sharing, screen capturing, edition You Tube videos, inserting videos in PPT. Long and short - we learned a ton in a very short period of time. I am so thankful that I knew some of that stuff or I would have been completely lost!
Friday and Saturday were the official beginning of the EDOL program. The two days were like two weeks in a resident assistant training program or a leadership camp. We did sharing activities learning each others names. We did teamwork and communication activities to assist us recognizing how we communicate. We completed the MBTI, Firo-B, and DISC assessments and compared and contrasted our different styles. We watched several videos: Seeing Red Cars with Laura Goodrick, Power of Positive Vision with Joel Barker, Everyday Creativity with Dewitt Jones, Who Moved My Cheese and J in a Box (cannot remember his name). We discussed different leadership theories and the similarity of Self Awareness in most of them.
Our three days ended with our sharing our lifeline and our vision of the future. Two and half hours was all the time that we had for a group of 25 to share what life experiences made them who they are today. We each had 5 minutes total. Very short period of time, but I was immensely impressed with the level of respectfulness and value that every member of the group placed on hearing what was shared. Tears were shed, comfort zones were pushed and we all made it through together.
Needless to say, I am exhausted after the three days! I slept for 14 hours after we finished last night. And this morning (okay afternoon), the first thing I did was to see if our syllabus had been posted, so I could start the work. I am sincerely looking forward to working and learning with this group of people.
While this is my second attempt at a blog, I feel that this will be more successful than the last blog. One thing I have learned is that by keeping a narrow focus for a blog, you can really only write about those areas of interest.
My areas interest span far beyond just triathlons, so my topic was too narrow. I chose keep climbing because it seems that I keep seeking out new challenges and want to climb the next mountain (and yes, the Miley Cyrus song was the inspiration). The prefect example is my next entree into education. I am beginning my doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine.
We just completed our three day orientation program for the Organizational Leadership program. The experience was very exciting and enlightening.
Thursday, the first day of orientation, was a "technology camp". Basically it was the administrative day for the program. We met the director of the program, a librarian, a career center representative, did a writing sample and went through several hours of tech training. Jenith set us up with Skype accounts, Tapped In, Blackboard, etc and gave us tons of tips on programs that can be used for screen sharing, screen capturing, edition You Tube videos, inserting videos in PPT. Long and short - we learned a ton in a very short period of time. I am so thankful that I knew some of that stuff or I would have been completely lost!
Friday and Saturday were the official beginning of the EDOL program. The two days were like two weeks in a resident assistant training program or a leadership camp. We did sharing activities learning each others names. We did teamwork and communication activities to assist us recognizing how we communicate. We completed the MBTI, Firo-B, and DISC assessments and compared and contrasted our different styles. We watched several videos: Seeing Red Cars with Laura Goodrick, Power of Positive Vision with Joel Barker, Everyday Creativity with Dewitt Jones, Who Moved My Cheese and J in a Box (cannot remember his name). We discussed different leadership theories and the similarity of Self Awareness in most of them.
Our three days ended with our sharing our lifeline and our vision of the future. Two and half hours was all the time that we had for a group of 25 to share what life experiences made them who they are today. We each had 5 minutes total. Very short period of time, but I was immensely impressed with the level of respectfulness and value that every member of the group placed on hearing what was shared. Tears were shed, comfort zones were pushed and we all made it through together.
Needless to say, I am exhausted after the three days! I slept for 14 hours after we finished last night. And this morning (okay afternoon), the first thing I did was to see if our syllabus had been posted, so I could start the work. I am sincerely looking forward to working and learning with this group of people.
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