Introduction

• Tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course.
• I have been in higher education for over ten years, serving in advising and counseling roles. Currently I am Senior Associate Director of Enrollment Service at Columbia Business School. I am a licensed social worker (LMSW - NYS) and am a graduate of Columbia's School of Social Work. I am currently in the EdM program in Instructional Technology and Media (CCTE).
• What experience and background do you bring to the class? Perhaps you'd like to include a favorite quote.
• As I mentioned above, I have over ten years of experience in higher education. I work with a range of students, primarily those considered "new-traditional" (and not "non-traditional") students, ranging in age from 18 to mid-60's
• My favorite (informally tailored to my style of speaking) quote is, "Think you can or think you can't. Either way, you're right."
• What role does technology play in your life? How comfortable are you with new technology? How would you describe your technological learning style? What do you think people need in order to learn technology well?
• I strive to advance the use and application of technology at every job I do. I am comfortable learning new technologies (although programming languages have been my thorn). I think people need to be willing to explore and make mistakes when learning technology. But there is so much fear nowadays with viruses and cyber-bullying (just to name a couple of issues), that people would rather do things the old-fashioned way.
• What reflections, insights, or connections did you think about as a result of reading our thoughts and Martinez's essay on problem-solving?
• Problem solving can involve multiple ways of achieving desired goals. Educators must consider that people use many different ways (and modes of thinking/doing) in problem-solving. Activities should try as best as possible to allow students to apply multiple strategies to solve problems. One must also be willing to make mistakes, both teacher and learner alike. If mistakes are not made (or are not tolerated), then problem-solving can never truly occur in a learning situation.