My first encounter with DE was as an undergraduate student in the late 1980s in two UMUC paralegal studies courses.  I was sent a course manual and materials via mail (yes, the US Post Office!) for each course.  When assignments were due, I sent them via mail to the instructors.  Graded assignments were likewise returned to me via US Mail.  I had to appear at UMUC to sit for a final exam at the end of the semester.  I enjoyed the convenience of the courses’ format.  However, when I started going to face-to-face classes, I realized what I was missing – the interaction with my fellow students and my instructors.  I realize now that the course content was brought to a convenient place for me, but there was not much to draw me into the course. 

I did not think much about DE again until 2000 when the then academic director of the paralegal studies program contacted me about developing content modules for an online course.   Of course I wondered why she called upon me.  I had no experience developing or teaching online courses.  What I realized was that she was in a bind.  One of the development team members had to step out and the team needed to keep on schedule.  I was familiar with the content and was a pretty good writer, so I figured I would give it a try.  The development team leader gave me a crash course about writing narrative modules in an online “voice” and throwing in examples, “think about it” exercises, and short case studies for active learning.  I sort of got it – the team leader said the content was good but that I did not quite get the online “voice.”  After more coaching, I finally got it – according to the team leader, anyway.  But the whole thing remained a mystery to me as to how the course would work online.  With all of that, I really did not enjoy the project too much. 

Between 2000 when I signed on to teach a face-to-face course and 2002, the paralegal studies academic director tried to convince me to teach an online course.   The earlier course development project pain had remained fresh for a while.  Finally, in early 2002, I caved in and took the WebTycho training course that was mandatory before teaching online at UMUC.   The training was grueling – 5 solid weeks during which we were supposed to work and participate at least 10-15 hours per week!  To complicate matters, I had a demanding full-time job – and only a dial-up connection.  I ended up enjoying the training, especially working with my study group, and our study group’s article about creating online communities was published at http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAY02_Issue/studex01.html.

Nonetheless, I was still a bit apprehensive about teaching my first online course a few months later.  I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed teaching my first online course in the fall semester of 2002.  The experience really changed my attitude about DE.  I finally could begin to see how it works!

In the spring of 2004, I became the academic director for the paralegal studies program at UMUC.   Since the program was one of the first brought online at UMUC, there was a heavy focus on DE.  My responsibilities included serving as the curriculum expert for all online course developments and edits, supervising and mentoring online faculty, and using a web course space to create an online faculty community.  I realized that there was much to be learned about DE and that it made sense to pursue the OMDE program at UMUC. 

I would later learn in the OMDE program that my prior experience with DE did not even begin to scratch the surface.  It wasn’t until I was well into the OMDE program that I even found the surface!

I started the OMDE program in summer 2005 with OMDE 601 Foundations of Distance Education.  I was so excited about delving into adult learning theories and how they apply to DE, and about the history of DE.  The more I learned, the more I realized there was to learn!

My next course in fall 2005 was OMDE 603 Technology in Distance Education.  Here was yet another source of excitement for me.  It was so interesting to see how DE is not what some critics say it is – hopping on the latest technology bandwagon.   In spring 2006, I followed up with OMDE 632 Advanced Technology in Distance Education 2 – Asynchronous Learning Systems.    This course opened my eyes to the intricacies of establishing and maintaining a network that can sustain DE.

Over summer and fall 2006 and spring 2007, the DE picture really started coming together for me.  In the summer, I took OMDE 607 Instructional Design and Course Development.  My creativity flowed without bounds as I developed a web-based training course.  You can see my exuberance is palpable in my OMDE 607 Learning Journal (see the link to the Learning Journal at the bottom of this page).  In the fall, I took OMDE 631 Advanced Technology in Distance Education 1 – Synchronous Learning Systems.  I got to explore all the possibilities for delivering my DE creations!  Spring 2007 brought new adventures in OMDE 620 Training and Learning in Multimedia.  I had the chance to explore and study different media in a variety of contexts.

During spring 2007 I also had an astonishing reality check in OMDE 606 The Management of Distance Education 1: Cost Analysis.  In that course, I discovered that no single institution could possibly afford all of the creative DE endeavors I had dreamed up!  The course came at the perfect time in my degree, as a reminder that like anything else, DE has its limits.  The lessons learned in Cost Analysis course carried with me throughout the remainder of my courses.  In addition, it shook some accounting and economic cobwebs from my brain and reminded me that every facet of every initiative has a cost.    

With fellow study group members over summer 2007, I had the opportunity to develop a corporate training suite of courses in OMDE 623 Web-Based Learning and Teaching in the Virtual University.  I learned so much from my study group team members since we all brought a little something different to the table.  I remember thinking that, after my OMDE 606 Cost Analysis course, my creativity had been somewhat subdued in OMDE 623.

Between fall 2007 and spring 2008, my eyes were opened yet wider.  In OMDE 608 Learner Support in Distance Education and Training, I learned about support issues in DE that I had never even begun to think about.  Then, in DEPM 609 Distance Education Systems, I learned to look at DE both within a microcosm and within a much larger universe.   I had never before known anything about systems theory – it fascinated me and gave me yet a better understanding of where DE fits and can fit in so many contexts. 

Somewhat by accident – or maybe by fate – my last substantive course in the OMDE program was DEPM 604 The Management of Distance Education 2: Leadership in Distance Education.  This course was a perfect end to the program, before the capstone course.  DEPM 604 opened my eyes yet again – this time to basic leadership principles.  The course taught me when it is appropriate to lead and when it is sometimes better to follow.  And the course underscored the various leadership challenges that can emerge from the various issues I had addressed in my prior courses. 

In this capstone course I feel as if I have come full circle. In my first true DE adventure in the WebTycho training course, my team members and I wrote and published an article about creating online communities.  As I look back, one aspect of the OMDE program that I have immensely enjoyed is the community that has been so graciously offered to me by both faculty and my fellow students.  My capstone project is all about online communities.  I now see that DE is much more than offering convenience or getting just the right tone in the course content.

Another lasting effect of the OMDE program is my perspective on learning.  I am convinced not only that quality learning can be achieved via DE, but that the DE movement has caused a fresh, new look at learning.  In DE we cannot sustain the "sage on the stage" model of our brick-and-mortar past.  I think that revelation has resulted in a closer look at how we deliver brick-and-mortar learning.  All in all, the result should be more learner-centered learning and teaching.

At this point, I am seemingly at the end of this amazing journey.  However, with what the OMDE program has given me, I look at completing my degree as truly yet another beginning – another bend in the road of my life.