How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Technology

A few years ago my supervisor at UMass-Lowell asked me how I'd feel about teaching a blended course, which is half online and half in the classroom. My first instinct was to hang up on her, but as we chatted I became less terrified and actually started thinking that it might turn out to be fun.

The course, which teaches computer illustration using Adobe Illustrator, was one I'd developed for the classroom, and now was charged with rewriting it for a very new (to me), technological format.

The Fine Arts Department at UMass' Continuing Ed section had been my part time employer for quite a few years, and this challenge was a vote of confidence. Mine would be the first blended course ever offered in the Fine Arts Department.

Once the course had run and proven itself worthy, I was asked to teach a different course, Fundamentals of Typography, completely online. I've taught the classroom version of Typography for 18 years at UMass. This online course will begin in the Fall of 2012, so this summer I'll be redesigning it for online learners, as well as enhancing my scant knowledge of the Blackboard system of higher ed teaching. Of course, the big, big challenge will be the critiquing of students' work, which is all visual, and not at all compatible with Blackboard at this time.