by Karen Nichols
One interesting session I attended at this year's Distance Learning Administration conference was a presentation by Dr. Connie Reimers-Hild called Future-Focused Leadership: Three Mega-Trends Influencing Distance Learning. To paraphrase her three trends, Dr. Reimers-Hild discusses the rise of the "Gig Economy", the fact that more people are choosing to live with purpose and the global marketplace becoming de-centralized.
I was not familiar with the "Gig Economy" but having learned more, I can see numerous examples here in New Orleans. In fact, there's a group of gypsy adjuncts in the city who have created a social network to promote their skills, inform each one of potential employment and support each other during these difficult economic times. How this phenomenon affects distance learning is far-reaching in that we must offer support in the way of courses, advisement and training programs to assist this burgeoning sector of the workforce.
We must also prepare our students for a de-centralized global marketplace. In addition to offering appropriate courses, all of the course offerings can be designed to promote higher order critical thinking skills and include projects in which students use and develop tools they will need to be able to survive and thrive in this environment. Distance learning providers must also consider these economic conditions in their strategic planning.
Finally, I found it interesting that "living with purpose" is a mega trend. CAT has worked a great deal with contemplative pedagogy. For distance learning, I have been researching ways to include contemplative aspects in online courses. For me personally, living with purpose and meaning is a necessity. In fact, I have posted in my office a quote I found from Dr. Vicki Zakrzewski, director of the Greater Good Science Center:
"Helping students find a path to purpose is one of the noblest aspects of teaching." This is my mantra whether I'm teaching a face to face class or online.