8. Growth in e-Learning: A View from 30,000 Feet

North Seattle College's campus front steps circa 2003
(Photographer Erik Braziunas)

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

This first look at how Distance Learning / e-Learning grew at North Seattle College (NSC) will introduce some ideas that will be further detailed in future posts.  Tracking the history of class enrollments was very important to NeLSC's (North's e-Learning Support Center's) mission.  I routinely plotted these enrollments after each term (quarter), building the 23-year "unofficial" charts that are shown and described below.   

ENROLLMENTS AS A MEASURE OF E-LEARNING SUCCESS

In an earlier post, I mentioned that NeLSC's daily goal was to help faculty and students successfully utilize their classroom technologies. Were faculty and students accomplishing their objectives and thus satisfied with their teaching/learning experiences in distance learning / e-learning "classrooms", whether such classrooms were fully online, hybrid (partly in-person / partly online) or "enhanced" (that is, having a full schedule of campus meetings but supported by required use of an integrated "online learning management system")?  

One immediate way of measuring whether e-learning seemed to be working was to determine if faculty and students were continuing to "sign up" for such classes.  We had ways to measure faculty and student satisfaction through surveys, completion-rate studies, grade comparisons, and, most importantly, direct faculty and student feedback, but I felt that charting enrollment trends gave us an easy and direct way to check on e-learning's appeal and validity.

WHY CHOOSE "SEAT COUNTS"?

Enrollment data and trends can be presented in different ways.  One way is to count the number of students in e-learning classes, regardless of whether they are registered for one class or several.  Another way is to present the data in FTE fashion, meaning "Full Time Equivalence", aggregating all e-learning credits taken in a quarter by full-time and part-time students into an equivalent number of full-time students taking a full load of 15 credits. 

I plotted "15th-day seat counts" as a way of measuring participation in distance learning / e-learning courses.  A "seat" reflects one student "sitting in" one e-learning class.  A student taking three online classes would, for example, count for three "seats."  These counts could be converted directly to the FTE numbers described above if all courses consisted of the same credits (typically 5 credits for most classes).  However, a few special classes only consisted of 2 or 3 credits or even 6 or more credits, and so the official FTE trends will be slightly different than these 15th-day "seat counts."  I was really just interested in "bodies in classes", regardless of credit levels, as a way to gage participation, so that is why I worried less about precisely matching up with formal state-level FTE reports.  The differences are secondary anyway. 

It should be noted that actual enrollment data themselves can adjust over time.  Each quarter's enrollment numbers conventionally stop changing after the 10th school day of a quarter, when students can no longer "register" for a class (that is, be counted in data reported to the State Board).  However, instructor permission still plays a role, and a "final" enrollment count is determined after the 15th day of a quarter (my data choice for these charts).  But some exceptions continue to occur, and minor adjustments (for example, due to late incoming data or re-coding of particular classes) can make official numbers change a bit even when a quarter is over.  Again, such differences will be minor. 

WHAT THESE "OVER-STUFFED" VIEWS REVEAL

The "seat counts" shown in the charts below were based on the 15th-day "final" numbers we determined from the college's official source and as reported to the State Board.   As mentioned above, sometimes a number in the system was adjusted slightly after a quarter ended, and I have tried to catch and incorporate any such changes whenever our charts were updated.  

The charts begin with enrollment of 17 students in North Seattle College's first "distance learning course" in Spring Quarter 1994, and end with the "e-learning" seat counts for the 2015/2016 academic year (after which I retired).  The earliest counts do include some enrollment in non-online "distance learning" courses like telecourses and "ITV" courses (an ITV course being a synchronous multi-campus course taught at one campus and shared live with others through an "interactive television network"), but these latter enrollments are later overwhelmed after 1999/2000 by those categorized as online learning.

In the chart above, the four colors reflect the four quarters during each academic year.  Summer Quarter (blue) was a shorter 8-week term that usually ran from late June into August; Fall Quarter (purple) was a normal 11-week term from late September into December, Winter Quarter (yellow) ran from January into March, and Spring Quarter (green) ran from April until June, with the academic year ending on June 30th and the new one beginning on July 1st.  Enrollments for the abbreviated Summer Quarters were usually much less than for the other three quarters. 

Despite the fact that the seat-count numbers for early years are unreadable (and the later-year counts are nearly unreadable), I believe that these colorful bar graphs provide insight into "distance learning / e-learning" growth at North Seattle College at a "30,000-foot level."  Clicking on the charts will helpfully expand your view of them if you are interested.

The seat counts in the first few academic years are influenced by telecourse enrollments, but, starting with the 1999/2000 academic year, nearly all enrollments shown reflect the accelerating growth specifically in fully online learning classes.  By 2015/2016, around 20 years since the start of distance learning curriculum at North Seattle College, annual enrollment in fully online classes had reached around 9000 seats (excluding the hybrid and enhanced campus categories). An especially dramatic rise in NSC's online learning enrollments occurred during the 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 academic years. Clearly more faculty and students were finding that an online modality was a viable mode of teaching and learning.  I believe that NeLSC's efforts to prepare and support faculty and students for utilizing the technologies in pedagogically effective ways represented a crucial contribution to the adoption of this modality.

Other colleges around the state and the country were also undergoing shifts in the methodologies of teaching and learning.  South Seattle (Community) College was growing its own online learning program and seeing a similar trend, although not at this level.  Seattle Central Community College, traditionally strong in the correspondence mode of distance learning, was also growing, albeit more moderately, in online learning as well.   Leaders in e-learning enrollments around Washington State were Bellevue (Community) College, followed by Edmonds (Community) College and Spokane Falls (Community) College along with North Seattle College.

A SECOND CHART ADDS TO THE STORY

When hybrid and web-enhanced campus courses were first designed and introduced into NSC's curriculum (and coded as such in the State system) in Winter Quarter 2005, our definition of "e-learning" expanded to include these modalities.  Categorizing learning as strictly "e-learning" or strictly "campus learning" no longer fit well with the myriad blends of modalities and methodologies now being utilized as effective ways to teach and learn.  The classical description of college courses that linked "credit hours" to "seat time" had become outmoded because "seat time" could no longer simply be tied to time "sitting" in a physical campus classroom.  However, at least at the time of my retirement, a better way to describe curricula had yet to be implemented. 

The chart below adds in NSC's hybrid and web-enhanced campus enrollments (the latter being specific to campus courses using the Canvas online learning management system) to the fully online course mode shown in the previous chart.  Distinguishing each of these three e-learning categories of enrollments in each of four quarters for each year means that a total of 12 (count'em!) glorious colors must now be used (with associated seat-time numbers overlain on them).  Readability has become even more challenging!

However, what is clear is that e-learning, now defined as (1) replacing, (2) reducing or (3) blending into traditional on-campus in-person learning environments, was demonstrating exponential growth.  If nothing else is readable, at least one can see that, at a "30,000 foot" view, on an annual basis, the college had reached about 30,000 individual class enrollments within this spectrum of learning modes by the end of the 2015/2016 academic year.  This "seat count" was in addition to all the traditional "seats" occupied by students taking on-campus classes but not also using an online learning management system like Canvas (although still potentially using web-based materials like digital syllabi and other technologies like word processing).

The chart shows that the three categories of e-learning (fully online, hybrid, and web-enhanced campus) have similar seat counts to one another each quarter and, therefore, look to be comparably "popular" in enrollment.  These three "categories" reflect portions of a spectrum of technology usage.  Online learning management systems like Canvas were being utilized in classes ranging from fully remote to fully on-campus.  North Seattle College was growing such usage exponentially without yet reaching a plateau. 

Foremost, these trends demonstrate their overwhelmingly successful efforts of dedicated faculty using the technologies that our college adopted.  I also believe that NSC's e-Learning Support Center team played a vital role in preparing and assisting these faculty and their students in achieving their success.  

A GUIDING PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY

Furthermore, I also think that an important "key to our success" was the philosophy and strategy that we espoused from the start.  Because on student transcripts distance learning course credits (whether, for example, from telecourses or online courses) were indistinguishable from credits tied to the campus versions of those same courses, we strongly felt that there must be a matching equivalence in student learning.  The "quality" of distance learning courses needed to match up with their in-person counterparts. That philosophy, or rather "obligation", was a driving force as we worked with faculty to help them design online courses and help them prepare to teach those "distance learning" courses in pedagogically sound ways.  And, to help faculty take on this substantial task, NeLSC also needed to support faculty and their students attentively throughout the quarter's learning process.  

I noticed that some universities demarcated their online courses with special designators to differentiate these courses on student transcripts as if such classes needed special vetting.  We felt "obligated" to ensure the "equivalency" (as much as possible) in our courses, regardless of modality since they appear identical to in-person courses on our college's transcripts.  I think this philosophy drove us in NeLSC to work especially hard with our faculty as they took on the challenging task of creating effective learning environments for our "off-campus students." 

A second "secret to our success", in my view, was tied to our understanding that the tools used for "distance learning / e-learning" were not restricted to "distance learning" environments, distinct from what was happening on campus.  These tools (for example, online learning management systems like WebCT or Blackboard or ANGEL or CANVAS) allowed for a "blend" of learning environments.  Whereas there were conversations at the "district level" about potentially creating a "virtual college" separate from Seattle's north, south and central campus colleges, I contended that such a separation would artificially disunite faculty, training, resources and support services.  

I had seen that another community college in the state had built a distance learning program that employed "distance" faculty independent of the usual division oversight, and that faculty in the two "camps" were in competition and at odds with one another.  In contrast, at our college, in general, the same faculty taught both on-campus and online classes, and this unity further supported the "equivalency" in learning that we strived for.  In fact, many instructors found that teaching a combination of campus and distance courses together during a quarter fit well with their heavy work schedule ... and perhaps with their "sanity" in dealing with the logistics of a variety of college responsibilities and busy lives outside academia.

E-LEARNING AFTER THE PANDEMIC

The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything.  Although I retired from overseeing NSC's e-learning operation in 2016, I continued to periodically teach online part-time at NSC as well as at South Seattle College and Green River College for another four years.  When colleges had to switch entirely to remote learning in Spring Quarter 2020 via new technologies like Zoom for live (that is, synchronous) sessions along with asynchronous tools like Canvas, faculty and students had no choice but to adapt to using these e-learning methodologies in a hurry.  I saw how preparing and assisting faculty and students to effectively utilize such technologies was a major challenge for all e-learning support services at all colleges.   

I have used these charts as one way to demonstrate the growing appeal of e-learning for faculty and students and also to assess how well NeLSC's faculty/student preparation and support services were accomplishing our goal of helping provide effective learning environments.   But, as a result of the pandemic's forced universal adoption of e-learning beginning in 2020, I believe it is no longer useful to use enrollment numbers to chart the "natural" growth in technology-use in curricula.  Suddenly, e-learning was artificially "forced upon" colleges, for better or worse, and choice by instructor and student was hardly ever an option. 

I do believe (and will share some projections ahead) that, without the pandemic, in a few years, we would have gotten to a "plateau" in which a full spectrum of learning environments (in-person, hybrid and fully online) would naturally work out and would match up in "seat counts" across the academic catalog.  By "working out", I mean that the many possible "blends" of technology-assisted educational settings would have comparable success and meet the diversity of teaching and learning "styles" that we have in our society.   But who am I to make lofty predictions when I could never have guessed where we would be today back 40 years ago when I sat at my first 128K Macintosh Computer in 1983 and thought how great it was to just not be using my trusty Olympia Electric typewriter with its white-out ribbon!  

7. Colleagues who contributed to the e-Learning Program: Tom On-board ... and Overboard!

Tom Braziunas in AD 2000

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

Before a deeper look into the history of distance learning / e-learning at North Seattle College, I want to share a few personal comments on my own beginning.

I started teaching part-time at South Seattle Community College in Winter 1994, using my geology and paleontology degrees to teach in-person classes (including some telecourses) in physical and historical geology, oceanography, geography and dinosaurs.  Along the way, I was encouraged by two IT (Information Technology) folks, Frances Brooks and Dennis Colgan, to consider designing an online version of the Physical Geology lab-science class.  In the distant past, I had wanted to get into museum exhibit design work and this was something like that.  As Dennis said at the time:  "No one else is doing this in the Seattle College District."  However, there were actions happening at North Seattle Community College at around the same time or shortly after.  More on that later. 

Dennis Colgan with co-workers and colleagues in 2012

 

So, for a stipend of $600, in Fall 1995, I built a several-hundred-webpage class website, complete with lessons, assignments and labs, and with email communication, from scratch using HTML.  The stipend was nominal for the several hundreds of hours that were labored to create that class.  But, by coding in HTML, I gained a good understanding and confidence in web design.  At one point, I learned about "thumbnails" and how these little images could point to full photos of rock samples without needing to build all 20 full-sized rock photos into one webpage that would take minutes to load on 14.4 kbps modems!  With these thumbnails and the advancement of modem speeds (to the "quick-at-the-time" 28.8 and 56 kbps modems!), students (and myself) were now able to wait less and work on class faster.  I used to like to joke that I was "ahead of my time" in creating webpages before the internet was ready for them!

A somewhat later version of the original online physical geology class homepage 

I taught the Winter Quarter 1996 version of Physical Geology 101 lab-science class to on-campus students and a few fully online students simultaneously.  I put together a rock and mineral kit for the online students to borrow from the samples we had in South Seattle Community College's collection.  The online students had to come to campus and take the same text-and-lab midterm and final exams as the on-campus students... and, on average, they performed better than the average of the on-campus group.  I used to say that this meant that the less you heard me teach in-person, the better you learned!  However, I also think that the online group (mostly from Microsoft) was especially tech savvy and also too small a number to be able to make a significant comparison.

The next year, Dennis informed me that a full-time distance-learning coordinator position was opening up at North Seattle Community College, where I had been teaching some geology courses along with ones at South Seattle Community College (as well as holding a research position at the University of Washington).  And, with Jane, I was co-parenting Kristin and Erik, 11 and 13.  I was a busy guy, but especially excited about the idea of working with others to develop online curriculum... and the idea of having perhaps a more stable full-time job that fit with my teaching disposition and desire to stay in Seattle. 

John Backes, Library Dean at North Seattle Community College, interviewed and hired me in November 1997 to start immediately.  The distance learning operation had recently shifted from the Continuing Education division to the Library division.  In a series of meetings with John, with outgoing distance learning coordinator Parker Lindner and office assistant Chris Russ wrapping up their roles in the Distance Learning Office, and with other key players in the Seattle District and the Washington State Board, I was filled in (and overwhelmed!) with all that was happening in Distance Learning at the college and around the state.  My first "to-do list" (see image below), written up on my 46th birthday, was five pages long.  I was also still teaching courses at South Seattle College and contributing to research at the University of Washington.  I was a busy guy (did I mention that?). 

The first page of my first five-page task-list as distance learning coordinator

Two weeks later, John left for a position at Shoreline Community College.  Distance Learning returned to the Continuing Education division under the supervision of Dean Katherine Riley, as it had been.  And Parker and Chris left shortly after that, as planned.  Katherine hired Carol Howe as front-desk office assistant and told me that I needed to stop my teaching (although I had already signed on to teach courses for the Winter 1998 quarter) in order to focus fully on my new role at North.  It was difficult to give up my classes for this new position for which I felt a bit "overboard" and uncertain that it was a good fit, but Katherine's insistence turned out to be a very crucial step that, once followed, opened up a whole new and wonderful career for me!  Since my mentor and supervisor for research at University of Washington, Dr. Minze Stuiver, was also retiring in the upcoming year, it was natural for me to end my contributions to the UW isotope program as well. 

Over the years, my role expanded and, through the much appreciated support of those who supervised me, my job description was re-evaluated several times and my position title changed appropriately.  I transitioned from coordinator to manager to director and, finally, to associate dean of e-learning.  Along the way, I received the Trustees Lifelong Learning Award in 2001.  I even was eventually able to occasionally teach online again (especially the dinosaurs course), which provided me with the first-hand experiences (and issues) of using our course technologies that I could learn from and pass on to other faculty.  

In particular, I was thrilled to be "starred" in 2007 in a surprise pop-in visit and "ceremony", complete with confetti (see photos below), led by President Ron LaFayette and many other of my favorite colleagues (including Jean Kent, Jane Lister Reis, Alan Ward, and -- in the funny hat -- David Bittenbender).  More wonderful moments and silly times will be shared ahead. 

Tom being "starred" in 2007

6. Colleagues who contributed to the e-Learning Program: The Team

Tom Braziunas, Terre O'Malley and Joanne Fall in 2007

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

I was so proud to work with the e-learning team members!  Our primary goal was simple:  Help students and faculty feel comfortable using beneficial technologies in their campus, hybrid and online classes, and be close by as assistance was needed.  We called our centrally located space "North's e-Learning Support Center" or "NeLSC" (pronounced "Nell-See"...well, like Elsie, the Borden Cow!).  It started as a small room and eventually expanded into several rooms with a bank of computers in the front area for students to sit with us and step through how to start and participate in their online classes, and a bank of computers in a back area for faculty to sit with us and step through how to make the technologies work well for them and, especially, to brainstorm on the best pedagogically useful ways in which specific technologies could achieve what was desired for their classes.

With appreciation, I watched the e-learning team members exhibit patience and kindness along with expertise in welcoming and assisting those who came in for help, often frustrated with a particular aspect of their technology experience.  Very few students or faculty left without feeling relief and knowing that they had specific humans who would be there when they needed more help.  Over the first decade, we were relocated eight times (!) as construction plans reconfigured the campus, but we finally ended up within the confines of the library building, centrally located with our own entrance and easy to find.  About half the students who stopped by during the first two weeks each quarter asked for directions to find unrelated offices or classrooms, and we were glad to get them where they needed to go.  

Carol Howe, Joanne Fall, Tom Braziunas

Shortly after I began as Distance Learning Coordinator when DL was part of Continuing Education, Carol Howe joined as an hourly assistant.  Carol's role changed over the decades as her technological and training skills increased, and she continued past my retirement.  Joanne Fall joined early on as well as a front-desk receptionist, as a steadfast support person for students, and as our "Virtual College" website designer and maintainer.  Joanne tracked enrollments and updated critical quarterly class information so students knew what to expect before and after registering for classes.  Importantly, Joanne was a reliable presence, opening our support center early every morning regardless of the elements. 

Terre O'Malley

In 2006, as our operation grew, Terre O'Malley joined the e-learning team, and she continued through today.  Our technologies multiplied in that second decade, and courses regularly began using more sophisticated integrated coursewares (like Blackboard and Angel) called "learning management systems".  Terre began as a front-desk office assistant and, through her years of ongoing experience and her dedication to additional technological training, Terre advanced to be our courseware (Canvas) administrator.

Over the decades, the e-learning team has had many remarkable members who have joined for a while and brought special skills to our operation.  As our services expanded, our need for a particular workforce grew as well, and I will mention just a couple teammates who "passed through".  Toby Thompson added to our front-desk student assistance and also our "back-desk" technical expertise for more than a year.  As with all our staff, he brought a special service-oriented background, having taught English to business students in Santiago, Chile, a few years prior to joining us. Amy LaZerte also brought her great customer service and communication skills to our operation for more than a year.  Amy came to us with great detail-oriented organization and a commitment to resourceful student support and, as importantly, with much contagious energy!  She quickly built on those skills by completing workshops on emerging technologies and best pedagogical practices for online learning.  She also brought a special passion for sustainability that helped us create a "green" e-learning center.  

Mark Anthoney

From Spring 2012 to Summer 2013, Mark Anthoney served as our operations manager / instructional designer.  With his Masters background in Library and Information Science and in Communications Studies, and his collaboration skills and his expertise in instructional technology, Mark had an immediate impact as demand for our e-learning support services was quickly expanding.  Mark's calm and thoughtful approach fit well with how we conducted faculty workshops and one-on-one assistance to new online instructors.  Mark helped take many waiting tasks off my desk and our "pile of needs", and I really enjoyed Mark's ready adjustability!    However, wearing two hats was indeed a challenge, and Seattle University offered a position that nicely focused on Mark's instructional designer side and took him from us.    

Kathleen Chambers

Starting in March, 2014, Kathleen Chambers began working as our e-learning instructional designer.  What a pleasure it has been to work with Kathleen!  She is a strong team player who contributes hard work and refreshing, constructive ideas to support our team-centric approach to our services.  Kathleen brought a tremendous level of expertise, energy and enthusiasm to our operation and our college.  I greatly appreciated her ability to work independently, effectively, patiently and collaboratively across our entire campus community.  Kathleen is very much goal-oriented but people-focused.  When working with faculty and staff, she made sure to carefully listen to needs as well as share ideas.  Many of Kathleen's ideas advanced our e-learning services in ways not otherwise possible, and specific strategies and projects will be detailed in the history ahead.  Kathleen continued as an unparalleled leader in e-learning at North Seattle College after I retired in 2016.  

Kathleen in off-work mode

5. Colleagues who contributed to the e-Learning Program: The Admins

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

I was lucky to have direct bosses, vice presidents and presidents throughout the decades who supported our growth and efforts in distance learning / e-learning.  The distinction between "administration" and "faculty" is often a "soft one" because many administrators originally came from the classroom.  And some few continue to wear more than one hat, teaching part-time while also overseeing a division or program (myself included).  I have appreciated the special support, personal guidance and program advocacy of so many administrators, whether as my direct "bosses" or as higher-tiered college leaders.  

NSC's e-Learning Program (and my own career) benefitted from the leadership of people like Dean Katherine Riley, Dean Tom Griffith, Dean Phil Roche, Vice President Pete Lortz, President Mark Mitsui and President Warren Brown, to list just a few.  Their names will appear many times in the e-learning chronicle posted ahead.  Here I just want to shout out a personal appreciation for several of these dedicated educators (who will also appear in the history shared later as well).

Jacqueline L. Mundell

Jacque Mundell was the "Dean of Instructional and Information Support Services" at North Seattle College in the early 2000s, and she was my direct boss during that time.  Jacque was already a noted leader in library administration when she came to NSC as sort of her career "finale".  Jacque was always thinking "beyond one college", wanting to share out the strategies and techniques for what worked well toward the seamless integration of student and faculty support across a college's services.  With Coryl Celene-Martel, we published "An Organizational Model for Instructional Support at a Community College" (2003, Information Technology and Libraries, Vol.22, Issue 2, 61-67).  Jacque, Jean Kent and I also attended multiple national conferences on pedagogical uses of technology in education, getting together at the end of each day to share notes and brainstorm on how to apply what we had learned in workshops and presentations while it wss fresh in mind.  It was especially fun and effective to "nerd out" in this way!  Even after her retirement, the three of us would periodically have fun lunches together to talk about the latest best classroom uses of technology and, in fact, Jacque and Jean subsequently designed (for the American Library Association) free online workshops on educational technologies like Photoshop Essentials.  Jacque died in 2018 at age 77, and I miss her.  

  

Dr. Ronald Hugh LaFayette

Dr. Ron LaFayette served as North Seattle College's president from 2001 to 2009.  His presidency was just one of his many recognized accomplishments in higher education, especially his efforts toward creating pathways for non-traditional students and those with disabilities (especially the hearing-impaired).  Ron truly was a lifelong learner and a believer in the potential for new technologies to serve campus and distance learners.  After his retirement, he periodically dropped by the e-Learning Center to share with us the latest technologies that he had tested out and thought might be helpful to our faculty and students (and they were!).  He continued to bring forth ideas that went beyond one college or district. Ron was working on a multimedia wiki to anthologize the history of the Seattle College District for a broader sounding board.  He was compiling interviews and documents to form a useful archive and, through the unique technological power of the wiki, he was designing ways to allow others to readily contribute their memories and reflections from their times at the colleges.  Ron passed away in 2014 at age 71 before he was able to launch this project. 

Dr. Mary Ellen O'Keeffe

Dr. Mary Ellen O'Keeffe had several leadership roles, as Executive Workforce Dean, Vice President of Instruction, Interim President at North Seattle College, and Interim Vice Chancellor for the Seattle College District.  In every position, Mary Ellen was at the forefront of system-wide projects that were designed to enhance student access, support and success.  These endeavors harnessed the power of data-driven technologies to create pathways for students toward reaching their specific goals.  Some of these projects will be described later, but here I just want to mention something that Mary Ellen modeled for those of us who were supervised by her.  At a Thanksgiving-week meeting of her deans and directors, Mary Ellen took time to share around the table her gratitude for each one of us, describing a specific quality and work ethic she admired and appreciated.  To be personally valued in front of one's peers had a strong impact on me, and I think it also demonstrated Mary Ellen's deep commitment to share credit with everyone she worked with. 

Finally, a photograph that I treasure from an undated college event long ago.  These three guys loved what they did, and were fortunate to work with so many others who did as well!

Jack Bautsch, Tom Braziunas and Ron LaFayette   

4. Colleagues who contributed to the e-Learning Program: The "Essentials"

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

Those who put it all together, who worked directly on student learning ... the faculty.  I felt so fortunate to work with so many dedicated colleagues.  From the first day that I began teaching in 1994 at South Seattle Community College, I knew that I had found the community that I most wanted to be part of.  The number of faculty colleagues whom I later worked with while overseeing the e-learning operation at North Seattle Community College totaled in the many hundreds, and it was a pleasure to collaborate (or just "tag along") with each of them on strategies, techniques and technologies that would help students as they learned.  

I can't begin to name them all here but many will appear in future posts detailing our college's e-learning history.  For now, I will just mention a few "seasoned faculty" whose love of teaching and learning influenced me deeply along the way.  I have left out many other very special friends and devoted colleagues for now, but will come back to them soon.

Art Woodbury

Art Woodbury, a former bassoonist in many orchestras (including the Harry James Orchestra), as well as a former university professor, lent his extensive background and talents (after "retirement") toward developing two richly designed online music classes at North Seattle College.  Together with his wife, Sharon Woodbury, who provided technical and logistical support, Art not only built online course websites of hundreds of pages with many musical clips from his own recordings, but also taught these classes in vigorous fashion with weekly essay work and extensive feedback to his students, receiving the accolades of many of them for his thoughtful approach to their success.  Art and Sharon were always pushing forward with their focus on how to make learning both meaningful and fun for every student.   

Pat Bouker

Pat Bouker was another inspirational educator who jumped into developing online accounting classes as a way to reach more students with busy lives.  Pat created sequences of course websites from a common template so that students could focus easily on the learning while taking sequences of classes containing familiar course layouts.  Whenever a new adjunct or full-time instructor joined the department, Pat brought her or him to our center and asked us to provide copies of his course websites to help the new faculty member get up and running.  He then helped ensure that the faculty member felt supported toward confidently using the technology.  Pat also developed "flex" classes in which students had the option to attend lectures online or in person throughout the quarter depending on their personal schedules.  I admired the generous willingness that Pat showed in sharing his personal work freely as a means toward building the accounting department's reputation for student support.  

Val Donato

Val Donato was an inspirational instructor, developing an amazing online class in early childhood education that was rich in resources for parents, teachers, au pairs and others.  She was one of the first faculty members with whom I worked on online course development and implementation, and her enthusiasm and dedication were invigorating to an uneasy new distance learning coordinator!  Val and her co-instructors (Betsy Bird and then Sandra Looper) were tireless in building extensive new course materials in their "special topics" class such that each quarter it offered additional learning benefits, and students could rejoin the class anew each quarter for years.  Val brought in International class participants who signed up online from around the world, more than any other online class at the college.  Val tragically died from an illness in 2013.  For her tireless work and much-praised service to the early childhood education community of parents, teachers, families and colleagues, a special fund was created such that a stipend in her name is awarded annually to support an educator's professional development toward improving the Parent Education Program.   

3. Colleagues who contributed to the e-Learning Program: The "Dependables"

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

Dependables, reliables, stalwarts, mainstays, pillars ... some of the words to use for colleagues who were never "at a distance" when help was needed by the distance learning community.  Two important "mainstays" in all my years at NSC were Jean Kent and Coryl Celene-Martel.

Jean Kent

Jean Kent had many important leadership roles in developing e-learning curriculum and in training faculty and staff to effectively and confidently utilize educational technologies.  Jean started at the college in 1976 and, as the internet sprouted, she began creating and offering workshops across the Seattle College District related to online content development and to teaching strategies that provided countless faculty with the skills needed for pedagogical use of new tech tools whether in online, hybrid or campus classes. I learned so much from Jean!  She was always there, and her energy was contagious.  Her name will come up repeatedly throughout this unofficial e-L history, even past her retirement in 2007.   

Here's a message that Jean posted about the time of her retirement:

 Coryl Celene-Martel ran North Seattle College's Teaching and Learning Center for faculty and staff from 1998 until 2020.   When I began at NSC in November 1997, the TLC was managed by wonderful educator Andreas Brockhaus, and Coryl was the TLC's web design specialist.  Andreas drew in faculty and staff through his enthusiasm, extensive technical knowledge and his skill making everyone comfortable with learning daunting new technologies and having fun along the way.  I was fortunate to be on the same support team as Jean and Andreas at the start!  And, when Andreas departed for the University of Washington the year after I arrived, Coryl took up the challenge of adding the teaching of faculty and staff to her responsibilities.  Under her leadership as well as Jean's, the TLC continued as a solid, ever-present resource for faculty and staff for decades ahead.  I don't know if Coryl tracked her hours but I hardly remember any time when she wasn't available and ready to help in planned and emergency ways.  

Coryl Celene-Martel

2. Colleagues who contributed to the e-Learning Program: First Years

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

I cannot truly give the full credit due to the many colleagues who added great value to the Distance Learning / e-Learning operation's growth and success over those first 30 years.  Faculty, of course, are the primary drivers of quality curriculum taught via all instructional modalities (in-person, online, and many combinations of such, and more).  However, supporting those faculty with appropriate training, resources, finances and timely trouble-shooting has, in my view, a critical role in leading to successful student learning.  So it must be clear that, from my limited viewpoint alone, the many colleagues who made a difference over 30 years numbered in the hundreds, including instructors and support personnel.  So here, I want to mention just a few who specifically made a great personal contribution to my own efforts and those of the evolving team of DL/eL support staff at North Seattle College. 

Where to start?  Maybe at the beginning!  Before I started as an inexperienced distance learning coordinator in November 1997, the DL operation was formed several years earlier and was fully underway under the leadership of Continuing Education Dean Katherine Riley and full-time DL Coordinator Parker Lindner.  These two individuals developed a robust operation focused initially on telecourses (classes based on weekly televised content and a limited number of periodic campus meetings).  An online (that is, web-based) course modality was just underway when I took over Parker's role.  Much more will be described of this early DL history in a later posting.  Here I just want to recognize the important roles that these two dedicated individuals had in setting the tone for a DL operation that would deliver a high-quality, effective learning experience.

Parker Lindner

Parker Lindner was already well-known as a state-wide leader in Distance Learning.  This was clear from her prominence not just at the college but in Washington State's Distance Learning Council.  She generously provided me with many suggestions and ideas when I replaced her.  It was a challenging time for her, I believe, because some issues at the college had made her departure necessary.   At the same time, however, she was leading the college and state to ensure that Distance Learning had a strong quality foundation.  She passed enough on to me (as did Katherine) that I was able to jump in and start to catch up.  

I was hired by the dean of North Seattle Community College's library, John Backes, during a time of transition in  the DL operation.  Shortly after I was hired, John moved to Shoreline Community College and the DL operation once more was under the auspices of Continuing Education Dean Katherine Riley.  Katherine was a creative thinker who would "think outside the box" but with a measured dose of practicality.  She was goal-oriented and had outstanding communication skills.  I received important guidance from Katherine who had a firm grasp of details and issues but also gave her staff "breathing space" to experiment and find the faculty and student support strategies that worked best.  She set me on a path through a period of time when distance learning was being challenged while transforming how effective teaching and learning could take place.