We stayed at Peoria which is situated on the Illinois River, with a population of 120,000. Peoria is the world headquarters for Caterpillar. David and Mike toured the plant and saw some big gear.

My visit was to Illinois Central College and was coordinated by Patrice Hess, Director of Organisational Learning, who unfortunately was unavailable on the day of my visit. Patrice left me in the hands of Janice Kinsinger, Associate Dean Instructional Innovation & Learning Resources.

What a day I had! We began at 9am with an informal meeting with Instructional Technology and English Faculty.

The technology infrastructure at the College was amazing. If you opt to place a course online, there are specialists to help you. I really wanted to bring Brandy home with me!! Brandy is employed in this Faculty as an Instructional Graphic Designer. Imagine what our powerpoints would look like with Brandy's input!

Next Ken gave me a tour of the technology studio. This centre services the College for all of the videoconferencing.

Janice and I then took part in a videoconference to downtown Peoria Campus with educators involved in Health Careers and Public Services. Thank you to these people for their time and interesting discussion. The videoconference system is housed in a 'smart' classroom with touch screen control and drop down large screen (see photo).

A delicious lunch followed with lots of Faculty attending. Some of the group commented that I didn't sound very 'Australian' - (I think Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin have lots to answer for that!)

Next was a tour of the Agriculture and Industrial Technology Centre. Thanks to Steve for showing us around (David and Mike joined me for this). The workshops were incredible; some of them are totally funded by Caterpillar. I only wished Russell Denning was with us to witness the sight of diesel motors (up to 1100 hp). Partnerships are very big here.

I was then invited to a Curriculum Committee Meeting were I was once again warmly welcomed and which provided an interesting insight into how this works.

A final session of a 'Blackboard' training program was my last session for the day. 'Blackboard' is the Learning Management System (ie Janison Toolbox) which appears to be preferred here.

Thank you to all involved in the wonderful day I spent at Illinois Central College. The time and effort that went into my visit was amazing and I was very honoured to be surrounded by such fantastic people. I am well aware of the time constraints of educators so am very grateful to think you gave up an entire day for me Janice!

Apart from the learning I am undergoing about all things relating to Distance Learning, I am also experiencing hospitality and friendliness that is definitely first class. Nothing seems too much effort; hard work is the norm; pride in your institution and love of your jobs are commonplace.

I applaud and thank each and everyone of you. I also thank Patrice for the planning and preparation that went into my visit. Even though you weren't there in person Patrice, ICC was full of your presence.

written by  Sally Delaney on April 25, 2007 from Peoria, United States
from the travel blog: Sally DeLearning - American Style 2007
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This area is geared for the tourist but Wisconsin is also famous for its dairy industry, Harley Davidsons and Millers beer (among many other things).

My contact in Wisconsin, Dan Gross, picked me up at the Hotel at 8am on Monday. Dan is the Executive Director of SWING (Southeastern Wisconsin Instructional Network Group) www.swing.k12.wi.us Dan coordinates communication technologies in many k-12 schools and other institutions in this area. He also works with the Museums to bring schools and museums together.

We drove through different areas: tourist, farming, industrial with Dan acting as a wonderful guide. We also discussed all manner of things American including education, technology, politics, religion, culture, food and Boy Scouts! I gained a marvellous insight into one perspective of life and times in Wisconsin thanks to Dan's depth of knowledge, educated opinions and sense of humour.

We also visited the Gateway Technical College in Burlington. Here Dan introduced me to Kathy and Gerry who are instructors in the Adult Learning Centre. Kathy and Gerry deliver ESL and the GED (which is very similar to CGVE). Thank you both for showing me around and the handouts. Good luck with the excursion to Washington DC.

Dan took me to a wonderful place for lunch called 'Fred's' in Burlington. What a fantastic experience. He introduced me to the delights of fried cheese balls and excellent potato chips. (Not sure how long a girl would last in Wisconsin without a gallbladder!!) Last night my family and I even tried the fried icecream and caramel sauce - thanks for the tip Dan- it was delicious.

Thank you to Dan for the effort and energy that you put into my visit. It was a fantastic day and such an excellent opportunity to learn about the how, what and why of education.
Your innovative and enthusiastic approach to education can only enhance communication technology within the system.

written by  Sally Delaney on April 23, 2007 from Burlington, United States
from the travel blog: Sally DeLearning - American Style 2007
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24 April - not sure what has happened to some of this information on this entry!!

written by  Sally Delaney on April 21, 2007 from Dubuque, United States
from the travel blog: Sally DeLearning - American Style 2007
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The houses in the town are also typically 2 storey, weather board, without verandahs, fences or outdoor eating areas - in fact everything is geared for cold weather here. We have been very lucky and have had perfect weather so far

Conference Day 1 - Iowa Distance Learning Association
Today I had the great experience of attending 2 seminars delivered by William A. Draves who is a quoted expert on lifeling learning and online learning. Bill is the president of the Learning Resources Network (LERN) www.lern.org and authored several books.

Bill's first seminar focused on 'a different kind of teacher' for the new teaching environment. Today's teacher needs to respond to individual learning styles; to focus on outcomes and knowledge; find strengths in the indiviual's skills; be aware that there are different learning styles for the different generations.

In the 2nd seminar, Bill explained the generational learning styles: the veterans (sorry Mum that's you!); the baby boomers (that's me and anyone born between 1946 - 64); Generation X (1965- 1979); and Generation Y (1980-2000). The latest generation > 2000 hasn't been named as yet. The point about the learning style is that each generation has lived through a particular time where things are done or thought in a particular way. He gave some excellent tips for teaching Gen Y one of which was to 'make learning relevant'. I liked that one especially.

Conference Day 2 - Main day of Conference

Bill Draves gave the keynote address entitled "Nine Shift: Work, Life and Education in 21st Century" www.nineshift.com This address focused on how the internet is changing how we live and that by 2020 a way of life as we once knew it will be over - the internet will be predominant.

In the afternoon I delivered my presentation "Distance Education - An Australian Perspective" in a breakout session to a small group of interested and interesting educators. The Cowra CGVE group will be pleased to know that your photo was a great hit so thank you all for allowing me to show your happy faces in America! Two of the participants at the session are very keen to set up videoconference session between our students and theirs!

I attended another breakout session on the lastest digital tools for teaching: digital pens; e-books which have an embedded video chip; dynamic software demonstrating calculus and trig (Denise you would have been impressed I promise!); virtual calculators; tablet pc's. I also saw a portable digital whiteboard system demonstrated which is a cheaper option to smartboard www.mimio.com

I was delighted to be present at the Conference and be welcomed so warmly by a great group of people. Thank you to Donna for liaising with me to help me coordinate my attendance at the Conference.

written by  Sally Delaney on April 19, 2007 from Cedar Rapids, United States
from the travel blog: Sally DeLearning - American Style 2007
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This is a really interesting city. As cities go it is quite small 700,000 ish and very multicultural. Chinese and Italians arrived during the Gold Rushes but lots of Russians, Spanish etc.

We had a ride in a trolley car this morning which is a bit like a roller coaster - photo shows how steep it is.

We did a tour this afternoon. We saw all of the sights: Golden Gate Bridge, Nob Hill, China Town. The guide told us lots of tid bits -
-the buildings, all side by side, with flat rooves, do not have common walls. There has to be an inch between so that when an earthquake occurs, and fires start, firemen can go to the top of the buildings and pour water down between. Let's hope there are no earthquakes until after tomorrow at least.
-There are very few supermarkets here, just small corner shops. People eat out most of the time;
-San Francisco has very cool climate - a large beach here but not much swimming done as the water very cold.
-Saw lots of movie & TV settings such as Pursuit of Happiness, Mrs Doubtfire, Kindergarten Cop, Full House

A couple of things we have noticed ... not too many dogs around(maybe because noone seems to have a backyard); the thinnest straws I have ever seen; the biggest breakfasts I have ever seen.

Just off to try some Clam Chowder and sourdough bread - a speciality here.

written by  Sally Delaney on April 17, 2007 from San Francisco, United States
from the travel blog: Sally DeLearning - American Style 2007
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