Illinois - Boyhood home to Presidents

Welcome to Illinois, birth place of Ronald Reagan and boyhood home to Abraham Lincoln!
Illinois is a fertile farming area of the US, rich soil, wonderful waterways. Every available acre seems to be devoted to corn growing. Heavy rain during our stay here (yes, believe me it does still rain in other parts of the world!!) appears to have curtailed farming operations.

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.

What wonderful discussion we had regarding Distance Learning, and in particular onlnine learning, enjoying home made chocolate muffins made by Gayle. Two motivating forces drive the growth of online courses: competition and student demand. Teachers are placing more and more courses online to meet the demands.

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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Wow Sally I get exhausted just reading your exploits - you must be incredibly energized by all the input from the wonderful folks you are engaging with.

Great to see all your pics & follow your travels.

It will take months to distill it all!

Keep smilin' :-)

written by Merelyn on April 26, 2007

Another fascinating report. Thank you Sally. Wonderful to learn of the professional and personal generosity of all the great people you are meeting on your travels. Congratultions on selecting such fine institutions for your tour, and sharing it with us all.
Cheers
Sue E

written by Sue Ellyard on April 27, 2007

Sally, I enjoyed having lunch with you and hearing you talk about your home. I especially enjoyed hearing that Austalian men don't like to ask for directions any more than American men do. I hope you take great memories and pictures of America back with you.

written by Pat Pusey on April 27, 2007

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