Interested in a high-quality and cost-effective online MBA program? Please consider the program I helped design, develop, and implement at Texas Lutheran University. For more details, click the image below. Regularly named a “Best Value Institution” by U.S. News & World Report, Texas Lutheran University is on a mission to pursue a more just world. […]

Dr. Travis Neal is a Doctor of Strategic Leadership as well as a KC-135 pilot in the United States Air Force. He recently completed four years with Air University’s Global College of Professional Military Education, where he served as a Course Director for the Leadership Concentration of their Online Master’s Program, and also developed and […]

In this picture, we captured our wonderful session moderator (left), myself (middle),  and Paula (right). Come Lead With Us: USDLA 35th Anniversary Conference Presentation It was such a joy to team up with two super talented ladies, Dr. Paula Billups, my colleague from Life University, who specializes in organizational leadership, and Tara Powers, author of […]

Excellent Session Award: USDLA 35th National Conference Presentation on Cybersecurity in American Higher Education It was a joy to collaborate with two wonderful professionals with whom I had been trying to find an excuse to collaborate again: Dr. Phyllis Witt, my doctoral classmate in the Higher Education Leadership doctoral program at Maryville University, and Dr. […]

As we are tackling the massive global issues of poverty, overpopulation, limited resources, and climate change, we need more sustainability leaders to promote corporate social responsibility, the triple bottom line (people, profits, and the planet), and social innovation, among other sustainable practices. I really enjoyed this course from the Imperial College Business School and have […]

This year, I once again have the honor and pleasure of chairing the United States Distance Learning Association’s 2022 National Distance Learning Week Conference, which I am co-producing with the wonderful Valary Oleinik, a world-renowned gamification expert and the chairs of the USDLA Events committee. This year we’re celebrating the 15th consecutive NDLW conference so […]

This year, I had the opportunity to get involved with the amazing Online Learning Consortium (OLC) team and play a humble role in organizing the OLC Innovate 2022 conference. I had the honor of serving as chair of the leadership and advocacy track and I was so impressed with the high caliber of presentation proposals […]

Calibraing Handout On April 8, 2022, I have the distinct honor and privilege to moderate a session at the North Dakota Legislators Retreat organized by the Hunt Institute. This independent, nonprofit institute “brings together people and resources to inspire and inform elected officials and policymakers about key issues in education, resulting in visionary leaders who […]

I am thrilled to speak at the Meaningful Living and Learning in a Digital World conference in beautiful Savannah, GA, on March 1st at 11 am EST. Please join in the conversation and kindly share what YOU are doing to “stay sane” as our professional lives seem to be more and more complex and demanding […]

As I was looking to learn more about virtual team leadership, I came across a professional certificate from the Harvard University Business School, focused on leading in a remote environment. I highly recommend this certificate to anyone who would like to learn more about virtual team leadership. If you do not wish to pursue the […]

I am excited to announce that I joined team UNT Dallas as Director of the Distance Learning and Instructional Technology unit.  

Today I earned the CASEPS (Council for At-Risk Student Education and Professional Standards) National Certification. This is a wonderful training for higher-education professionals who are looking to better engage under-represented, marginalized, racialized, and non-traditional student populations.

This June’s edition of the Online Learning Journal includes an article representing several years of my labor of love: my doctoral research. Powerful or Powerless? Chief Online Education Officers’ Legitimate Power over Online Program Quality in U.S. Higher Education Institutions To read my work for free, visit the link above, click on the orange PDF […]

This year, I once again have the honor and pleasure of chairing and, for the first time, also producing the United States Distance Learning Association’s 2021 National Distance Learning Week Conference. We are still in the middle of COVID-19 so, with last year’s lessons learned, this year we are coming to you bigger than ever. […]

I have the distinct honor and pleasure of having been elected chair of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Marketing and Communications committee. The mission of the USDLA Marketing Committee is to promote brand awareness and support the overall mission of the USDLA by managing and delivering communication to inform USDLA internal and external […]

On January 1st of 2021, I was honored to accept the invitation by Auburn University at Montgomery to lead the Office of Distance Education (a.k.a., AUM Online). In this capacity, I provide institutional oversight in several strategic areas: Faculty development for all faculty, under the umbrella of the Faculty Development Institute that I lead; Instructional […]

I am thrilled to announce that I have successfully completed the requirements to graduate from the Online Learning Consortium Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL). You can view my credential here. IELOL is a unique blended-learning leadership development program sponsored by the Online Learning Consortium and in partnership with the University of Central […]

The Times Higher Education (THE) Campus is a new initiative meant to offer European higher-education professionals a place to learn, share, and connect. I am honored to have had a video featured on THE Campus, where I discuss how universities can monitor and guarantee the quality of their online courses by establishing a robust quality […]

To mark the two-year anniversary of my employment at Life University, I spent an hour talking to a member of our talented marketing and communications team about my personal and professional growth as well as my efforts to help strengthen the College of Online Education (COE). After a year and a half of ground-laying work, […]

I am twice honored regarding this year’s Online Learning Consortium Accelerate conference, held November 9 – 20 in Orlando, FL and online. First, I was invited to review conference proposals in the leadership track. The caliber of these presentations was high, and most every one of them addressed some aspect of the emergency response to […]

The Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) started with three weeks of pre-immersion in which I got to: know my faculty and cohort, interview a senior leader at my institution to identify an opportunity for me to research and implement, focused on the importance of institutional branding discussed the importance of a leader’s […]

We had a session cancellation at the USDLA national conference and I was on the stand-by list to fill in if needed. Sunday evening before the conference, I got a call that I am needed and I say yes. Then I immediately started running… 😂 I run whenever I need to clear my head and […]

In support of the USDLA national conference, I created a podcast titled USDLA Soundbites. The concept is to interview conference keynote speakers and presenters ahead of the conference, to introduce them and frame the topic of their upcoming conference talk with a couple of soundbites. I had an amazing time recording season 1, focused on […]

As of May 2020, I joined an amazing team of professionals who are dedicated to the advancement of distance learning in our nation. I am honored to have been appointed to the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Board of Directors by the USDLA President. As of May 2020, If you are not familiar with […]

This year I have the distinct honor and privilege to follow in some big footsteps as I chair the annual National Distance Learning Week conference hosted by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). In this capacity, I oversee all strategic and operational aspects of this conference, alongside a talented team of USDLA professionals. The […]

This year I have the honor and pleasure of chairing the United States Distance Learning Association’s 2020 National Distance Learning Week Conference. Given that we are navigating a global pandemic, it seemed fit to have the focus of this year’s conference be on moving from serving to thriving and finding ways to “rock” the new […]

I send warm gratitude to the uber talented Ms. Hope Katz Gibbs, president and founder of Inkandescent Women Magazine, for honoring me with a feature in this lovely magazine for women, by women, and about women 🙏. It is humbling to see my profile next to the profiles of hundreds of amazing women who provide […]

On March 1st, 2020, I ran my first marathon (42km/26miles) in 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 52 seconds. Crossing a marathon finish line has been on my bucket list for years it felt amazing and I signed up for the 2021 Atlanta marathon. That will be much tougher because I have not been competing in […]

I have been with Life University Online for a year now, and continue to love my job more and more each day!

As of August 25th, 2019, I earned my doctoral degree in higher education leadership through Maryville University. I strongly recommend the program for its unsurpassed quality, design, faculty, cohort model, virtual research residency alternative to the face-to-face research residency, and the parallel curriculum and research. I completed the degree in three years. It was grueling […]

Getting ready for the #USDLA2019 national conference held in beautiful Nashville, TN. I am so excited to partner up with the amazing Dr. John J Heslen for a presentation on cyberhygiene best practices in distance learning and to also share some insights from my research on chief online education officers. ~ Cyberhygiene image credit: https://tinyurl.com/y5qmrpu2 […]

I am pleased to announce that I have joined the online ed team at Life University as digital learning program coordinator. Announcement: https://www.life.edu/faculty-and-staff/new-digital-learning-program-coordinator/  

I made some time to work on a bucket-list item. On August 25th I’ll run The Atlanta half marathon.

My wonderful colleague, Ms. Lynne Eggert, AU director of the Radiation Therapy program, has invited me to give a joint presentation at the GEARMI 2018 state conference. We’ll be talking about basic aspects of teaching radiation therapy courses online, emphasizing the importance of practicing what we teach, in preparation for assessing how well learners are […]

I am getting ready to teach the 6th session of my FDEV-0, Online Education Basics course. So far the course has been well received and transformative. Thank you OFDTE for giving me the space to create this 2-week online, faculty-development course!

This year I had once again the priviledge to speak at the Distance Learning Administration conference:   Laws, G. (2018, June 26). The Chief Online Education Officer. Presented at the 2018 Distance Learning Administration Conference, Jekyll Island, GA. Laws, G., Nowatkowski, M., Heslen, J. & Vericella, S. (2018, June 27). Guidelines for cyber hygiene in […]

The idea of an online faculty-development course in the fundamentals of online course design has been germinating in my mind for years. Finally, this summer, it became a reality. Visit my portfolio for a few samples from this 7-week course. I am grateful to OFDTE for giving me the space to create and teach FDEV-1, […]

On March 6th, we offered a workshop on open education resources and I spoke about creative commons licenses. Let me know if I (or one of my team members) can answer  questions about any aspect of working with open education resources!

By now we are offering the second (post-pilot) session of FDEV-O, Online Education Basics and this course keeps getting better and better. If you are interested in taking it, the last session of the Spring semester is coming up on April 10th, with a registration deadline of April 6. We’ll probably take a hiatus in […]

Come to the 2018 Distance Learning Administration conference to hear me speak about COEOs. My proposal was just accepted ^__^ Presentation description: As online education indubitably move into the mainstream, the academic literature is beginning to paint of portrait of the Chief Online Education Officer (COEO)—basically the highest role on the institutional org chart to […]

Come to the 2018 Distance Learning Administration conference to hear my team speak about cyberhygiene in online education. Our proposal was just accepted ^__^ Presentation description: This presentation highlights why cyberhygiene is important for online administrators, faculty, and students to consider in the on the online-education arena. It also defines cyberhygiene and provides an overview […]

Augusta University faculty — I have a new training opportunity for you starting the end of January 2018. Please consider taking this complimentary course to get a sense of the current state of online education and, if you haven’t done this yet, to experience what it is like to be a learner in a fully […]

Dear visitor, If you’re visiting my site for the first time, welcome!Through this redesigned website, I am establishing my professional online presence and sharing resources with the online-education community. There site is divided in two halves: one presenting my background and the other sharing resources about online education—be it in leadership, scholarship, instructional-design, and/or teaching. […]

Echoing a message from our Dental Hygiene department — a wonderful fund-raising effort can help you win a professional Phillips Sonicare toothbrush.

Support your fellow students, staff and faculty as they sing, play instruments, recite poetry, etc.  For February, in addition to regular acts, the show will have a preview of Camelot, an Augusta University Opera Institute production. Door prize: tickets to see Camelot at Maxwell Theatre.                    Free admission. Free snacks and drinks.                    Lee Auditorium (BC-1040), Health […]

Commemorating the Past and Envisioning the Future

Augusta University is now offering a 15-credit hour undergraduate certificate in Asian Studies. To earn the certificate, students will need: 6 credits obtained in one of the following ways: a 2-semester sequence of an Asian language (CHNS 1001 and 1002 or approved language transfer credits) 6 credit hours earned on Asia Study Abroad trips a […]

Our institution’s learning management system, Brightspace by D2L, has received its December continuous delivery update and is now at version 10.6.8. You can learn about this update here. The most impactful change is that final grades no longer auto release; they need to be manually released.  

I just updated the syllabus templates for online/hybrid and face-to-face courses. Please see the new syllabus version at the bottom of the Templates page. A change log is available on the same page. Below you’ll find a screenshot of the first page of the updated syllabus template.

Relaying message from PA Register Today for 5K in Support of Christ Church Clinic On behalf of the Augusta University Physician Assistant Class of 2018, we invite you to begin your new year on the right foot and join us for our annual Resolution Run/Walk 5K. This year the race is on Saturday, January 21, […]

The  Spring 2017 Georgia Council of Graduate Schools conference is calling for proposals from faculty, staff, and administrators. Proposal are due before January 20, 2017. CALL FOR PAPERS The Georgia Council of Graduate Schools will host its annual conference, April 28-29, 2017 on the Georgia Tech campus in midtown Atlanta. The theme of this year’s […]

I had a wonderful time learning with/from eLearning professionals at the USDLA IFWE 2016 conference. I will make a blog post to highlight some of the things I have learned that may be of interest/use to you.  

Credit unions are pledging financial help to Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. Help support our local hospital with a free and easy vote. Learn more. A moment of your time can mean money sent directly to help the children and families at Children’s Hospital of Georgia, right here in our “back yard”. So cast your vote […]

Echoing a message from Affordable Learning Georgia Reminder Textbook Transformation Grants Round Eight: Due December 11, 2016 The ALG Textbook Transformation Grants Round Six-Eight ALG Textbook Transformation Grants Request for Proposals (RFP) has been released, and Round Eight is currently open. Round Eight applications are due on December 11, 2016. Request for Proposals Link The […]

We need to complete the 2016 annual compliance training by December 1, 2016. Your training assignment depends on whether you are a university and health system employee. More details below.

Echoing important communication from Information Technology (1-4000 or 1-7500)

Today we celebrate World Diabetes Day, as in the day set aside to remember Sir Frederick Banting’s birthday. Banting was the Canadian scientist who, in 1923, earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine (in collaboration with John Macleod in charge of the study’s funding) for using insulin to treat diabetes. Click here to learn more.   […]

Many thanks to the USCA team that was part of making this year’s national distance learning week (#2016NDLW) conference a success! Shout outs to:

It would be impossible to imagine a world without dental hygienists, imaging specialists, nutritionists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, physician assistants  – to name just a few of the allied health professions. Happy allied health professions week! If you haven’t done so already, take a selfie in the Health Sciences building and share it on social […]

The best thing that happened on 11/9 was to come across this passage in Dean Andrew Balas’ email digest: CAHS Instructional Designer Innovates for Distance Learning Georgianna Laws, Instructional Designer assigned to the College of Allied Health Sciences, has been very busy this year finding innovative ways to promote distance learning. She completed a project […]

As part of the Affordable Learning Georgia community, you are invited to a free ALG Training and Development Series event: Open Licensing and Creative Commons Wednesday, November 16, 2016, 12:00pm-1:00pm Our second copyright-focused training event of the Fall focuses on open licensing, particularly Creative Commons. Anne Gilliland, Scholarly Communications Officer at the UNC Chapel Hill […]

Time to move the clock back! Would you like to learn more about daylight saving time? The following article covers 8 things you may not know about this practice.

To avoid long lines on November 8, try voting early. Here are details for early voting options available in Columbia County, GA.

Going batty? De-stress in the lobby of the Health Sciences building, where you can see Randle’s singing pumpkins.

Register here to attend the Oct 21, 12-1 pm workshop offered for free by the Affordable Learning Georgia.

Echoing message from Augusta University Facilities Planning, Design and Construction

I am honored to have been chosen to represent Augusta University with a presentation at the 2016 International Forum for Women in eLearning (IFWE), a conference presented by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). This conference is held every two years and it is meant to recognize the role of women leaders in the field […]

The 8th Annual QM Conference will include many opportunities to learn, connect, and share. Join the QM community as we gather to collaborate in shaping education’s future. About the Conference Theme: Blazing New Trails Education, in its many forms and uses, is still a frontier. Think of the Oregon Trail. It began as a foot […]

The Online Learning Consortium and MERLOT invite you to submit a proposal for the Solution Design Summit (SDS) at OLC Innovate 2017: Innovations in Blended and Online Learning Conference (#OLCInnovate). Proposals are due 11:59pm ET November 2, 2016. ABOUT OLC INNOVATE Innovations in Blended and Online Learning A Joint Conference Presented by OLC and MERLOT Education […]

Call for proposals will start October 15 DLA2017 will be held at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, in Jekyll Island, Georgia on June 17 – 21, 2017. The DLA symposiums are specifically designed for those involved or interested in the administration, management, planning, and evaluation of distance learning programs. If you have any questions or […]

Echoing Communication from ITS

Early voting in Columbia County will be held as follows: Oct. 17 through Nov. 4 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Georgia Department of Revenue, building G3 (610 Ronald Reagan Drive, next to Zaxby’s). Saturday, Oct. 29 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m at: Patriots Park (5445 Columbia Road) Stevens Creek Community Church (600 Stevens Creek Road). Oct. […]

Echoing a message from the OFDTE

As Hurricane Matthew continues to move toward the United States, now is time to prepare for any potential impacts the storm may deliver. Download the Red Cross Emergency App to: receive emergency alerts discover important preparedness tips and resources customize your family’s evacuation plan Follow our University’s news on twitter and online.

The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is now accepting proposals for the 2017 Annual Conference, which will take place April 30 – May 3, 2017 in Indianapolis, IN. The conference theme is USDLA: 30 Years of Driving Excellence in Distance Learning. The following tracks are intended to guide the general areas of presentations: Revving […]

Mark your calendars for #DLNchat on October 11 at 4 p.m. ET. The questions driving OLC’s new mini-series of Twitter chats: 

Cyber Georgia is taking place October 12-13, 2016. Scroll through the following page for more details and registration:  

We often view meetings as threats to our time and resources – although they are unavoidable opportunities. Yet, most leaders unknowingly conduct them poorly and neglect the value of collaboration and innovation that meetings bring. Meetings are not only dreadful – they have become the leading overlooked culprit of breakdowns in productivity. Stop them from […]

Free Quality Matters Workshop for QM Instructional Design Association Members Session Title: Designing Engaging Discussion Boards Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST

Excerpts from Pres. Brooks Keels’ Communication on Title IX: The application of Title IX legislation has become important tool in addressing sexual misconduct on our nation’s college campuses. While the law prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual assault in education programs and activities, a recent study commissioned by the federal government reports that every year one […]

Registration for this free virtual conference is open through October 28, 2016. Register here: https://form.jotform.com/61615963463158. To learn more about the conference and its sessions, please visit: http://web.usca.edu/distance-learning/professional-development/2016-ndlw-virtual-conference.dot.

On Monday, 9/26, Dr. Amanda Barefield and I had a successful trip to the Board of Regents, in Atlanta. We were invited there to speak about our competency-based evaluation project. All the other presenters mentioned the crucial role that their instructional designers play in the success of their CBE endeavors. It was a joy to […]

HealthTrails Challenge kicks off Monday 9/26; President Keel to lead Summerville walk Looking for an excuse to take control of your health and fitness? Register for the 8-week HealthTrails Challenge, where you can log your steps, sleep and produce consumption while learning about new places. If you’re a university employee who receives benefits, register at […]

Open Education Week, coordinated by the global Open Education Consortium, has opened its 2017 Call for Participation. Open Education Week will take place later in March than previous weeks, from March 27-31, 2017. Affordable Learning Georgia is planning on participating in Open Education Week for its third year in a row with events and materials. […]

CALL FOR PROPOSALS –> Submission Deadline:  Monday, November 4, 2016 The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is pleased to announce the 2017 Annual Conference Call for Proposals. Proposals are now being accepted based on the conference theme, USDLA: 30 Years of Driving Excellence in Distance Learning.

After a long absence due to my husband’s life-threatening illness, I am back at work. Thankfully, my husband is doing well. Let me know how I can help you!

On September 24, come out to help make a difference in our community. Details at http://dayofservice.augusta.edu/.

Echoing an important message from IT, in case you missed it: Apple released the iOS 9.3.5 software update last Thursday to address a newly discovered security vulnerability.  Please update your personal iPhones, iPads and iPods as soon as possible so that you are fully protected against the threat. To complete the update, go to Settings […]

D2L’s Continuous Delivery monthly update has completed and here are the release notes. Virtual Classroom YouSeeU – Instructor Guide Brightspace Help 10.6.4 for Instructors (August 2016).

You’ve probably heard this from various sources but we are kicking off Spirit Fridays today, August 19th. Show your school spirit by wearing Jag gear. Read more here. Today, before I got my AUG t-shirt, I proudly put on Augusta’s colors — blue and grey!

I am honored to share that leadership from the University System of Georgia has personally invited Dr. Amanda Barefield and I to participate in a discuss & share session in Atlanta next month focused on competency-based education and eLearning. This relates to work Dr. Barefield and I are doing on the Health Information Administration project. […]

Is cupping a cutting-edge cure for muscle strain?

Passing on communication from the conference organizers. Prices increase next week Incorporating technology into your teaching involves much more than simply learning how to use a specific piece of software. It’s about exploring the relationship between technology and pedagogy—starting with what you want your students to know and be able to do and how technology […]

The July continuous release version of Brightspace by D2l is now running. To see what is new, please refer to the update notes.

The web addresses for the D2L systems have been updated and are available effective immediately, as follows: Students: http://lms.augusta.edu Employees: http://train.augusta.edu Leadership Academy: http://leadership-academy.augusta.edu Continuing Education: http://ce.augusta.edu The old addresses will continue to function for a brief transition period, however they will stop working in the near future. If you have created browser shortcuts or […]

Pounce is temporarily down for maintenance from 2 pm today (6/30) to 8 am tomorrow (7/1).

Echoing an important message from our IT team, in case you missed it: Effective immediately, the Summerville IT Help Desk and ECT Center services are moving to the Reese Library. Visitors looking for IT assistance or to check out or return equipment should visit the information desk on the first floor of the Reese Library. […]

Dear all, After a successful business trip to China, Japan, and the Distance Learning Administration conference, I am back in Augusta and will resume work next week. I am in process of putting a small photo album together for you; please stay tuned! In the mean time, here is a photo at the Great Wall […]

The site just hit 1000+ visitors. Wow! Thank you Augusta University for your support and hope you enjoyed the 4000+ pages you accessed on my site!

I am traveling to Asia on business and will return end of June. See more details.