In a recent blog post, titled “Let’s Not Romanticize 2019”, I found an interesting reflection shedding light on how the tenets of online education can positively impact face-to-face teaching practices and how the experience of the last two years can help us improve our connection and engagement with online learners. This discussion reminded me of one I just … [Read more...] about Online teacher training for the Caribbean: Talking to Paul Blackman
Stella Porto
Stella Porto is a Learning and Knowledge Management specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington, DC. Prior to IDB, Stella was the Program Director of the Master of Distance Education & E-Learning (MDE) at University of Maryland University College, having also had other leadership roles since she joined UMUC in early 2001. Earlier in her career, Stella was Professor in Computer Science at Universidade Federal Fluminense in Brazil. Stella received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, then obtained Master's and Doctoral degrees in Informatics in 1991 and 1995, respectively, from the same institution. In 2008, she also added the MDE to her academic background. Her interest areas include educational technology, learning design, e-learning methodologies and related topics. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellaporto/)
Online education for the Caribbean’s educators
As I learned about Veola Stewart’s story one week after the unprecedented destruction by hurricane Dorian, I was reminded of how distance education started out as a necessity, and not just a convenience. “I am a product of online education”, says Veola. A few years ago, she was a teacher in a rural area in her home country of The Bahamas. Online education enabled her to … [Read more...] about Online education for the Caribbean’s educators
Online learning: the next frontier for education in the Caribbean?
Within an international context, distance education for many decades was considered as the mode of learning devoted exclusively to the so-called non-traditional student. This was part of a group seen as a minority, which for various reasons — geographical distances, financial barriers or lack of time — was not able to attain what was considered ‘normal’ education. Through … [Read more...] about Online learning: the next frontier for education in the Caribbean?