Bio

Hello!  I consider myself an advocate for learning innovations in higher education.  My commitment to educational transformation drives the choices I make in my own career and the voices of my community college students keep me motivated.  I believe a college degree should be a right, not a privilege, and I identify significant opportunities in our digital landscape for increasing access to college degree attainment. I began teaching community college classes in 1999. In 2007, I was honored as with the Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching Award and a National Institute of Organizational Development (NISOD) Award for Teaching Excellence.  In 2009 my blog was recognized as the Best E-Learning Blog in the peer-nominated Edublog Awards.  In July 2010,  I was awarded a Sloan-C Effective Practice Award for my use of VoiceThread to foster community, enhance social presence and promote visual learning online.  My teaching philosophy is anchored in integrating collaborative, cloud-based applications and social media into the fabric of a student-centered learning experience.  I have presented my innovative course design -- which blends Blackboard, podcasting, VoiceThread and social networking -- at many national conferences and colleges and universities. My new book Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (Routledge) will be published in August 2012. In addition to teaching and writing, I consult for colleges and companies, and teach a 4-week online professional development class titled Building Online Community with Social Media. I'm excited to be part of this wondrous dialogue! Cheers,Michelle Twitter:  @brocansky