Introduction Assignment

[Kelly Crawford-Jones]

Hi everyone. I am Kelly Crawford-Jones; joining you late this week as
I have been in Phoenix, Arizona at a conference for respiratory
therapy educators. We were so lucky to have mild weather there for
this time of year....102 dgrees.

My job position is director of the respiratory therapist program at
Illinois Central College. Our program is expanding and growing in
response to a high level of need for respiratory therapists in the
Peoria area and nationwide. The U.S. Department of Labor has slated
respiratory therapy as one of the fastest growing professions in the
country. I serve our national society for respiratory therapist: www.aarc.org
as an Illinois delegate and I was recently appointed to an ad hoc
committee to investigate how the society can serve the students in
this country. Part of the investigation involves looking at the
technology that may enhance student involvement such as blogs,
listserves, and e-learning websites. YIKES!

I love technology and teach online. All my face-to-face courses are
"hybridized" with BlackBoard. I feel that through the use of
technology I am better able to engage both the advanced and remedial
learners. I am amazed at how fast the technology is advancing and feel
that I could lose so much by just turning my back for just a short
moment. That is the reason why I am in this class; to try to stay
afloat!

I am married and have one son. He is a sophomore in college studying
multimedia. He is a very talented photographer and only uses a Mac
computer for his work. My husband and I keep busy in an organic garden
and are vegetarians. It is our way of relaxing and staying connected
to the Earth. Also in our family is a sixteen-year-old dachshund named
RoseAnne. She is the "queen" of our household, of course!

I look forward to this class and to getting to know all of you.

[Gill]

HI, Kelly. This is Gill replying to you -- it's a pleasure to meet
you.
I am also in Illinois, though I think that Evanston is a little
further north than you are.
It is interesting that you are a respiratory therapist -- I have great
respect for your profession, since my husband,
a pediatric allergist, finds respiratory therapists an indispensable
help to making kids better.
I am also looking forward to using all these great tools to spark
interest in my students, and to get them thinking in innovative new
directions.


On Jul 17, 7:09 pm, Kelly Crawford-Jones <kcrawfordjo...@icc.edu>
wrote: