Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

About me

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the College of Health Care Professions based in Houston, Texas. Prior to this post he worked as an e-Learning consultant for companies across the USA. His primary research focus over the past four years has been the development of online learning Engagement Metrics. Dr. Vaillancourt’s 27 years of service in education includes multiple levels of experience in both private and public educational institutions. His professional positions include Online Campus President for Virginia College, National Dean of ITT's Online Division, Director of Education for Ultimate Medical Academy, President of a two-campus allied health college in Utah, Certified Cisco Academy Instructor, Master Certified Novell Instructor, and K-12 public school science teacher.

Dr. Vaillancourt’s BS and MS in Education were earned from Samford University in 1983 and 1989, respectively. He completed his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in May 2004. Dr. Vaillancourt designed, founded and chaired the non-profit National Math Bee (2006-2011), which provided an online learning community for over 15,000 elementary school mathematics students in 37 states across the country.  He was a US Army soldier prior to his career in education.

Activity

Dr. Michael, Your experience is very common among online university instructors. Do you agree that the 30-35:1 is the optimal ratio? Would there be any advantage to handling the 100 student in four groups of 25 for discussions, open chat sessions and other full-group activities to allow all participants more access in those 'total class' activities? Some instructors have expressed the mid-twenty sized groups as being more productive for these 'learning community' activities. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Francisco, That does sound like you went through some challenges. You are right on target that even though students sign-up for online, some may not even own a computer or be proficient in using one. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dr. Michael, Yes, in a 5-week class the daily approach is best. But I do understand. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Sandra, There are very many that do precisely that. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Nicholas, Very good encouragement. Your explanation of the purpose and use of the discussion is very good, also. Nice work. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Brian, Very good. This is a solid approach. Thank you for sharing your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Scott, Excellent example. These are very universal for solving most types of problems. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Brian, Yes, the individualized outreach has been demonstrated as the most effective with these. However, the numbers of these students within the assigned classes sometimes makes it feasibly very difficult. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Brian, This is very appropriate, even exemplary, implementation of the DB. Thanks for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Avis, Very sound advice. These are the major means by which many online instructors assist the individual student. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

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