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

Mitchell, Yes, role of supplementing the f2f is demonstrating some very good results in some bodies of research. It seems to have a solid future for that use. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Mitchell, Yes, 35 seems to be the top end for most. It seems most instructors feel the optimum is 20-25. Thank you for your input. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dr. Gilbertson, I agree that the bottom line is to meet the objectives of the class and the faculty must provide opportunity for all students to be successful. Thank you for your contributions. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dr. Thomas, Yes, the higher level courses do seem to lend themselves better to the current online environments. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
James, Yes, the future is sure to change significantly in ways we probably cannot accurately predict today. The immediate challenge for online instructional quality is a tall order. Thank you for your insights. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Garry, Well stated. Your projection seems very reasonable as a likely scenario. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Garry, I think your identification of the inverse relationship between culture and technology is all too true. Good point about the probable extinction of delineation between f2f and online. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Garry, Your point about professional distance is well founded. We will actually be harming our students by inadvertently reinforcing behavior that will be very detrimental in the professional setting. Some say may say, "Well they won't do that in the work place." However, if we train them in a manner where the inappropriate behavior gets the results they desire, that behavior will be their first inclination and they will have to overcome the training we gave them. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Shelley, You 'expectations' post is very thorough and well founded. To address the "expected grade" issue; my respnse is direct and desinged to discount the drama: "The money you paid was for the access to the resources, of which I am one, to build your education. What you produce with these resources will determine your grade. The grade is based on the performance and/or product produced. If you go to the hardware store and buy (get access to) all of the tools and parts to build a house, the building inspector is not going to 'pass' you on the inspection… >>>

Rebekah, Excellent enlistment of the student into the 'meat' of the content with a high level of real-world relevance. Very nice. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

End of Content

End of Content