James Jackson

Location: chicago, il

About me

James is the Senior Associate at JAJ & Associates, Adjunct Faculty and eLearning Consultant at MaxKnowledge and member of the Board of Advisors of Dream Catchers Global. James was the Associate Provost of Faculty Development, President of the Online Division at Harrison College and the Director for the Center of Technology Resources for Indiana Business College. Because of his extensive background in technology and his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for assisting aspiring business owners, James has provided his leadership/project management skills in many start-up operations mentoring dozens of young leaders over his career. All providing great growth opportunities for his stakeholders.

James has developed more than 50 courses and dozens of programs in the areas of technology, business, progress management and general education. James has been an instructor for more than 15 years during which time he provided training to over 500 trainers and more than 5000 students. His academic background includes a Masters of Education in Occupational Training and Development and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in Higher Education Administration emphasis on Strategic Enrollment Management. James enjoys working with students and assisting them through complex concepts which he is able to turn into easy to understand and usable skills.

A full profile of my professional career is available on LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesajacksonjr

Connect with me on LinkedIn and here in the Lounge.

Interests

my family, golf, tennis, swimming, and participating in youth sports.

Skills

faculty development, elearning, program and curriculum development, project management, business analysis and technology integration

Activity

James Jackson

Blog Comment

Freshman Retention Through Experiential Learning

Lisa what a great post and this topic fits in well with another critical tool that all career college students need to learn well, LinkedIn.

Students need to begin the process of building their professional network as early as possible. Waiting until a few months before graduation is way too late. If your institution is not formerly training students on the powers of LinkedIn I would like to offer a low cost solution offered by one of my colleagues Ron Nash and his Leveraging LinkedIn course by Ed2Go.

http://www.ed2go.com/online-courses/linkedin-introduction?tab=detail

Every college student regardless of type of institution should begin building… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Traits of Successful Instructors

Susan, great concept. Learning can and should be fun. There are times that will be more intense than others but the passion of the subject matter should always play a key role. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Traits of Successful Instructors

Dave, good post and preparation is critical not just a recommendation. We ask our students to come to class prepared so why would we expect anything less from ourselves? We are to set the example and to lead by example so arriving to class on time and fully prepared is key to what our students take away from their time with us. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Traits of Successful Instructors

Evelyn, great post. Also true is the converse of your statement in that students can easily spot the instructor that is not passionate about their subject matter and such situations can be very demotivating to students. If an instructor lacks the passion for their students and their subject matter, they should find a new profession. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Traits of Successful Instructors

Sandra, treating each student as an individual is a complicated concept for some but so true. For some students the only positive role model in their life may be their instructor. For this reason along instructors should get to know their students and work to understand what positive motivators influence them and their desire to be successful. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Cassandra, thanks for sharing such a heart felt story. I think the majority of our instructors have had similar experiences and this is what keeps them in the industry of teaching and learning. This is also a deep rooted focal point of understanding the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The more we can assist your students in understanding the importance of intrinsic motivation and more successful they will become. The majority of individuals work to be compensated and to have the ability to support their families. Those that are able to be compensated doing something they truly love are… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Amy, you answered your perceived question within your response. What do you tell your students do to when they do not know something? You should be working to make them feel comfortable to ask questions. Why do we as instructors feel we need to follow any different methodology? We do not! If you want to know how your students feel about how you are teaching or how you are doing as an instructor, ASK! You may be surprised how well the conversation goes. I have an assignment for you - Get a dialog going with your students and ask them… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Karen, great post and you are 100% on the money. The importance of what takes place during the first encounter of any new grouping of students or the introduction into a new major topic cannot be overly emphasized. Setting the stage and building a proper road map to success is essential in the learning environments of today. Students have too many distractions and can taken on too many tangents. The role the instructor plays in building the blue print to success is essential and critical. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Angel, your post reminds me of the importance and application of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Instructors need to be familiar with how their lesson plans map to the areas of Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analysing, Evaluating, and Creating. By knowing to what level your students need to have mastery of the subject matter you can more appropriately map out the analogies and examples that are most appropriate for students. Too often you will see an instructor applying their own sense of master of what a student needs and focusing on an Analysis level lesson plan when a more appropriate level of… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Fear Factor with Tests

Melissa, good for you in understanding that using notes is also a skill that needs to be incorporated into teaching and learning. There is a time and place for all forms of assessment and teaching students the importance of using reference materials is also critical to them mastering a new concept or subject area. Thanks for sharing. James Jackson

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