Hybrid Education

With the advent of online classes, there will be new opportunities for hybrid education. No longer just a choice of traditional classroom versus online classes, colleges will be able to offer hybrid courses.

If a professor posts lectures as videos, students can view them when they want, pause to review important points, and discuss the lecture with other students either in person or electronically. Then the student can came to the university for seminars where in-depth discussion and analysis takes place on the content of the lectures. This has the benefit of allowing more students to attend less expensively, and focus the university resources on dialogue and teacher/student interaction. This could be a win-win.

The World of Bureaucracy

I’m always amazed at the lack of common sense that can be perpetuated in bureaucracies and businesses. I happened to hear a story told by a speaker on television that really illustrated the point.

A delivery company had been experiencing a high incidence of thefts. A clever manager decided that it would be worthwhile to have a second person ride shotgun in the delivery trucks. This policy was instigated, and the thefts dropped to nearly zero.

Everything was fine until a financial type got into the act. This bureaucrat questioned why money was being paid for a second person to be in the truck when there was practically no theft.

Duh.

Pikes Peak Writers Conference

I’m very loyal to writers’ conferences. Having attended my first one in 2002, I’ve found they have served me well as a means to learn how to improve my craft of writing, how to pitch to agents and editors, and how to promote my books. I sold my first novel, Retirement Homes Are Murder, as a result of a pitch session at a writers’ conference in 2005.

This year, I’ll be on the faculty of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference at the Colorado Springs Marriott, April 24-26, teaching three workshops. This coming Saturday, February 14, I’ll be participating in a preview event called “Write Your Heart Out” from 1-5 PM at the same location. My presentation is titled, “Avoid Dejection from Rejection” and previews the workshop I’ll be teaching in April on “Rejection Is Not a Four Letter Word.”

The Lip Balm Syndrome

We’ve all had experiences beating out head against a wall over and over. Or as stated by Albert Einstein, “Insanity—doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” I recently experienced this with what I call the lip balm syndrome.

Here’s what happened. I reached for a lip balm to open it. I wasn’t looking at it but tried to pull the cap off. It wouldn’t budge. I tried harder, applying more pressure. No result. Finally, I had the inpiration to look at the cussed thing. I was trying to open the wrong end.

The lesson: rather than doing the same thing over and over, try something different like using the senses I had been given