Beyond Samarkand

I was an online student for 2 1/2 years at the University of Colorado, Denver. The first year was so frustrating that I nearly left off trying to do an online masters at all. After encouragement from my wife, I resumed the program and had some of the best learning experiences I've known. Despite being very literate in computers and their use the biggest difference between those two terms was understanding how to communicate online. This was a skill I took for granted coming from an IT background. I knew e-mail, I knew team meetings, I knew setting goals and priorities, I'd done it all before, etc, etc. The biggest shifts for me came in embracing the limitations of how I related to the teams and being much more careful in how I communicate in writing. Relating to teams for me was very difficult. Most of my peers in the first term were all in the same timezone and would only do team meetings in the evening their time. This was unworkable for me, coinciding precisely when I

January 2012 and wow. I'm starting a new masters program and finishing my first year in Abu Dhabi in about three months. As they say, time flies. I'm posting here because I need to for a class assignment. Hopefully this will get my fingers used to writing again and I can start new posts on this sadly neglected blog. In answer to a request, a photo for the blog as well! Shisha the cat, enjoying the window and the rain in Guimaraes, Portugal about a year and a half ago.