First I would like to thank CC for the lovely introduction! Also, she has been very generous with her time in that she has agreed to be interviewed more than once. She cleverly set up a chat room for us to use – which was alot of fun!

Adding to the introduction already given by Allison, CC was born at Camp LeJeune, NC which is an area I know well. Although she has a lot of family in Massachusetts, she has been living in Green Bay for the last 20 years – so we agreed that she is practically from there. She was named after her grandmothers Clelia and Cornelia, and to avoid offending either she was given both of their names as her first name.

She teaches ELL students at the high school level during the school year and at St. Norbert’s college during the summer. Her goal with online learning is to make education public and free to everyone, an idea that is revolutionary with many of her current students. From a practical standpoint, teaching online would allow her the flexibility to move often without changing jobs. Her husband travels quite a bit, and she would like to be able to join him.

Although CC doesn’t have a particular favorite among technology tools, she is experimenting with Google Docs. She also likes that her son is able to take advantage of web-based technology offered at his school to learn a second language via Rosetta Stone.

I enjoyed chatting with CC, and am looking forward to many more conversations.

Thanks,

Sherri (Milwaukee, WI)

AND in a different format:

I am pleased to introduce Clelia-Cornelia O’malley, who also goes by C-C.

C-C has a very diverse background. She has been teaching English Language Learners at the PK-12/college level for about 20 years. Prior to that, I she was an EMT, translator, food service manager, line cook, day care center worker.  “Anything to pay the bills”, she told me.

C-C is certainly bold. She tells me she has no formal training with computers, and no innate talent, but is willing to try anything.   C-C chose this course because  it is part of a series that allows her to be certified as an online instructor.   She notes, “ I’ve taken a bunch of in-service trainings and free courses on this and tried to do online teaching, but there’s no substitute for purposeful training, I’ve found   I chose the university, because when I googled for programs like this, I liked the credentials described for the program and its thoroughness. The classes offered in-depth training for the different pieces I have been struggling with.  Also, I know UW-Stout has a good reputation. Also, it was fast and cheap. I wish there was one more course in the series on hardware and software issues.”

(C-C – interestingly, I followed the same line of inquiry in selecting this program, and, for the same reasons!)

C- C has some course expectations.  “As a teacher, I’ve had a lot of training in assessment, but I don’t ‘get’ how to transfer this to online classes. I need the tools to be able to assess project-based learning in a virtual environment.”

I asked C-C to tell me one thing we might never have guessed about you. Goodness, C-C has five children and eight grandchildren.  And, her family and garden are those special people and things that she would never want to give up. (C-C, I sure share that last sentiment with you as well!)

Regards, Allison, Washington State