STUCK IN THE MUD...

Stuck in the mud…

I just had a conversation with a colleague who just doesn’t get it. The world is changing. Life is dynamic. We are living organisms in constant flux. Everything around us in fact and theory is in some kind of constant chaos all the way down to the molecular level and even smaller. Thus for better or worse, nothing stays the same. If things are left alone, do they stay the same? No, they deteriorate, somthings quicker than others.

Why are people so afraid of change? Too many reasons to list here, and I can think of hundreds myself, but I’d rather skip that and move on for now. A year or two ago, I read the book “Who moved my cheese” by Spencer Johnson. This book is a must read for anyone stuck on the couch. It is funny, a quick read and life changing.

Now I don’t want change for the sake of change. I know a manager who reacts that way. And more than creating change, I just want to be aware that it is happening around me, and not be oblivious to it. I also don’t want to just react to change, I want to be influential when appropriate and accepting when someone else has a better idea.

I chose this typeface or font on purpose for this blog. It is “ELEPHANT,” …because I don’t want to be an elephant stuck in the mud, unwilling and unable to change for the better.

A SYSTEMS APPROACH... (based on a posting I wrote for one of my grad. classes at Capella U.)

A SYSTEMS APPROACH: to distance education and…


I grew up flying planes and sailing sailboats. What am I doing now? Sitting behind a computer typing. Oh what happened to the good-old-days? Responsibility is the evil word. Responsibility costs time and money, so I have to be an armchair pilot (just for now) and sail on occasion. What does this have to do with systems and distance education? Everything. Sailboats and airplanes run on systems. Distance education is facilitated through a system involving content developers, instructional designers, web designers, learning management systems, administrators, staff, instructors and learners. That is one big interdependent system!

An airplane no matter how big or small, or complex or simple must work as a system. Airplanes are built with multiple systems that back each other up if there is some type of electronic, mechanical or human failure. A sailboat is less comprehensive, but has systems to control the sails to harness the wind. Also, the crew on a sailboat must work together as an interdependent team, thus a systems approach.

A distance education university, program, or class cannot operate successfully outside the system. Each part is dependent on the other and dependent on them all working synergistically. If the LMS is down, the class is down, if the instructor is out, the class is down, if the techs are out sick, the class could be sinking without life jackets.

Thus, the more we realize how interdependent these parts and pieces are, the better distance education will become.

Could this apply to everyday life also?


Moore, M., & Kearsley, G. (2005). Distance education: A systems view (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN: 0534506887.