From a Distance...

 
Online Newsletter for Arkansas Distance Learning

2009 ARDLA Conference Overview 
by Karen Liebhaber

Marty Watson is the Instructional Technology Specialist and Instructional Supervisor for the Dawson Center for Distance Learning.  She provides professional development on emerging technologies to Dawson’s teachers; troubleshoots technology issues; assists teachers with developing interactive content for their students; trains new distance learning teachers on equipment and software; and provides Pathwise mentorship for new teachers.  Just in case that’s not enough, she is also an adjunct professor of Instructional Technologies and Business Technology for blended and online courses at National Park Community College and Henderson State University.

Marty  grew up as a groomsmen’s daughter at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.  She and her family traveled around the country with the horse races; in fact, they traveled so frequently that in third grade,  Marty attended nine different schools!  Finally during high school, Marty and her family settled near Benton and she graduated from Benton High School in 1985. 

After high school, Marty attended Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge and earned a degree in vocal music performance.  She completed her BSE in Elementary Education in 1992 from Williams. In 1998, Marty completed course work at UALR for her M.Ed. in Instructional Resources and Technology, now known as Learning Systems Technologies in Education (LSTE).  Currently, she is pursuing the Ed.S. in Technology Management via distance from Henderson State University.  The program is articulated with the Ed.D. Educational Leadership program through University of Arkansas at Fayettville which she also hopes to complete.

Marty has been involved in ARDLA for many years and has served on several committees. This year she  serves on the conference committee.  Marty says, “The ARDLA conference has always been a favorite of mine.  It is a unique opportunity to meet and discuss emerging technologies with other instructional technologists who are also distance learning providers.  It’s also a great way to get know the vendors by name.  I wouldn’t trade my ARDLA friends for anyone!”

Marty first became interested in distance learning while completing her Master’s Degree in Instructional Technologies.  She felt that distance education could meet the needs for remediation and enrichment as well as provide educational opportunities for which would otherwise be unavailable. 

During her graduate work, Marty was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosos and was disabled for several years. When she began remission in 2001, she finished her graduate program and moved to Las Vegas upon her physician’s suggestion.  When she felt ready to return the work, her doctor in Las Vegas recommended that she start by volunteering part time, so she tried volunteering for nonprofit education agencies to address the homeless youth population in Vegas. 

Through this agency, she became involved in working with a consortium to establish a Nevada charter school to assist foster children in completing their secondary education program online.  Because many of these students were being sent from home to home, their educational opportunities were severely disrupted.  Marty was especially drawn to the program since she had traveled through many schools as a youth herself. 

The homeless youth were provided with services through an independent living organization.  They also had access to workforce education and on-the-job training through a neighborhood youth services group.  Marty’s training as an instructional technologist was being fully utilized.  She was offered a paid position with the workforce education program and then moved to Pahrump, Nevada, to administer the Nye County branch of the program.  In 2004, she returned to Arkansas because of a family emergency and began working with Dawson.

The Dawson pilot program began in 2005 with the assistance of the Arkansas Distance Learning Center in Maumelle.  It began with two schools, nine students, and one teacher.  As with any other distance learning position, Marty was a bit overwhelmed at first:  “I [would] actually placed a stuffed bear next to my camera with a t-shirt that said ‘My favorite student’ so that I would remember to make eye contact with the camera, not with the TV screen.”

Some of those students are now graduating college.   Marty loves when students drop by her classroom to say hello when they are on campus, but because her distance learning students had her email, many have kept in touch through the years and send everything from college graduation invitations to baby pictures.

Dawson now serves over 1300 students with seven teachers who are career and technical educators and three foreign language instructors.  Because the demands for the Career and Technical Education and Foreign Language courses via distance learning have far surpassed the school’s capacity, Dawson will add more faculty members to meet the enrollment requests from Arkansas districts.

Because today’s students are often more technologically savvy than some of the best technologists, Marty spends a lot of time evaluating new software and means of delivering more interactive content to students.  As an instructor, she enjoys sharing multiple resources with students during class and knowing that the material is also available to them at night and on weekends. 

Marty is troubled knowing that secondary education is not freely available to many students in the world.  She believes that youth of the world should have the right to an education instead of having to walk through war zones and inconceivable dangers just to receive a high school diploma at great financial costs to their families.  She wants to be part of the effort to address the issue and she believes that distance education is the way to do it.  To Marty, “distance education is not just a career for me, it’s also my passion and vision.”

Marty’s current interest is meeting the first goal she ever sat for herself: a doctorate.  When she has the time to relax, she likes to sing.  Her favorite songs to sing are from Broadway or the Standards, Jazz, and the Blues.  She also enjoys singing gospel.

About the Author

Karen Powers Liebhaber is the Distance Education Coordinator, Blackboard and Moodle System Administrator, and an instructor of English and literature at Black River Technical College.  She earned a Master of Arts in English from Arkansas State University.  She lives in Pocahontas with her husband and two children.

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