Bab al-Asbat or Bab Sitna Maryam (Lion's Gate)

We visited the old city again today since Friday we have the day off. In the old city of Jerusalem you will never be bored. From Suq al-Atareen (the Apothecaries' or Perfumers' Market) to Bab al-Asbat (referring to the grandchildren of Biblical Jacob) or Sitna Maryam (Lion's Gate), there is always something going on.

Bab al-Asbat, and to the East, the Mount of Olives...

Day three at BZU

Here I am at nearly at the end of day three on the job. Our holidays here are Friday and Sunday, so I'll be off tomorrow.

So far I have presented a short demonstration of the functionality in Desire2Learn, the learning management system (LMS) that we use at Minnesota State University, Mankato. In addition I have started to plan several other projects. It seems that much of my work will be to consult on professional communication strategies. The Unit for Learning Innovation (ULI) which is a part of the larger Center for Continuing Education at the university, conducts numerous "e-enabled" (also known as hybrid or blended courses because they use both F2F and online teaching)for NGOs and other organizations in the Palestinian community. The ULI is also working with academic departments at the university to explore "e-enabled" academic courses. Interestingly, the Ministry of Higher Education here in Palestine limits the percentage of online course material that a student can take for an accredited degree. Clearly, this is a factor that the ULI and other online learning advocates must take into account. A second part of my work is to publish on the subject of online learning in Palestinian institutions of higher education. I am in the process of pursuing this goal also. I have written to tcworld, a publication of TEKOM in Stuttgart, Germany, to suggest an article and also have been accepted to present at paper at V International Conference on Multimedia and ICT in Education (m-ICTE2009), Lisbon (Portugal), 22-24 April 2009. The nice thing about the Lisbon conference is that we can participate online. What a concept!

I should also say that the work environment here at the ULI is quite informal and enjoyable. I look forward to work each day.

the first day at work went well

Well, first day at work went well. I enjoyed the informal atmosphere in the ULI. My colleagues are very friendly and helpful. So you know where I work...

First day at work

Today I had meetings at the U.S.Consulate and met the people there who administer Fulbright and other exchange programs.

I plan on leaving early tomorrow for my first day at the Unit for Learning Innovation (Center for Continuing Education) at Birzeit University. We'll be working on professional development, curriculum development, and publication about online learning at Palestinian universities. My technical communication/technical writing background will serve me well.

This morning (February 3) I met in Ramallah with Marwan Tarazi, the head of the CCE. Later I traveled to the campus in Birzeit village where I met the ULI staff and got settled in. Today I have been working on three small projects:

1. Project planning for my four month stay
2. Writing a document for the presentation I will do tomorrow about Desire2Learn
3. Planning for the types of short-courses I will create while I am here.

View photos of the campus and facts and figures.