Does crisis stifle innovation?

This is more a question than an opinion. I have been thinking about this a great deal over the last few months. As California slowly edges toward what commentators seem to believe is certain financial ruin, I am struck by the lack of conversation about alternative means of running the state. We have the capacity to run a great deal of the day to day in government virtually, cutting down on the infrastructure needed to do common tasks such as register vehicles, pay bills, fill out forms, etc.. At some level wouldn't it make sense to reduce the amount of time that face to face transactions were made in government and move more of it to a virtual setting? I have puzzled over why this is such a leap. I'm sure that familiarity is a portion of the problem. In times of crisis might it be that we pull back to the familiar and take less risks with technologies and paradigms that have not been proven?

Maybe it is time for some real risk taking.

Transitioning to Blackboard 9 and training

Last Fall CSUB did a pilot of Moodlerooms as part of an investigation into alternative LMS systems once it was deemed that WebCT 4.1 (yes, 4.1) was no longer an option due to accessibilty issues. I was able to offer a course in Moodle for the first (and perhaps only) time. I have been familiar with Moodle for some time, since 2002 at least when I had it set up on a server at home and played with it extensively. The Fall semester was a great boon in that I was able to teach a course for K-12 teachers in using Moodle. I have been blessed in that a few have gone on to actually implement web enhanced and hybrid Moodle in their classrooms.

CSUB made the decision to go with Blackboard after the pilot. So now I must update my dated experiences with WebCT 4.1 to this new system. I am already familiar with the Blackboard from using it at different campuses, actually developing courses on it at one point, and last semester taking a real estate course in it.

I have decided it is time to take the Blackboard certification courses. Starting July 1st I'll be taking three courses in the Learning and Teaching certification track as well as in the advanced certification track. It will be the first professional development in this area I've done since 2007. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity. While I am not a Blackboard advocate particularly, in the same way I am not a Microsoft advocate though I hold four certificates there, it is the platform my university has standardized on and so is an area I must know as much as possible about. It will be an interesting experience. I will report back on anything remarkable as I go through.