For more than a year, Jane Markheim has been enrolled as a graduate student in the program of instructional systems with a major in open and distance learning offered at FSU. In this essay, she will discuss the topic of "connectedness" as an online student. Jane can be reached at jhm7025@garnet.acns.fsu.edu and welcomes your contact.

Jane, what are your feelings concerning "connectedness" to the IS program at FSU?

The Social Perspective

Let me ask you a question. What do all these have in common?

1. email messages from the WindJammer sailing ship
2. a roller coaster ride with a new Australian friend
3. dozens of long distance phone calls to Atlanta
4. FSU

The answer is the IS distance program of FSU! Allow me to explain.

During my first FSU distance course, one student sent his coursework via laptop from the WindJammer ship. James McDaniel (the 5th) was sailing off the coast of the West Indies; his contributions were rich and academically valid. As I read his Student Page--and the pages of all the other participants of the course--knew that I had entered a world of social connection like nothing I'd ever experienced. 

I find that building relationships with other ODDL students-the essence of connectedness-is easy. For me, online is a wonderfully respectful format for human communication. Maybe it begins because there is an absence of judgment based on physical attributes.

Perhaps the relationship builds because an online format affords a thoughtful and respectfully crafted reply. It's a daily treat to open the email box or discussion thread to find that nearly every day someone has made a contribution...a contribution that can possibly impact the way I view the world, if I let it. It's an open invitation to converse. Where else can you get that?

Then with certain people, the collegial bonds develop even more deeply. For example, a fellow FSU student and new friend, Deb, visited my city. We got together and had a blast riding a roller coaster and talking cognitive theory as we walked around a theme park! She is from Australia and a distance student in the same program. My dear friend Barry and I have racked up some long distance bills as we lament the corporate mockery of our discipline! I know I can call him anytime. This is connectedness.

The Academic Perspective

Being an intellectual sponge, I actually tingle when I ponder how FSU connects me to some of the leading authorities, experts, authors, and other wonderful human beings in the field of instructional systems. And the tremendous online resources at my fingertips, day or night, 365 days a year! This is a sponge's cerebral heaven.

The distance program keeps me academically in the loop. In no way do I feel a sense of isolation or slighted in any way to the strength and fullness of FSU. I am academically connected-- here's a great example. Take the Guest Speaker feature of a typical FSU IS online course. Someone like Dr. Marcy Driscoll with a remarkable industry reputation and brilliance galore personally addresses the student's questions and follow-up questions throughout the week. What face-to-face class affords such an opportunity?

I'm so proud when people ask me where I'm studying for my Masters. I put out my Noles flag for every game. I eagerly await my status as an FSU Alumnus. It doesn't take a physical classroom to instill this loyalty.

The Professional Perspective

My job is that of an eLearning Solutions manager within a Fortune 100 company in Florida. I'm required to stay on top of the game at work. Everyday I talk with internal business partners and clients, vendors, learners, and IS designers and other staff who have questions about technology-based learning and what it means to our organization.

FSU's IS curriculum blends a great balance of theory and practical application. This has really helped me create a solid foundation from which to make corporate decisions. Participation in the graduate program brings credibility to my recommendations.

I can't imagine doing my job without the IS program at FSU! It's my safe harbor, it's my research respite, it's my safety net, and it's my secret edge. Now THAT's a great connection!