bhobgood's blog

Creating better citizens through online gaming?
Submitted by bhobgood on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 10:23I feel like I’m the only person on the planet who hasn’t participated in online gaming. My colleagues use acronyms and reference people and places as if there were real while I struggle to comprehend why all the fuss? I finally realized I began looking for something to save me from the darkness.

Foreign Language Learning: Developing cultural skills for online discussions
Submitted by bhobgood on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 13:51In the fall of 2007, I visited a rural, North Carolina high school with my colleague Ann Marie Gunter from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The purpose of our visit was to conduct a site visit of the implementation of an online Mandarin Chinese language course being offered for the first time. We spoke with three students who were enrolled in Level One of the course. Two of these students were partially motivated to take the course because they had already explored Japanese online, teaching themselves some of the language. When the opportunity to enroll in this cours

Online courses for Middle School Students: What does it mean for high school and higher ed?
Submitted by bhobgood on Mon, 01/19/2009 - 13:04I've been thinking a lot lately about how online courses taken by high school students will impact course offerings and general operations of colleges and universities. What happens when a high school student arrives at the university with enough credits to be a sophomore thanks to special programs in North Carolina like Learn and Earn? Are colleges and universities adjusting their offerings and capacity to meet the needs of these students?
