Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

About me

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the College of Health Care Professions based in Houston, Texas. Prior to this post he worked as an e-Learning consultant for companies across the USA. His primary research focus over the past four years has been the development of online learning Engagement Metrics. Dr. Vaillancourt’s 27 years of service in education includes multiple levels of experience in both private and public educational institutions. His professional positions include Online Campus President for Virginia College, National Dean of ITT's Online Division, Director of Education for Ultimate Medical Academy, President of a two-campus allied health college in Utah, Certified Cisco Academy Instructor, Master Certified Novell Instructor, and K-12 public school science teacher.

Dr. Vaillancourt’s BS and MS in Education were earned from Samford University in 1983 and 1989, respectively. He completed his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in May 2004. Dr. Vaillancourt designed, founded and chaired the non-profit National Math Bee (2006-2011), which provided an online learning community for over 15,000 elementary school mathematics students in 37 states across the country.  He was a US Army soldier prior to his career in education.

Activity

Identify your preferred order of importance of the four categories of instructor credentials for assigning classes and provide rationale for your prioritization. a. Teaching experience b. Level of education c. On-the-job experience d. Industry licenses and/or certifications
Identify which of the two following clichés best describes your approach to details concerning online faculty management and explain your preference: "Don't sweat the small stuff" or "The difference between mediocre and magnificent is in the details."
What are some of the most important components of setting correct expectations for online faculty as they begin teaching for a postsecondary-level institution?
This module provides an example of a four-phase approach for online instructor orientation. Describe your orientation experience and how it compared/contrasted with the model presented. Do you have any ways you would improve the four-phase approach?
What are some advantages and disadvantages of an institution creating 'preferred credentials' and seeking to hire online faculty with credentials above the required standards?
What are some best practices you have used (or would use) to maximize the electronic networking tools available on the Web in locating high quality online faculty?

Consider the following posts to the discussion: Learner 1 post to Learner 2: "I feel that this course is very difficult, and I just don't get the concept. I am trying, but I can't see me passing and I am not good at failure." Learner 1 post to Learner 3: "I wish that I had the ideas running through my head that you do. Great post." Learner 1 post to Learner 4: "I read your post and I am afraid that I have gotten overwellmed. I am just hoping to get through this class. I came from another program and… >>>

Teaching a course online does not equate to the same responsibilities when teaching the same course in a traditional classroom setting. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
A learner has sent you an email challenging your choice of activities in the learning unit. He states that he doesn't believe that the discussion questions are relevant and the assignments are a complete waste of his time. How would you handle this learner?

Consider the two scenarios below and describe how you will communicate to each of these learners. Discuss the reasoning behind your feedback decisions. Scenario 1: Mike turns in a self-evaluation of his performance on an assignment that indicates that he thought he did an excellent job and met all of the criteria in the grading rubric. When you grade Mike's assignment, you see that he has not done as well as he thought he did. Describe how you will communicate with Mike regarding his performance in relationship to how he thought he did. Without providing the details of your feedback,… >>>

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