Celebrate My PA's 100th Post!

I just wrapped up COMM 5610 at the University of Utah. What a ride. I can't tell you too much about the class without violating OpSec (and student privacy), but I can render an overall verdict of...GUILTY! Or innocent. Whichever one means the class was great.

But what does that have to do with "a teacher's education in the Army?" you ask. You can't hold me to that title forever, I say. But in this case, it actually relates.

One of the themes of this blog has been teaching and learning, both in the civilian classroom and in Army training programs, particularly where the two overlap. But if you have read even three Teaching and Learning posts, you'll know that most of my stuff has to do with high school, not college learners. This is a whole new rodeo for me.

So I'm going to be giving it some good thought. But one that can't escape me is the need for clear objectives. When we're talking politics, war, or any subject offered at this fine university, it's imperative to be clear on objectives. What is the intended outcome? I'm sure my students will agree that I need to work on that part.

A few highlights:

• We had a  major general visit the class. There aren't many of those around, so we were pretty fortunate. 
• We also had a retired major and an active major teleconference in. I need to get other branches. 
• My students are writing about some really cool topics for their final papers, including network-centric war, SDI, drones, social media use during conflict, and the greening of the US Navy. More on those topics later. 

So this is the hardest post I have written. I feel a little like Tim Brown at his 99th touchdown reception. Waiting for the Hall of Game guaranteeing 100th must have been nerve racking. Now I know exactly how it feels to finally get there.