Amy Hale: Academic Mercenary

I have all sorts of students taking my classes, and I probably I have a much greater variety in my student body than traditional classroom professors.  Because of the flexibility and wide access of online courses,  I teach a lot of working single parents, young mothers, older students who are retraining, and active military.  I have taught students while they are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan! My students take my courses from Navy ships and correctional facitilites. When I run into resistance about the efficacy of online learning, and I do, I tell people about the ways in which online classes can reach people who might never be able to set foot in a classroom.  I take a lot of pride in helping my students to make the life transitions that my courses frequently signal for them. I especially like knowing that I am helping to give my students a chance they may otherwise never have had.