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From the futuristic exploits of science fiction to the primitive rhythm of the West African drum, a djembe, Bruce Niebuhr anticipates an old-fashioned jam session at the next TxDLA event.
"It is a wonderful instrument giving three distinct tones," Niebuhr said. "I have progressed enough that I now am part of the 5th Sunday Praise Band at my church, First Presbyterian in Galveston."
Bruce and wife, Ginny, live on the island where Ginny is a pediatric psychologist at UTMB. They have two sons, Chris, a wildlife diseases researcher in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Michael,
a rangeland ecology major at Texas A&M University at College Station. Bruce is an Elder of First Presbyterian Church, Galveston, and a Boy Scout leader. Bruce enjoys hiking, camping and backpacking, reading (mostly science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, and techno-thrillers), listening to music (with tastes ranging from blue grass to Philip Glass), and watching and analyzing movies (he has movie reviews published in the Internet Movie Database).
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....anyone
… anywhere … anytime
with Bruce Niebuhr!
The ashes of science fiction author Gene Rodenberry were scattered into the volumnous
vacuum of space. More recently, cremated remains of actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on Star Trek, was blasted into outer space. As an avid science fiction fan, Bruce Niebuhr also anticipates traveling vast distances for the advancement of distance learning.
"When we discover how to beat the speed of light (subspace radio) then DL will be instantaneous everywhere and everywhen," Niebuhr said.
For educators who might shy away from such a premise, Niebuhr quotes William Gladstone: "You cannot fight the future. Time is on our side."
In addition to his position as tenured Associate Professor in Physician Assistant Studies at the UTMB, Bruce is graduate faculty in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. Bruce’s wide range of teaching interests include research methods and statistics, computer applications, clinical problem solving, health promotion, patient interviewing and counseling, and ethics. His research interests are in computer-based instruction and distance learning and in hand strength assessment.
Through his involvement with the UT
TeleCampus, he foresees a flattening of the distance learning world.
 "With adoption of alternative tools (podcasts, Skype, Live Classroom, Breeze) either within or external to the content management system, I see the short-lived era of the monolithic CMS will be over in a very few years," Niebuhr said.
While presently collaborative and traditional teaching practices are at differing ends of pedagogy, Niebuhr sees the dichotomy between online and face-to-face courses disappearing.
"We have a continuum anchored on one end by online and the other end by face-to-face," Niebuhr said. "We will see more and more education between the extremes."
Not all teachers will embark for such 21st century models of education as traditional teaching maintains its role along side distance learning.
"My earlier comment on the continuum of teaching and learning gets to the heart of this," Niebuhr said. "Traditional teaching methods will stay with us because those methods will be best in some situations with some learners."
Students enrolled in online programs invest as much intellectual effort in their studies as those in campus-based classrooms, Niebuhr said. Perhaps the greater need for self-discipline in managing time and in pacing impedes productivity for the online learner.
"How many students in a face-to-face class can put off doing serious work for two to three weeks and expect to do well?" Niebuhr said.
If Niebuhr were to describe the ideal distance learning environment it would include high
bandwidth for synchronous audio/video and streaming; blogs, wikis and other resources for sharing products and discussion. As he continued to free associate, Niebuhr described "high-performance teams solving interesting real-world problems."
Contributed by Cheryl LaRue, North
Lamar ISD
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