Editor: Welcome, Kathy! For starters, can you tell us how you came to
OnlineLearning.net and if this is your first time teaching in the online
classroom?
Kathy Gilroy: I've taught in the UCLA program for 2 years. I became an online instructor after I'd completed a masters level program through the University of Phoenix
Online.
Ed: Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to work in the Human Resources field.
KG: I have both an undergraduate and graduate education in social work, a professional field that I found trying. The skills that I learned in social
work school - process interviewing, using group processes to reach individual
goals, and community organization - were very transferable to corporate human
resource work at a time when the field was becoming professionalized.
Ed: You are teaching two courses simultaneously - "Elements of Human
Resources Management" and "Design, Implementation, and Administration of
Employee Compensation Programs." What challenges come up for you in teaching
two distinct and substantive courses at the same time?
KG: My courses emphasize the exchange of ideas so that we can all learn from each other. I encourage a lot of discussion, and I need to devote time to read
responses every day.
Ed: Who are your students, and what kinds of professional backgrounds do they bring to the online classroom?
KG: Classes include people starting out in HR, people who are thinking about entering the field, people who are very experienced who are looking for a way
to polish their skills, and, occasionally, students who need some course
credits. Since anyone who's ever worked has been involved in human resources
from one side of the desk or the other, everyone can relate to the
information presented in the courses and add different points of view and
experiences to our discussions.
Ed: What are some of the challenges that HR professionals face with the
continuing growth of technology in the business world?
KG: Just finding people to fill technical jobs is currently the biggest
challenge. Because technical professionals are so difficult to hire, many
organizations are becoming more creative in the way that IT employees are
paid and in the way that they're expected to work. This creativity in
structuring pay programs, telecommuting, flexible work schedules, and
services to employees is impacting the work conditions and pay for all
workers.
Ed: You live in Massachusetts, a long distance from the West Coast where OnlineLearning.net is based - do you need to adapt your schedule at all to
meet the time difference, or do you find that the online environment
dissolves those boundaries?
KG:The great strength of distance learning is its flexibility. There is never an occasion in my classes that everyone in class needs to be online at the
same time, since that would defeat the purpose of flexibility.
Since most classes include people from all over the world, we do sometimes
need to choose one time standard. All of our time requirements are based on
EST/EDT, which is my time.
Ed: Is there anything about teaching online that you didn’t expect to find, or that has surprised you? Anything you really love or perhaps find
difficult to manage about the online classroom?
KG: Since I had completed an online program, there really haven't been any surprises. One of the real strengths of distance learning, I think, is the interaction of class participants with people with different backgrounds, experiences,
and points of view. On ground classrooms tend, because they draw
participants from the same geographic area, to be much more homogenous.
Ed: Thank you, Kathy! One last question - when you’re not working or
teaching online, what kinds of things do you like to do in your spare time?
KG: I have a full time job, teach two classes, own a house, and have a family. In my spare time I catch up on my sleep. :-)
