Welcome Message from The Author

Hello!

I would like to be among the first to welcome you to this course, Digital Leadership Development. The focus of my teaching and scholarship has been on the interaction between learner and technology in diverse adult learning environments. I teach and conduct research studies on digital leadership development, online learning design, immersive learning, mobile learning, learning analytics, social media, cross-cultural and comparative education, and global learning mobility, to name a few. If you want to know more about me, click on the learning activities tab above and look for links to my self-introduction posts.

As background you might like to know that this course has been offered fully online since Summer 2020. Because Digital Leadership (DL) is a new but rapidly growing area, I have been constantly updating course materials so that students enrolled in this class can stay on the front edge of development trend. One major challenge of doing so is to find the right textbook that not only provides foundational knowledge on the topic but also provides the flexibility for me to add additional materials to reflect most recent changes and connect to real-world digital leadership development examples. I find this process very challenging because most of the textbooks related to educational leadership development focus mainly on traditional leadership development with little to no mention of technology when technology is playing such an important role in today’s leadership in any education and training contexts. Those that do cover technology introduce technology as a simple ADD-ON to existing leadership practices when technology is already infused throughout all aspects of our lives and work. In addition, most textbooks come with their own frameworks, which makes it hard for me to find a good place to plug in the readings on current digital leadership development.

Therefore, I’ve decided to participate in K-State’s Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative (OATI) to develop my own framework and reading packages. Another major benefit of my participation in OATI is that you do not need to spend money on commercial textbooks anymore. This is one of the main reasons why many of us want to integrate technology into adult learning curriculum – To make learning affordable.

Now as you begin your course, I want to emphasis the importance of entering into the spirit of this as a PARTICIPANT. This is not the kind of course in which I try to pour information into you, but it is a course providing a structure and support for you to enter into an active dialogue with other experienced adults who have common learning goals but who bring an enormous wealth of knowledge to share.  So, share, participate, and also, ENJOY this learning journey.

Happy learning!

Dr. Haijun Kang