July 2020

As Lamar University's Director for the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement, Amy Smith leads the way in creating innovative online courses while students learn at home during the pandemic.

In 2001, Kaye Shelton was one of 33 people in the United States to get her master’s degree in online learning, completely online. The accomplishment, achieved on a laptop from the bleachers of her three sons’ baseball games and between loads of laundry, making dinner for her family and consulting in the technology industry, ignited Kaye’s passion for online learning and teaching and positioned her to be a pioneer in the online educational space. Kaye then went on to pursue her Ph.D. From the comfort of her home, and as her husband drove her to see her sons play baseball all over the country (One son played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.)

For Melissa Baldo, the greatest challenge of teaching online during the pandemic has been missing face-to-face interactions with her students.