Barry Dahl dot com

I leave April 2, 2010 for an exciting adventure to the United Arab Emirates. I’ll fly from Duluth to Dubai arriving on Saturday at 7:25 PM Dubai Time (GMT +4 hours). That looks like a bit more than 19 hours of travel time with plane changes in both Chicago and Washington, D.C.  I will be picked up in Dubai and driven by car for about 1.5 hours to reach the coastal city of Fajairah on the Gulf of Oman.

A friend of mine is now the Director (think President) of the Fujairah Colleges in the Emirate of Fujairah. We got to know each other when he worked for several years at Minnesota State University Mankato. He went to the UAE a few years ago and is now Director of both the Fujairah Women’s College and the Fujairah Men’s College.

They are bringing me to their colleges to provide a week-long series of workshops related to teaching with technology, Web 2.0, e-Learning, and other things related to technology in education. Their work/school week runs from Sunday through Thursday so I will hit the ground running (hopefully) on Sunday morning with the first workshop.

I’ve never been to this part of the world and am very excited about the whole trip. I hope to post several times from over there to share some of the things I’m learning about and some of the people I meet.

RUMOR MILL SQUELCHING: due to our recent budget cuts and the incessant rumor mill about who is doing what and why, let me clarify a few things about this trip.

• This is not a personal trip. I am going in my official capacity as V.P. of Technology and e-Campus at Lake Superior College. I receive my normal salary for this week, with no extra nor lesser compensation.
• The speaking fees for the workshops are all payable to Lake Superior College. The college will receive fees equal to roughly double my weekly salary.
• All travel expenses are being paid directly by the Fujairah Colleges.
• Any personal costs incurred while traveling are my own.

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