Montgomery College Professor Emily Rosado Named State’s Distance Educator of the Year

Montgomery College Professor Emily Rosado, in the Department of English at Montgomery College-Rockville, has been named the Individual of the Year in Higher Education by the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA).

Professor Rosado developed the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by a community college in Maryland. Attracting about 850 students from not only Montgomery County and the state of Maryland, the MOOC attracted students from across the country and world. Professor Rosado’s “Getting Ready for College English” MOOC helped students forge relationships that go beyond the classroom. Students in the course, offered this past fall, encouraged her to offer it again, which she will do in fall 2014.

“Professor Rosado’s foresight, boldness and determination to reach out to students from the county, state, country and international community who need help in preparing for college-level English is why she is deserving of the MDLA Individual of the Year Award,” said Dr. Michael Mills, director of the College’s Office of Distance Education and Learning Technologies and the former president of the MDLA. “She is viewed by her peers as someone who understands the need to engage students in order for them to be successful.”

Participants ranged from home schooled students, middle, high school, and college students, and working professionals hoping to improve their writing skills. Most importantly, Montgomery College’s MOOC provided access to course content that allowed students to get an early jump on preparing for college English. In addition, the content created for the MOOC is available to other Montgomery College faculty as open educational resources.

Professor Rosado has tackled other distance education initiatives at Montgomery College. She embraced the “Quality Matters” process at the College, having three courses go through successful QM reviews. One of those courses, “Critical Reading, Writing and Researching,” is an MC Common Course taught by a number of full-time and adjunct faculty members.

Professor Rosado is invested in professional development at Montgomery College, offering workshops to colleagues on implementing best practices in their online and blended classes and she has presented at numerous regional conferences regarding student engagement.

Professor Rosado was recognized for her achievements at the annual MDLA spring conference on March 6 at the Conference Center at The Maritime Institute in Baltimore.

Rosado was also selected as a finalist for an American Association of Community Colleges Faculty Innovation award. Winners will be announced at the 2014 Awards of Excellence ceremony Monday, April 7. 

For more information about the Maryland Distance Learning Association, visit http://www.marylanddla.org.

For Montgomery College’s Office of Distance Education and Learning Technologies, visit http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/distlrng.

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