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Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Day-Long Workshops: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Mapping the Blend

This full day workshop session will engage participants in an in-depth overview of the blended learning landscape.  What are various models of blended learning that institutions have successfully implemented – at the course, program and institutional levels?  These include models for course design, blending online, f2f and blended courses for program delivery and models for institutional support such as faculty development.  Questions asked and addresses will include:  What is the current research on blended learning telling us?  What fundamental principles guide the development and delivery of blended learning – for blended courses and blended programs.  How do these differ from fully online and technology enhanced offerings?

Our morning will begin with an overview of blended models and fundamental principles from a panel of experienced leaders in the field of blended learning.  The information shared will address blended learning at the course, program, and institutional level.  Following the Q&A from the panel presentation, participants will divide into small groups based on their specified level of focus (course, program, institutional) and discuss their blended learning activities, identify issues and concerns and share with their small group successful strategies and challenges they’ve encountered.

After a lunch break, each of the small groups will share with the entire workshop a summary of their discussion.  These reports will be documented and consolidated into a full report for each participant.  Finally, the session will end with a facilitated full workshop discussion on next steps:  what do we still need to know and do to provide a comprehensive, effective map for the development and implementation of blended learning as a unique instructional modality.    

Leader: Mary Nieimiec, University of Illinois at Chicago, mniemiec@uic.edu         
Workshop Presenters and Group Leaders:
Tana Bishop, University of Maryland University College
Chuck Dziuban, University of Central Florida
Joel Hartman, University of Central Florida
Bob Kaleta, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Tony Picciano, City University of New York – Hunter College
George Otte, City University of New York
Karen Swan, Kent State University
Karen Vignare, Michigan State University

 

Morning Workshops: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Administrative Leadership Institute

As online learning enters its second decade, many institutions are realizing that online learning has the potential to transform the teaching and learning environment.  This half-day workshop is an opportunity to share ideas with colleagues from other institutions about leadership issues associated with fully institutionalizing the online learning innovation at our institutions.  While each institution is unique, we can learn much from the experiences of our colleagues.  The format is designed to foster discussion among participants, guided by the perspectives of senior leaders from the Sloan Consortium.  The organizers will survey participants prior to the conference to identify key questions in several broad leadership areas, including:

  • Governance – How to identify the institutional stakeholders and create an institutional vision for online learning and a governance process to guide institutionalization and long-term success.
  • Creating Community – How can online learning leaders create a change community within their institutions to ensure broad consultation and strategic thinking?
  • Support – Support for faculty and students is a critical success factor.  What functions need to be coordinated to ensure success?  What functions should be centralized and what functions should be distributed across academic units?
  • Leadership Style – What skills and attitudes will help leaders succeed in positioning online learning within their institutions?

Session coordinators:
Carmen Gonzales, Vice President for Student Success,  Dean of the College of Extended Learning, New Mexico State University, Gary E. Miller, executive director emeritus, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University
Anthony Picciano, professor, Graduate Program in Education Leadership, Hunter College, City University of New York

Cutting Edge Technologies Applications Getting a (second) Life – Emerging Environments in Online Learning

Enter the new (virtual) world of Online Learning!  Emerging environments such as Second Life are offering exciting new opportunities for three-dimensional, highly-interactive, and innovative online learning experiences.  In order to get the most out of this workshop, we encourage (and offer to assist) registered participants to create a personal avatar in Second Life prior to coming to Orlando.  International experts in educational applications of Second Life will join us during the workshop through their "in world" avatars to answer questions and lead our group through some of the most exciting simulations and learning sites around the virtual word.  Stops along our tour will include interactive experiences at a variety of college and university islands as well as some of the New Media Consortium hosted sites, including Sloan-C.  Participants will leave the session with their own virtual notecards filled with valuable information, virtual objects to use and share, lists of exemplar sites and coordinates for returning to those sites.  This workshop will continue for months and years to come as we anticipate collaborations among many of those who join us in this immersive day of exploration of the emerging future of online learning.

Leader: Ray Schroeder Schroeder.ray@uis.edu
Facilitators: Deborah Antoine (Vidorah Messmer), John Bourne (Milos Lundquist), Carrie Levin (Louise Lubitsch), Ray Schroeder (Ern Raymaker), Emily Welch (Filene Lusch)

Getting Started: An Open Forum

This interactive session is designed for newcomers to the Sloan C conference to learn about the Sloan C history, culture, pillars and future plans.  Facilitators will work with participants in making selections from among the many interesting concurrent sessions. Moore, McAlpin, Shelton and Ives will share the most important lessons learned in getting started in online learning, and you are invited to bring your questions or to email them to the facilitators.

Presenters: Janet Moore, Sloan-C, janet.moore@olin.edu, Valerie McAlpin, Executive Director, Online Learning, University of Maryland-College Park, vmcalpin@umd.edu, Kaye Shelton, Dean of Online Education for Dallas Baptist University, kaye@dbu.edu, and Kathleen Ives, Sloan-C, Kathleen.ives@sloan-c.org

Secrets of Success in Attracting High-Value Corporate Clients to Your e-Learning Programs

Presentations

An intensive workshop with presentations delivered by Fortune 500 corporate learning officers on education and training partnerships with universities.  You will learn about tools and techniques used by noted universities who collaborate successfully with industry clients.  You will join other participants and corporate executives in breakout sessions designed to simulate high-demand programs that meet industry objectives.  Afterwards, working groups will report on lessons learned.  This half-day workshop concludes with a summary of critical success factors for collaborative corporate-university partnerships.

Corporate Presenters:  Alan Fisher, Intel; Av Kerkar, Honeywell; Kee Meng Yeo, Unilever; and
Facilitators:  Ed Borbely borbely@umich.edu and Bob Ubell rubell@stevens-tech.edu

Successful online faculty development programs:  5 Key Elements

This pre-conference workshop is targeted to experienced online faculty development practitioners and administrators. This workshop will present an overview of three award-winning online faculty development programs. Workshop discussions will focus on sharing practical approaches focused around five key elements found in successful online faculty development programs.

1. Approaches to faculty development and training.
2. Approaches to insuring course quality.
3. Approaches to support: key roles.
4. Technology, tools, and approaches.
5. Approaches to program evaluation.

This workshop will consist of information presentation, demonstration, and interaction and discussion, and will provide an opportunity to reflect on and evaluate your faculty development program experiences, approaches, challenges. Models, tools, lessons learned, pitfalls to avoid, challenges to consider, and best practice examples will be shared. This workshop will engage you in activities and provide opportunities to work on how to adapt and use the methods, approaches, and best practices presented to develop, improve, or enhance the support of online faculty development and course design process in your own program or institution. We will discuss your questions and concerns and issues, and your own perspectives on what constitutes good practice in online faculty development programs.  

You should come away from this workshop with an overview of key factors and considerations in effective online faculty development programs. Practical and adaptable materials and resources that you can use and adapt from each program will be distributed at the session.

This 3-hour workshop will give you the opportunity to:

  • Identify the top 10 challenges you face in developing, improving, or maintaining your faculty development program.
  • Clarify achievable goals that address your faculty development program needs.
  • Understand the 5 key elements in successful faculty development program design.
  • Explore strategies, tools, and processes developed for these purposes.

Facilitators:  Alexandra M. Pickett, the SUNY Learning Network; Carolyn Siccama, University of Massachusetts Lowell Carolyn_Siccama@uml.edu; Shari McCurdy, University of Illinois Springfield.

Innovation Cases:  Elearning Strategy as if Local Learning Communities Matter

This half-day workshop will explore the definitions, stages and processes of innovation and how using elearning as a strategic asset can result in organizational and program change.  Learning access can grow significantly with attention to local needs and conditions.  Participants will engage in a series of cases studies drawn from real and virtual organizations.  They will analyze and critique strategic approaches and distinguish between innovation that focuses on incremental improvement versus innovation that results in something “New and Altogether different”.  Each participant will develop and share an incremental improvement and a new and altogether different strategy applicable to their local situation.

Chair: A. Frank Mayadas, Program Officer, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation mayadas@sloan.org
Facilitators: Janet Poley, President/CEO, The American Distance Education Consortium
(ADEC) jpoley@unl.edu ; Jacqueline Moloney, Dean of Continuing Studies, Corporate and Distance Education, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Jacqueline_Moloney@uml.edu
Resource Persons: ADEC & UML

Afternoon Workshops: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Next Generation Online Student Services

Over the last ten years leading online institutions have transformed online student services from static web pages filled with logistical information to interactive, personalized online services, many available 24/7.  This workshop will highlight best practices in online student services emphasizing the advantages provided by innovative technology and a host of available online services which have evolved over time.  The participants will have the opportunity to share their issues and challenges as well as successes in this area.

Facilitators : Kishia Brock, Rio Salado College, Kishia.Brock@riosalado.edu and Rachelle Clarke, rachelle.clarke@riosalado.edu Rio Salado College, and Meg Benke, meg.benke@esc.edu Empire State College.

Ask the Experts – Tips, Techniques, and Creative Strategies for Teaching Online

This workshop brings together past recipients of Sloan-C’s Excellence in Online Teaching and Effective Practice awards to offer tips on online teaching and present specific techniques and strategies for organizing and facilitating online courses that have worked for them.  A significant portion of workshop time will be devoted to group consideration of participant questions concerning online teaching.  Participants will also be introduced to the new Sloan-C Effective Practices site.

Leader: Karen Swan, Kent State University – Chair kswan@kent.edu
Presenters:  Steve Acker, Ohio State University; Joan Cannon, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Albert Ingram, Kent State University; Bill McCarthy,Quinsigamond Community College; Bill Pelz, Herkimer County Community College

Strategies for Scaling Quality Online Programs

This workshop provides participants with an overview of ten proven strategies for expanding online programs to meet the needs of students.   Workshop participants will have the opportunity to identify barriers to scaling at their own institutions, while learning about resources and strategies that can help them to be successful in overcoming those barriers.  The workshop facilitators have both served as leaders of programs that have applied the strategies and resources presented to scale programs at their own institutions.  Participants from institutions with plans to expand from small or medium sized programs to large scale and with at least 2 years of online program experience will find this most beneficial.

Facilitators:  Jacqueline Moloney, Dean of Continuing Studies, Corporate and Distance Education and the Faculty Development Center, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Jacqueline_Moloney@uml.edu  and Carol Scarafiotti, Vice President Emeritus, Executive Consultant-Online Learning, Rio Salado College Carol.Scarafiotti@riomail.maricpoa.edu

Getting Started and Lessons Learned: Internationalizing Online Programs

A half-day workshop exploring the growing interest within the online learning community of international programming.  It is difficult to engage in a conversation about the challenges and opportunities of online programming without the issue of international education and the role of online learning being raised. Topics of discussion range from the impact of globalization on higher education, to the inherent benefits and necessity of internationalizing the university, and the economic and financial imperatives of seeking international markets. Through discussion and examples in practice we will identify some of the factors driving the interest in international programming, what institutional goals and expectations are being set, how capacity is being developed, and what are some of the alternative strategies to launch and maintain a successful international online presence

Leader: Ken Udas, Penn State keu10@psu.edu
Facilitator: Christine Geith, Asst. Provost, Exec. Director of MSU Global, Michigan State University geith@msu.edu

For more information or questions contact 1-866-232-5834 or email aln@mail.ucf.edu