Dates: October 17 – 19, 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Preconference 1: Design for the Canvas Paradigm
Jared Stein, Instructure
Do you already know how to get around Canvas? Want to explore optimal learning paths and fresh ideas for learning design in online and blended courses? The presenter will frame Canvas course design with Outcomes for assessment, discuss student navigation patterns, explore different approaches to home page layouts, strategize structure with Modules and Pages, enlarge what you thought you could do with Assignments, and show how to extend your toolbox with LTI plug-outs.
Preconference 2: Google on Steroids
Virginia Petitt, Online School Specialist, So. Oregon Educ. Serv. Dist. Steve Prull, Technology Supervisor, High Desert Educ. Service District
In this hands-on workshop, learn to use advanced capabilities of Google Apps, Google Chrome, and other tools to bring true 21st Century learning to your face-to-face, blended, and online classes! To be successful in this workshop, participants need to come prepared with a Google account, a laptop with wireless capability, the Google Chrome browser installed, and the ability to install additional plugins.
Preconference 3: Implementing Quality Matters
Paula Ascher, Columbia Gorge Community College Jen Black, English Faculty, Boise State University Kathy Chatfield, Clark College Beth Hale, Learning Technologies Facilitator, Chemeketa Community College Greg Kaminski, Portland Community College Lisa Kidder, Senior Instructional Technologist, Idaho State University
Champions of the Quality Matters standards will discuss ways that they are using the rubric to ensure effective online course design. Attendees will hear about training options and ideas for conducting peer course reviews, as well as the potential value of QM at the course, program and institutional levels; stakeholders that should be involved in implementation; and ways to build institutional and faculty support.
Preconference 4: Moodle Palooza
Chuck Myers, Regional Account Representative, Moodlerooms Tom Murdock, Chief Architect and VP of Product Marketing, Moodlerooms Phill Miller, VP of Products & Strategy, Moodlerooms Hart Wilson, Distance Ed. Support Specialist, Southern Oregon Univ. Vicki Suter, Ctr for Learning & Technology Director, Marylhurst Univ. Nathan Phillips, Instructional Designer, Marylhurst University Steve Beining, Instructional Designer and Distance Learning Dept. Chair, Clackamas Community College Carissa McCann, Instructional Designer, Clackamas Community College Joel Sheller, Instructional Designer, Clackamas Community College
In this session sponsored by Moodlerooms, attendees will first hear about the ‘State of the Moodle/ Moodlerooms Union’ and the product roadmap. Three client-led sessions will follow:
Extreme Makeover: Moodle Edition: Learn how to improve the usability and navigation of Moodle courses.
Effective Practices in Adjunct Faculty Support for Moodle: Join a conversation about the specific challenges, different models and experiments for supporting adjuncts.
Upgrading from Moodle 1 to Moodle 2: One College’s Experience - Hear about best practices, lessons learned, what to do and not to do.
Finally, the preconference will end with a discussion of hot topics.
Breakout 1.1: Lessons Learned in an Orientation Redesign that Helped Reduce the Distance in Distance Education
Benjamin Roberts, Senior Lecturer, Naval Postgraduate School
An orientation in a systems engineering program delivered primarily by web conferencing was traditionally focused on program description, academic requirements, and introduction of key stakeholders and their roles in support of distance education. In a redesign, a second phase of the orientation was developed to teach fundamental skills associated with success in higher education, providing students with information on learning styles, problem solving, and critical thinking.
Breakout 1.3: The Game-Based Classroom: The Quest-Based Approach to Playing School
Chris Haskell, Clinical Assistant Professor, Boise State University
What would school look like if it “played” like a video game? Educational gaming isn't just playing games to learn, it is also making school a game. The presenter will share 2 years of data from an actual game-based classroom, including a practical and complete approach to throwing out the gradebook, dropping due dates, developing individual learning paths for every student, and connecting to standards and expectations in ways we never thought possible.
Breakout 1.4: Moving Forward with Canvas @ EWU
David Dean, Director of Academic Systems, Eastern Washington University Jeff Healy, Manager of eLearning Services, EWU Nick Brown, eLearning Specialist, EWU
EWU is moving from Blackboard to Canvas during the 2012-13 school year. The presenters will touch on the role of the EWU faculty governance group in the decision to move to Canvas, then share about EWU's Integration method (what and why), the Authentication approach (single signon via CAS), the Course Migration strategy, and adoption plan (Trailblazers and "Tire Kickers"). Attendees will have a chance to share about their own plans.
Breakout 1.5: Vendor Session: Blackboard
Ben Choi, Blackboard Sales Brent Mundy, Blackboard Product Development Darren Stahl, Blackboard Sales Chuck Myers, Moodlerooms Sales
Representatives from Blackboard and Moodlerooms will offer a detailed introduction to xpLor, Blackboard’s new cloud-based learning object repository designed to work with multiple learning management systems. Attendees will learn how Blackboard xpLor can help leverage the power of open standards to discover, build, share, manage, and deliver rich learning objects across courses, across institutions, and across LMS platforms.
Breakout 2.1: Digital Portfolios
Jonan Donaldson, Faculty Support Specialist, Chemeketa CC Colin Ensminger-Stapp, Learning Tech. Facilitator, Chemeketa CC
Digital portfolios are a powerful means of integrating learning content into an organized whole that mirrors and reinforces the schema building within our students’ minds. Increased availability, ease of use of online resources, and accessibility have increased the potential of portfolios. The presenters will review best practices, several platforms, and strategies for collaboration, peer feedback, and assessment.
Breakout 2.2: Stretch Your Budget With Student Staff
Crystal Nielsen, Instructional Design Consultant, Boise State University
With budgets stretched thin, eLearning support personnel often have more work than time. In such situations, hiring student employees can be a win-win. Attendees will come away with ideas for scope of work, sound job descriptions, marketing of position openings, interviewing tools, in-depth training, and evaluations.
Breakout 2.3: Reducing Distance and Reducing Confusion in Online Education with Instructor Generated Video
Gregory Zobel, Educational Technology Faculty, Western Oregon Univ.
This presentation will provide practical strategies to decrease confusion and perceived distance in online learning communities through strategic use of video. Video can help orient students to course structures and content, familiarize students with course pedagogy and expectations, and model learning outcomes and best practices.
Breakout 2.4: Online Hybrid Instruction of Viticulture: Comparison of Methods between Washington and Oregon
Catherine Jones, Vineyard and Winery Technology Grant Director, Yakima Valley Community College Chris Lake, South Oregon Wine Institute Director, Umpqua CC
Agriculture has been slow to adopt online instruction; a significant challenge has been the connection between the lecture material and “hands-on” laboratory work. Instructors from two colleges that deliver online hybrid instruction of viticulture (grape cultivation) will present a comparison of the online tools and methods used by these institutions.
Breakout 2.5: Vendor Session: Instructure (Canvas)
Katrina Fuller, Lower Columbia College
My First Year with Canvas: A Faculty Perspective Faculty from Lower Columbia College will share the ups and downs of their first year with Canvas. From piloting classes through migrating and creating course spaces, attendees will learn about LCC's successes and struggles along the way.
Keynote by Roger Courville: Learner Engagement in a Distracted World
Roger Courville is an expert in the human factors of web/audio/video conferencing. With accolades from Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association, the author of The Virtual Presenter’s Handbook shares his expertise around the world with those in higher education and in business. Via print and in person, an audience numbering in the tens of thousands has learned from Roger how to transform attention and results in the virtual classroom. The Oregon resident heads up 1080 Group, LLC, a training and research firm (TheVirtualPresenter.com) that seeks to help organizations design and deliver engaging virtual classroom experiences. The Northwest eLearning Community is happy to have Roger with us this year.
Breakout 3.1: An Unconference Session
Roger Courville, Principal Consultant, The 1080 Group
Talk shop with the keynote speaker! An "unconference" session features neither slide presentation nor lecture - it is just a conversation that flows based on what attendees wish to discuss. Take advantage of this session if you want to pick the brain of our keynote speaker, share your own insights, and learn from peers.
Breakout 3.2: Encouraging Creativity Through the Use of Technology
Sue Schou, Senior Lecturer, Idaho State University
This session aims to stimulate K-12 and higher ed educators to make the classroom a more technology-oriented experience for students, but in a more creative way. The presenter will suggest open source software, free apps, or web applications to encourage creative, digital student work, with examples, and then lead some group brainstorming.
Breakout 3.3: Making Content More Visual
Katie Stroud, Learning Strategist, 1080 Group
When you're in the same physical location with your audience, you can easily interact with them to keep their attention. But how do you keep the audience focused on your content online? One way is to make your content more visually appealing. We may not be graphic designers, but there are some simple things anyone can do to make their e-learning more engaging.
Breakout 3.4: Let Canvas Do the Heavy Lifting
Renee Carney, eLearning Manager, Lower Columbia College Cheryl Ronish, Instructor, Lower Columbia College
When designing assignments, instructors must address or resolve many time-consuming, nitpicky details: student interaction with the material, assessment, and achievement of course outcomes. In this concrete and specific workshop, the presenters will show how to let the Canvas LMS alleviate some of the burden by allowing instructors to design assignments and rubrics that align with course outcomes and use Canvas to orchestrate activities such as peer reviews.
Breakout 3.5: Vendor Session: McGraw-Hill
Amelia Keeney, Digital Learning Consultant, McGraw-Hill Higher Education
The need to make the digital teaching and learning experience simpler is apparent. Too often, instructors become bogged down by day-to-day record keeping and assignment grading. The McGraw-Hill suite of Campus products helps instructors redirect their energy back into providing productive, effective and valued instruction. Attendees will learn more about McGraw-Hill’s newest institutional service that gives faculty and students simple, easy access to McGraw-Hill’s vast array of digital content and eBooks from directly within any learning management system in use.
Shorter Breakout 1A: Establishing Social Presence in Online Learning Environments
Patrick Lowenthal, Instructional Designer, Boise State University
Many new online instructors fear that many of the things that “worked” so well in face-to-face courses—e.g., an instructor’s immediacy, passion, energy, humor—won’t translate well to online environments. The presenters will share how people adapt to communication media and establish themselves as “real” and “there," as well as how to design courses and facilitate discourse that encourages students to establish their own social presence.
Shorter Breakout 2A: Applying a Learning Community Approach to Hybrid Course Redesign
Cub Kahn, Instructional Designer, Oregon State University
Following a competitive proposal process, participants in a Hybrid Course Development program participate in a term-long hybrid faculty learning community while redesigning an existing on-campus course for hybrid delivery. This presentation will illustrate the learning community structure, learning outcomes, scheduling, content, and activities used in the program, as well as methods used to successfully negotiate administrative hurdles.
Shorter Breakout 1B: Blurring the Lines: iPads for Learning
Rick McKinnon, eLearning Support Manager, South Puget Sound Community College Joe Batt, Faculty, South Puget Sound Community College
In a pilot project, students used iPads for learning about art, as well as creating it. Attendees will learn about deployment of the iPads, the curriculum developed to maximize their use, the structure of workflow from students to instructor, use of AppleTV to allow display of instructor content and student work, and more.
Shorter Breakout 2B- Benefits of Blended Courses
Kathleen Serra, Course Director, Full Sail University Lauren Branzei, Associate Course Director, Full Sail University
Today’s teachers are expected to effectively communicate information to students of various learning styles and provide authentic and formative feedback to the learners. With hybrid courses, teachers can focus more on the students and learning outcomes than on grading and curriculum revisions. Attendees will learn about various tools for creating a hybrid course, including Web 2.0 technologies that will enhance student learning experiences.
Longer Breakout 1: Teaching to Four Generations Online
GwenEllyn Anderson, Brain-Based Educator and Trainer, Chemeketa Community College
Becoming aware of the generational differences on campuses is the beginning. Teaching to the various generations is the next step. This session will offer ideas about how to help your college students of any age succeed in your online classes. The presenter will describe the differences between and the origins of those differences for the four generations currently represented on campus, compare and contrast the needs of each generation, and illustrate online classroom practices to address the differences in generational learning styles.
Longer Breakout 2: Defining Project Constraints for More Successful Outcomes
Katie Stroud, Learning Strategist, 1080 Group Tamara Horn, Global Training Manager, Microsoft
Defining project constraints is an important step in developing effective learning programs -- and one that can offer exceptional results. The presenters will share techniques and tools to help in determining constraints so that educators can better plan and execute elearning projects. Attendees will practice creative problem-solving, focusing efforts appropriately in their own projects, and using constraints to guide projects to an effective outcome.
Longer Breakout 3 - Barriers to K-12 Teacher Use of Educational Technology
Loredana Werth, Education Faculty, Northwest Nazarene University Eric Werth, Director of E-Learning Services, Northwest Nazarene University
Educational technology has proven integral in student success and in meeting the needs of K-12 learners; however, the pace of change related to ed tech creates challenges. This presentation will focus on the findings of research among K-12 teachers that examined frequency of educational technology use, confidence, readiness to change, and perceptions. The researchers will also discuss implications for policy makers and those planning teacher training.
Breakout 4.1: Collaborating in the Design and Delivery of an Experiential Blended-Learning Workshop
John Farquhar, Manager of Instructional Development, Western Washington University Justina Brown, Instructional & Multimedia Designer, WWU Andrew Blick, eLearning and Assessment Specialist, WWU Peter Agras, Instructional Designer, WWU
Recognizing that many of faculty had yet to experience blended learning as teachers or students, three offices at Western Washington University came together to design a workshop that models blended-learning techniques and engages faculty in blended-learning activities. The presenters will share about the efforts of their three offices to design and deliver the workshop, an overview of the workshop activities and the outcomes of these efforts.
Breakout 4.2: Media in Online Classrooms with Labs: Even YOU Can Do It!
Erika Veth, Faculty Support Services Manager, Oregon Institute of Technology
We are often limited in putting classes online because we can’t think beyond PowerPoint when it comes to delivering content. On a shoestring budget, OregonTech has begun designing and delivering a variety of courses with lab requirements, including Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, Small Group Communication, Engineering and Manufacturing, and Calculus. The presenter will share how instructors have designed these labs using everything from web cams to pen tablets to screen-recording software.
Breakout 4.3: Social Networking in the Classroom: Facebook, Twitter and Edmodo at the University
Teresa Fernández-Ulloa, Associate Professor, California State University, Bakersfield
Educators can fuel their classes through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Edmodo, because these enable us not only to chat about the subject, but also about life. Students connect with their peers in a personal way, which boosts the collaborative learning that we try to foster. In addition, instructors can create quizzes, polls, topic discussions… The real interaction brings a real community.
Breakout 4.5: Vendor Session: Moodlerooms
Chuck Myers, Moodlerooms Sales Ben Choi, Blackboard Sales Brent Mundy, Blackboard Product Development Darren Stahl, Blackboard Sales
Representatives from Moodlerooms and Blackboard will offer a detailed introduction to xpLor, Blackboard’s new cloud-based learning object repository designed to work with multiple learning management systems. Attendees will learn how Blackboard xpLor can help leverage the power of open standards to discover, build, share, manage, and deliver rich learning objects across courses, across institutions, and across LMS platforms. [Repeated from Thursday]