Date:
March 19, 2010
2:00 pm to 2:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
Remote online laboratories are experimental facilities accessed through the Internet, allowing students to perform experiments from anywhere, any time. Remote labs enrich STEM education by vastly increasing the scope of experiments students can access, and by giving students experience with real equipment and real scientific data. Northwestern University and the MIT have created the iLab Network, an online network that supports the educational use of multiple remote labs for high schools. The iLab Network allows students to conduct experiments using real equipment via their web browsers. In this session, we will describe this new resource for STEM education and how it is transforming science teaching in both online and regular classrooms. We will demonstrate a remote lab using equipment housed in Australia and watch it live on webcam. Finally, we will share results from our classroom pilot test with 950 students and discuss the implications for high school science courses.

About the Presenters:
Julia Skolnik and Ricarose Roque are curriculum and software specialists, respectively, at Northwestern University in the School of Education and Social Policy, in the Office of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education Partnerships. They work together to develop and implement STEM resources and technological tools for K-12 classrooms.

Date:
March 19, 2010
2:00 pm to 2:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
This Web presentation will showcase the University Life Cafe (www.universitylifecafe.org), which was launched in Feb. 2009, as a virtual community to support college student emotional resilience, self-expression, and peer connectivity at Kansas State University. The site combines social networking, artificial intelligence (text analysis to head off potential crisis situations), and multimedia content showcasing to connect college students among themselves and with members of the K-State Counseling Center. This will describe the creation of a culture of care and anti-suicide “safe messaging”; the original planning, research, and evolution methodologies of this site (in its first year); the application of cultural sensitivity strategies in the creation of multimedia contents; efforts to target specific sub-groups among the student demographic (non-traditional students, overseas students, returning veterans, and others), and anticipated future challenges. Further, this will examine the affordances and constraints of contemporary site-building technologies. This endeavor was initially sponsored by SAMHSA, under a federal grant.

About the Presenter:
Dr. Shalin Hai-Jew works as an instructional designer at Kansas State University. She worked as a tenured college professor for many years but left teaching to pursue instructional design work. She recently published “Digital Imagery and Informational Graphics in E-Learning” with IGI-Global.

Date:
March 19, 2010
1:00 pm to 1:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
Social networking is starting to be used for teacher professional development, for student and classroom networks, and as part of a growing trend toward Web 2.0 technologies that can create engaging learning environments. We’ll talk about these trends, their pros and cons for use, and try to gain a better understanding of what social networking is beyond MySpace and FaceBook. We’ll examine the pedagogical value of social networking tools, examine examples of social networking in education, and then evaluate the future potential of “educational networking.”

About the Presenter:
I am Elluminate’s Social Learning Consultant and the founder of the Classroom 2.0 social network (www.classroom20.com). I am also the Emerging Technologies Chair for NECC, a regular columnist at School Library Journal, and a blogger at www.SteveHargadon.com. My interview series can be found at www.FutureofEducation.com, www.Conversations.net, and www.EdTechLive.com.

Date:
March 19, 2010
1:00 pm to 1:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
San Jose State University offers classes in service learning. Service Learning is a process whereby students learn and develop through active participation in organized service experiences that meet community needs. Service learning provides students opportunities to use their acquired skills and knowledge in real life situations in their communities; this enhances teaching by extending student learning into the community and helps foster a sense of caring for others (Burns, 1998). A part of the service learning class concept is the embedding into the class information literacy principles to enhance the students’ skills. Most students, when doing research, tend to use resources that are considered more informal and questionable in terms of scholarly accuracy, such as, Google, Wikipedia or ask friends (Head, and Eisenberg, 2009). This session will discuss implementing information literacy concepts in the service learning classes through a learning management system (Desire2Learn) by the collaboration between the teaching faculty member and the education liaison librarian.

About the Presenters:
Prior to joining to Educational Leadership Department, Dr. Lu served as full Professor and Acting Chair of the Instructional Technology Department at San Jose State University (SJSU). She served as Associate Dean at SJSU College of Education in the early 2000. In addition to teaching in the College of Education, she also taught for the Nurse Educator graduate program for SJSU School of Nursing.

Susan Kendall is Associate Librarian at San Jose State University.

Date:
March 19, 2010
12:00 pm to 12:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
Learn about a model for the development of online and blended programs and courses for adult learners that has evolved from experience and the research literature at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education (CTE). CTE’s Online Learning Model builds upon adult learning theory, principles of backward design, and professional development standards to create high quality, project-based online and blended courses. These courses are designed to support high levels of interaction, community-building, high-performance teaming, and ongoing participant reflection. In this session, gain practical techniques and strategies for establishing development roles and timelines, designing online assessments and activities, ensuring continuity, maintaining participant momentum, and creating media-rich content.

About the Presenter:
Linda Carling is the Senior Program Coordinator for Online Learning and Distance Education in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, Center for Technology in Education. She has been developing and delivering online programs for the School of Education for the past eight years. She provides leadership in adult learning theory and practice and integration of current and emerging technologies into instruction through research and development projects and graduate programs.

Date:
March 19, 2010
12:00 pm to 12:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
As more college instructors are contemplating the use of online social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs, photo and video-sharing tools, and podcasting, considering how one’s Internet footprint impacts professional self has become a concern in this decision process. In addition to the issues surrounding appropriate disclosure, boundary issues, and personal safety, many college instructors are assessing whether or not the use of such networking sites actually has a positive impact on learning outcomes. This presentation will focus on the possible consequences, both positive and negative, of our academic Internet footprint. Do we really have control over our Internet footprint? What information about us is already online without our knowing or consent? How can we protect our information and identities as we balance our brick-and-mortar and Internet persona? Are their penalties for college instructors who choose to opt out of using social networking tools?

Date:
March 19, 2010
10:00 am to 10:50 am EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
This session seeks to explore online education for today’s digi-girl, specifically focusing on female students taking humanities courses. Since 60% of online learners are over the age of 25 and female, this session will consider how online learning, specifically in the area of humanities, provides women participatory, student-centered, experiential learning opportunities, as well as valuable computer skills that will enhance their careers. As part of this goal, the presenters seek to consider how software/ social networking tools, such as Twitter, Jing, and/or blogs, can also enhance student interaction and both accessibility to, and comprehension of, humanities course content. This presentation aims to encourage conversation regarding not only the impact of online education on female learners, but also how a humanities course, in particular, can act as an empowering tool for women pursuing degree and career advancement.

About the Presenters:
Jennifer Harrison is Professor of History at Kaplan University, focusing on courses in American women’s history, American business history, and 20th century African American leadership. Crystal Hofegartner is Professor of History at Kaplan University and serves as the developer and course leader for Kaplan’s innovative American Women course.

Date:
March 19, 2010
10:00 am to 10:50 am EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
This study was to investigate how players learned to listen and speak Mandarin Chinese in a two-dimension virtual world of massive multi-players online doing role-playing games. A prototype of the virtual world was created with the concepts of situated learning and with the strategies of cognitive apprenticeship for learners who learn Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language. Players need to listen or speak Mandarin Chinese to complete tasks individually or collaboratively. Tasks were designed in the context of different careers. Tutorial, programmed learning materials, and virtual mentors supported players for task completion. Twelve adult learners participated in the present pilot study. Design-based research methods were utilized to improve the learning program. Data were collected through surveys, interviews, and observations, and qualitative and quantitative data analyses were undertaken. The findings of the study are expected to provide a few implications for improvement of future design and development of the virtual world.

About the Presenter:
Yungwei Hao is an assistant professor in the Department of Education, National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan. Hao specializes in instructional design, focusing on foreign language education and teacher education, and in the evaluation of instructional technology products and projects.

Date:
March 18, 2010
10:00 pm to 10:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
Since 2005 Otago Polytechnic has taken steps towards becoming a more sustainable organisation and influencing the broader community with its vision of the “every graduate” approach to integrating Sustainable Practice. The process that Otago Polytechnic is working through is a first for a tertiary institution in NZ and one of the first in the world. We have chosen to use the term sustainable practitioner and have supported and encouraged departments to investigate what a sustainable practitioner “looks like” in their industry. The presentation will provide an explanation of this process and the adaptations we have made along the way and will ideally help others learn from our mistakes and take a more direct route to where we currently are in our journey. Tertiary education providers and some secondary education providers will find this presentation informative and helpful for integrating education for sustainability into their organisations and teaching.

About the Presenter:
Anna Hughes is Education for Sustainability Advisor, Otago Polytechnic. She has a background in Physical Education and Outdoor Leadership. In her private life, she is passionate about raising her child sustainably. Her role includes: Support with EfS integration in all departments; and development of online courses/resources for teaching/understanding sustainable practice.

Date:
March 18, 2010
10:00 pm to 10:50 pm EST
(see time in other time zones)

Description:
As virtual communities emerge on the Internet, virtual forms of intent community participation follow. I intend to provide a framework for virtual intent participation using Rogoff’s studies of geographically bound community intent participation as a base. Learners participating in virtual intent communities and constructionism can be transformed from passive receivers of authentic materials to engaged authors of their own second language (L2) artifacts. Such practice provides L2 learners with a safe and motivating environment in which they can enhance their perceived self-efficacy. Educators can explore these pathways in a classroom environment by discussing, sharing, and collaborating on constructions. Through distributed constructionism, educators have the potential to make subject matter more accessible for students, encouraging them to make meaningful connections, while creating successful experiences and consequential engagement in learning a new language.

About the Presenter:
Izabel C. Olson is a graduate student at Northwestern University. Izabel has over 10 years experience in Education, having worked in a wide range of Brazilian schools, as well as international schools in Brazil. Izabel currently is interested in how to utilize constructionist principles to learn English as a second language, as well as in using constructionism to facilitate educational experiences.