DoIT's April Events

Event 1: TUG - Creating Successful Virtual Debates in an Online Classroom (sponsored by DoIT)

• Date: April 5, 2007
• Time: 3:00-3:45PM
• Location: F124
• Cost: Free
• Registration: none required

Come learn how Colleen Burns, Philosophy faculty, was able to successfully translate her on campus classroom debates into her online class. Determined to provide the same kinds of powerful learning experiences for her online students, Colleen created a detailed structure that resulted in her online students participating without reserve across a distance.

Event 2: Bits&Bytes - Social Bookmarking (sponsored by DoIT)

• Date: April 10, 2007
• Time: 1:40-2:00PM
• Location: F 124
• Cost: Free
• Registration: none required

Web 2.0 tools are here! Join DoIT’s Sarah Stark to learn more about these tools in general and see for yourself how social bookmarking works.

Event 3: Bits&Bytes - Social Bookmarking (sponsored by DoIT)

• Date: April 11, 2007
• Time: 2:15-2:35PM
• Location: F 124
• Cost: Free
• Registration: none required

Web 2.0 tools are here!Join DoIT’s Sarah Stark to learn more about these tools in general and see for yourself how social bookmarking works.

Event 4: Virtual Reality (VR) Worlds Benefits and Uses for the Higher Education Professional Online Workshop (sponsored by SLOAN-C)

• Dates: April 11 - April 20, 2007
• Time: Virtual
• Location: Your computer
• Cost: $145 (contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for a membership registration code to get this price)
• Full time faculty: Consider applying for a Technology Grant to pay for the registration cost
• Registration: http://www.sloan-c.org/workshop/vrworlds_april07.asp

Virtual Reality Worlds, such as SecondLife and ActiveWorlds, offer educators endless opportunities to explore, invent, and collaborate. Administrators and instructors in higher education must learn how to harness the power of these virtual learning environments to satisfy an increasingly more tech savvy population of students and colleagues. This interactive online seminar, focused on virtual reality (VR) worlds, explores some of the possibilities available to online students and faculty. Dr. David Cillay, of Washington State University will take you through the key issues that you and your colleagues should be aware of when incorporating VR worlds into your online courses.

Event 5: Game-Based Technologies in Higher Education (sponsored by the Instructional Technology Council

• Date: April 17, 2007
• Time: 1:00-2:00PM
• Location: Your computer and telephone
• Cost: $25.00
• Registration: contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for registration and support for event cost)

Education research is telling us that computer-based games teach skills and provoke learning, and that so-called "serious games" are effective used in tandem with traditional didactic methods. Virtual environments bring the subject matter to life, connecting students with experience through which they become active in the subject matter and begin synthesizing knowledge for themselves through critical thinking. This presentation will explore how gaming technology will become key to reaching and teaching the "Net Generation" of students born since 1982, of which 89.5 percent are computer literate, 63 percent Internet users, and 14.3 percent of whom have been using the Internet since age four.

Event 6: Moving the Laboratory Online Changing the Laboratory Learning Experience Using the Online Environment Online Workshop (sponsored by SLOAN-C)

• Dates: April 18 - April 27, 2007
• Time: Virtual
• Location: Your computer
• Cost: $145 (contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for a membership registration code to get this price)
• Full time faculty: Consider applying for a Technology Grant to pay for the registration cost
• Registration: http://www.sloan-c.org/workshop/laboratory_apr07.asp

Is it possible to create authentic and engaging “hands-on” scientific learning experiences over the Internet? Can remote instrumentation combined with the tools and culture of the online environment be developed as a legitimate alternative to the current approaches used in teaching and learning laboratory-based sciences? Moving the lab online requires challenging the traditional science teaching practices, notions, and approaches used in science education today. It also involves redefining the best practices associated with these activities. As these practices develop, the online science environment will continue to provide interesting and engaging opportunities for the teaching of science. This workshop, facilitated by faculty from Western Washington University and the University of British Columbia, explores the laboratory learning experience in an online environment.

Event 7: An Example of Game-Based Technologies in Higher Education Pulse!! (sponsored by the Instructional Technology Counci

• Date: April 24, 2007
• Time: 1:00-2:00PM
• Location: Your computer and telephone
• Cost: $25.00
• Registration: contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for registration and support for event cost)

Pulse!! The Virtual Clinical Learning Lab is a research project at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi designed to show whether critical thinking and practical skills in medical knowledge can be learned in three-dimensional, immersive, virtual space. The Pulse!! learning platform is more than a serious game; it is an in-depth evaluation of gaming technology as a provider of complex clinical learning for the medical and health-care professions -- and it likely will illuminate whether higher education generally can look to gaming technology as a means of engaging increasingly disengaged generations of students.

Event 8: Getting Started Online Course Development Basics Online Workshop (sponsored by SLOAN-C)

• Dates: April 25 - May 18, 2007
• Time: Virtual
• Location: Your computer
• Cost: $145 (contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for a membership registration code to get this price)
• Full time faculty: Consider applying for a Technology Grant to pay for the registration cost
• Registration: http://www.sloan-c.org/workshop/gettingstarted_apr07.asp

This workshop is for faculty: new to online education, motivated to enhance current teaching skills, challenged by the requirements of creating a functional, online classroom, or intrigued by the opportunities presented by online education and desire a guided approach as an introduction to the discipline. This workshop leverages effective practices and provides both a pedagogical, practical, and hands-on experience, enabling workshop participants to walk away with an online 'toolkit' for immediate application to their own online academic environment.The first and second weeks, faculty will explore actual online courses in several disciplines and institutions. The third and final week participants will build a syllabus leading to a complete online course module relevant to their own educational interests.

Event 9: Course Improvement Series Volume 2 Communication, Interaction and Collaboration (sponsored by the Illinois Online Network)

• Date: April 26, 2007
• Time: 2:00-3:30PM
• Location: Your computer
• Cost: Free
• Registration: visit http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/institutes/webinars/monthly/upcomingevents.asp (Note: You must be logged in to MyION to register) or contact Kevin Johnson at kejohns@uillinois.edu for more information.

Part 2 of the Course Improvement series will be conducted using the new QOCI Rubric (http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/initiatives/qoci/rubric.asp) as a guide. Each month the focus will be on one of the Rubric's categories and those attending will participate in a discussion of how to improve online courses specifically to that category. This month, the focus is on communication, interaction and collaboration online.

It's recommended that you download the checklist version of the Rubric from the link above before attending the workshop. Join in an active discussion in course improvement specific to the areas of Activities and Opportunities, Organization and Management, and Group Work. Much of the discussion will be driven by the needs of the participants and examples will be given.

Special March Event: Blended (Hybrid) Workshop

Special Event: Hybrid (Blended) Workshop (sponsored by Illinois Community Colleges Online)

• Date: March 30, 2007
• Time: 9:00AM - 3:00PM
• Location: Truman College (Chicago) - Faculty Dining Room
• Cost: Free
• Registration Deadline: March 22, 2007 at 3:00PM
• Registration Link:
  http://www.ilcco.net/dice/ - Click on the yellow sticky note next to the event for the registration link. When registering, if asked, use the Access Code: 142f99

This workshop focuses on practical steps for hybrid (blended) course development and effective pedagogical strategies. Participants will work through the design process, leaving the workshop with lots of ideas for teaching a hybrid course with their own course content.

Contact Jeff Newell at jeff.newell@illinois.gov or call 217.558.2066 for more information.

DoIT's March Events

Event 1: Bits&Bytes - Honing Your PowerPoint Skills (sponsored by DoIT

• Date: March 6, 2007
• Time: 1:40-2:25PM
• Location: F 124
• Cost: Free
• Registration: none required

Have you ever wanted to know just how to add that special transition, effect, or style in PowerPoint? Or would you like to know how to add audio, video, or hyperlinks to your PowerPoint presentations in order to make them more effective as learning tools? If so, these sessions are for you! Join DoIT’s Kevin Crow as he helps you sharpen your PowerPoint skills. In this session Dr. Crow will answer your specific “how to?” questions regarding PowerPoint skills and techniques and will also facilitate discussion relating to the utilization of PowerPoint as an instructional/learning tool.

Event 2: Ten Core Principles for Designing Effective Learning Environments: Insights from Brain Research and Pedagogical Theory (sponsored by Innovate: Journal of Online Education)

• Date: March 7, 2007
• Time: 12:00-1:00PM
• Location: Your computer via Webcast
• Cost: free
• Registration: http://www.uliveandlearn.com/PortalInnovate/

Join Judith V. Boettcher as she provides ten core learning principles that can guide technology-enhanced teaching as well as more traditional forms of instruction. Drawn from both traditional pedagogical theory as well as current research about how people learn, the ten principles integrate these findings in a helpful set of guidelines that give emphasis to issues of instructional design. Boettcher suggests ways in which online technology can help educators create learning environments that respect the individual needs of students, foster collaboration, and promote deeper, sustained levels of engagement with the course content.

Event 3: Bits&Bytes - Honing Your PowerPoint Skills (sponsored by DoIT)

• Date: March 7, 2007
• Time: 2:15-3:00PM
• Location: F 124
• Cost: Free
• Registration: none required

Have you ever wanted to know just how to add that special transition, effect, or style in PowerPoint? Or would you like to know how to add audio, video, or hyperlinks to your PowerPoint presentations in order to make them more effective as learning tools? If so, these sessions are for you! Join DoIT’s Kevin Crow as he helps you sharpen your PowerPoint skills. In this session Dr. Crow will answer your specific “how to?” questions regarding PowerPoint skills and techniques and will also facilitate discussion relating to the utilization of PowerPoint as an instructional/learning tool.

Event 4: Online Synchronous Language Learning: SLMS over the Internet (sponsored by Innovate: Journal of Online Education)

• Date: March 7, 2007
• Time: 3:00-4:00PM
• Location: Your computer via Webcast
• Cost: free
• Registration: http://www.uliveandlearn.com/PortalInnovate/

Noting that distance learning environments often pose serious obstacles to second language instruction, Yuping Wang and Nian-Shing Chen propose that synchronous learning management systems (SLMS) can address the urgent need for real-time communication to support the student acquisition of language skills. To illustrate the pedagogical value of such technology, Wang and Chen investigate a state-of-the-art SLMS developed by the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan and discuss the results of a pilot study that utilized this system in a series of online tutorials. In doing so, the authors illustrate how a range of SLMS functions—including online chat, a whiteboard, and a videoconferencing feature—provided students the chance to gain practical guidance in their language skills and overcome the sense of isolation that can characterize distance learning environments.

Event 5: Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) in the Online and Blended Classroom (sponsored by the Instructional Technology Council)

• Date: March 13, 2007
• Time: 1:00-2:00PM
• Location: Your computer and telephone
• Cost: $25.00
• Registration: contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for registration and support for event cost)

The presenters from the College of Southern Maryland will explore methods instructors can use in an online or blended learning environment to collect feedback, early and often, on how well their students are learning what they are being taught. CATs provide faculty and their students with information they can use to ensure teaching and learning effectiveness. Participants will distinguish between formative and summative assessments, examine commonly used CATs, and explore ways to implement CATs in online and blended courses.

Event 6: TUG - Encourage Student Success with a Distance Learning Orientation (sponsored by DoIT)

• Date: March 14, 2007
• Time: 2:30-3:15PM
• Location: F124
• Cost: Free
• Registration: none required

How can we help students be successful in distance learning? One way is to start them out with an orientation that includes topics about learning online, basic computer skills, and using a course management system. Join Professor Terry Morris and find out about Harper's new Distance Learning Orientation materials which introduce Learning Online, basic Computer Skills, and Using Blackboard in a web-based format utilizing multimedia, a review game, and self-quizzes. The topics covered are not only intended to help online students -- portions could be useful in face-to-face classes that use Blackboard. The presentation will conclude with a brainstorming session exploring how participants might use this material to encourage student success.

Event 7: Establishing Boundaries and Maximizing Potential for Virtual Educators (sponsored by the Instructional Technology Council

• Date: March 20, 2007
• Time: 1:00-2:00PM
• Location: Your computer and telephone
• Cost: $25.00
• Registration: contact Sarah Stark DoIT Director, at 847.925.6805 before the event for registration and support for event cost)

Many online faculty work virtually and enjoy a potential lifestyle freedom not possible when teaching in the traditional classroom. However, virtual professors often have difficulty creating a life/work balance. As online education grows and matures as an industry, issues of burnout and stress continue to grow among online faculty. Maintaining a healthy life/work balance translates into productivity and continued passion for teaching. With practical tips, suggestions, and a dose of humor, presenter Teresa Marie Kelly from Kaplan University will examine the issues of balancing scheduling with flexibility, distinguishing between multi-tasking and splitting focus, leveraging technology, embracing the concept of working in the world not away from it, and cultivating peer support to establish a true life/work balance that maximizes the freedom of lifestyle and fuels teaching.

Event 8: Course Improvement Series Volume 1 – Instructional Design (sponsored by the Illinois Online Network)

• Date: March 29, 2007
• Time: 2:00-3:30PM
• Location: Your computer
• Cost: Free
• Registration: visit http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/institutes/webinars/monthly/upcomingevents.asp (Note: You must be logged in to MyION to register) or contact Kevin Johnson at kejohns@uillinois.edu for more information.

Over the next few months a Course Improvement series will be conducted using the new QOCI Rubric (http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/initiatives/qoci/rubric.asp) as a guide. Each month the focus will be on one of the Rubric's categories and those attending will participate in a discussion of how to improve online courses specifically to that category. First in the series is Instructional Design.

It's recommended that you download the checklist version of the Rubric from the link above before attending the workshop. Join in an active discussion in course improvement specific to the areas of Course Structure, Learning Goals and Objectives, Course Information, Instructional Strategies, Academic Integrity, and Use of Multimedia. Much of the discussion will be driven by the needs of the participants and examples will be given.