USciences to Host PADLA Annual Conference

University of the Sciences will host the Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey Distance Learning Association (PADLA) 14th Annual Conference and Expo on December 20, 2016.

The PADLA is the regional chapter of the United States Distance Learning Association and is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and information with other distance and e-learning professionals concerned the myriad of issues and technological changes in the field.

The conference will include 25 presentations, with several presentations from USciences faculty and staff, including one from Phyllis Blumberg, PhD, director of the teaching and learning center, about assessing and improving your online teaching, and another from Andrew Esposito, instructional designer in the office of academic technology, on developing an online course and the balance between the student load and regulatory demands. 

“One of the best things about PADLA is that it serves both the corporate and academic worlds,” said Rod Murray PhD, executive director of academic technology services at USciences and PADLA board member. “It’s fun to hear about learning technologies our corporate friends use and no doubt they learn from us as well.”

For the keynote, Jim Scherrer, founding director of the Compuseum, will interview Bill Mauchly, son of one of the ENIAC inventors, founder of the first computer company and the first computer programmer, about Philadelphia’s place in Computer History.

For more information about the conference visit the PADLA website or reach out to Dr. Murray at r.murray@usciences.edu. USciences faculty and staff are invited to attend for free.

PADLA 14th Annual Conference & Expo

We are very excited to announce details for the PADLA 14th Annual Conference & Expo to be held on December 20, 2016 at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Join your regional colleagues who are making an impact on how we learn.

The Call for Presentations has been extended to this Friday, November 11, 2016!

Our event features:

• More than 15 concurrent presentations
• Expo Hall Exhibitors
• Exhibitor Prize Treasure Hunt
• Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks

This year's conference will feature a keynote by Jim Scherrer, founding Director of the Philly-based Compuseum, and Bill Mauchly, the son of one of the inventor's of the earliest electronic general-purpose computer, the ENIAC, right there in Philly.

Also, check out the FREE Pre-conference Virtual Trade Show on November 16.

Montgomery County Community College's 22nd Annual Technology and Learning Conference

Join us for Enhancing the Educational Environment

Montgomery County Community College's 22nd Annual Technology and Learning Conference

on October 7, 2016, from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

To see sessions and register for the conference, go to mc3.edu/techday

PADLA: Virtual Reality for Education & Training

You are invited to join the PA/DE/NJ Distance Learning Association at the Project Management Institute in Newtown Square, PA, for the second installment of in-depth presentations, case studies, best practices & hands-on demos of the latest in Virtual Reality and its implications for the advancement of Academic/Medical Education & Corporate Training. Whether you are in Corporate, Non-Profit, Higher Ed, or K-12, this event will go deep into the cutting-edge forefront of these brave new realities at the infancy of their exploration.

• Date: 19 Oct 2016
• Time: 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
• Location: The Project Management Institute

Presentations include:

Inside the Mind & Body thru VR presented by Dan Schwartz: President, Steve Cipollone: EVP, & Rob Bauer: Sr. Producer at Variant VR.

Variant VR will be presenting two to three short VR experiences concentrating in the continuing medical education field and will be supplying 10 headsets for audience viewing. They will give a brief description of how the process of the virtual reality experience is presented and a quick overview of other ways to deliver VR to other audiences. They will conclude with a review of a typical VR production timeline and expectations for someone thinking of stepping into this exciting new technology.

Empowering the Next Generation thru Virtual Simulations & Virtual Reality presented by Dr. Mikkel Marfelt at Labster.

New technologies such as immersive virtual reality can be highly effective for student learning while opening up new avenues for distance learning disciplines. By using new virtual technologies, we can also improve student motivation, engagement, as well as, theoretical and practical skills. See how Labster's next generation of virtual lab simulations are helping to improve learning outcomes for students around the world.

REGISTER NOW!

Active Learning Spaces Symposium @PhiladelphiaU

Click Image for Details

The Active Learning Space Symposium at Philadelphia University on August 12 features presentations that highlight evidence-based and experimental processes in the design, implementation and assessment of active learning spaces.  The forum provides an excellent opportunity to share experiences and thoughts about the way the built environment and technologies can support, nurture, and optimize active learning pedagogies. 

Submit an Abstract - Due on June 10, 2016

As a participant, you will:

• Learn best practices to optimize engagement and buy-in from all stake-holders in the design and implementation of active learning spaces
• Garner tips and lessons learned in the assessment process of space, furniture and technology
• Gain valuable insight into the ways in which active learning spaces and technologies foster active, collaborative, and real world pedagogies and skills
• Take a glimpse into the future of active learning spaces
• Network with knowledgeable folks who have implemented active learning space initiatives

NMC Beyond the Horizon > The Hybrid Experience - Register Now!

In this online event, panelists will explore how the hybrid approach is fostering independent learning and collaboration, as well as cultivating more channels of communication among students and instructors. Panelists will reveal how the integration of online tools also provides instructors with the ability to track student success and engagement, rearranging face-to-face instruction around more active, hands-on activities.

• Date: April 20, 2016
• Time: 1:00-2:00 PM
• Place: Google Hangout
• Register for Webinar

The cost is $125. If you plan to participate, please let me know. I have a limited number of Coupon Codes.

The Panelists:

• Moderator: Rodney Murray (University of the Sciences)
• Terra Graves (Washoe County School District)
• Cathy Littlefield (Peirce College)
• David Schönstein (Smart Sparrow)

This online event is a program of the NMC Personalized Learning Initiative (PLI), supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through the NMC PLI, the NMC is working to scale the adoption of innovative personalized learning practices and solutions in US higher education. In this series of online events, the NMC convenes key influencers and leaders in the field to move the most innovative ideas and solutions from the foundation’s vast network of grantees and partners into practice. Learn more at go.nmc.org/pli.

NE eLearning Consortium Conference on May 5th - REGISTER NOW!

Wilmington University is hosting the 2016 Northeast E-learning Consortium. The event will be held on Thursday, May 5, 2016 from 8:30am – 3:30pm. The theme will be Teaching and Learning with Technology.

• Full Agenda PDF
• Cool Door Prizes

The schedule for the 2016 Northeast E-Learning Consortium is now available! Over 40 sessions have been organized that are beneficial to these 5 major job functions:

• Instructional technologists/designers
• Leaders in online learning
• Learning management system administrators
• Educational and classroom technology specialists
• Adjunct and full-time faculty

You will have the opportunity to attend any of the sessions. Expect to walk away with real world examples of innovative projects and creative strategies that will help you more effectively use web 2.0 tools and pedagogical strategies within your own institution. Together we can transform higher education through collaboration!

If you haven’t signed up yet, Register Now!

PADLA: Planning and Implementing Active Learning Spaces

The PA/DE/NJ Distance Learning Association invites you to hear a compelling case study and tour the concrete results involved in implementing active learning spaces within Philadelphia University. Active learning spaces combine a variety of enabling technologies that foster an evolving pedagogy which is the future of academic education and corporate training. 

Date: May 3, 2016
Time: 8:30 to 11:30 AM
Place: Philadelphia University, Tuttleman Center

Presentation: "Lessons Learned from Planning & Implementing Active Learning Spaces"

The planning stage is the 'make or break' step in determining the overall success of campus wide initiatives that strive to renew learning spaces that enhance active learning strategies. Through several small (individual classrooms) to large (new buildings) experiences with planning and implementing active learning spaces on our campus, one pivotal lesson learned has been getting the 'right' stake-holders into the planning stage and fostering productive discussions that will optimize the final spaces for all involved (faculty, students, IT, etc.). Using active learning methods, participants in this session will identify strategies to maximize campus-wide ‘buy-in’ from all stakeholders before environments are built. We will identify those planning team members’ characteristics that lead to productive planning and implementation of active learning spaces and discuss strategies for orchestrating planning teams that represent all stakeholders’ agendas and interests. This session is highly relevant to institutions thinking about embarking on learning space transformations that will align with active, collaborative, real-world teaching coupled with mindful use of technologies that support collaborative pedagogies.

Campus Tour: Active Learning Spaces @ Philly U

This event also includes a campus tour highlighting Philadelphia University's experimentation and implementation of both formal (classrooms, studios, labs, building-wide) and informal (student center, library) learning spaces. These are innovative, mindfully-designed physical spaces with appropriate technologies which foster active, collaborative, real-world teaching and learning.

SPACE IS LIMITED SO

REGISTER NOW!

PADLA: Instructional Design and Techniques for Creating Effective eLearning

Join us for this PADLA (PA/NJ/DE Distance Learning Association) half-day event featuring two presentations on Instructional Design and Effective eLearning:

Instructional Design and Techniques for Creating Effective eLearning

Collaborate with your PADLA professional community by going back to the basics of sound instructional design and techniques to create effective eLearning. Too often we become so focused on the technology that we tend to lose sight of our main mission of creating effective education and learning.

• Presenters:

Victor Yocco, PhD, Philadelphia-based researcher, learning strategist, and the author of Design for the Mind

Rich Herbert, Program Manager, Mortgage Academy at PHH Mortgage

• Location:

PHH Mortgage1 Mortgage WayMount Laurel, NJ 08054-5452

• Date: 16 Feb 2016
• Time: 8:30 to 11:30

REGISTER NOW - SEATING IS LIMITED

Drexel 2016 eLearning 3.0 Conference - Call for Proposals

On behalf of Drexel University, the 2016 e-Learning Conference, which is being held on Thursday, March 24th in the Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building on Drexel University’s University City Campus, is currently accepting proposal submissions. Proposals are for presentations that will run for 45 minutes on topics related to the use of technology in teaching and learning. 

Proposal Submission Form

Proposals are now due by Friday, February 5, 2016 and will be reviewed after that deadline, with final decisions on which have been selected being sent out in mid to late February. Please forward this along to your colleagues who might be interested in presenting. 

Conference Website

Thanks,

Michael Shelmet

Associate Director of Instructional Technology

Office of Information Resources and Technology

Drexel University