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Web Design & Development for Adult Learners

Session Date/Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 18:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
The goal of this six-week online course is designed to provide adult learners with online Web Design instruction that will help them to create a functioning and visually appealing website. With the use of Weebly, an online authoring tool, learners will be able to build a website on a topic of their choosing that includes multiple pages containing text, images, links, and embedded media. This course aims to provide a free, convenient, and accessible method of learning within the scope of basic web development through an interactive, asynchronous online environment.
Presenter(s)
  • Annette Ahuna, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
  • Adam Halemano, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
  • Nicholas Alexander, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

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Green Schools: Education for Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

Session Date/Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 16:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
Education has the potential to significantly raise awareness of sustainability and energy conservation in our schools and homes. This course was created to assist educators in integrating energy efficiency and conservation concepts, educational materials, learning objects, and problem-based learning activities into curriculums and training programs.
Presenter(s)
  • Patricia Stemmle, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii, USA

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Open Planner: Using Google Calendars for Cloud Based Personal and Collaborative Lesson Planning

Session Date/Time
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 – 17:30 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
Google Apps for Education offers many new technologies that are not only changing the way we teach but also the way we collaborate and plan. Google Calendar in particular can allow for cloud based storage of lesson plans that can be organized and set to be readily available on any given day, year after year. Yet even the small amount of time and practice it may take to learn how to use a new technology can create a large chasm between digital natives, comfortable with exploring a new product, and those not ready to leave the comforts of familiarity and migrate to the digital world. This usability study aimed to evaluate the usability and intuitiveness of a module prototype, designed to teach educators how to use Google Calendar as a cloud-based lesson planner, in order to determine how to make the module more approachable to new learners. Participants were asked to “think aloud” as they performed a series of tasks and explored the module in an effort to gain an understanding of how users might perceive the learning module and any potential areas that might inhibit learning. Data were gathered on participants as they interacted with the module, on any frustrations, confusions, and overall impressions. The results of the study highlighted areas of concern, frustration or confusion which helped further shape the design of the module and provide possible implications or generalizations that may be made when designing future training modules.
Presenter(s)
  • Dana Ishii, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA

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The Massive Growth Spurt in MOOCS: Do They Signal a Promising Trend in Higher Education?

Session Date/Time
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 – 13:30 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
The new phenomenon of MOOCS is promising to revitalize the educational landscape, shake up the key players, and reform higher education. MOOCS are a recent development in distance education and are known as Massive Open Online Course( s). They originated in 2008 with the Open Education Resources Movement ( OER) ( Open Educational Resource, Hewlett Foundation) and are courses offering lectures by world class professors with videos, quizzes, learning material, etc., now being offered by elite institutions like Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, etc., which provide free access and offer certificates of completion, but typically do not offer academic credit, or charge tuition fees. MOOCs signal a trend in the application of “connectivism” which emphasizes learning taking place in a social and cultural context with the infusion of work /life experience
(Downes, 2011).

This interactive presentation will discuss the challenges and opportunities that MOOCs present to “for-profit education.” Is self-paced learning truly successful? What is the success rate for students registered in such courses? Do MOOCs signal a trend in higher education away from degree programs requiring students to pay tuition, to the accessibility of free resources that provide proof of completion and mastery of content as being the requisite outcome necessary in today’s workplace? Will the greater transparency provided by the web, lead to greater accountability of individuals, organizations, and business practices? If the human race is to survive and thrive, accountability needs to infuse every human endeavor–from that of the individual, to nations, and to the world, at large.

References
Richard Pérez-Peña (July 17, 2012). “Top universities test the online appeal of free”. The New York Times. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
Horacio Reyes. “History of a revolution in e-learning”. Revista Educacion Virtual. Retrieved Aug 10, 2012.
Downes, Stephen “‘Connectivism’ and Connective Knowledge”, Huffpost Education, January 5, 2011, accessed July 27, 2011
^ Kop, Rita “The challenges to connectivist learning on open online networks: Learning experiences during a massive open online course”, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Volume 12, Number 3, 2011, accessed November 22nd, 2011
“Open Educational Resources”. The William and Flora Hewlitt Foundation. Retrieved 27 March 2013.

Presenter(s)
Rathi Krishnan, Kaplan University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Rathi KrishnanRathi Krishnan has an MA in Comparative Literature from Bangalore University, India, another MA in English from Cal State University, Long Beach, as well as doctoral coursework in English from University of California, Riverside, before she dropped out, and began to ponder on the meaning of education, education that is self-taught versus formal education. She has taught at several California community colleges, Cal State University, Long Beach, NYU, several online universities, and is currently a full time professor at Kaplan University. Her quest is to provide quality education to her students, as well as to contemplate the bigger picture of what education entails and affords for each one of us in our quest for self-discovery and in fulfillment of our goals, dreams, and ambitions. She lives in the San Francisco, Bay Area and as online teaching allows her to travel widely, considers herself to be a resident of “nowhere” and a denizen of “everywhere,” a state made possible in this internet era.

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Online Course Development from the Economics Viewpoint

Session Date/Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 9:30 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
Economists argue that there is a scarcity in world’s resources. If in fact the argument stands, then the scarcity affects every human being on Earth, including those who teach at higher education. The demand for online courses, whether it is due to market needs or management’s decision to expand the service territory has increased rapidly in the United States. While those professors are adding that one more work order to their backlog, they are striving to figure out a way to continue to perform effectively and efficiently as before. At the end of the day, it is their performance that is to be evaluated by their respective university administration. Teaching, either online or not, is just one aspect of the performance evaluation. How well the professors perform other assignments, say in scholarship and service is also deemed critical. Since the end (or the holy grail) is that overall high performance, the means to that end depends on to what degree the professors manage the scarce resources given.

In the context of the development of online courses, professors are often concerned about when a given online course in its current form (e.g., maturity) is good enough for delivery. As the professors get more conscientious or, in some cases, more anxious about the quality of the course, they tend to devote more of their limited resources (e.g., time) to the course development. To what degree is this increase in the consumed time justified? That is, how does the marginal benefit in this effort play out? This short presentation (dialogue) is intended to unfold around marginal analysis issues and inform practitioners of optimum use of scarce resources.

Presenter(s)
Cheng Chang PAN, The University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, Texas, USA
Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan is associate professor of Educational Technology and coordinator of E-Learning Certificate program at the University of Texas at Brownsville. His research interests include rational design thinking that leads to efficient social outcomes and optimizing instructional systems development in the context of project management. He enjoys teaching courses in instructional systems design project management, multimedia development drawn from cognitive learning theories, and e-learning design theory and practice. He can be reached at sam.pan@utb.edu
Francisco Garcia, The University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, Texas, USA
Francisco GarciaBio coming soon!

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Slippery Rocks and ALGAE: A Collaborative Multiplayer Educational Roleplaying Game and a Model for Adaptive Learning Game Design

Session Date/Time
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 – 9:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
Designing educational games seems deceptively simple, but creating a game that is engaging and offers strengths that compel the players to continue playing can be challenging. Join us as we examine the behavior and design of a multiplayer educational roleplaying game called Slippery Rock Falls that promotes learner collaboration, and share your game design experiences and your insights on the ALGAE model for adaptive learning game design during this interactive session.

Interactivity
The interactive session includes a trivia game that stimulates the audience to share their experiences, an exercise for discussing the kinds of games that they have played and designed, and a collaborative activity that organizes the recommendations of the participants.

If there is interest, we can schedule a Slippery Rock Falls game session after the conference.

Presenter(s)
Cynthia Calongne, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Cynthia_Calongne_64Dr. Cynthia Calongne is a researcher of virtual worlds, games, and immersive learning experiences with over 18 years teaching experience. She was a founding leader of Colorado Technical University’s Emerging Media Program in Computer Science Program after serving as a software engineer including the US Space Command. Cynthia, aka her avatar Lyr Lobo, was a co-recipient of the $25,000 1st prize for the Federal Virtual Challenge with Dr. Andrew Stricker in 2010 for their Mars Expedition Challenge. Cynthia’s presentations can be found at: http://www.slideshare.net/lyrlobo/presentations
Andrew Stricker, Air University, Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Bio coming soon!
Truman Barbara, Fusion Unlimited Networks, Orlando, Florida, USA
Barbara_Truman_64Dr. Barbara Truman is a social entrepreneur who was a former faculty administrator from the University of Central Florida where she helped establish online learning. Barbara’s background is within Instructional Systems Design, Human Performance Technology, and Computer Science. She recently launched a non-profit corporation in Orlando, Florida to promote collaboration using virtual environments across industry sectors and beyond formal learning. Barbara studies how immersive learning environments promote transdisciplinarity using avatars and dialogue.
Jason Murray, Colorado Technical University, Pennsylvania, USA
Jason MurrayAs the District Technology Coordinator for Cornwall-Lebanon School District, I promote the integration of technology within curriculums to enhance student learning opportunities. Web 2.0 tools, cloud computing, and open source ideals create a new dynamic journey for education. The culture shift of technological transformations within the classroom offers a vibrant future for education.

My Master of Science through Philadelphia University in Instructional Technology laid my foundation to understanding instructional design, educational technology, and online learning. My Doctorate of Computer Science through Colorado Technical University focusing in Emerging Media adds to my experience in open source, cloud computing, futuring, and innovation.

As the Technology Coordinator, I supervise the organization of the district’s enterprise solutions. Our Technology Services offer innovative, customized solutions to provide our staff with the essentials they need to complete their objectives. We incorporate futuristic concepts within our network engineering, virtual professional development, collaborative communication, and all other aspects of the district.

My current aspirations include researching open source software project performance in sourceforge.net; creating dynamic content in virtual worlds (Second Life & multiple OpenSim worlds); exploring cloud computing; investigating cyber awareness & security; developing blended, hybrid, & virtual learning environments; and developing mobile apps.

Edward D. Lavieri, Jr., Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Bio coming soon!
Diane Martini, Fusion Unlimited Networks, Orlando, FL, USA
Bio coming soon!

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Screencasting on the iPad using ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard

Session Date/Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 8:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
Screencasts enable instructors to quickly and easily provide a student-centered and engaging learning experience. Instead of trying to find existing video online, instructors can create a screencast which aligns with specific lessons or answers student’s questions. In addition to effective instruction, the screencast also allows for a more personal connection between the instructor and student(s). Several popular screencasting options are available for the computer, but we will focus on Showme for the iPad. Showme Interactive Whiteboard is an app that turns your iPad into a personal interactive whiteboard. Showme allows you to record your own tutorials and share them online or via email with students. Showme works well for students and instructors making instructional videos easy to create and share.
Presenter(s)
Lea Rosenberry, Kaplan University, Altoona, PA, USA
Lea_Rosenberry_64Lea Rosenberry has been teaching college-level math since 1996. She has a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a minor in Math Education. In addition, she has over 21 graduate hours in Mathematics. Lea has been teaching for Kaplan University since 2005 and has been a course lead and subject matter expert for various math courses during her tenure at Kaplan.

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The Digital Divide: Gender Equity in Online Learning Applications

Session Date/Time
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 – 11:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
What is the “digital divide”? Is this “divide” dissipating with the advent of new educational technology, or, perhaps, increasing? This general session seeks to explore access to interactive technology, with an emphasis on online educational gaming and the digital divide, specifically focusing on interactive elements in the humanities field. As a point of emphasis, the presenters will use case studies from one course at Kaplan University, “20th Century Art and Humanities”. Gaps in access consistently originate with income, race, and education levels, contributing to concerns with self-efficacy which, in turn, may create barriers in utilizing technology for educational purposes. Students may also lack the ability to effectively use technology to improve educational opportunities, thereby furthering the divide. As part of this presentation, the presenters seek to encourage conversation regarding an understanding of what the term “digital divide” entails, as well as how multimedia tools can also enhance student interaction and both accessibility to, and comprehension of, humanities course content. This presentation aims to create dialogue regarding how, with useful and comprehensible course content and unlimited access to information, it is possible to cultivate engagement in online undergraduate courses, and subsequently, empower students, particularly in humanities courses, in the pursuit of degree and career advancement.
Presenter(s)
Jennifer Harrison, Kaplan University, USA
Jennifer Harrison is Professor of Humanities at Kaplan University, focusing on courses in American women’s history and 20th century Arts and Humanities; she also serves as the developer and course leader for Kaplan’s American Women course.
Crystal Hofegartner, Kaplan University, USA
Crystal Hofegartner is Professor of Humanities at Kaplan University, focusing on courses in American women’s history and 20th century Arts and Humanities; she serves as the developer and course leader for Kaplan’s innovative Founding Fathers course.

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Online Students’ Perceptions Assessed: What Instructors Need to Know and Ideas for Incorporating Technology into the Online Learning Environment

Session Date/Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 9:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
Student perceptions of the online learning environment were measured using the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) and focused upon six areas: instructor support, student interaction and collaboration, personal relevance, authentic learning, active learning, and student autonomy with an assessment of overall student satisfaction measured as well. This dissertation study identified areas of the learning environment online students perceive to be most important and correlated highly with overall satisfaction, which will be discussed during the session. More importantly, ways in which instructors can enhance their performance in hopes of maintain and increasing student satisfaction in these areas using social media, apps, and other technologies will be discussed.
Presenter(s)
  • Julie Phillips, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, Prior Lake, MN, USA

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Assessing Online Teaching: Beyond Quality Matters

Session Date/Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 9:00 HST
Audience
All Audiences
Session Description
The quality of faculty who teach online is critical to the success of online students. Online course quality measures, such as Quality Matters, are useful for evaluating the DESIGN of an online course. However, they are less effective in assessing the quality of those who TEACH online. In this presentation, we will discuss a research and development project identifying currently nationwide practices in assessing online teaching, the creation of an online “class observation” instrument, and a formal program to recognize and reward exemplary online faculty.
Presenter(s)
Larry Bohn
Bio coming soon!
Anthony Piña
Anthony_Piña_64Dr. Anthony Piña is Dean of Online Studies for the Sullivan University System, Kentucky largest private University. Tony oversees the academic side of an online division offering nearly 50 online programs and 400+ courses to more than 3,000 students. Tony is author of the book “Distance Learning and the Institution” and co-editor of “Real Life Distance Education: Case Studies in Practice.” He has over 40 academic publications and more than 160 conference presentations. He serves on the editorial board of three scholarly journals. His research focuses upon administrative issues in distance education.

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