Celebrate National Distance Learning Week

November 9-13, 2015

In celebration of National Distance Learning Week, November 9-13, 2015, we invite faculty, teaching assistants, and students to join us for these free webinars from the Online Learning Consortium, Quality Matters, and Pearson. The National Distance Learning Week honors the tremendous growth and accomplishments occurring in distance education, while showing appreciation to those who make an indelible mark in the field and upon students.

November 9, 2015 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm (ET)

This session will help faculty understand how different Quality Matters (QM) Standards support diverse students and show how QM helps to achieve good universal design. While the session will present information on QM and universal design for all students, the session will focus in particular on the needs of students with Autism Spectrum disorder and on how QM, effectively applied, helps meet their needs.

November 10, 2015 – 12:00pm – 1:30pm (ET)

Join panel of experts in the field of distance learning advising for a discussion on the characteristics of students in online and blended programs, as well as approaches to creating an effective advising environment for distance learners. 

November 11, 2015 – 12:00pm – 1:00pm (ET)

For many faculty, a primary objective in teaching is to facilitate students’ active consideration of how the studies, phenomena, and theories they read about apply to their daily lives. This presentation explores how blogging can further this goal. Advantages, challenges, and assessment will be discussed, as will applicability for both in-person and online courses.

November 12, 2015 – 1:00pm – 2:00pm (ET)

The impact of technology on every aspect of our lives has accelerated and multiplied over the past few years, changing the way we communicate with our families, buy groceries, catch a ride to the airport, and even plan for our deaths. Two leading digital education experts talk about the evidence they’re seeing across the U.S. that technology is taking root – and pinpoint the gaps that remain.

November 13, 2015 – 12:00pm – 1:00pm (ET)

In this webinar, participants will learn about learning opportunities available through the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Institute including 1-3 day workshops, master series, and certificate programs, as well as advisory services available to institutions. Join OLC staff in this interactive webinar so that you can better understand how OLC offerings can assist you and UMBC.

November 13, 2015 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm (ET)

To promote compliance with accessibility mandates, San Jose University developed a workflow to provide timely, accurate, and cost-effective closed captioning for instructional materials. They will share details about this process and data about significant benefits of the captioning for all students.

Another great resource to support your online and blended learning initiatives is the newly published special issue of Online Learning, which features invited papers selected from the nine best presentations at the 20th International Conference on Online Learning: “Driving Innovation with Online Learning.” The journal promotes the development and dissemination of new knowledge at the intersection of pedagogy, emerging technology, policy, and practice in online environments.

Posted: October 29, 2015, 2:26 PM