DE Oracle @ UMUC

UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2009 Conference

Linda Smelser

Instructional Support Specialist

Non UMUC

Published: May-June 2009

Category: » University-showcase » Conference-presentations

"Virtual Worlds: Real Teaching and Learning" was the theme of this year's conference of the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA). UMUC was well represented in attendance at the conference held at the Sheppard Pratt Conference Center in Baltimore on March 5, 2009.  

MDLA President John Beyers, Academic Director and Professor of Mathematics and Statistics (SUS), and President-elect Richard Schumaker, Manager of Worldwide Training, Center for Teaching and Learning, were pleased with the record attendance and overall quality of the annual conference. UMUC faculty and staff presented on a variety of relevant topics and also won three distance learning awards, as noted below.

UMUC Awards

Dr. Loyce Palin, CISSP, Associate Provost, Office of Instructional Services and Support, won the "Distance Administrator of the Year" award, which recognized her excellent work and leadership supporting distance education within the UMUC community. Dr. Pailen has successfully orchestrated her staff to develop, design, and maintain quality online course materials and help faculty adopt and integrate innovative teaching tools and best practices. 

The MBA Program won the "Distance Program of the Year" award, highlighting its integrated nature and focus on competencies. As a faculty member noted, "One of the several factors that distinguish this MBA from others is the fact that it is informed by a carefully crafted, shared vision of what graduates should know and be able to do in the workplace. Full-time program directors work with adjuncts, students, alumni, and advisory board members to continuously review and refine this vision." Robert Goodwin is the MBA program's executive director.

Chinese 111 Elementary Chinese won the "Distance Course of the Year" award for its design philosophy that incorporates animated videos with visual and auditory cues to help students master the Chinese tone system in several learning modalities. The course includes over 3000 audio files and utilizes Wimba tools that allows students to listen to the instructor as well as record their own voice for instructor and peer review. Many of the exercises provide instant feedback, and culture notes are provided in each lesson to foster insight into the pragmatics of the Chinese language. The design team was headed by Dr. Gretchen I. Jones, Academic Director of Foreign Languages, Hsiang-ting Wu, and Dr. Kueilan Chen; the lead developers included Alana Fennie, Lauren Hauptman, Sherri Clark, and Donna Plummer.

UMUC Presentations

Keynote: Putting Quality First, The Real Challenge of Virtual Learning
Speaker: Dr. Susan Aldridge, President, UMUC

Dr. Aldridge started off the day by describing the importance of providing a learner-centric approach, encouraging faculty exchange of knowledge, and measuring student success to achieve excellence in the online environment.

Presentation: Tales from the Web 2.0 Front… the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Presenters: Linda Smelser and Joanna Zhang, Instructional Support Specialists; Laddie Odom, Multimedia Specialist, Center for Support of Instruction

Laddie, Linda, and Joanna presented and demonstrated case studies using Web 2.0 tools such as Blogger, Google Docs, calendars, and page creators for designing content and embedding it in the online classroom. The discussion included information on the positive and negative aspects of using free Web 2.0 tools in the WebTycho environment. For more information on this subject, please visit the http://deoracle.org/ and search for "Web 2.0."

Presentation: Building a Foundation: The Evolution of a Core Learning Program in Face-to-Face and Distance Learning
Presenters:  Elizabeth Mulherrin, Academic Director, LIBS 150 and WMST; Joseph Chiappa, Assistant to the Dean; and Samuel Barnett, Academic Director of Humanities, SUS

Beth, Joe, and Sam discussed how to instruct diverse online student populations using a unique core learning structure that emphasizes written communication, technical fluency, critical thinking, and information literacy skills. Using three different course examples, the presenters demonstrated how to use an evolving writing assignment to develop these four core learning areas.

Presentation: Teaching Text as a Historical Model: The Audacity of Hope, an American Story
Presenter: Lisa Beth Hill, Assistant Academic Director, African American Studies, Government and Political Science, and History, SUS

Lisa discussed the challenges of presenting instructive, relevant, and engaging history text online. She explained that her approach to use Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, helps students get to know their 44th president and also teaches them the unique and common elements of American heritage and their racial, social, and political bonds.

Presentation: Application of Web 2.0 Technologies to Support Reflective Learning Journals
Presenter: Les Pang, Program Director, Database Systems Technology, GSMT 

With the development of Web 2.0 tools, students can use blogs and other social networks that provide a new dimension to their educational experience. Les discussed best practices and benefits of using Web 2.0 tools as an engaging way for students to write learning journals that help them reflect on their learning experience and how it relates to their everyday environment.

Presentation: “Okay, everyone stand up, form a circle, and join hands”: The Challenges of Transforming Interactions from Face-to-Face to Online
Presenter: Darlene Smucny, Director for Social Sciences, SUS

How does one convert face-to-face activities to the online environment? Darlene presented a list of practical solutions for incorporating online substitutes for face-to-face interactions and opened the discussion to audience members for a lively exchange of ideas.

Presentation: Rules of Engagement: Interactive Assignments that Enhance Online Neurobiology Instruction
Presenters: Robin Searles-Adenegan, Assistant Director; Debra McLaughlin, Academic Director, SUS

Teaching science is challenging for students who underestimate the level of dedication, commitment, motivation, and independence needed to be successful. Robin and Debra discussed some possible solutions and used case studies for changing the rules of engagement with problem-based learning projects, collaborative assignments, and innovative teaching strategies.

Presentation: Instructor Training for Online and Blended Classes: Finding the Right Model
Presenter: Susan Ko, Executive Director, Center for Teaching and Learning

Susan discussed the importance of adapting and customizing instructor development training to match the chosen model for online, blended, or face-to-face instruction. She talked about the characteristics and elements of successful instructor development, the diverse programs that can be assembled through a variety of delivery formats, and solutions for those with limited training resources, including informal use of Web 2.0 tools.

Presentation: The Virtual Continuum: Taking F2F Classes Online, and Taking Online Classes F2F
Presenters: Elizabeth Mulherrin, Academic Director, LIBS 150 and WMST; Brandy Whitlock, Anne Arundel Community College

Students who prefer to take their courses in either the online or face-to-face format now have a third option at UMUC: the hybrid format. Elizabeth and Brandy shared student feedback to explain their strategies for using the hybrid format to offer self-directed activities online and follow-up face-to-face sessions to help students work on key concepts.

Presentation: Meaning and Motivation in Online Learning: Reflections on the Use of Audio
Presenter: Richard Schumaker, Worldwide Training Manager, Center for Teaching and Learning

Richard discussed the use of audio clips to deepen the meaning and motivation of online learning. He demonstrated his use of audio in a lower-level writing course and an upper-level Shakespeare course to show how thoughtful placement of audio clips enhances the delivery of content in the online environment.

Presentation: Building a “One-Stop Shopping” Resource for Faculty Sharing and Learning
Presenters: Susan Pollack and Linda Smelser, Instructional Support Specialists; Deborah Schroeder, Senior Instructional Support Specialist, Center for Support of Instruction

The DE Oracle is an interactive faculty e-zine and peer-to-peer learning community for UMUC faculty. It provides articles, self-paced tutorials, and resources that seek to continuously improve online teaching skills. Susan, Linda, and Deb explained the history, focus, and work involved in maintaining the DE Oracle over the past eight years. The staff at the Center for Support of Instruction write articles, edit contributions, maintain the database, and publish the e-zine on a bi-monthly basis.

Presentation: Virtual Presentations Using TVnima
Presenter: David Johnson, Assistant Academic Director, CMST

As David says, “TVnima is PowerPoint on steroids.” TVnima is a virtual technology used to create animated avatar-based presentations that offer faculty and students a more engaging process for online content delivery. David provided demonstrations of how he uses TVnima features to design an avatar, narration, media (imported PPT and video), and camera angles to enhance the online classroom experience.

Links to the electronic presentations from this conference and past MDLA evens are available at http://www.marylanddla.org/events.htm.

About MDLA: The Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA) is a chapter of the United States Distance Learning Association with a mission to promote education, training and research for distance learning. For more information, please visit the MDLA Web site at http://www.marylanddla.org/events.htm.