DE Oracle @ UMUC

UMUC's Presence at the 13th Sloan-C International Conference

Heloisa Siffert

Senior Instructional Support Specialist

Center for Support of Instruction

Published: January-February 2008

Category: » University-showcase » Papers-studies

UMUC made a remarkable presence at the 13th Sloan-C Conference that was held in Orlando, Florida, November 7-9. The Sloan-C Consortium, which hosts the annual conference, is one of the fastest growing and pre-eminent organizations dedicated to the growth and accessibility of online learning. The total attendance of the 2007 conference was over 1200 people, representing college faculty and administrators, instructional technology professionals and designers from various states and countries. Relative to this year’s theme, The Power of Online Learning: Making a Difference, UMUC presenters from various departments spoke on topics ranging from best instructional practices to faculty development to emerging trends.

Below are the abstracts for all UMUC presentations:

International Perspectives on Online Learning

Nick Allen, ICDE (and UMUC Provost Emeritus); Armando Villarroel, CREAD; and Martine Vidal, EDEN

This panel presentation, provided perspectives on trends in online learning from three international organizations: the Inter-American Distance Education Consortium (CREAD); the European Distance and e-Learning Network (EDEN); and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).

Developing Online Learning Objects to Support Positive Faculty-Student Interaction

Betsy Alperin, Laurie Hulcher, and Heloisa Siffert, UMUC

The limits of expression in the distance education environment can make positive faculty-student interaction a challenge for even the most dedicated educators. This session showcased the development of an online faculty workshop that uses a video case study model to strengthen and support skills in this area. (power point presentation)

Competency Development in Blended and Online Business Learning Environments

Jomarie Bliss, Jane Ross, Jacob Krivoruchko, Lee Ann Graul and Frank Albritton, UMUC

UMUC's online MBA program features the integration of competencies into instruction, assignments and feedback, as a key part of its innovative curriculum design. By emphasizing ten specific competencies, faculty encourages students to connect classroom experiences with real-world skills and promote increased collaboration, personal growth, and greater depth of learning. (power point presentation)

Creating a Multi-Cultural Online Classroom through Blogs, Wikis, and Connect

Richard Schumaker and Lisa Ellen Bernstein, UMUC

This presentation explored three new technologies that present diversity themes in an intellectually rigorous and pedagogically sound fashion. The emphasis was at once theoretical and practical: formulating key theoretical issues, as well as providing practical examples of successful examples in teaching diversity issues using new technologies. The presenters demonstrated the use of the UMUC "Chaucer server," developed by Theo Stone.

E-learning to the Rescue: Cases in the United States, South Africa and Lebanon

Claudine SchWeber, UMUC, and Maureen Yoder, Lesley University

Sometimes e-learning is the best, and only, solution to unexpected developments or serious business challenges. This session described cases in the United States, Lebanon, and South Africa, demonstrating how e-learning provided opportunities for the education and business communities to continue operations despite threats to their ability to function.

Learning Foreign Languages Online: UMUC's Innovative Approach

Gretchen Jones and Alana Fennie, UMUC

This session showcased the innovative approaches in designing online foreign language courses and the technologies that support the design. The session outlined how UMUC adapted learning theories to meet the needs of online educators and students. The session also demonstrated unique integration of technology supporting the course design. 

A Job Well Done!

Once again Sloan-C Conference was an extraordinary opportunity for UMUC faculty, instructional technologists and administrators to share our experiences and practices with an international community of distance learning educators.  Let's acknowledge our presenters and their supporting teams for the hard work well done. Great job, UMUC!