DETS 2005 - Workshop Schedule
Last update: May 11, 2005
Session Details (Paragraph format)
Summary of all sessions (MS Word, long format, 39 pages)
** You can download summaries of individual sessions as you read through the table below. (This may help you if you have a slow Internet connection, or if you wish to print out only a few sessions.)
| Date | Time |
Event/Location (all events at the Chateau Lacombe-Crowne Plaza Hotel, Edmonton.) |
| Thursday,
May 19 |
7:00
p.m. |
Official opening greetings and social: Dr. Dominique Abrioux, |
| Friday,
May 20 |
7:30 - 8:30am | Breakfast
- [Location - TBA]. |
| 8:30 - 10:00 | Session
1a: Forgetting the Tsunami: Preventing this via online education.
Session
1b: A team environment for developing learning materials.
|
|
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Break |
|
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Session
2a: The Impact of Learning Objects on Instructional Design.
Session 2b:
Easily design simulations with Quandary.
|
|
| 12:00 - 1:30 | Lunch Hotel dining room (location TBA). |
|
| 1:30 - 3:00 | Session
3a: Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and the International Decade for a
Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
Session
3c: Definition and development of the
strategic plan for a private distance post-secondary education
institution in Mexico: The University for Development (Universidad
para el Desarrollo).
|
|
| 3:00 - 3:30 | Break. |
|
| 3:30 - 5:00 | Session
4a: Transformative learning in distance education – the
learner's experience.
Session
4b: Implementing a multi-year organizational eLearning strategy.
|
|
| 6:30 - | Dinner. [Location TBA]. |
|
| Saturday,
May 21 |
7:00 - 8:00am | Breakfast.
[Location TBA]. |
| 8:00 - 9:30 |
Session
5a: The Virtual Professor.
Session
5b: Beyond the LMS: Knocking down the walls. |
|
| 9:30 - 10:00 | Break. |
|
| 10:00 - 11:30 |
Session
6a: A review of the feasibility of online problem-based learning.
Session
6b: Designing online courses: What works.
|
|
| 11:30 - 1:00 | Lunch. [location]. |
|
| 1:00 - 2:30 |
Session
7a: You want me to do what? A case study - Stand-and-deliver trainers transition their
skills to synchronous web-based training.
Session
7b: Two steps forward, one step back: The migration
from face-to-face to online learning in the literacy community. Session 7 Summaries (MS Word, 4 pages) |
|
| 2:30 - 3:00 | Break. |
|
| 3:00 - 4:30 | Session
8a: A personal description of one person's involvement
in Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand (FLLinNZ) project.
Session
8b: Use of Telecommunications Devices for
the Deaf (TDD) in adult literacy tutoring in the hearing
community.
|
|
| 4:30 - | Closing. |
Session Details:
Note: All sessions at the Chateau LaCombe-Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10111 Bellamy Hill, Edmonton.
Session 1a (Friday, May 20, 8:30 - 10:00):
Presentation 1a: Forgetting the tsunami: Preventing this via online education.
Presenters: Dr. J. Baggaley, Richard Giroday.
Jon Baggaley is Professor of Educational Technology at Athabasca.
He has taught previously at universities in Liverpool, Newfoundland,
and Montreal, and is author/editor of books including Dynamics of Television (with
Steven Duck), Psychology of the TV Image, and Evaluation of Educational
Television; also over 150 articles on media research and evaluation.
Dr. Baggaley has consulted on the design of educational media campaigns for
government and broadcasting organizations in Canada and the US, Brazil, Dominican
Republic, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa,
the UK, and in 13 Asian countries. He is a chartered psychologist and Associate
Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
Richard Giroday (B.Sc. SFU). Richard is an online teacher for the Central Interior Distance Education School, School District 57, Prince George BC Canada. He holds a position of special responsibility and is the school’s mentor for online teachers, providing pedagogical and technical support, and training for the school's teaching staff. He is co-administrator of the school’s Desire2Learn content management and delivery system, and also supports staff delivering courses through Web-CT. A passion for computers, the Internet, and education has lead to an extensive computer background, and application of the Internet to educational initiatives. Richard is a graduate student in the Masters of Distance Education program at Athabasca University.
Presentation 1a description: In MDDE615 (Human Factors in Educational Technology), project groups develop and evaluate online materials based on “human factors” principles. The Winter 2005 course began two weeks after the 26/December, 2004, Asian tsunami, presenting an unique opportunity to go beyond the usual academic objectives of the course, in designing online materials for Asian educators to use in teaching their communities about the tsunami’s impact. Twelve MDDE615 members divided into four project teams covering separate aspects of the topic, and a panel of educators at DE universities in Indonesia and Sri Lanka provided them with expert input. This session will demonstrate the online materials that resulted.
Session 1b (Friday, May 20, 8:30 - 10:00):
Presentation 1b: A team environment for developing learning materials.
Presenters: Daph Crane, Simonne Dickie, Bow Valley College, Calgary.
Daph Crane, an alumna of Athabasca University, graduated with her
MDE in 2000. She is working as an instructional designer and program
evaluator in Learning Resource Services at Bow Valley College,
Calgary. This unique combination provides Daph with the challenge
to do what she most enjoys, creating and improving quality learning
resources.
Simonne Dickie, also an alumna from Athabasca University, graduated
with her MDE in 1999. She works on a contractual basis and is presently
engaged with the University of Calgary as an instructional designer,
course writer, and facilitator. Simonne and Daph have worked on projects
together through the Learning Resource Services unit at Bow Valley
College. The challenges and adventures of the distance learning world
nurture Simonne’s passion to serve diverse learners who justly
expect quality and meaningful experiences. The bonus for Simonne is
that the work provides stimulating and ongoing learning for her, and
the joyful opportunity of teaming up with people like Daph, dedicated
to the learning environment.
Presentation 1b description: In this interactive session, Simonne and Daph describe how they work together in a team environment to develop learning materials for learners in a variety of settings. The challenges, adventures, highs, and joys of:
Are you curious about the potential adventures in the world of instructional design for distance learning?
Session 2a (Friday, May 20, 10:30 - 12:00):
Presentation 2a: The impact of learning objects on instructional design.
Presenter: Dr. Roger Powley has spent over twenty years facilitating the implementation of performance support, distance education, and distributed learning systems for clients in the military, government, academia, and private industry. He has acted as an instructional designer, performance consultant, project manager, and director of training and instructional design for a variety of private and public organizations. Dr. Powley has managed multi-million dollar government and corporate distributed learning and performance improvement projects for the military, and the systems integration, software development, telecommunications, and marine industries. Roger has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in instructional design, performance technology, the learning organization, web-based and computer-based design and development, analysis of distance education, multimedia project management, e-learning management, online instructor delivery, and the management of training systems, at the University of Calgary, University of Victoria, University of West Florida, Simon Fraser University, Athabasca University, and Royal Roads University. In 1998/99, Dr. Powley was appointed by the University of West Florida as a John C Pace Jr. Eminent Scholar for his leadership in the development of the university’s distance learning efforts. In 1999 - 2000, Dr. Powley led the design and implementation of a 14-course Master of Arts in Distributed Learning at Royal Roads University. Roger is the current President and CEO of Innovative Training Solutions Inc. (http://www.innovativetraining.ca), a company that specializes in the implementation of distributed learning systems, performance improvement, leadership support, and executive development. Dr. Powley holds a BA in Political Science (1971) from McMaster University), and an MSc (1990) and PhD (1994) in Instructional Systems from The Florida State University. He also possesses formal certification in Human Resource Development and Project Management.
Presentation 2a description: The presentation will explore the impact of e-learning specifications and standards, such as SCORM and IMS, on traditional instructional design models. It is believed instructional designers will need to employ different instructional strategies and methods when designing learning experiences that can be shared across a variety of platforms. The development of learning objects will require designers to understand and work more closely with the technical experts supporting the educational repositories. Finally, the presentation will examine the cost of producing a traditional e-learning course, versus the creation of a course using a repository of learning objects.
Session 2b (Friday, May 20, 10:30 - 12:00):
Presentation 2b: Easily design simulations with Quandary.
Presenter: Don Dietrich is a Course Designer with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science & Technology (SIAST), Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Over the past four years, he has developed e-learning materials
for business, computer science, anatomy and physiology, and paramedic
courses. Don is a teacher with 13 years experience in the K-12 sector.
He has taught at all levels, in southern and aboriginal contexts, and
in many different subject areas. Before becoming a teacher, Don spent
seven years in the business world.
Don has the following degrees and qualifications:
Session 2b description: Simulations are recognized by many educators as the best way to prepare students for application of learning. Designed properly, simulations:
In addition, simulations are ideally suited to group learning approaches. There are many companies that design and sell high-end simulations, often for the corporate market. These simulations can be priced out of reach for public-sector educators, in terms of time for production and dollar-cost.
The Application: Quandary (produced by Half-Baked Software, the makers of Hotpotatoes, another strong application; see
http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/quandary.php) is an easy-to-use, inexpensive, powerful simulation production tool. After only a short time, new Quandary users can produce powerful student exercises.
Quandary exercises are mazes. Learners are presented with a scenario. Then they are asked to make a series of decisions about the best way to proceed. Students receive feedback about each decision, and their choices determine their path through the maze.
A variety of Quandary tools allow the designer to direct the learner experience. Quandary exercises can be viewed in any browser, often without the need for preparatory setup by the student.
The Session: Persons attending this session will be engaged in a discussion of simulations as a learning tool. Several Quandary examples will be presented, ranging from simple to complex. Approaches to Quandary design and development will be discussed.
In the course of the presentation, participants will:
- Understand the role that simulations can play in learning.
- View Quandary-produced simulations and discuss strategies for their development.
- Participate in the construction of a simple Quandary maze.
Session 3a (Friday, May 20, 1:30 - 3:00):
Presentation 3a: Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
Presenter: Jennifer Geary's preferred approach as a distance educator is to be open to new learning experiences from her fellows, from domestic to international levels. She has been recognised by UNESCO for her research in dispute resolution and crime prevention, and holds designations in mediation from the Alberta Family Mediation Society, and the Association for Conflict Resolution, Washington. She has had a varied career, including a Bench sitting Justice of the Peace, and working with law reform commissions and parliamentarians in Australia. For the last seven years she has lived in Canmore, Alberta, and enjoys hiking and the sheer beauty of the Rocky Mountains. She is a graduate of the MDE program, and is presently completing a doctorate.
Presentation 3a description: In 1999, the United Nations identified action areas to build a culture of peace and non-violence, including “education,” “economic and social development,” “human rights,” and the "free flow of information and knowledge." In 2000, Jennifer Geary was recognised by UNESCO for her research in dispute resolution; in her work, she has reinforced the need for distance education and support to realise the objectives set by UNESCO (http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_sum_survey.htm). Educational institutions are not homogenous entities and conflict between trainees, faculty, administrators, and industry occurs. Online dispute resolution (ODR) specifically, and virtual tutoring and student support systems generally, are tools for distance educators to support students to optimize educational, economic, and social rights enumerated by international human rights legislation.
Session 3b (Friday, May 20, 1:30 - 3:00):
Presentation 3b description: So many platforms, so little time: Managing delivery of courses from multiple partners.
Presenter: Janet Mundrick began as a student of the MDE Program at Athabasca University (which she completed in 1998) because of her remote location. She has since completed an MBA through Athabasca University, as well. Janet is the Coordinator of Distributed Learning and Technology for Aurora College in the NWT. She is a strong believer in the integration of the pedagogical design considerations with pragmatic operational considerations, and feels that it better serves learners and institutions to have expertise in both.
Presentation 3b description: Striving to accomplish more and more with less and less, many institutions have adopted the practice of partnering with other institutions to share resources. This makes sound fiscal sense, but poses numerous challenges on the delivery side. The manager who is administering delivery of these courses must not lose sight of the challenges inherent in differing student populations, differing levels of access to technology, and differing levels of experience in instructor/facilitator training. This presentation will share strategies that we have found useful in balancing the competing priorities of delivering a variety of high quality programs with dwindling resources.
Session 3c (Friday, May 20, 1:30 - 3:00):
Presentation 3c: Definition and development of the
strategic plan for a private distance post secondary education institution
in Mexico: The University for Development (Universidad para el Desarrollo).
Presenter: Citlalli Berruecos Carranza has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and has studied Sociology at the UNAM and the Complutense University in Spain. She also has the Teacher’s degree from the UNAM’s Center for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and the diploma of University Expert on Planning Development Projects in Education, Science and Culture, from the National Distance University of Spain (UNED) and the Organization of American States (OEA). Until September 2004, she was the Under Director of Planning at UNAM’s Coordination of Open University and Distance Education (CUAED). At the CUAED, she was responsible for the design and development of the following projects: the UNAM-UNESCO Virtual Campus Observatory; development of online courses for the National Institute for Adult Education; the Mesoamerican Program, in collaboration with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations; and the design, development, and starting operations of UNAM’s High Technology Distance Education Center, in the State of Tlaxcala. She is the author of the book Comparative Analysis of General Regulations for Accessibility on the Internet (Análisis comparativo de lineamientos generales de accesibilidad a Internet para personas con discapacidad [propuestas técnicas]), and the article “Open University and Distance Education Coordination: Strategies to consolidate distance education at the National Autonomous University of Mexico,” published in the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL) (http://www.irrodl.org/content/v5.2/berruecos-research.html). She is also coauthor of four manuals. She has given conferences in different institutions in Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Spain, Canada, and the United States. She is currently Director of the consulting firm Educa Consultores, S.A. (www.educa-consultores.com), located in Mexico City.
Presentation 3c description: The University for Development will be the first private distance education university in Mexico that will offer distance education programs based on the development needs of the country, the state, and the individual. The headquarters will be located in Mexico City. It will be built as a network with several content development centers, called Study Circles (“Círculos de estudio), located in different states of the Republic. Each Study Circle will have the necessary trained human resources who will be in charge of developing their own academic programs according to regional needs, and taking advantage of regional expertise. The programs developed in each Study Circle will be shared with and available through the University’s network in different states and countries. The University for Development will offer post-secondary (high school), higher, and graduate education programs, as well as continuing education courses, many of them based on distinct levels of training and personal development, including knowledge, abilities, and aptitude. The high school program (“bachillerato”) will give students the chance to choose one of two branches of study: to continue their studies in a higher education program, or to specialize in a technical level. The University for Development will also encourage research. The academic programs will be attractive, innovative, and highly demanded by students who cannot register in public universities because of space, or who cannot pay expensive tuition fees in private universities. The presentation will describe how the University for Development is being defined, and provide an update on its development.
Session 4a (Friday, May 20, 3:30 - 4:15):
Presentation 4a: Transformative learning in distance education – the learners’ experience.
Presenter: Isabella Mori is a graduate student in the Master of Distance Education program at Athabasca Universty. She is a counsellor in Vancouver, and is interested in the psychological aspects of adult and distance education.
Presentation 4a description: Transformative learning is an important topic in adult education; yet, little research exists on transformative learning in distance education. This presentation will look at the role distance education plays in significant learning experiences, and how this relates to learners’ careers, personal growth, and lifelong learning efforts. This presentation is about a pilot project for a master's thesis that investigates transformative learning among mature undergraduate students at Athabasca University. The aim is to investigate the prevalence among undergraduate distance learners of transformative learning (or “significant learning experiences that changed your life”), and to explore the quality of their experience. So far, participants have discussed transformative learning outside of and within distance education, and distance education experiences, that have made transformations possible. A quote: “Going back to school changed how I feel about things, how I treat other people and animals, how I treat myself and what I do for myself.”
Session 4b (Friday, May 20, 3:30 - 4:15):
Presentation 4b: Implementing a multi-year organizational eLearning strategy.
Presenter: Lori Shelton holds a BA (Trent University) and an MDE (Athabasca University). She also has diplomas in public relations (Algonquin College), and in adult training and development (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto). For the past 15 years, Lori has been working in the learning and training field in the federal government. She currently works at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, as a Learning, Renewal and Development Consultant, and has been involved with distance learning and e-learning projects for the past five years. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and 2-year old daughter.
Presentation 4b description: Federal government employee-training programs are realizing the value of eLearning today; however, the long-term sustainability of these maverick programs is questionable if there is no long-term strategic plan in place. Integrating key components of MDDE course assignments enabled the creation of a multi-year eLearning strategy for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. This plan outlines an organizational vision for using technology in support of learning, includes change management components, and, perhaps most importantly, establishes a collaborative protocol between several units in the organization: learning, IT, information management, and finance. An overview of new employee orientation and Aboriginal Elder protocol eLearning courses will be presented.
Session 5a (Saturday, May 21, 8:00 - 9:30):
Presentation 5a: The virtual professor.
Presenter: Dr. Tom Jones is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University. His areas of expertise are distance education course development and delivery, instructional technology, and human-computer interaction. Dr. Jones has worked in public schools, in government, and in the corporate sector. He is presently a core faculty member in the Master of Distance Education degree program at Athabasca University.
Presentation 5a description: Academics who hold positions at single-mode, distance education institutions are presently being hampered by an adherence to a long-standing set of protocols (specific office location, face-to-face meetings) that were put in place when the conventional post-secondary institution was the norm. With the advent of a powerful merging of personal computers and the Internet, a shift from those protocols to one of support for the virtual professor is in the offing, to the benefit of both the professoriate and the student. A key factor in this shift is the degree and quality of institutional support that will allow these changes to take place. The challenge is for both the distance education institution and for its academics to take advantage of these advancements, to set in place productive communicative tools and supports, and to integrate the subsequent changes into the collective bargaining agreement to address the traditional role of the full-time academic as instructor, researcher, and provider of service to the institution and to the larger community.
Session 5b (Saturday, May 21, 8:00 - 9:30):
Presentation 5b: Beyond the LMS.
Presenter: Michael Hotrum, B.Ed., MDE student, has worked as a consultant in the education and performance consulting field for over 18 years. He has designed and developed paper-based, computer-based, and web-based instructional products, courses, and curriculum. He has consulted to a variety of industries and educational institutions on performance and technology implementation issues. He brings a systems thinking approach to the design and implementation of learning technology as tools to learn "with not from." He is President of The Courseware Factory, Inc., and an associate of Luminance, Inc.
Presentation 5b description: This presentation is based on a paper by the author published in the March 2005 issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL) (http://www.irrodl.org/content/v6.1/technote44.html). The Internet is independent of device (hardware or platform), distance, and time, and well-suited for open, flexible, and distributed learning. Yet traditional online distributed learning is often none of these things. Why? Because the promise of the Internet and of interactive communications technology has been shaped and impeded by the acceptance of the learning management system (LMS) as the technology for e-learning. This session will discuss how the LMS has impacted upon the opportunities afforded by e-learning, and introduce a new generation of web based tools and approaches (many free!) that allow for user interaction, collaboration, and networking. Anticipated learning outcomes include:
- Identify how the LMS has affected e-learning design and delivery.
- Identify reasons for student disaffection about e-learning.
- Identify attributes of effective use of the Internet as a learning environment.
- Describe how technology can be used to learn with, rather than learn from.
- List and describe new tools and approaches that allow for collaboration, social networking, and continuous learning.
Session 6a (Saturday, May 21, 10:00 - 11:30):
Presentation 6a: A review of the feasibility of online problem-based learning.
Presenter: Rick Kenny is an Associate Professor with the Center for Distance Education at Athabasca University, where he teaches instructional design and learning theory. He has had over 30 years of experience in education, as a K-12 teacher, an instructional designer, and an academic. Before joining Athabasca, Rick was an instructional designer with Distance Education and Technology, and an Associate Member of the Faculty of Education, at UBC. His current research interests are:
- Instructional design and change-agency.
- The design of online learning and interactive multimedia instruction to foster higher-order thinking.
- Mobile learning applications and strategies.
Presentation 6a description: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an educational approach in which complex, ill-structured problems serve as the context and the stimulus for learning. PBL begins first with puzzling and ill-structured problematic situations. Students work collaboratively in groups to identify what they need to learn in order to understand the problem, and to learn about the broader concepts and principles related to the problem. PBL, therefore, encourages active participation by the students by plunging them into a situation, requiring them to define their own learning needs within broad goals set by faculty, and forcing them to identify and search for the knowledge that they need to obtain in order to approach the problem.
PBL, as a pedagogical approach, has been used since the early 1970's (Barrows, 1996, 1998; Boud & Faletti, 1991; Savery & Duffy, 2001). Research on PBL, especially as used in medical schools, has focused primarily on comparing the outcomes of PBL methods to more traditional instruction (Albanese, 2000; Albanese & Mitchell, 1993; Colliver, 2000; Smits, Verbeek & Buisonjé, 2002; Vernon & Blake, 1993). Less work has been done on the specific learning processes occurring in students engaged in PBL (Norman & Schmidt, 1992), or on the applicability of this approach in an online, Distance Education context (Barrows, 2002).
This presentation will review the research literature on both the effectiveness of PBL – especially as pertains to DE - and the psychological processes underlying the approach. Examples from an undergraduate online PBL course in agriculture to illustrate one possible approach to the application of PBL in DE formats, will be provided.
Session 6b (Saturday, May 21, 10:00 - 11:30):
Presentation 6b: Designing online courses: What works.
Presenter: Denise Nelson is an instructional designer with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) Virtual Campus, where she leads online course design and development project teams. She attributes her success in SIAST (she received the CADE 2004 Award for Excellence and Innovation in Instructional Design) to using effective strategies with faculty in creating rich, active online learning environments. Denise has presented at provincial, national, and international conferences on topics relating to collaborative online instructional design and innovative learning strategies. Her current research focus is on online student evaluation and strategies for increasing response rates. She is completing her MDE degree through Athabasca University.
Presentation 6b description: Students express satisfaction with online courses that apply the Rich Environments for Active Learning (REAL) model (Grabinger & Dunlap, 2002). Denise, as an instructional designer, consciously designs REALS that are interactive, student-centered learning environments reliant on intentional learning, authentic contexts, generative learning activities, collaboration, and reflection. This approach helped the SIAST NURS 114 Interpersonal Relationships development team to win the Canadian Association of Distance Education (CADE) Award of Excellence and Innovation in Instructional Design, in June 2005. Denise will share tacit knowledge of instructional design, resulting from ?letting ideas seep? from one framework to another, in building online courses with sound pedagogy that promotes a good mix of interaction and a relevant variety of learning activities and assessments.
Session 7a (Saturday, May 21, 1:00 - 2:30):
Presentation 7a: You Want Me to Do What? A case study: Stand-and-deliver trainers transition their skills to synchronous Web-Based training.
Presenter: Pam Barg is a Senior Instructional Designer with Telvent?s Research and Technology Department. Since joining Telvent, a global IT company, Pam has participated in the development and quality assurance testing of Telvent?s courseware. More recently, she has assumed the coordination, marketing, and deployment of Telvent?s web-based learning program. Prior to joining Telvent, Pam taught for four years at Mount Royal College. She has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Saskatchewan, and has focused for the past eight years on adult education and courseware design. An active mom of three, Pam is a year-round runner and avid golfer in the summer.
Presentation 7a description: Discover what happens when traditional face-to-face trainers in a corporate setting are asked to apply their training skills in the delivery of learning modules over the web. In December of 2003, Telvent?s training department began offering synchronous web-based modules as a training option to their North American customers. In her presentation, Pam Barg will provide insight into the logistical and emotional upheavals from the trainers? perspective of such an undertaking. She will discuss the barriers that were erected, the ones that have come down, and the ones that still remain.
Session 7b (Saturday, May 21, 1:00 - 2:30):
Presentation 7b: TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK: The migration from face-to-face to online learning in the literacy community.
Presenters: Deborah Morgan has been involved in the adult literacy field as a project coordinator, classroom instructor, and researcher. For the past decade, Ms. Morgan's work has focussed on the use and value of writing in literacy and social programming. The author of the successful resource, Writing Out Loud, Ms. Morgan has traveled internationally, presenting "fearless writing" workshops and training other literacy workers to become Writing Out Loud Instructors. In 2000, Ms. Morgan began the process of migrating her training course from face-to-face settings to user-friendly online, cohort-based formats.
Patrick J. Fahy is an Associate Professor, Centre for Distance Education, Athabasca University. Presently, besides developing and teaching educational technology courses in the MDE program, Pat coordinates the MDE’s Advanced Graduate Diploma in Distance Education (Technology) program. He is a former president of the Alberta Distance Education and Training Association (ADETA), the Movement for Canadian Literacy, and the Alberta Association for Adult Literacy.
Presentation 7b description: The Literacy Community (i.e., those who teach basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills to adult learners) have traditionally faced two main hurdles in their work. First, they often work in isolation and/or in remote settings. This reality would naturally lend itself to the benefits of distance education, but the second hurdle literacy workers face is lack of funding and resources. They have therefore been slow to embrace technology and computer-related training approaches, unless demonstrably cost-effective.
Literacy practitioners are just now discovering the professional development (PD) opportunities available to them through distance education, and exciting changes are happening within the literacy community as a result. This session will describe a project in which distance delivery technologies and support methods are used to provide a cohort PD experience to geographically dispersed trainees, who were previously served only by face-to-face delivery. The results show acceptance, and some areas of needed attention to the delivery model. An attitude of “It's never too late to learn!” characterizes all participants.
Session 8a (Saturday, May 21, 3:00 - 3:45):
Presentation 8a description: A personal description of one person’s involvement in the Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand (FLLinNZ) project
Presenter: Merrolee Penman is Principal Lecturer, and Postgraduate Programme Manager in the School of Occupational Therapy, Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin, New Zealand. Merrolee first become interested in the role of technology when working as a new graduate occupational therapist in the area of physical disability. Her interest in distance education was sparked in her first academic position, when she delivered a diploma-to-degree conversion course in 1986. Interest in the ongoing professional development of occupational therapists was strengthened when Merrolee worked in the UK, and taught on short courses. These different threads of providing flexible learning for occupational therapists who identify an ongoing learning need, utilising technology to enable learning, all came together in the Merrolee’s master’s thesis, which investigated the factors that supported and inhibited asynchronous communication. Most recently, Merrolee is one of 15 Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand, a Ministry of Education (MoE) funded project for eLearning.
Presentation 8a description: As part of New Zealand’s Digital Strategy, the Ministry of Education has provided strategic funding for a number of projects to enable the 21 st Century learner in New Zealand. One of the projects that commenced in 2004 is the Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand. Modeled on the very successful Australian Flexible Learning Leaders project, this new project is aimed at establishing a facilitated national network of 15 new leaders. The selected leaders have undertaken to engage in professional development that will enable them to lead the uptake of e-learning in the tertiary education sector.
Merrolee will describe the project in detail, and provide an overview of the activities undertaken by the different leaders, the structures that are supporting the work of the leaders, some of the challenges and the successes. Merrolee will also briefly introduce her goals, her progress towards achieving these, and the expected outcomes.
Session 8b (Saturday, May 21, 3:45 - 4:30):
Presentation 8b description: Use of Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD) in Adult Literacy Tutoring in the Hearing Community.
Presenter: Michael Sweeney recently retired from the Canadian Forces (CF), after more than 30 years service as an infantry officer. He currently is a fulltime student in the MDE program. While with the CF, Michael combined operational assignments in Canada and overseas with training and education appointments, including positions as a training designer, manager, and instructor. His final assignment was as a member of the directing staff at the Canadian Army Command and Staff College. Michael is qualified as a Master Tutor with Laubach Literacy Canada, and teaches literacy and basic computer skills with the Barrie Literacy Council.
Presentation 8b description: More than a fifth of all adult Canadians, many of them from rural areas, have few or no literacy skills. While telephones and computers can be used to support literacy instruction at a distance, both technologies suffer from serious limitations. Telephones do not allow written communications, while computers can be expensive to purchase and maintain, difficult to support, and intimidating - particularly to those who cannot read or write well. This presentation will describe an ongoing research project that is examining whether a proven hybrid technology, the TDD, can bridge the technological gap and effectively support literacy tutoring at a distance.
This page was last updated on Fri, 01 Apr 2005 16:07:32 GMT