Tag: conference recap

Accessing Higher Ground Conference Recap

by Dec 04, 2017

In November, I had the opportunity to attend Accessing Higher Ground, an accessibility and technology conference in Denver, Colorado. The conference presentations focused on how to use technology to support disabled students in their academic careers. It was a great opportunity to speak with other accessibility professionals about the opportunities and challenges they face in their work. Here are some of the changes, trends, and innovations happening in the world of accessible and assistive technology. WCAG 2.1: Updates to the Guidelines The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 have been in place for several years without substantive updates, even as

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Make It Stick!

by , Nov 20, 2017

How do you know that what you’re teaching is truly sticking with students? Do their test scores reveal it? Or does that only show that they remembered and recalled it for the exam? Do students leave you confident that they can apply skills and knowledge when they’ll really need it? One man with the answer to that question is Mark McDaniel, psychologist, researcher, professor, and co-author of the book Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning.   An expert in human learning and memory, McDaniel recently delivered his “Toolkit for Teachers to Improve Student Learning and Retention” at Northwestern’s

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Reflections on the 2017 SLATE Conference

by , Nov 07, 2017

Introduction 2017 marks the 15th anniversary of the SLATE (Supporting Learning and Technology in Education) Conference, held at the Northern Illinois University campus in Naperville, IL. SLATE was born as the Midwest Blackboard Users Group in 2002, and Northwestern University was among its founding members. Since then, with Executive Director Ken Sadowski at the helm, it has grown into an LMS-inclusive organization with the mission to “support learning and technology in education through communication, collaboration, and innovation, while developing and sustaining a community of practice.” This year, two representatives from the Distance Learning department attended and one of them presented

Distance Learning: The Next Best Thing to Being There?

by Oct 26, 2017

On October 10, I had the privilege of presenting at a symposium held by the National Resource Center for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes. Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, or OLLIs, provide university-level, non-credit educational opportunities for their membership, adults aged 50 and older. The symposium brought together a select group of OLLI directors from around the U.S. to consider a number of issues of interest to OLLIs, among the use of the distance learning technology. My presentation, “Distance Learning: The Next Best Thing to Being There?”, considered the the acceptance of distance learning technology by the OLLI membership, who typically

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Reflections on the 2017 QM Connect Conference

by , Oct 16, 2017

Introduction The 2017 Quality Matters Connect Conference was held between September 24th and 27th in Fort Worth, Texas. Two representatives from the Distance Learning department attended and gave presentations on Quality Matters topics, all the way from 1.9 (“Learners are asked to introduce themselves to the class”) to 8.4 (“The course design facilitates readability”). Read on to learn more about their experiences and lessons learned. Reba-Anna Lee, Director of Online Program Development Presenting: As a long time member of the Quality Matters community, I was delighted to attend this year’s conference. I did two presentations, served as a poster judge,