2015 Instructional Technology Mini-Conference

The 2015 Instructional Technology Mini-Conference will be held on Friday, July 24 here at Virginia Western. This is a no-cost, one-day conference and professional development opportunity open to all faculty (full-time and adjunct) and staff from Virginia Western Community College, New River Community College, and Central Virginia Community College.


Dr. Peter Doolittle, Executive Director; Assistant Provost of Teaching and Learning; Professor of Educational Psychology,  Virginia Tech will be our keynote speaker. His topic is: Learning First: Working Memory and Learning Effectiveness in a Technology-Rich Environment

A series of breakout sessions on the following topics will follow the keynote:

• Identifying strategies for creating an instructional design model for flipping the classroom and for applying these concepts and techniques to designing and developing curriculum and instruction that will improve students’ deep learning.
• Evaluating the definition of Open Educational Resources (OER) and identifying why we should use OER, how to implement OER, and the pedagogical opportunities made available by these additional resources (with a focus on adopting existing OER resources/courses; what the VCCS is planning; and supporting efforts on our campuses)
• The new platform and new features of the upcoming upgrade of Blackboard learning management system and  Blackboard Collaborate;
• Demonstrations by innovative faculty from CVCC, NRCC, and VWCC of best practices they have developed and lessons they have learned from designing and developing effective online/hybrid courses.
• Identifying and implementing instructional technologies and design principles for building effective learning communities that support the learning success of adult learners (especially plus 50 students).
  

Time: Friday, July 24, 2015 from 8am to 4:15pm
Location: HP Multipurpose Room 208/210
Registration is now open at: http://tinyurl.com/ovsr4cx
Session Description and Presenter Bios: http://tinyurl.com/nnpswn7

VWCC faculty who complete the full-day mini-conference will receive a certificate equivalent to the completion of two-weeks of TOTAL workshop credits. These credits will contribute to satisfying the “Professional Development Objectives for Faculty Teaching Hybrid and Online Courses” as outlined in the new Faculty Evaluation and Development Plan (see page 9). For faculty who anticipate teaching only on-campus courses, these credits will also be considered “appropriate training in teaching with technology” that will contribute to meeting the  professional development objectives in the teaching domain of the new Faculty Evaluation and Development Plan (see page 9).

This conference is co-sponsored by the VCCS Paul Lee Professional Development Mini-Grant and the VWCC Plus 50 Initiative, and partners with Central Virginia Community College and New River Community College.

Conference Agenda:

	2015 Instructional Technology Mini-Conference Friday July 24, 2015
8:00 – 8:50	Registration and Breakfast (Provided): HP208/210
8:50 – 9:00	Welcome Remarks – Chris Porter, Dean of Learning Resources, Virginia Western Community College
9:00 – 10:30	Learning First: Working Memory and Learning Effectiveness in a Technology-Rich Environment Keynote – Dr. Peter Doolittle, Executive Director; Assistant Provost of Teaching and Learning; Professor of Educational Psychology,  Virginia Tech
	Concurrent Session One HP341	Concurrent Session Two HP208/210	Concurrent Session Three Business Science Building 245
10:45  – 12:00	Blackboard Exemplary Course Program and Demo Carey Smouse, Blackboard Cheryl Brindle, Lord Fairfax Community College	A Step-by-Step Guide to Flipping the Classroom Peter Doolittle, Virginia Tech	Create, Compensate, and Collaborate Sharon Layman, Goodwill Industries
Noon  – 1:00	Lunch (Provided) – HP208/210(Announcements and Atomic Learning Demo)
1:00  – 2:15	Open Educational Resources at Virginia Community College System (VCCS) Richard Sebastian, VCCS	What's New in Blackboard Learn and Collaborate Carey Smouse, Blackboard	Educational Signposts: Reaching Out to Adult Learner Jenny Bolte, Goodwill Industries
	Break
2:30  – 3:45	Open Educational Resources - The Friends and Family Plan Dale Dulaney, Virginia Western Community College; Heidi Morehead & Janice Shelton, New River Community College; Anita Walz, Virginia Tech	Faculty Showcases: Integrating Instructional Technology in Curriculum Design Ashley Gess, Virginia Western Community College; Tammy Parks, New River Community College; Juville Dario-Becker, Central Virginia Community College	Different, But Still the Same: How to Appeal to All Ages Sam Rasoul, Envigor
4:00  – 4:15	Closing Remarks and Door Prize– HP208/210

If you have any questions about conference registration, please contact Carrie Halpin at CHalpin@virginiawestern.edu