Professional Development Opportunities in October

Fall Workshop: ETUG
Registration is now open for this fall's ETUG (Educational Technology User Group) workshop series. The theme is "Learning Design" and the event will take place October 20 and 21 at the Segal School of Business at Simon Fraser University.

The 2 day event is $50 + GST and includes breakfast, lunch, and refreshments.

• Day 1 : Grainne Conole from the Open University, UK, will help participants explore Compendium LD and Cloudworks – tools developed by the Open University Learning Design Initiative to help educators with the design process and sharing of design methods and approaches.

• Day 2: Grainne will give the opening plenary which will be followed by an exciting lineup of speakers on the following topics: learning space design, designing for engagement, large scale learning design, and collaborative learning models.

For more information about the workshop series go to: http://etug.ca/

The Art of Teaching: Oct 19-Nov 6, 2009

Facilitators: Neil Smith and Nancy Randall

Each week of this 3-week seminar will be launched with an Art of Teaching video and live discussion in Elluminate (http://tinyurl.com/9m668l)

Week 1: Intro, Bridging, Outcomes
Elluminate session: Monday, October 19, 10 - 11:00 PDT (your time zone)

Week 2: Pre-assessment, Participation
Elluminate session: Monday, October 26, 10 - 11:00 PDT (your time zone)

Week 3: Post-assessment, Summary
Elluminate session: Monday, November 2, 10 - 11:00 PST* (your time zone)

This discussion will begin October 19, 2009.
* Note, there is a change from Pacific Daylight to Pacific Standard on November 1, 2009

The Future of Online and Blended Learning: Strategy, Policy, and Practice

Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 24-26, 2009

This conference will address the current and future impact of online and blended (hybrid) learning on institutions of higher education. We expect a lively discussion inspired by successful practitioners of these new forms of post-secondary education, as well as by senior administrators of institutions that are making the transition to online and blended learning.

A keynote address by Chuck Dziuban will set the tone for the conference. Dr. Dziuban is the Director of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Central Florida, an institution widely recognized for its success in adding online and blended learning to its traditional face-to-face offerings. There will also be an expert panel of successful practitioners, as well as a panel discussion by senior administrators who are working to adapt their institutions to the future of online and blended learning.

The conference will also feature a number of concurrent sessions and poster presentations.

This conference is sponsored by the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE), the Collaboration for Online Higher Education and Research (COHERE), and the Centre for Higher Education Research and Development (CHERD). It ends as the E-Learn 2009 conference http://www.aace.org/conf/elearn/ is beginning just a few blocks away.