In this interactive session, John Nash and Jason Johnston will present challenges and aspirations for online learning as it enters into the “second half” of life from their experiences as practitioners, teachers, and administrators. Topics include innovation, inclusivity, authentic assessment, engagement, and personalization.
In this interactive education session, John Nash and Jason Johnston will present challenges and aspirations for online learning leaders as online learning enters into the “second half” of life. They will share insights from their conversations with others through their podcast, “Online Learning in the Second Half,” and in their experience as practitioners, teachers, and administrators.
The Chinese word “wei-ji” suggests a dual meaning of crisis and opportunity, as a crisis can create opportunities for change, growth, and improvement. In this session, we will explore the future of online learning in the second half of life and discuss how to turn potential pitfalls into positive change. The second half of online life serves as a metaphor for thinking about what we might hope for in the coming decades for distance education. Online learning has had a chance to be great, and some of it is, but it is also time for it to grow up out of its adolescence and into a new path of enlargement.
Opportunities for enlargement will include:
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Innovation: How might we leverage new technologies like AI to increase student connections?
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Inclusivity: Who is being excluded in the digital divide or through our instructional design practices and how might we bridge that gap?
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Authentic assessment: What ways do we need to get unstuck from previous assessment methods? What is next?
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Engagement: What methods for online learning should be left behind? What could be next?
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Personalization: How can we move from a “one-size-fits-all” mentality as we scale online classes, and create personalized learning experiences that meet students where they are? How might we humanize online education for the next century?
Participant Engagement:
To encourage active learning and audience engagement, this session will include:
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Live polls: We begin the session with a live poll to gauge audience opinion on the opportunities above, facilitating discussions based on the poll results.
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Breakouts: During the interaction segment, attendees will be divided into small groups to discuss the participants’ selected opportunities and share their own experiences and ideas.
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Solution Gallery Walk: Attendees submit their solutions during the discussion to leverage the opportunities.
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Q & A: An opportunity to ask questions throughout and at the end of the session.
Outcomes:
By the end of the session, participants will have a deeper understanding of the threats and opportunities shaping the future of online learning. They will also be equipped with practical strategies and innovative ideas to improve the quality of online education in their own institutions and contribute to the ongoing development of online learning for the next decade.