Program for Wednesday February 5, 2025

Here we are at the beginning of 2025 and the new Trump administration. The Biden administration placed distance education under the microscope to evaluate learning quality, student consumer protection, and value. History points to a Trump administration with different priorities related to distance education.  The following questions will be answered and include some speculation for the future addressed with the assistance of the Magic 8 Ball.  Related to Distance Education, was the Biden Regulatory Agenda successful? Will the new administration pursue the same type of regulatory agenda as the previous administration? Does the Trump administration support digital technology and innovation? What should institutions do to manage compliance with effective regulations, and future priorities of the new administration

Discover how open educational resources empower educators to customize course materials and innovate teaching practices while also ensuring students have equitable access to essential learning resources. This session explores the benefits of OER for faculty and students, practical strategies for integrating OER into online courses, and solutions to common challenges like time investment and quality assurance. Leave with tips and resources to begin adapting and enhancing your courses with open resources.

Discover how open educational resources empower educators to customize course materials and innovate teaching practices while also ensuring students have equitable access to essential learning resources. This session explores the benefits of OER for faculty and students, practical strategies for integrating OER into online courses, and solutions to common challenges like time investment and quality assurance. Leave with tips and resources to begin adapting and enhancing your courses with open resources.

In 2015, the Association of College & Research Libraries published The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. This document presents six core concepts that are fundamental for learners to grasp as they develop information literacy abilities. A decade later, generative artificial intelligence presents new implications for learners’ information literacy needs and a multitude of ethical challenges, granting the message of the Framework a renewed potential as a guide for navigating the ethics of AI use.

This session addresses the challenges of balancing quality and quantity in online courses, focusing on overteaching and technology overload. Participants will share best practices for integrating technology, particularly AI, and receive practical strategies for streamlining courses through transparency, instructor engagement, intentionality, and authentic assessments. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped with actionable insights and tools to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement in the digital learning environment.

Since 2020, the world’s experience with and perception of distance learning has been forever altered in unprecedented ways. While this has no doubt resulted in immense and continued challenges for those of us instructional design, our ability to adapt, evolve, innovate and navigate in the face of great change has always been at the core of our field. As a professional in the instructional design field for over 20 years, in sectors ranging from government and military training, higher education, K12 and public media, Tiffany Morgan has a unique perspective of the instructional design field. Come explore how the collective wisdom, experience and expertise at the heart of our community can pave the way for more effective, inclusive, and impactful learning experiences. 

Artificial Intelligence tools have been used in a variety of ways in the higher institutions across the world. As more knowledge is gained about its use and benefits, it is being introduced into all areas of higher education to include graduate studies. With its varied usage, Artificial Intelligence tools could serve as a force multiplier for graduate students, professors, researchers, and a variety of stakeholders as they use various AI tools to enhance their writing, research, and communication skills.

This session explores how theory and research can enhance the use of Generative AI (GenAI) in instructional design. Attendees will discover key design theories, principles, and research linked to instructional design processes. Participants will learn how these can be applied to create effective AI prompts and develop strategies for managing theoretical and research-based elements in their workflows. The session will include showcases of practical prompts and provide a curated list of design principles and studies for use in GenAI prompts.

Imagine a classroom where every student, regardless of their neurodivergent status, has access to a personalized assistant that not only understands their unique learning needs but also helps them navigate the complexities of academic research and writing. This is the transformative potential of NotebookLM, an AI-powered notebook designed to revolutionize the educational experience for neurodivergent students.