Keynote Speaker
Thomas J. Tobin

Thomas J. Tobin

Thomas J. Tobin is a founding member of the Center for Teaching, Learning, & Mentoring (CTLM) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on quality in technology-mediated education, especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practice, academic integrity, and accessibility/universal design for learning.

Before his work with the CTLM, Tobin spent 4 years as the Program Area Director for Distance Teaching & Learning on the Learning Design, Development, & Innovation (LDDI) team at UW-Madison, and served for five years as the Coordinator of Learning Technologies in the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.

Since the advent of online courses in higher education in the late 1990s, Tom’s work has focused on using technology to extend the reach of higher education beyond its traditional audience. He advocates for the educational rights of people with disabilities and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

He holds a master's degree and Ph.D. in English literature, a second master’s degree in information science, a professional project management certification, a master online teacher certification, the Quality Matters reviewer certification, the Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) certification, and he recently completed the Academic Leadership Academy from Penn State (he tells his nieces and nephews that he is in 44th Grade).

Tom was named to Ed Tech Magazine’s 2020 “Dean’s List” of Educational Technology Influencers, and he serves on the editorial boards of InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching and the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration.

His books include:

  • Evaluating Online Teaching: Implementing Best Practices (2015) with Jean Mandernach and Ann H. Taylor.

  • The Copyright Ninja (2017).

  • Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education (2018) with Kirsten Behling.

  • Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (2020) with Katie Linder and Kevin Kelly.

  • UDL for FET Practitioners: Guidance for Implementing Universal Design for Learning in Irish Further Education and Training (2021) with Ann Heelan and Dara Ryder.

Tom was also proud to represent the United States on a Spring 2018 Fulbright Scholar fellowship, under which he helped Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary to develop its first faculty-development program, and he provided workshops and training to twelve other colleges, universities, and military programs throughout Hungary.

More information about Tom can be found on his website, http://thomasjtobin.com/.

Follow Tom on Twitter at @ThomasJTobin.