Highlights from the Distance Learning Conference

I was WOWed at the conference in Madison, WI. As this was my first DE conference, I did not know quite what to expect. I went with the idea of gaining new information to help me embellish my on-line course and kick it up a notch. The conference demonstrated a rapid growth and continuous change in DE to include a variety of certification programs, on-line courses, and new vocabulary (synchronous discussions, asynchronous learning, roll over, voice over, interactive media, learning technologies, video streaming, e-strategy, blended learning, on-line communities, SCORM, home-based learning, learning objects, and beta versions).

Highlights of the conference included a variety of cracker-barrel discussion tables that focused on designing and developing portable and sustainable distance courses, enhancing learning through educational games, and using action research for prototypes of e-learning. One of the pre-conference sessions presented a hands-on approach to exploring real examples of learning strategies from a variety of disciplines. Multimedia examples of HyperCam, Publisher, Capture, Macromedia Breeze, and Articulate Pro illustrated the wide range and sophistication of available software.

I traveled with five faculty from campus and feel that I made five new friends. We spent our days discussing our sessions, brainstorming ways to enhance our courses, sharing our excitement, and eating and shopping our way around Madison. This was truly a memorable experience that effected a positive change in my view of distance education. I highly recommend the conference. It provided a venue for networking, reflecting, and experiencing cutting-edge technologies.

As a faculty member new to distance education, the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning was very informative and helpful. The conference helped me become more familiar with the terminology associated with distance education and would also help any faculty member new to distance education. I attended a pre-conference workshop that provided an overview of distance education and what steps to take when first starting with a distance education course. This information will save me an immense amount of time in the preparation of my course. Most of the technology discussed was new to me and seeing how this technology could be used in distance education was very enlightening. I enjoyed getting to know other faculty members at NMSU that I would not have met if it were not for this trip. I would highly recommend that any of my colleagues attend this conference. They will find it very helpful, informative, and rewarding.

Attending a Conference such as the Distance Education Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, provides a valuable opportunity to discuss issues you have been facing for a long time and to learn that others have many of the same issues. The sense of community with other online instructors is invaluable. It was amazing the number of ideas that I brought back that I can implement in the classes I teach. There is nothing like the validation you get from interacting in workshops with other instructors who have similar ideas and issues. This is a great opportunity to improve your teaching.

The Distance Learning Conference was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed looking at other universities’ implementations of distance learning and enjoyed collaborating with my other NMSU colleagues who went. The sessions on structuring distance classes to require more peer collaboration among students were provocative; as were the discussions on encouraging the use of higher-order thinking skills. In addition to these big-picture issues, the conference acquainted me with a host of free tools and techniques that I am going to implement immediately. Overall, it was one of the best conferences I have ever attended.

Return to top

What an amazing sharing of technology and technique the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning was! The pre-conference workshops offered included a wide variety of topics and issues and there was an incredible selection of presentations to attend. This conference will be one that I would like to attend on a regular basis! Thank you, Teaching Academy, for helping me to be on the cutting edge of technology and technique in distance education!

The Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning offered a plethora of information and numerous new contacts. My primary purposes for attending the conference were to learn more about new online pedagogies and technologies, approaches to faculty development, and to make new contacts. But one of the best features of this conference was the opportunity to get to know my colleagues across the NMSU and DACC campuses who are teaching online and to begin to build our own community of learners and practitioners.

Return to top

The Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning, in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin, was a rewarding experience that provided an opportunity to learn a great deal about distance education in a short amount of time. In contrast to other professional conferences, in which teaching and learning are rarely considered, this conference was a “full immersion” experience in which teaching and learning was valued and examined from a variety of perspectives. I recommend this conference to any faculty member who wants to learn more about issues associated with teaching and learning, especially as applied to a distance format.

The Madison conference gave me many good ideas—ideas that I wanted to immediately put to use. I redesigned each of my classes to include some of these new ideas. For me, the common thread that ran through this conference was that online educators should strive to create effective learning environments. These environments work best when they are designed as a place for learning rather than a tool for teaching.

One of the best things about the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning in Madison is the great diversity of distance education providers who attend and present on a wide array of topics. Higher education, K–12 education, military and corporate educators and trainers rub shoulders and exchange ideas. One of the hardest things to do at this conference is decide which of many competing presentations not to attend. I often find myself torn between four or more selections at once!

My approach to the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Madison was that of a beginner in distance education. I have taught web-enhanced courses with WebCT for a year, but not a true distance education class. I had committed to offering a completely online statistics class in fall, so I knew I’d need some direction. The Conference gave me the basics as well as some finer points of distance education, which I’d like to share:

• The instructor can turn his life into a living hell by responding to everything. My favorite quote on this topic: “If you respond to every student every time, you’ll die." Consider making one integrative comment at the end of the week on all of the postings. Find a way, such as a weekly summary post, to show students that you’re reading but not dominating the site.
• Give clear, concise workload expectations. Students want to know what is expected of them.
• The course cannot be too organized.

The conference was a great learning experience. My online teaching will be much better because I attended it. I left with answers to questions I had fretted over, as well as answers to questions I hadn't thought to ask.

Return to top