Conference Forums
Forum 1—Thursday, August 9, 10:30 am-12:15 pm
Managing state authorization requirements
The regulatory framework around distance education continues to evolve as the realities of how sections of the 2008 Reauthorization of the HEA (Higher Education Act), or Higher Education Opportunity Act, are brought to light in more detail. Over the past two years the state regulations legislation has had the spotlight, but other sections within the act are also starting to gain attention due to financial aid debt and fraud.
The impact of these regulations, are far reaching operationally, financially, and on course design for distance education. The panel of experts will explore with participants the legal side and the institutional side of the regulatory framework.
Moderator:
Dr. Rick Shearer, Director, World Campus Learning Design, Penn State World Campus, has been involved in the field of distance education for over 25 years.
In his administrative and instructional design roles he has developed distance education courses for computer-based instruction, educational television, traditional print correspondence courses, two-way interactive video, and the internet. Rick has worked for both private and public institutions of higher education and has consulted on distance education projects with community colleges, and public school systems. His research interests include systems dynamic modeling of distance education processes, learner control in distance education, content/interaction analysis, and current policy issues surrounding accreditation and copyright law. He has published several articles and book chapters on the field of distance education and presented at numerous conferences. His current book looks at the theoretical aspects of Transactional Distance and Dialogue in relation to the theory of transactional distance by Michael G. Moore.
Panelists:
Diane Longhurst Johnson is the Director of Innovative Programming and Assessment at Utah State University. Diane has significant experience in state authorization, competency-based education, technology integration, and data utilization. She speaks and consults nationally. Diane holds degrees from Utah State University, Brigham Young University, and has a Graduate Certificate in Higher-Ed Assessment from James Madison University. Diane was the founding manager of the Performance Evaluation division at Western Governors University. Under her leadership, WGU pioneered the development of a scalable system for scoring assessments. Diane also has extensive K-12 experience.
Dr. Reed Scull is Associate Dean of the Outreach School and Director of the Division of Outreach Credit Programs at the University of Wyoming. His division delivers approximately 35 degree and certificate programs, and enrolls approximately 7,000 students in Wyoming and beyond. Reed served as Coordinator of Academic Programs at University of Nevada, Reno, College of Extended Studies for 13 years. His publications have appeared in a number of refereed journals including, the International Journal of Educational Reform, The Clearing House and Continuing Higher Education Review.
Sharyl Thompson is the Vice President for Regulatory Affairs and Compliance at American College of Education in Indianapolis, Indiana. In this role she oversees the myriad of issues around state authorization, program approvals, accreditation, and professional licensure for educators. Prior to this, she worked in regulatory affairs at Capella University for eleven years. In her tenure at Capella, she led the university through many approvals and renewals to operate and new program approvals. Sharyl is a member of the Drafting Team through the Presidents’ Forum and the Council on State Governments (CSG) working on a multi-state agreement for reciprocity of state authorizations, and she also serves on the Steering Committee for WCET.
Jeannie Yockey-Fine joined the Higher Education Practice of Dow Lohnes as Senior Manager, State Regulatory Services in 2011. Based in Washington, DC, Jeannie works with attorneys and other professionals in the firm’s Higher Education Practice to provide client institutions and organizations with expert assistance and guidance related to state authorization and regulation of higher education institutions as well as state-level professional licensure. Before joining Dow Lohnes, she served as Licensure Manager and Educational Policy Analyst at the Florida Department of Education’s Commission for Independent Education, reporting directly to the Executive Director. In that role Jeannie was responsible for overseeing compliance with Florida rules governing private postsecondary institutions as well as monitoring trends affecting postsecondary education in states around the country.
Forum 2—Thursday, August 9, 2012, 2:00-3:45 pm
Preparing instruction for mobile learning
While mobile technology ownership and use is expanding rapidly, several issues remain to be resolved to enable educators to provide instruction on these devices and for institutions to provide support for their educators and learners. To develop quality mobile learning, new tools, or apps, are needed. Join these forum panelists to learn ways they are advancing new tools for preparing mobile instruction:
- MASLO, an open source system developed by the Academic ADL Laboratory
- ‘Small’ tools for blended instruction
- Mobile Locative Data Collection tool
- Physical/Virtual Interface tool
- Mobile Game Design tool
Panelists will also discuss the scope of institutional support required for educators developing and IT units delivering mobile instruction and for learners using mobile instruction.
Lead Panelist:
Rovy Branon, Associate Dean and Director of the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory University of Wisconsin-Extension
Academic ADL Laboratory researchers are developing an open source system called MASLO to attempt to lessen barriers for non-technical educators to deliver mobile instruction.
Panelists:
Judy Brown, ADL Mobile Technology Analyst (Ret.) and Founder, Academic ADL Co-Laboratory
Ubiquitous mobile access provides opportunities to enhance course content and learning. Learn about some of the "small" things you can do to bring mobile into your blended solutions.David Gagnon, Educational Designer, ENGAGE Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison
For three years, a team at UW-Madison has been prototyping and producing mobile media tools. View demonstrations of these projects and discuss future collaborations..Norma Scagnoli, Director of eLearning, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
With the arrival of mobile phones, tablets, and iPads, institutions need to reconsider the way they plan and prepare to provide or recommend hardware to their faculty and students. Engage in a discussion about institutional commitment needed in terms of provision of mobile devices, tool installation and maintenance, and support for educators and learners.
