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This course will introduce participants to the major contributions being made to the field of instructional technology by researchers today. Each week, a new professor or researcher will introduce his or her central contribution to the field. Date: September 12, 2011 - May 2012 Technologies Used: Through out this "course" participants will use a variety of technologies, for example, blogs, Second Life, RSS Readers, UStream, etc. Course resources will be provided using gRSShopper and online seminars delivered using Elluminate. Facilitators: Dave Cormier, George Siemens and Stephen Downes will co-facilitate this innovative and timely course.

Jon Mott, David Wiley The course management system (CMS) reinforces the status quo and hinders substantial teaching and learning innovation in higher education. It does so by imposing artificial time limits on learner access to course content and other learners, privileging the role of the instructor at the expense of the learner, and limiting the power of the network effect in the learning process. The open learning network (OLN)-a hybrid of the CMS and the personal learning environment (PLE)-is proposed as an alternative learning technology environment with the potential to leverage the affordances of the Web to dramatically improve learning.

Overview Instructional design (ID) has gained prominence in elearning due to its systemized approach to creating and evaluating the student learning experience. While the term itself might sound complex, in reality, all teachers follow some process of designing instruction already. Often, when a teacher first encounters ID, the response is "Oh, I already do that...". So, for many ID is just naming an existing process. Why is ID so important online? In a classroom, challenges and concerns can be addressed in "real time". If some component of a course or lesson is unclear, students can get immediate clarification. Online, however, this is not possible. In order to eliminate student frustrations, potential ambiguities and concerns need to be addressed before the course goes live. ID is the process that enables and verifies quality. Instructional design anticipates and plans for student experiences in a static environment where teacher feedback and clarification may be delayed.

George Siemens, Kathleen Matheos A power shift is occurring in higher education, driven by two trends: (a) the increased freedom of learners to access, create, and re-create content; and (b) the opportunity for learners to interact with each other outside of a mediating agent. Information access and dialogue, previously under control of the educator, can now be readily fulfilled by learners. When the essential mandate of universities is buffeted by global, social/political, technological, and educational change pressures, questions about the future of universities become prominent. The integrated university faces numerous challenges, including a decoupling of research and teaching functions. Do we still need physical classrooms? Are courses effective when information is fluid across disciplines and subject to continual changes? What value does a university provide society when educational resources and processes are open and transparent?