List of Conferences

Welcome! The Distance Teaching & Learning Conference is recognized internationally for its quality, integrity, and longevity. For more than 30 years, thousands of distance education professionals have shared ideas, resources, research, and best practices to advance their careers.

The Teaching Professor Technology Conference will examine the technologies that are changing the way teachers teach and students learn while giving special emphasis to the pedagogically effective ways you can harness these new technologies in your courses and on your campus. The three-day conference will bring together faculty, instructional designers, faculty developers, educational technology leaders, and other higher education professionals interested in learning more about how technology is altering the learning environment.

The annual conference brings together people from small colleges and universities in an informal setting to present on and discuss topics related to assessment, institutional research, and institutional effectiveness. We welcome participants from all colleges and universities-you do not have to be from a HEDS institution or an institutional researcher to attend this conference.

The central theme of this year's Institute is transformation. Transformation is expressed throughout several facets of our work this year, from the continued progress in our SENCER, SENCER-ISE and Engaging Mathematics projects to our pursuit of opportunities emerging from new partnerships and initiatives, and our organization being profiled in a recent USC monograph by Adrianna Kezar and Sean Gehrke as a Community of Transformation in STEM reform. The major aims for this year's program include conversations about the STEM reform ecosystem, examples of SENCER work on campus and of the SENCER approach in real-world problems, and assessment of SENCER work. Other topics that will be covered in this year's program include: Civic Intersections of STEM and Humanities Communities of Transformation: Maximizing Impact Public Engagement with Science Foregrounding Quantitative Literacy in Civic Life Science and Technology for Social Good Leading Change: Aligning Institutional and Personal Priorities

If you're serious about teaching and want to learn how to stay sharp, effective, and confident, you'll be joining the ranks at The Teaching Professor Conference. This three-day conference, June 3-5, 2016, offers hands-on workshops, plenary sessions with captivating keynote presenters, dozens of concurrent sessions, and emerging research poster presentations. More than that, this conference gives you the opportunity to interact with your peers from around the country (and world) who are facing the same challenges and wrestling with the same issues that you know well. It brings like-minded, teaching-focused instructors and academic staff members together in a positive, supportive environment that generates optimism and enthusiasm. It doesn't matter what you teach. It doesn't matter if your classroom is on campus or online. It doesn't matter if you just wrapped up your first year on the faculty or if you've been a fixture for decades. The Teaching Professor Conference generates insights and spurs inspiration that can invigorate your teaching and generate greater learning for your students.

If you are a graduate student, instructor, or university staff member interested in SoTL research, this program is designed for you to: Evaluate SoTL research articles Complete a facilitated SoTL research project Engage in reflective practice Present research findings at a teaching and learning conference The program begins May 10, 2016 and includes in-class and online course delivery. All applications are due April 1, 2016. Apply today!

Action Research Network of the Americas  We invite you to join us in Knoxville, Tennessee where our conference theme, MAKING A DIFFERENCE: ACTION RESEARCH FOR A CHANGE, will draw inspiration from the history of Highlander Education and Research Center, and the legacy of change that it has spawned. The epigraph from Myles Horton above refers to his founding of the Highlander Folk School, but also speaks to unique contexts and a focus on interaction that are broadly understood elements of the of diverse field of action research. As with Action Research, this will not be your typical conference. This will be a platform for Inter-Action. Dialogue will be our primary form of interaction with skilled facilitators encouraging participants to join the action and to think together collaboratively. Presentations are limited to short time frames so conference attendees can be actively involved in facilitated dialogue in each session. Poster presentations will be displayed during a boxed lunch session so participants will have time to mingle and network with presenters. Also, new this year this year, we will have Pecha Kucha presentations. These presenters will show 20 slides, for 20 seconds each, and talk for a total of approximately 6.5 minutes with 45 minutes allotted for dialogue following. For further information on pecha kucha visitwww.pechakucha.org and examples HERE and HERE. With four conference tracks, there will be something for everyone. Conference tracks are; Action Research for Social Change, Action Research for Pedagogical Change, Action Research for Change in helping Professions, and Action Research for Change… in Action!

Teaching and Learning Dialogues: Practice, Share, Publish Share your ideas about classroom practices. Work on a draft paper. Give and receive peer feedback and get tips to get your paper published.

The inquire Certificate is a non-degree certificate program that has been developed for you to enhance your ability and competency in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). With attention to the authentic experience of conducting SoTL, the inquire Certificate is designed to be collaborative and inquiry based.  Upon successful completion of the program, you can expect to leave with the following: Non-degree program certificate in The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, offered by Open Learning and Educational Support (OpenEd) at the University of Guelph Named award in Enhancing Research Practice, accredited by the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Peer-reviewed conference presentation

The Master Online Teacher (MOT) certificate The MOT is a comprehensive faculty development program utilizing the MVCR series. This program certifies participants who achieve a demonstrated knowledge related to online course design, online instruction, and other issues related to online teaching and learning. These competencies make a master online teacher.

The Teaching Professor Technology Conference will examine the technologies that are changing the way teachers teach and students learn while giving special emphasis to the pedagogically effective ways you can harness these new technologies in your courses and on your campus. The three-day conference will bring together faculty, instructional designers, faculty developers, educational technology leaders, and other higher education professionals interested in learning more about how technology is altering the learning environment.

The Certificate in Blended and Online teaching is made up of 11 blended and online modules, which can be completed as a whole or as stand-alone resources. The modules contain facilitator guides for online or face-to-face instruction, PowerPoint slides for face-to-face instruction, videos, handouts and SCORM packages.

This workshop will give college teachers from any campus the opportunity to learn about these ideas, apply them to one of their own courses, and receive feedback on their new course design. This is a "Doing" workshop, NOT a "talking heads" seminar. Participants will spend over 50% of the workshop time "doing" course design: re-designing their courses, sharing their design with others, and getting feedback on their design.

"This retreat is for faculty in higher education. It is based on the philosophy that well facilitated shoptalk is one of the highest forms of professional development. No individual "expert" can match the collective knowledge, experience, wisdom, creativity, and genius of 30-40 teachers who are actively involved in their profession. The participants themselves are the experts at the retreat! You will meet with other teachers from different disciplines and institutions, engage in highly interactive discussions, share successful teaching strategies and innovations, seek solutions to your own teaching problems and challenges, and much more (see instructions for Prior Preparation about what to bring to the retreat). The retreat facilitators will provide structure and guidelines to help assure effective use of retreat time, but you and the other participants will decide which issues are most important and relevant to discuss. Together, we will pursue a quest for the ideal of the "great teacher." The Red Rock Great Teaching Retreat is based on the seminar model of the National Great Teachers Movement, founded in 1969 by David Gottshall. This movement continues to grow with workshops, retreats, and seminars held across the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world."

In distance education, keeping up means staying far ahead. At the Distance Teaching & Learning Conference you will discover innovative ways to teach and support online learners. Choose from more than 140 sessions to build the skills you need and learn best strategies, practices, and solutions. Connect with experts in online education and engage with eLearning colleagues from around the world.

At EDUCAUSE 2014 you will... Discover solutions by exploring the 250+ exhibiting companies that provide innovative products and services for your institution. Engage in interactive sessions, special topic discussions, and compelling lightning rounds as part of a robust, member-driven program. Focus on content that's important and relevant to you-sort the program by over-arching content domains, topical themes, or specific speakers. Network with peers from around the world who share similar interests and challenges-excellent resources for ideas and experience.

The 2015 National Forum on Active Learning Classrooms (NF-ALC) at the University of Minnesota focuses on advancing practice and research on active learning classroom spaces. The NF-ALC will feature new session formats (see the Submission Guidelines) designed to provide opportunities for participants to demonstrate innovative practices and research that leverage the advantages of technology-enhanced learning spaces and active learning pedagogies. Our expectation is that participants from a wide variety of institutions will attend the NF-ALC to a) examine common issues affecting the effective use of these spaces and chart a path for their resolution; b) share successful practices that have enriched the student and faculty experience in active learning classrooms; and c) build and deepen networks with colleagues in order to advance their campus efforts. The forum is framed by the alignment between the use of new learning spaces and achieving the academic priorities of many universities and colleges, such as increased retention, improved graduation rates, student engagement, emerging technologies, and global learning. Since these priorities are of broad interest to all working in higher education, international participation is most welcome.

Opportunity or Burden? The Department Chair's Role in Leading Academic Change "The department chair position is the most critical role in the university...80% of university decisions are made at the department level...yet only 3 percent of chairs receive training in leadership." (Gmelch and Miskin, Department Chair Leadership Skills, 2011) This meeting will bring together both new and veteran department and division chairs for a two-day workshop designed to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the Department Chair.