The
Sloan-C 2002 award for the Most Outstanding Achievement in ALN by an
Individual will be awarded to Professor Ray Schroeder
of the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS). A leader in the
advancement of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN)-people networking
through technologies that enable anytime, any place learning-Ray Schroeder
is one of the principal architects of the infrastructures for successful
online programs. He built his career on applying emerging online technologies
to the learning process at all levels, from small rural school districts
to large urban universities. Schroeder's decades of work combine discovery,
leadership and service. He has directed and developed one of the most
successful online programs in the country at UIS, and his daily web
log publication, Online Learning Update is required reading for many
who establish and develop online programs around the world.
Sloan-C
2002 award for Excellence in ALN Teaching will be awarded to Professor
Mary Ann Koory, of the University of California Berkeley Extension
Online. Dr. Koory teaches "Introduction to Shakespeare," an
online course that focuses on literature of immense cultural importance
and popular entertainment, both in Shakespeare's day and in our own.
Having taught the traditional face-to-face version of this course on
the U.C. Berkeley campus, she has the dual experience for her assessment
that the learning outcomes for the online course are definitely as good
as or better than those in the face-to-face course.
The award for Most Outstanding ALN Program will be presented to the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Core Curriculum, offered by the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Designed to prepare physicians to function more competently in the modern healthcare environment, the GME online program addresses ethical, socioeconomic, medical/legal, and cost-containment issues in medical practice. Blending technology and sound educational theory, GME meets the accreditation requirements for residencies with cost-effective, innovative methods that are embraced by more than 3800 medical residents in hospitals in Chicago and throughout the USA.
The
award for Excellence in ALN Faculty Development will be presented to
the Illinois Online Network (ION), for comprehensive
professional development in online teaching and learning for the faculty
and staff of forty community college districts in Illinois and the three
campuses of the University of Illinois. One of the few statewide faculty
development initiatives in the United States, ION has a direct, positive
impact on the attitudes, skills, and knowledge of more than 2,000 faculty
members throughout the state. All forty-three ION member institutions
offer online courses, with many offering complete degrees online. One
of ION's major professional development activities is Making the Virtual
Classroom a Reality (MVCR), a series of online courses designed to help
faculty members develop effective online teaching.
The award for Excellence in Institution-Wide ALN Programming will be presented to the State University of New York Learning Network (SUNY SLN). The primary goal of the SUNY Learning Network is to bring SUNY's diverse, high-quality instructional programs within the reach of learners everywhere. In the 2001-02 academic year, the SUNY Learning Network enabled more than 40,000 student enrollments in 2,500 online courses. The fifty-five SUNY campuses participating in the SUNY Learning Network now offer fifty-five complete online degree and certificate programs.