*Join the Sloan Consortium on Linkedin, Twitter & Facebook*

Stay connected with The Sloan Consortium and its members through the Sloan-C networking groups on Twitter and Linkedin. Learn what others in online education are doing as well as receive news and conference updates from the Sloan Consortium.

Linkedin: Click here to join the Sloan Consortium group.

Twitter: Click here to follow the Sloan Consortium.

Facebook: Click here to join the Sloan Consortium group.

The Sixth Annual Sloan-C Workshop on Blended Learning and Higher Education

April 27 - 28, 2009

Blended Learning: Getting the Best of Both Worlds - hosted by the University of Illinois provides the opportunity for administrative leaders, faculty members, instructional designers and researchers to discuss blended learning in higher education. Attendees will engage with one another throughout this workshop by networking, considering effective practices and discussing assessment strategies. As an attendee, you and your institution will benefit from this highly interactive conference as well as gain the ability to continue discussion and interaction via Sloan-C's asynchronous online Moodle site and online workshops.

Please click http://www.uic.edu/depts/oee/blended/workshop/register.htm for registration details.

Pre-Conference Workshops Announced for Sloan-C Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning Symposium

Get the tools you need to enhance your classes! Pre -Conference Workshops for the June 17-19 Sloan-C Symposium are available to full conference attendees at special discounted prices. Space is limited and most workshops tend to fill quickly. Register early to secure your first choice of workshops!

Pre-Conference Workshops: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Morning Workshops: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. ($65 with full conference registration)

* Benefit from limited enrollment
* The Nearly Annual Survey: Innovative Uses of Low-Cost Technology Tools
* Hybrid Learning meets Web 2.0: (re)designing a Hybrid Course with Emerging Technologies for the Net Generation Learner
* Strategies, Options, and Practice of Moving Laboratories Online: The Missing Link in Online Science Education
* Learn how to use Google Apps to Organize your Work and Promote Collaboration while Saving Time and Money

Afternoon Workshops: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. ($65 with full conference registration)

* Social Networking: Twelve Top Tools You Can Use in Class Tomorrow
* User Friendly Content Creation with New Technologies
* Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing for Student Services
* Teaching in Wild Wild Web: Web 2.0 Technologies and Student Centered Learning

Register Now--Early Bird Pricing ends May 17th!

Workshop descriptions and online registration are available at http://www.emergingonlinelearningtechnology.org/.

Call for Papers Deadline is approaching for 15th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

We invite you to submit a proposal for the 15th Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning: "The Power of Online Learning: Opportunities for Tomorrow." The conference strongly encourages proposals that reflect the implications for the field of specific e-learning experience and practices. Proposals that address blended learning, issues of diversity, international applications of online learning, open educational resources and/or social networking are especially encouraged.

Last year's annual conference attracted over 1100 participants to Orlando for more than 180 presentations, as well as exhibits, pre-conference workshops, keynote and plenary addresses, and a variety of other special events.

Proposals must be submitted by April 30th at www.sloanconsortium.org/aln.

Share Your Views: Another Way to Participate in the Sloan-C Community

Below are blog posts of interest collected from www.sloanconsortium.org. Feel free to share your ideas by posting comments.

No Really, Why Teach in Second Life?
by Michael DeMers
If you are reading this you might be thinking that this is pretty obvious. You want to add social presence to your online class. Or you might say that it's a perfect place for role-play. Some of you might even use the word immersion. All of these are reasonable answers. But do you really understand what the true advantages of teaching in a virtual world like Second Life really are?
Click here to read the blog post.

You Can Look, But You Can't Touch!!!
by Jane Jarrow
Why Universal Design and technology access will never be enough for students with disabilities in online learning
Click here to read the blog post.

Different Approaches to Providing Feedback in the Online Classroom
by Susan Ko
Many tend to think of feedback in terms of responses, critiques and corrections inserted by instructors in the margins of student papers, or short comments accompanying a grade on projects and exams. Online feedback includes the above, but there are other types of feedback that are particularly important in the context of an online classroom.
Click here to read the blog post.

Cohort Student Grouping: Does It Enhance Student Retention?
by Philip DiSalvio
Figuring out those factors that contribute to retention and course completion rates continue to be a compelling challenge for those of us involved in the world of online teaching and learning.
Click here to read the blog post.

An Online Course Development Approach Based on Bloom's Taxonomy
by Maria Puzziferro
What exactly is an "online course?" How can a high-quality online course be developed? There are many templates, approaches, ideas, and models available for faculty to guide online course development. One such model that is used at CSU-Global Campus looks at online course design in the context of a learning process, derived from Bloom's Taxonomy.
Click here to read the blog post.

JALN (Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks)
by John Bourne
I'm still thinking about how we might do more themed JALN issues - for example, a themed issue about blended is coming up soon. Is there any interest among the membership in helping Katie, Janet and me (Katie Fife Schuster, Janet Moore and me) put together interesting themed issues around topics such as virtual worlds in online education, retention, or any other topic of great interest to our readership?
Click here to read the blog post.

2009 Sloan-C College Pass Professional Development Package

*A cost effective solution for faculty training*

A 2009 College Pass Professional Development Package provides:

- 150 seats per year in over 30 Sloan-C online workshops which cover a variety of key online education topics
- A cost-effective and convenient way to improve quality in online education while networking with new colleagues
- Supplements your on-campus efforts with access to a wide variety of topic coverage from experts around the nation

Online workshops are 1 - 2 weeks long with convenient synchronous and asynchronous delivery. Sloan-C's online workshops are based on years of Sloan-C research and effective practices - anytime, anywhere flexibility combined with an attention to quality and access to top experts and new colleagues in the field. Now you can provide your institution complete access to these workshops through the end of 2009 with the Sloan-C College Pass Professional Development Package.

Register for a 2009 College Pass Professional Development Package today at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/info/2009colpass or e-mail info@sloanconsortium.org.

Sloan-C 2009 Institutional Membership

*Join the Sloan-C Community of educators from around the world.*

Membership in the Sloan Consortium provides knowledge, practice, community, and direction for educators.

A 2009 Institutional Membership includes:
- 10 $50 coupons toward the 15th Annual Conference on Online Learning Networks in 2009 in Orlando, FL
- 20 $150 coupons toward over 30 Sloan-C online workshops for faculty, staff, and administrators in online education
- Full access to Sloan-C effective practices, networking opportunities, and many Sloan-C publications

Register for a 2009 Institutional Membership today at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/membership.

Announcements

*Announcing the First Quality Matters Conference*

The conference will take place June 7 - 9, 2009 at Johns Hopkins' Mt. Washington Center in Baltimore. For more information, go to http://www.qualitymatters.org/Conference_files/Conference_Announce.htm.

Call for Papers for the Inaugural Issue of Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning

The Call for Papers deadline is June 1, 2009. For more information, go to http://journal.elnet.com.au/index.php/impact/.

The Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL)

Has your institution recently launched or are you planning to launch an online program?

Do you have the next level of leadership prepared to embrace all that online delivery has to offer?

If you, like many, see developing the leadership capacity as a critical issue in establishing your an online program, you may be interested in participating in The Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning, a unique blended-learning leadership development program sponsored by Penn State and The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C).

"A key objective of the Institute is to get emerging leaders together with online learning pioneers to share their experiences," explains Dr. Gary E. Miller, executive director emeritus of Penn State’s World Campus and one of the Institute leaders. With so many of the early adopters at or near retirement age, there is a real need to foster the development of the next generation of higher education leaders in online learning, Miller notes.

The institute is a blended format, which means participants will meet as a group for an immersive experience then continue their learning in an online environment that culminates with a capstone project at The Sloan Consortium's annual conference in October, explains co-director Lawrence C. Ragan.

The group experience will take place August 10–13, 2009, at Penn State.

"We are limiting the size of this group to about 30 individuals who will be nominated by their institutions in order to maintain a high-touch experience for all participants," Ragan adds.

It’s a high tech experience as well. "The future of higher education rests with those leaders who possess a clear vision of how the new and emerging technologies can most effectively be used to facilitate learning," adds Ray Schroeder, professor emeritus of communication at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

The curriculum for the institute is based on the Sloan-C five pillars. (see: http://www.sloan-c.org/5pillars) The format and topics are based on a recent survey of Sloan-C members.

"That way, we are addressing critical operational issues within a common framework," Ragan adds, "then, we’ll take it up a notch to examine at those same issues from a leadership perspective. Moving from the operational to leadership level makes this program so worthwhile."

Leadership panelists already committed to the Institute include Miller; Schroeder; and Meg Benke, dean of the Center for Distance Learning at Empire State College, State University of New York. In addition to the panelists, experienced online program leaders will lead each session focusing on one of the five pillars.

At the leadership level, Benke notes, it is often the decision-making interface between some or all of the five pillars that makes a difference. "The Institute will assist emergent leaders in balancing the competing priorities in the complex environments of higher education," she adds.

For more information on the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning, please visit: http://www.outreach.psu.edu/programs/emerging-leadership/index.htm

Sloan C members can register for a reduced fee. Nominations are being accepted now through May.