Dear Educator:

Blended Learning Conference & Workshop – Last Call to Register for Onsite or Virtual Attendee Options!

8th Annual Blended Learning Conference and Workshop
March 28-29, 2011
Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort, Oak Brook, Illinois
Tweet about the conference - #blend11

Register Now! Don’t miss these key presentations at the upcoming Blended Conference and Workshop:

Keynote Address - Monday March 28 – 3:00pm – 4:00 pm CDT (Central Daylight Time)

Josh Jarrett
Program Officer, Postsecondary Success
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

"Blended Future: Trends Reshaping Higher Education and the Role of Blended Learning"
This session will explore the role that blended learning can play in redefining successful education models in the face of the near inevitable trends reshaping the education system.

Plenary Panel - Tuesday, March 29 – 8:00am – 9:20am CDT (Central Daylight Time)

Marc Parry (The Chronicle of Higher Education, US) - Panel Moderator
Anthony Picciano (Hunter College, City University of New York, US)
Joel Hartman (University of Central Florida, US)
Tanya Joosten (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, US)

"Blended Learning: Past, Present and Future"
In envisioning our future of blended learning, we reflect on current trends on higher education, past accomplishments in the field, and the experiences of three different campuses. This discussion will be facilitated by Marc Parry, The Chronicle of Higher Education. The audience will be asked to contributed their questions via Twitter or note cards for an interactive plenary.

Invited Session - Tuesday, March 29 – 9:30am – 11:20am CDT (Central Daylight Time)

Patsy Moskal (University of Central Florida, US) - Panel Moderator
George Otte (City University of New York, US)
Stephen Laster (Harvard Business School, US)
Anthony Picciano (Hunter College, City University of New York, US)

"Blended Learning Models: Strategies for Transformation"
While so many folks are considering what percentage should be online to make a blended course, this session is geared toward reframing that notion. Looking at various models adopted by others, the panel will focus on what infrastructure, policies, and goals are driving the push to blend. Models used by others will be shared and an open discussion will invite participants to share their experiences, opportunities, and challenges.

Unable to travel to Chicago? Join us virtually instead!

Register now for the Virtual Attendee Option! Registration options include:

• Individual virtual attendee for the low price of $109.
• "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" option (click here for the registration form)
• Select our institutional package, which offers access to streamed sessions for up to 100 seats or 30 screens for attendees from 1 institution. Contact RT Brown (rtbrown@sloanconsortium.org) for details on the institutional package option.

Emerging Technologies for Online Learning (ET4OL) International Symposium

4th Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium
A joint symposium of The Sloan Consortium and MERLOT
July 11-13, 2011
Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California

The ET4OL Symposium is shaping up to be one of the hottest conferences of 2011! Join us in San Jose as we explore our conference theme “Empowering Next Generation Teaching.” This joint symposium of The Sloan Consortium and MERLOT promises to provide attendee “real solutions” by focusing on the technologies, networking and systems that drive online learning effectiveness. Check out our keynote speaker, Bryan Alexander, and watch for news on the posting of the full conference program in the near future.

• Register now for special early bird pricing of $445 for Sloan-C members, $495 for regular attendees. Early bird pricing ends June 11.
• Make your hotel reservations between now and June 27 to receive a special conference rate of $145/night plus tax at The Fairmont San Jose. Attendees who register through our website will have the option to receive complimentary guest room internet service throughout the conference.
• Sign-up for updates on the ET4OL Symposium. You will be notified when the full program is posted and receive periodic updates on conference news.

2011 Sloan-C Webinars

Sloan-C has added webinars to its resources for educators. Webinars typically last anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half. Most are free to Individual Members. Institutional members and non members pay a separate fee. New webinars will be added soon. Check the webinar site frequently.

Proof and Possibility for the iPad in Higher Education - March 23, 2011 2:00 - 3:30 ET

This webinar will introduce the findings and research of institutions with mobile learning initiatives. Participants will learn of a schema of education apps to facilitate a deeper understanding of the iPad. They will learn about the iPad as an accessible device (out of the box) and as paired-hardware that extends the usefulness of the device for the sight- and hearing-impaired. Participants will be introduced to free- and commercial-based software that enables faculty to develop and distribute their own eBook content. Finally, individuals will learn of similarities and differences between the current leader, the iPad, and new tablets coming to market.

FREE - Encouraging Your Faculty to Use MERLOT to Enhance Their Classes - March 30th, 2011 2:00 - 3:30 ET

MERLOT, in partnership with the Sloan Consortium, presents this webinar to demonstrate various approaches to encouraging faculty on your campus to use technology by explaining simple ways that MERLOT resources can be integrated into classes.

FREE - Game Design and Technology for STEM+ Learning Collaborative - April 6th, 2011 11:00 - 12:30 ET

This webinar will feature the developments in the Game Design and Technology Collaborative, a learning network and a sandbox for innovation, involving multiple organizations in disparate locations to facilitate the utilization of game design methodology for teaching and learning in STEM+ courses. The project aims to demonstrate the ability of the game design methodology to effectively bridge complex course content to the constituent elements of a particular discipline i.e. core STEM principle.

FREE - Community Colleges: Maximizing Your Online Learning Budget with Sloan-C - April 12th, 2011 2:00 - 3:00 ET

Did you know that Sloan-C offers community college discounts on membership and certain products? With budgets a concern for institutions across the country, the need for quality resources and cost effective training for faculty development is more important than ever. The Sloan Consortium understands these concerns and offers membership and professional development packages that provide great cost savings for colleges of any size and budget. This webinar will go over in detail the membership benefits, College Pass Professional Development Package, the 2011 online workshop series and the Sloan-C Certificate.

FREE - Using Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs - April 13th, 2011 2:00 - 3:00 ET

The Using Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs webinar will introduce participants to the scorecard, providing a brief rationale and history of its development, directions for using the interactive scoring method, and uses of the scorecard for internal strategies and external reporting and benchmarking.

Online Learning – How is it changing the K12 Educational Landscape? - May 11, 2011 3:00 - 4:30 ET

How is online learning changing the K12 educational landscape? Julie Young, President and CEO of Florida Virtual School will explain the positive impact that online learning is making in K12 public school. Young will profile programs that serve as encouraging models for wider reform, while highlighting the unique challenges and benefits in K12 vs. post-secondary learning.

For more information or to register, please go to the webinar page.

View recordings of previous webinars.

JALN Call for papers on Innovations in Online Education for Military and Veteran Students and Families - Deadline March 31

The Sloan Consortium Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks calls for papers on Innovations in Anytime Anywhere Military Education. The aim of the issue is to describe innovations in online education that are designed to respond to the educational needs of active-duty and veteran service people and their families. This issue aims to provide readers with innovative practices in:

• preparing students for success in online learning
• designing and delivering resources for highly mobile students and faculty including students and faculty on deployment, and
• professional military training

Questions about submissions or abstracts for consideration may be sent to editors:

• Student preparation: Deb Gearhart, dgearhart at troy.edu
• Resources: Phil McNair, PMcNair at APUS.EDU
• Professional military education: Kathleen Schulin, Schulink at ndu.edu

Please post submissions by March 31 or apply to review manuscripts at http://jaln.sloanconsortium.org.

Sloan-C Fellows Class of 2011 - Call for Nominations Deadline is Approaching

Recognition as a Sloan-C Fellow is one of unusual professional distinction and is conferred by the Sloan-C Board of Directors upon individual members of the Sloan Consortium who have:

• outstanding and extraordinary qualifications in the field of online learning;
• significant experience in online learning or an allied field;
• a record of distinguished service to Sloan-C or the field; and
• extraordinary contributions or leadership in the field of online learning.

Complete details are available on the Sloan-C website at: http://sloanconsortium.org/2011_sloan-c_fellows.

The submission deadline is April 1, 2011. Please contact Burks Oakley with any questions about the nomination process.

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

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2011 Sloan-C Membership - More Benefits, Same Price

Please consider joining the Sloan-C community in 2011. The Sloan Consortium is a self sustaining nonprofit and needs support from you to keep on offering great resources, workshops, and events in the field of online learning. We continue to institute many new member benefits and options based on input from our members and friends in the community. Membership is rolling (no longer based on a calendar year) and new workshops, free webinars, and practitioner documents are added throughout the year. Membership includes full web access to effective practices, the JALN, discounted/free webinars, practitioner docs, discounts on workshops, conferences and much more.

Click here for more details.

2011 Sloan-C Workshop Deadline Reminders

Advanced Second Life
March 23

This workshop advances the skills of intermediate users (who have taken the level 2 workshop or its equivalent) to develop Second Life pedagogy, to design environments, and manage tools.

eBooks, OER, and Other Digital Content Options
March 30

Traditionally, print textbooks have been used as a primary content source in educational settings. However, in the past two decades, the cost of textbooks has increased dramatically. Fortunately, during this same period, the availability of open educational resources, ebooks, and other digital content has also increased. In this workshop, you’ll learn about alternatives to the traditional print text – what those alternatives are, how to find them, and how to use them effectively.

Retention Strategies in Online Education
April 6

The topic of retention continues to gain interest across the fields of higher education. Online student retention rates can be significantly lower than on-campus equivalents. With record numbers of students studying online, it is imperative that academic institutions discover why online learners have a significantly lower rate of persistence than on-campus students and understand how to improve success rates.