Distance Education Specialists Participate in Teaching and Technology Symposium

Five representatives from the University of Arkansas discussed distance education and teaching tools at the Teaching with Technology Symposium in Little Rock this week.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hosted the July 18 and 19 symposium, as it has each year since 2006, and invited learned colleagues from other institutions to offer presentations, join panel discussions and conduct workshops. Four staff members from the Global Campus and one from the College of Education and Health Professions participated this year.

The symposium's keynote speaker, Donald Bobbitt, the University of Arkansas System president, presented "Adapt or Die: The Reality of Higher Education Over the Next Decade." Bobbitt addressed the perceived changes coming in course delivery and the role of technology in those changes.

Kim Bradford, director of compliance and quality assurance at the Global Campus; Michael Moore, University of Arkansas System vice president for academic affairs, and others participated in a panel discussion about eLearning and distance education.

"This symposium presented a great opportunity to exchange educational technology ideas, concepts and solutions with other Arkansas institutions," Bradford said. "No matter how knowledgeable we believe we are, we can always learn more and do more."

Rebecca Martindale, director of Web and instructional-based services in the College of Education and Health Professions; Miran Kang, director of instructional design and support services at the Global Campus; and Elaine Terrell and Shelly Walters, Global Campus instructional designers, presented "Cool Tools."  They discussed different technology resources available to those who use technology and the Internet to teach.

"Anyone can search Google to find cool tools and apps," Kang said. "Our job is to listen to faculty to discover what academic objectives they have and how they want to engage students to improve learning. Then we help them sort through the different tools to select the right ones for the right jobs."

Kang, Martindale, Terrell and Walters joined UAMS presenters in a workshop that explored various computer apps and how they can be used in teaching. The audience contributed to the discussion, sharing the names of apps they use and like.

Kang and Terrell also conducted a "lightning session" to describe the Global Campus. The Global Campus supports the development and delivery of online degree programs and courses from the university's academic colleges and schools. It provides instructional design services, technology services, access to national distance education organizations, and assistance with strategic academic development and marketing.

The symposium's topics included developing multimedia content, stimulation-based education, using smart phones, interactivity and engagement, and creating educational games. The event also included demonstrations by software vendors. Attendees included faculty, administrators, librarians, curriculum developers and instructional designers.