Learning Innovations at the Annual Meeting

ELI face-to-face meetings by design offer innovative ways for participants to share ideas and learn, and the 2008 annual meeting is no exception. At previous annual meetings, we incorporated innovative learning opportunities such as hands-on technology Experience It sessions and collaborative learning circles. We are continuing many of those innovations with the 2008 conference, but we've added some new ones, too.

What's New for 2008

Citizen Journalism

Our Roving Videographers

With the help of graduate students from the Instructional Technology program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at the University of Texas–San Antonio, five ELI members will serve as citizen journalists and develop videos capturing important themes that emerge during the event. They will combine their efforts into a 3–5 minute video summary for the closing general session.

The UT–SA graduate students will also capture participant answers to the question, “What should an ideal education look like?” The videos they produce will be posted to the ELI Web site after the meeting. We hope the results will illustrate various perspectives on Learning 2.0.

Be a Citizen Journalist

Citizen journalism occurs informally, too. Make your learning visible by blogging, sharing photos, or creating your own video to share. You have several options.

• Blogging and Podcasting: Share your thoughts through EDUCAUSE Connect or other social networking sites. With your EDUCAUSE profile, you can use EDUCAUSE Connect to easily create a blog and share text, podcasts, or photos. (For more on establishing a Connect blog, visit the Connect FAQ.)
• Twitter: Twitter is an online application that is part blog, part social networking site, and part cell phone/IM tool. It is designed to let users describe what they are doing or thinking at a given moment in 140 characters or less. See the annual meeting Twitter activity by going to http://twitter.com/ELI2008 and selecting the "With Others" tab. If you have a Twitter account, join the fun by selecting the "Follow" button (please note that your posts will be public). If you would like to set up a free Twitter account, visit http://twitter.com. You will also be able to view the ELI Twitter “Camp” on large-screen monitors in the Rio Grande Foyer.
• Photos or Video: Post photos or video through a Connect blog or use your favorite photo (e.g., Flickr) or video (e.g., YouTube) sharing service.

Don’t forget to tag your postings in Connect with ELIAnnual08 so your contributions will automatically appear on the Connect page for the event and be available to the larger community sharing ideas and reflections throughout the event.

Student Content Showcase

How would students answer the question, “What would your ideal education look like?” See for yourself in the student content showcase, produced in collaboration with Apple. Five Apple student representatives will informally respond to the question through short videos they have created, which they will present in the Rio Grande West Ballroom at various points in the program.

These "video poster sessions" will give you the chance to discuss with them their views on teaching and learning as well as the technical and creative processes behind their videos. This is a great opportunity to talk with students about their expectations for Learning 2.0 while learning some techniques and tips for creating your own videos.

In addition to conducting the showcase, these students will also capture and present their conference experience. Links to their videos, podcasts, blogs, etc., will be added to the ELI Web site as they become available, adding a student voice to our citizen journalism activity.

Continuing Innovations

Model Learning Spaces

Learning can occur in informal, as well as formal, spaces. Join us in the Rio Grande Foyer and West Ballroom to experience the value of model learning spaces designed in collaboration with Herman Miller, Apple, and HP. When not in use for the student showcase, you can use these spaces for your own impromptu gatherings and informal learning, or stop by to view ongoing activity in the ELI Twitter Camp.

In addition, the Apple student representatives (see section above) will use the Rio Grande West Ballroom as their content-development home base. Come by and observe both the students and the model learning spaces in action!

A selection of member-created videos will be posted in the Rio Grande model learning spaces showing student perspectives on technology and how they want to use it in their learning. Stop by to hear learners from peer institutions share what they think, want, and need regarding teaching, learning, and technology.

If your campus has video demonstrating student-generated content or highlighting student perspectives on technology, teaching, and learning, consider sharing through the EDUCAUSE Connect site or e-mail us.

Learning Circles

For an opportunity to learn by "thinking out loud," participate in the "learning circles"—collaborative sessions in which a member discusses the "next big thing" they plan to pursue and seeks feedback from session participants. This group exploration also allows you to think about implications for your campus. Learning circles are scheduled for 4:30–5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29.

• Gaming: The World’s New Medium Meets Education (facilitated by Bryan Alexander, Director of Research, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education)
• Learning Spaces in 2010 (facilitated by Malcolm Brown, Director of Academic Computing, Dartmouth College)
• Innovations in Faculty Development (facilitated by Gardner Campbell, Professor of English, University of Mary Washington)
• Games for Learning...Taking It to the Next Level (facilitated by Kathy Christoph, Director of Academic Technology, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
• Championing Emerging Technologies (facilitated by Vincent Doogan, Director of Student Technology Services, New York University)
• Learners and Virtual Community: Social Networking in Academia (facilitated by Marla Gerein, Head of Virtual Communities, International Baccalaureate Organization)

Experience It Sessions

Experience It sessions offer an opportunity to directly experience emerging learning technologies and related practices. To facilitate these hands-on learning activities, space is limited to 30 people in each session. The four different Experience It sessions will each be held twice in a space outfitted with flexible, mobile furniture provided by KI. In-person registration for the sessions is required—stop by the registration desk to sign up.

Podcasting

Extending learning opportunities to attendees and nonattendees alike, ELI is podcasting audio from general and featured sessions as well as select interviews with presenters and participants. We will post the files via the EDUCAUSE Connect site under the ELIAnnual08 tag.

You are encouraged to add your own perspectives on the annual meeting by podcasting the event as well. Please post your conference-related podcasts to the EDUCAUSE Connect site and tag them with ELIAnnual08 so they will appear on the event Connect page. If you don't already have a Connect blog, please see the Connect FAQ for information on establishing one.

Please remember that you must first get a speaker's permission before recording. Also, please take care not to distract speakers or other participants during sessions. If you need to have a microphone at or near the speaker station, check with the speaker for proper positioning. Also note that ELI will not be providing technical or logistical support for participant podcasting.

Learning Research

The ELI Annual Meeting catalyzes learning for presenters and participants alike. We hope you will share with us what you are learning throughout the conference so we can learn from you and structure future events to optimize learning.

You will find forms to help you capture what you're learning in your attendee tote. Please keep the top copy for yourself and drop the bottom copy in the collection boxes in the general session room or near the registration desk. Additional forms will be available in the session rooms as well as from the registration desk and publications table. If you would rather share your thoughts electronically, please use the online learning reflections form. (Please see the "Research Release" section of the registration page for more information.)