Program

The 2011 Online Spring Focus Session will be held from 12:00 noon to 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 13, and from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 14. All times are listed in U.S. eastern time; please visit The World Clock Time Zone Converter to determine session times in your time zone.

Target Audience: Focus session presentations and content are oriented in such a way that beginner or low-intermediate participants can understand and make some use of the strategies and methods shared. Focus session content does not assume any formal academic training or preparation in research methods.

Virtual Learning Space

Presentations will be offered live inside a virtual learning space that is designed to promote interaction between the presenters and participants and deep exploration of the content. Participants will have ample opportunity to pose questions to the experts and their colleagues, engage in real-life institutional cases, and learn about best practices relating to seeking evidence of impact. Information about this and earlier focus sessions can also be found in the Learning Commons.

Meeting Agenda

You can view the full focus session agenda or follow the links below for schedule information for specific dates.

• Wednesday agenda
• Thursday agenda

Download the full program in .pdf format.

Join us in the Adobe Connect ELI Focus Session room. You must be registered and have a username and password to enter. (This room is now closed.)

Conference Components

• Keynote and Plenary Sessions: Sessions designed to provide a broad overview of the topic, probing current theories and emerging approaches related to the focus session theme.
• Follow-Up Q&A: Informal opportunities to interact one-on-one with session speakers after their sessions have ended.
• Project Rounds: A series of institutional projects presented in a sequential, fast-paced format exploring a single project, emerging technology, or campus initiative. Project rounds will be followed by an opportunity for separate discussion with each of the presenters.
• Activity Menus: During the focus session, you'll have opportunities to participate in our activity menu, which offers three options: "The SEI Consultant Is In," where you'll get one-on-one advice on your seeking evidence work from an SEI expert in the teaching and learning community; "SEI Case Brief," where you can hear about a specific institutional example related to seeking evidence; or "Project Planning Time," where you can work with colleagues or on your own. Use this time to identify evidence of impact projects you can undertake and to begin taking initial steps in designing the projects. How can what you are hearing help you in your planning? If you get stuck, stop by the SEI consultant room to get advice.
• Breaks: Opportunities to further probe session topics through guided discussion and collaborative activities, conducted with institutional group or individuals in virtual rooms.

Orientation Sessions

In preparation for focus session and to test the technology, we've scheduled two focus session orientation sessions. Please attend one:

• Thursday, April 7: 3:30 - 4:00 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT, 1:30 p.m. MT, 2:30 p.m. CT) - View Recording
• Friday, April 8: 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 12:00 p.m. CT) - View Recording

Hosting an On-Site Event

ELI offers single and package focus session registrations. Registrants will receive a customizable resource packet to be used as either an individual participant or to host a face-to-face institutional team around the online focus session content. For more information, please see the Getting Ready page.

Virtual Social Networking

• Join the "twitterati": Follow ELI on Twitter. Remember to tag your posts with #elifocus. To learn more about Twitter, review ELI's 7 Things You Should Know About Twitter.
• Become a fan: Search for the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative on Facebook.

Focus Session Advisory Group

ELI focus sessions are informed, planned, and organized by ELI members who are engaged by, passionate about, and experienced in the selected theme. ELI thanks the 2011 Online Spring Focus Session Advisory Group and those involved in the ELI Seeking Evidence of Impact Initiative. For more information on the initiative, please contact Veronica Diaz (vdiaz@educause.edu) or Malcolm Brown (mbrown@educause.edu).