You are cordially invited to join us for a look inside the University of Pennsylvania and see how they implemented a social strategy to enhance their online learning environment. Whether your experience ranges from a seasoned veteran, to someone just beginning to explore the dynamic world of Distance/e-Learning, you will be guaranteed to learn, share, and have ample opportunities to build your professional network.
PRESENTATIONS
"Designing a New Online Learning Environment Centered on Social Interaction"
In this session, presenters describe the development and implementation of the Penn LPS Commons, a custom-built online learning environment designed to center participants on the social interactions that drive learning communities. Built with Drupal and Moodle, the LPS Commons includes social networking, learning management and collaborative web 2.0 tools as well as robust permissions models which allow select elements of online learning communities to be shared with public audiences as institutional Open Educational Resources (OERs). Presenters will review use-case scenarios from their suite of online courses and current OER projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.
"Integrating Social Strategy into Online Course Design"
In this session, presenters turn their attention to the instructional design issues related to integrating social networking tools into effective online course design. The presentation describes a non-credit course in Positive Psychology which drew a global audience of over 1000 participants from 62 countries. Designed to engage both self-access and social learners, the course centered on 36 hours of broadcast quality video and allowed participants to drive course conversations through a variety of activities using social tools (eg. blogs, discussion forums, user profiles). Presenters will share user evaluation data and open up discussion about implications for applying social networking tools in other learning contexts.
THE PRESENTERS
Marni Baker Stein, PhD, Director of Program Development
Lisa Minetti, MA, Curriculum Design and Assessment Specialist: College of Liberal and Professional Studies, University of Pennsylvania
About Our Host
Recognized as America's first university, The University of Pennsylvania, one of eight private universities in the Ivy League, is consistently ranked as one of the best national universities in the U.S.A. There are more than 23,000 students at Penn, including 4,500 international students, and more than 4,000 faculty members, including ten who have received Nobel Prizes in recent years. The College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS), a division of the School of Arts and Sciences, serves adult students working toward undergraduate degrees, post-Baccalaureate study, and professional master's degrees in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The Program Development Group at LPS develops new programs through strategic partnerships, assesses the viability and sustainability of new program ideas through market research, and oversees the design and assessment of innovative and cutting-edge programming.
About PADLA
Now in our 8th year, PADLA's mission is to establish an open forum dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and information between corporate, non-profit, academic, and government professionals, concerning the issues and technological changes in the field of Distance/e-Learning and how it can be utilized to improve human performance. Bi-monthly face-to-face meetings and an annual confernce are held covering the latest research, trends and best practices in Distance/e-Learning presented by recognized experts and practitioners.
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