Conference Program > Pre-Conference Workshops

"SOCIAL PRESENCE and COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES to ONLINE LEARNING"
Pre-Conference Workshops
October 6, 2008

Expand Your OTL Experience with an Online Pre-Conference
Led by Faculty of Fielding Graduate University!

The two-day online conference is preceded by a special one-day Pre-Conference Program entitled "Social Presence and Community-Based Approaches to Online Learning". The Pre-Conference workshops will be led by faculty members of Fielding Graduate University and will take place October 6, 2008. The unique program features three live, one-hour interactive webcasts as well as on-demand discussion forums for participants to interact with session leaders and other registrants at any time. All webcasts will be recorded and posted to accommodate all participant time zones and schedules. Choose the special Pre-Conference option when you register for OTL for only an additional $129. Below are descriptions of each of the Pre-Conference workshop sessions:

'SOCIAL PRESENCE' in ONLINE COURSES
with Rena Palloff, Ph.D. and Keith Pratt, Ph.D.

Presence online can be defined as the way in which participants present themselves as real people. In a face-to-face situation, we are able to convey in a multitude of ways who we are as people. How does one do that online? How do we help the other learners get to know us; likewise, how do we get to know them so that we have a sense of the group with which we are communicating? Participants in this session will leave with good ideas for establishing presence in their online courses. Learn more ...

TRANSFORMING a LEARNING PROGRAM THROUGH a COMMUNITY-BASED MODEL of INSTRUCTION
with Fielding Graduate University Faculty and other panelists

During this session, faculty and administrators of a community college share their experiences working with Fielding faculty to transform their overall learing programs using a community-driven model of online instruction. This session will highlight concrete take-aways on helping faculty make the transition to community-based teaching, acclimating learners to collaborative learning, and building a sense of community that leads to student success and achievement.

TEACHING and LEARNING in VIRTUAL WORLDS
with Fielding Graduate University Faculty

This session explores the opportunities afforded by extending learning communities into virtual, three-dimensional worlds. Fielding Graduate University faculty and others involved in researching and implementing 3-D worlds for learning lead an exploration, workshop and discussion of the state of the art in socially-constructed virtual environments.

 

(Note that pre-conference session descriptions are subject to change.)

Learn more about the OTL Pre-Conference Workshop leaders, all of whom are faculty at Fielding Graduate University:

Rena Palloff & Keith Pratt
Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt are the managing partners of Crossroads Consulting Group.  Rena and Keith are also program directors and faculty in the Teaching in the Virtual Classroom program at Fielding Graduate University. Learn more ...