Distance Learning Topics - Part of Upcoming Summit Sessions

The Engaged Student Learning Summit on March 24, 2015 is a significant professional development opportunity to bring faculty from across campus together to focus on a major issue that knows no disciplinary boundaries, student learning. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Vincent Tinto, who will speak from 1:00-2:12 PM in the Student Union Ballroom. He is a nationally recognized expert on student engagement. In addition, thirty-two UL Lafayette faculty representing every college will be making presentations on aspects of student learning from 2:40-3:20 PM and 3:30-4:10 in various rooms in the Student Union.   You can register for this event at this link - http://academicaffairs.louisiana.edu/initiatives/retention-summit/registration.

The following presentations during each concurrent session will feature content on some aspect of teaching and learning in a hybrid and online environment. Please plan to attend these sessions if you are currently teaching or interested in teaching a hybrid or online course.

2:40 - 3:20 PM  Concurrent Session I
Achieving a Successful Online STEM Class
Presenters:     Christy Sue Langley, Julie Roy, and Andrea Leonard
This group of presenters discusses the tools and techniques to retain different types of audiences in the online classroom by sharing targeted communication strategies and assessment techniques.

Engagement Leads to Retention
Presenter: Kathleen Wilson
Retention is important for students and faculty. Student investments are financial and personal goals. Faculty investments are time, passion, and financial. Students that feel connected, are engaged and are experiencing success, will likely continue in their program. RN-BSN students engage with their online courses through various means with an attrition rate of about 2%.

3:30 - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session II
Engaging Devices: An Interactive Student Perspective
Presenters:  Ami Stearns, Sheri Lazar, Elizabeth Bobo, and Gina Sorci
Session presenters will discuss the use of Moodle, mobile devices, and online techniques to create an interactive learning environment with student engagement embedded in the course design.

Translation of Online Teaching Technology to Face-to-Face Teaching
Presenter: Whitney Storey
The online teaching environment’s use of technology as a tool to engage students and its focus on the online learning environment not only leads to greater retention in the online classroom, but these same concepts and tools can easily transition to a face-to-face learning environment. The use of these tools in a face-to-face class has the ability to create a sense of community between the students and the students and instructor, which can lead to greater commitment to the course and course materials.

Assessing Student Performance through a Capstone Project
Presenters: Kathleen Wilson and Debra White
The online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing capstone project integrates knowledge gleaned from core courses into a final project and provides the student with a self-directed learning opportunity. The capstone project represents a bridge between the student’s education and a very personal part of their professional world, their own work setting (Goldstein & Fernald, 2009). Several students have been successful in having their project accepted by their healthcare facility and have been invited to participate in the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination processes. 

Online Dual Enrollment College Algebra and Retention
Presenters: Mary Lou Jumonville and Amanda Doyle
Over the past three years, more than 300 area high school students have enrolled in online College Algebra courses at our University.   Who are these students and how successful are they in this course?  This presentation will address those questions.