Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Workshop A |  Workshop B |  Workshop C |  Workshop D

David Metcalf, PhD, Senior Researcher, Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida and Växjö University
Judy Brown, MASIE Fellow, Strategic Analyst: Mobile Learning, mLearnopedia.com

In this fast-moving workshop we will explore what is mobile learning and why you should consider mobile learning for your organization.

We will address the following:

• Various models for deployment
• Examples of successful initiatives
• Device options
• Mobile design considerations
• Available tools for mLearning development
• Future directions
• Opportunities
• How to get started
• Resources for further exploration

What is Web 2.0 and why should I care?*
Brent Schlenker, Program Manager and Emerging Technologies Analyst, The eLearning Guild

The collection of technologies and methodologies popularly known as “Web 2.0” is a powerful phenomenon. It is driving rapid and radical changes across the commercial Web and those changes are being pushed into the private and public sectors as well. Some of these tools are already present in the federal enterprise and we must become knowledgeable and comfortable with these technologies in order to derive the greatest ROI from our existing investments, better plan for future funding and grow the knowledge base that will allow us to create the strategies and plans to deploy these technologies in the most effective manner for our Services, agencies and Departments and for all of our workforces.

TIME magazine declared that Web 2.0 is about "community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."

This workshop will help you find your way through this fast growing forest of potentially enterprise-changing technologies. You'll also get hands-on with some of the biggest pieces of Web 2.0 in order to better understand their uses and some powerful lessons learned. Finally, you'll be able to place all of this information in the context of an enterprise that must move forward both with speed, in order to serve our customers better but also with with thought and planning.

*Participants attending the What is Web 2.0 and why should I care? workshop need to bring a laptop computer (Mac or PC) with wireless internet capability.

Beginners start here! In this workshop, you'll learn the basic functions of sound editing with Audacity, a free open-source program available for anyone to download on the Internet. It is recommened that attendees pre-install the Audacity program on their laptops prior to arriving. Audacity can be found at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. Audacity supports Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. The instructor will be showing you step-by-step how to delete long pauses, "ums" and "ahs" and generally "clean up" your audio files so they sound professional and organized. In addition, you'll learn how to import interviews, fade in and out music, insert intros, and align other audio content. Perfect for attendees who have never edited an audio file before. By the time you leave, you'll have a basic understanding of how to edit and save audio files for your podcast.

*Participants attending the Audacity 101:Hands-On Audio Editing workshop should bring a laptop computer (Mac or PC) with wireless internet capability to get the most out of the session.

Rena M. Palloff, Ph.D., LCSW, Managing Partner, Crossroads Consulting Group
Keith Pratt, Associate Dean of Distance Learning and Instructional Technology, Northwest Arkansas Community College

Oftentimes, faculty find themselves in something of a rut when it comes to the creation of online learning communities and the development of supportive collaborative activities that go beyond “read and discuss” to deepen the learning in an online course.  They find themselves becoming concerned as participation wanes and look for ideas to bring students back into the discussion in a meaningful way.  How can instructors use collaborative activity as a means of doing just this?  This session will review the importance of collaboration in online courses and present some creative techniques that faculty may not have experienced previously and discuss their implementation and assessment in an online course.