K-12 Online Education

The 2009 U.S. Department of Education “Evaluation of Evidence-based Practices” noted the dearth of rigorous studies into online learning at K-12 levels.  Nevertheless, online learning is exploding across the K-12 sector. Over 1.5 million K-12 learners are taking online courses every year.  In 2009 alone, online enrollments at state virtual schools increased by 40%.  The range of models, modes and concerns for implementing online learning in the K-12 sector encompasses issues that are both the same – and very different from – those experienced in post-secondary education.  Learner development/independence, parental roles, administrative structures, state regulations and instructional standards, to name just a few, pose and prescribe significantly different responses for curriculum designers, teachers and education leaders. 

Proposals submitted to this track will investigate questions, issues and lessons learned in the application, management, development and evaluation of online learning practices and policies within the K-12 educational sector.

Faculty and Professional Development & Support

Research continues to show the important role online faculty play in student learning, yet many faculty members come to higher education without training on pedagogy and practice in the area of online and blended learning.  As online learning increasingly expands into corporate training, military training and education, workforce initiatives and professional certification programs, alternative pedagogical approaches have emerged.  This track is designed to explore the wide range of evolving pedagogical models, practices,  case studies and institutional strategies that inform those models.

Proposals submitted to this track might consider, for example: innovative faculty development programs; quantitative and qualitative research on faculty satisfaction with online and/or blended teaching; studies of the relationship between faculty development and faculty and student satisfaction; studies of the relationship between faculty effectiveness and student retention and achievement; administering faculty development efforts in online and blended environments; and unique approaches to faculty support. Also to be considered are new research on training strategies, instructional design issues in workforce training; reports on innovative corporate training models; working with the military; online and blended approaches to workforce development, blended approaches to workforce training and development, or creative partnerships between academic institutions and corporations, unions, and government agencies.

Open Educational Resources

It is estimated that the average U.S. college student in 2010-2011 will spend $1,137 (College Board) on course materials.  The cost of textbooks has risen faster than the cost of tuition and far faster than inflation in recent years.  As a result, efforts have been made to create, adopt and sustain open educational resources that will make high quality, openly licensed course materials available to students at significantly lower or no cost.  This track invites papers to document and offer new ideas for sustainable efforts to reduce the costs of educational resources and expand access to those resources.

Learning Effectiveness

Online learning is reaching a more mature stage in development and evaluation in which comparative research is being replaced by research explaining learning effectiveness and theory development. Papers submitted to this track should reflect this with a focus on theory and/or research-based approaches to the design and delivery of online or blended learning.

Proposals submitted to this track might consider, for example: applications of learning theory to the design of online learning environments; quantitative and qualitative research on the effects of particular aspects of course design on student learning; the changing nature of learning online; innovative design of online courses or course activities to support collaboration and community; ways of assessing student learning in online courses; creating affective outcomes toward development of the whole person; diversity perspective and cross-cultural issues; and faculty approaches to promoting learning online.

Technology and Emerging Learning Environments

Online learning is evolving to include multiple blended approaches, new media for online learning, and new kinds of learning environments. The existence of new learning environments have a multitude of consequences - curricular, administrative, and pedagogic - as well as impacts on cognition  both individual and cultural "habits of mind". Additionally, changes in learning environments have consequences for what it means to be literate. This track invites papers that investigate each of these areas.

Proposals submitted to this track might consider: the design, development, and assessment of innovative environments for learning (e.g. the role and impact of gaming, mobile learning, simulations, e-portfolios, etc); the use and impact of new kinds of computer-mediated communications; designs for and the impact of incorporating multimedia in online courses; real-world, case-based learning designs and their outcomes; the changing nature of literacy in the age of “YouTube” and other visual media; effective blended learning strategies; environments to promote diversity of students, content, and learning approaches; and other quantitative and qualitative research on such new learning environments.

Student services are critical to the support of learning at any institution of higher education. When programs move online, student services need to be re-conceived in ways that are not always obvious. Papers submitted to this track should focus on issues surrounding the provision of student services to online and/or blended learners.

Proposals submitted to this track might consider, for example: library services for students learning at a distance; emerging technologies used in recruitment and retention initiatives; the development of community in online programs; orientation to online programs; advisement and counseling for online learners; services for diverse students; outsourcing of student services; perspectives on the global environment; how student services data (student survey findings, summaries of support desk calls, etc.) can inform faculty and course development services; and how student services can promote student success.

Online learning is one way that higher education institutions are responding to social change and the changing expectations society has for higher education. Online learning is transforming all aspects of higher education including teaching, student services, finance, and administration, impacting and challenging the underlying values of the academy. Institutions and institutional leaders are designing new structures to deal with the opportunities and challenges online learning affords.

Proposals submitted to this track should directly address the relationships that online learning, values, and society share and the role of leadership at the institutional level. Papers in this track might consider societal factors such as: changing technologies; diversity and student and faculty demographics; economic, social, and civic capacity development; engagement and partnership, globalization and internationalization of education; open education including open source educational software and open educational resources; access to education; and outcomes based education.  Proposals may focus on leadership in terms of governance, policy, or programs, and should be supported by examples of practice.