#IOLchat Report: Online Learning Resolutions

Each week we meet via Twitter for #IOLchat  to discuss current issues related to online learning. Participants have included students, instructors, eLearning companies, schools, publishers, and instructional designers.

Thanks for all of your support in 2011! A new year is upon us and now is the time to reflect on our past accomplishments and also identify goals for the future. It may already feel like 2012 is on the fast track as we make plans for upcoming courses, conferences, and other professional activities. What is on your list for the coming year? This week's chat participants shared their plans. We also posted a chat survey over the holidays to gather your feedback and ideas for 2012. Here's a summary of the live chat and your survey responses:

What was your greatest accomplishment related to online learning in 2011?

• Selecting a single accomplishment among the range of online learning projects was difficult for many.
• Online learning programs having winter graduation ceremonies.
• Learning to use Moodle course management system.
• Designing and developing new courses for online delivery.
• Launching new blogs and participating in Twitter chat events!

Where do you plan to focus your efforts in 2012?

• Complete development of new online learning opportunities. The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy will keep us posted on an upcoming economics course!
• Launching new online degree programs. Stay tuned for news from Old Dominion University Distance Learning about upcoming additions to their online catalog! B.S. in Human Services degree completion program is fully online this Spring term.
• Exploring new social media and networking platforms, and developing strategies for use of multiple accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
• Helping faculty to become more engaged with the school and with students.
• Improving time management skills.

What are your favorite strategies for goal setting and prioritization?

• Including student preferences and interests when planning new programs.
• Focusing on programs and services that are seeing the highest demands.
• Taking time to set specific, realistic targets for improvement.

What online education news are you following as we move into 2012?

• Watching for more information about the upcoming U.S. News & World Report online degree program rankings, scheduled for initial launch on January 10^th. 
• The 2012 Horizon Report for higher education, from EDUCAUSE and the New Media Consortium, is expected in February. You can preview this work on the project wiki. 

Thanks to @ODU_DL and @PopeCenter for participating in the live event! Help us to continue the discussion by adding your thoughts via the comments area on this page.

For more from the most recent live session, take a look at the chat archive or this week's transcript. You can also review the chat feed in the window below. Follow us @OC_org and plan to attend our next chat! We meet on Wednesdays from 12pm-1pm ET and look forward to hearing your perspective.

This week's read-aheads:

The 4 Priority-Setting Tips that will Make Your Biggest Ideas a Reality from Fast Company

5 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012 from Mashable

Our Top 11 Most Popular Articles for 2011, Part 1 and Part 2 from Faculty Focus

50 Great Ways to Grow your Personal Learning Network from OnlineCollege.org

Review the chat feed: