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Resources for Online Instructors

Summer Reading List 2012 – Online Learning Edition

What’s on your reading list? Last week’s #IOLchat included a brainstorming session of low- and no- cost professional development opportunities for online instructors. One of the ideas that emerged was to develop a reading list of relevant materials. If you are like me, you are probably always adding titles, but rarely have time to get the reading […]


Social Learning Summit 2012

On April 21st, thousands of educators convened online for a completely free day of professional development. The Social Learning Summit 2012 virtual conference took place via live presentations using the Blackboard Collaborate synchronous classroom system. Most sessions were 30 minutes in length and accompanied by a great backchannel on Twitter through the #sociallearningsummit hashtag. With a theme of […]


The Online Student of the (Not-So-Distant) Future

When I met with high school students recently, I had the opportunity to ask them a few questions about the technologies they use as individuals, with the potential for engagement both in and out of the classroom. While I was surprised to find that many were actively using Twitter, their widespread use of Facebook and […]


An Interview with Scott B. Johnson, Program Coordinator for the Illinois Online Network

This year’s Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Annual Conference on Online Learning provided great opportunities not only to learn from practicing instructional designers and online faculty members, but also to network with a number of support service providers. The Illinois Online Network (ION), led by program coordinator Scott B. Johnson, was one of the service providers participating in […]


New Social Networking Options for Academics

As an online instructor you may already be involved in some social networking efforts though sites such as LinkedIn. There is value in building your own personal learning network as you advance in your professional work and continue to make new connections. Now there are more options than ever, including several sites created specifically for those working […]


Professional Development: Finding Opportunities Online

As an online instructor, you have many demands on your time related not only to teaching your courses, but also to staying current with a wide range of information. How do you keep up with the latest advances and events in your field of expertise, higher education administration, online instructional strategies, and educational technology? Most […]


Finding Effective Practices in Online Education

The terms “best practices” and “leading practices” are not hard to find these days when researching strategies for improved online teaching and learning. But what might be a “best” or “leading” practice in one school, program, or course may not meet the needs of your particular situation. The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) has taken a slightly […]


The Orphan Works Project: Increasing Access to Academic Resources

A recent press release from Cornell University announced the expansion of a new initiative, the Orphan Works Project, that makes additional resources available to students, instructors, and researchers. According to the release, orphan works are “out of print books that are still subject to copyright but whose copyright holders cannot be identified or located.” These items […]


The Online Student of the Future

Online students are not only found in higher education, but also in high school and even earlier grades. More and more students are entering college with some type of online learning experience. This group is also actively using new media and technology in the learning environment as well as in social networks. In this post […]