Division of Distance Learning Awards

DDL Crystal Award

Purpose
To recognize innovative and outstanding multimedia-based distance learning courses (online, CD-ROM/DVD or video-based) and distance learning projects (single modules, lessons, workshops, something less than an entire course).

 

Deadline
August 15th 2011 midnight MDT

 

Evaluation
Submissions will be evaluated by a team of reviewers using the following criteria.

–Used in the last 3 years
–Innovative and creative use of the medium
–Quality  and depth of the Project Description Summary
–Clear purpose
–Quality of production
–Evidence of successful utilization and implementation
–Evidence of achievement of goals and objectives
–Grounded in scholarly, professional literature

 

Submission
Email a project description summary (no more than a 1000 words in .doc or .pdf format) describing the project (while addressing the evaluation criteria above when possible) with a URL and guest access to your multimedia based submission. In the email, include a statement describing why your project should be considered for a Crystal Award.  Send materials/inquires to Patrick Lowenthal Patrick.lowenthal@ucdenver.edu

 

Award
The award will be given during a special recognition and showcase session at the Annual AECT Convention.  A letter of recognition from DDL will be sent to the winner’s supervisor by a member of the DDL Board of Directors.

 

AECT has a number of other awards as well.

A complete list is available online.

Instructional Message Design Books

The following are some books focused on or related to Instructional Message Design:

Instructional Message Design Principles from the Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences by Malcolm Flemming

Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance by Linda L. Lohr

Graphics for Learning: Proven Guidelines for Planning, Designing, and Evaluating Visuals in Training Materials by Ruth C. Clark & Chopeta Lyons

Multimedia Learning by Richard E. Mayer

The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, edited by Richard E. Mayer

slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte

Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations by Garr Reynolds

The Naked Presenter: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides (Voices That Matter) by Garr Reynolds

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Magna and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam

Advanced Presentations by Design: Creating Communication that Drives Action by Andrew Abela

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman

Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte

Envisioning Information: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative by Edward Tufte

Beautiful Evidence by Edward Tufte

Visual Explanations by Edward Tufte

The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams

What am I missing? Any good books out there on Typography or Color?

CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS — Educational Communities of Inquiry: Theoretical Framework, Research and Practice

CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS

Proposal Submission Deadline: May 30, 2011
Educational Communities of Inquiry: Theoretical Framework, Research and Practice
A book edited by Dr. Zehra Akyol and Dr. D. Randy Garrison
University of Calgary, AB, Canada

To be published by IGI Global:
http://www.igi-global.com/authorseditors/authoreditorresources/callforbookchapters/callforchapterdetails.aspx?callforcontentid=126c1a01-a2ad-46ed-bedc-a86e6d04ae1f

Introduction
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) Theoretical Framework represents a process of
creating a deep and meaningful learning experience through the development
of three interdependent elements – social presence, teaching presence and
cognitive presence. Addressing the need for a comprehensive theory to
provide a clear understanding of the process of teaching and learning in
technology enhanced learning environments, the CoI theoretical framework has
been widely recognized and the principles and strategies have been applied
to various learning contexts from K-12 to higher education, online to
blended learning environments as well as from workplace settings . There
have been many publications in prestigious journals, presentations at
worldwide conferences, and a special issue of the Internet and Higher
Education journal. However, there is a need for a book that has collected
recent research and theoretical interpretations and provide developments
from a range of different contexts.

Objective of the Book
This main objective of this book is to provide theoretical foundations and
developments associated with the CoI theoretical framework and disseminate
new research findings, trends and issues. It will be the first extensive
reference book of recent research and practice associated with the CoI
theoretical framework. It will offer scholars and practitioners a valuable
source of ideas, research opportunities and challenges, practical
implications, and issues regarding the CoI theoretical framework. As an
extensive reference, it will prevent researchers spending time and effort to
investigate what is already known and lead them to explore new areas of
research. It will also provide practitioners direction in terms of designing
and delivering online and blended learning experiences.

Target Audience
Graduate and undergraduate students in the field of educational technology
as well as adult and distance educators who are interested in learning and
studying the CoI theoretical framework will benefit greatly from this book.
Researchers in a variety of fields who wish to further explore and
contribute to the CoI theoretical framework will find this book invaluable.
Faculty who wish to teach courses using the CoI theoretical framework will
welcome this extensive resource of research and practice. Finally,
practitioners and policy makers (i.e. instructional designers, teachers,
professors from K-12 to higher education to corporate institutions) who are
interested in applying the principles of the CoI theoretical framework to
plan, design, deliver and evaluate courses or training programs in online or
blended learning environments will be attracted to this unique resource.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Theoretical Foundations and Epistemological Insights
–Learning and the Role of Learners
–Teaching and the Role of Teachers
–Critical Thinking in a community of inquiry
–Problem Solving in a community of inquiry
–Metacognition in a community of inquiry
Design Issues
–Strategies & principles to develop Cognitive Presence
— Strategies & principles to develop Social Presence
–Strategies & principles to develop Teaching Presence
–Assessment
–Instructional technologies to develop a community of inquiry
Policies and Administrative Issues
–Assessment in a CoI
–Strategic Planning
–Global Perspectives, Culture, Gender
–Institutional Case Studies

Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before May 31,
2011, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and
concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Chapter proposals should be unique
and not be published previously. Authors of accepted proposals will be
notified by June 30, 2011 about the status of their proposals and sent
chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by September
30, 2011. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this
project. Please visit www.communityofinquiry.com for updates about the process.

Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group
Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group
Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science
Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional
information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This
publication is anticipated to be released in 2012.

Important Dates
May 30, 2011 : Proposal Submission Deadline
June 30, 2011 : Notification of Acceptance
September 30, 2011 : Full Chapter Submission
November 15, 2011 : Review Results Returned & Final Acceptance
January 15, 2012 : Submission of Final Chapters

Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) to:
Dr. Zehra Akyol
E-mail: coi.submission@gmail.com
www.communityofinquiry.com

AERA 2011 — Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Various Instructional Strategies to Establish Social Presence

Joni Dunlap and I presented a paper titled “Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Various Instructional Strategies  to Establish Social Presence” at AERA 2011.

Abstract
Social presence theory explains how people present themselves as “real” through a communication medium and is a popular construct used to describe how people socially interact in online courses. Because of its intuitive appeal, educators have experimented with different ways to establish social presence in their online courses. Over the years, we have tried many strategies—from rich threaded discussions to personal one-on-one emails to digital stories to using social networking tools like Twitter. Over time, we began questioning how students perceive all of the strategies we use (in other words, what strategies were leading to the most bang for our buck). In this paper, we describe our investigation of students’ perceptions of various instructional strategies to establish social presence.

Paper

Slides

Things I’ve Learned in My Online Course So Far

A group of us at the University of Colorado Denver presented at Pearson CiTE 2011.

The session was titled “Things I Have Learned in My Online Course So Far.”

You can see the slides from our presentation below:

But the best part of the presentation was when we had the crowd start brainstorming and sharing the things they have learned in a Google Doc. The final document can be viewed online: