OLN Southeast Region 2009 Learning Institute

General Information

The Ohio Learning Network Southeast Regional Center Learning Institute will be held on Friday, March 6, 2009 at Shawnee State University. The day will provide an opportunity for each of the OLN funded PLCs in the region to share their discoveries, joys, trials, and learning experiences during this past year which has been fraught with budget uncertainty and economic unrest. In these challenging times, we must come together as a community of learners to weather the storms and build bridges to prosperity and growth.

The conference will begin with registration and light breakfast at 9 am with talks to start around 9:30. In addition to the presentations by each learning community, there will be updates from Sheryl Hansen of OLN, a keynote talk, information about end of the year grant requirements, and breakout sessions providing opportunities for more individualized networking and exploration of learning community goals. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Michelle Dickey, Associate Professor of Instructional Design and Technology at Miami University. She has been involved in teaching and research using game and web based learning environments and will provide inspiration to us all as we navigate through troubled waters.

Th institute is free and open to all members of learning communities throughout the Southeast Ohio region. Members of OLN funded PLCs are required to attend and can charge travel expenses to their grants. Lunch will be provided and activities should be finished by by 3:30 pm. Registration should be sent by e-mail to Eugene Burns, co-coordinator of the Southeast Regional Center no later than March 3.

Download registration form.

Preliminary Program

9:00 – 9:30 am

Registration and Light Breakfast, Advanced Technology Center 132

9:30 – 10:00 am

Greetings from Center Coordinators, Barbara Kunkle and Gene Burns

Update by Sheryl Hansen from OLN

10:00 am – 12:00 noon

Presentations from Learning Communities (around 20 minutes each + 10 minutes for questions)

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 pm

Keynote Presentation:

Interactive Media for Learning: The Promise and the Perils

Dr. Michelle Dickey, Miami University

2:00 – 3:00 pm

Breakout Session

3:00 – 3:30 pm

End-of-Year Grant Business

3:30 pm

Adjourn

About our Keynote Speaker

The Keynote Speaker for the 2009 Institute is Michele Dickey, an associate professor in Instructional Design & Technology and Interactive Media Studies at Miami University of Ohio. Dr. Dickey completed undergraduate work at Kent State University and her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Dickey teaches Advanced Studies in Media and Technology, Integrating Technology and Education Practicum, Educational Software Evaluation for teachers along with courses in the 3D Animation and Game Design thematic sequence for the Interactive Media Studies Program. Her current research is in game design for instructional design, 3D virtual worlds and learning, and the design of web-based learning environments. She has published many articles on interactive and virtual worlds and their impacts on learning and instructional design. Recent presentations include “The Design of a Game-based Learning Environment: Murder on Grimm Isle,” for the American Educational Research Association in Chicago and “Becoming Animated: Using Cartoon Animations as Low-Tech Pedagogical Agents in a Web-Based Learning Environment,” for the University System of Ohio’s Learning, Libraries + Technology Conference, March 2, 1009, in Columbus, Ohio.

At Shawnee State, Dr. Dickey will speak on "Interactive Media for Learning: The Promise and the Perils." “The integration of technology for teaching and learning,” according to Dickey, “has a long history of utopian adoption and dystopian avoidance.” In fact, she asserts, “there is much to be learned from both camps and students might potentially best be served by educators and instructional designers who are willing to listen to both sides of the debate.”

Dr. Dickey will help Institute participants sort through the pros and cons of how such technologies as games, virtual worlds for learning, social networking, social media, and mobile technologies are impacting teaching and learning. She will also be available to consult with professional learning communities on completing or assessing their projects.