Erika Yigzaw
As the CIO at ACHS.edu, I am tasked with staying up to date on technology and integrating it throughout our institution. Its not always easy to choose which conferences and events to attend, given there are so many! So here's my favorites, some I've been to, and some are on my wish list. I'd love to hear your suggestions too!
Distance Education and Training Council: The Global Leader in Distance Learning Accreditation Annual Conference April each year
One of my favorite educational technology conferences - I attended nearly all of the first 10 years, but years 11 and 12 clashed with the DETC annual conference so I am THRILLED that they changed the date for 2014 so it doesn't clash! I hope to be here!
This annual online learning event, now in its 15th year, brings together more than 500 higher education online learning program executives, faculty and administrators to share in the discussion and exchange of information on innovative learning strategies across a broad range of education programs in the online environment. This year, Cite will be held April 1–3, 2014 in Fort Worth, TX.
I attended my first UBTech in Vegas in June 2012 and was very impressed by the depth and breadth of sessions. I particularly loved the keynote by Temple Grandin and meeting my CIO colleagues at the CIO Summit.
"UBTech is higher education’s leading technology focused and leadership event."
Have heard good things but never been myself - would love other's feedback on this one!
New technologies are changing the way we live, work, play, communicate, and learn. Keeping up with these changes and adapting to the evolving needs of today’s organizations is challenging. At Learning Solutions 2014 you will learn about these technologies, discover exciting new possibilities for reaching your learners and delivering content, and connect with peers who will show you proven solutions for successful implementation.
Sunchild E-learning’s challenge is to provide a high school education, at a distance, for both adults and students. In addition to meeting the challenge of their diverse populations, they are developing content for the devices (laptops, tablets, smart-phones) that their students expect their learning to be delivered. In fact a recent study of their E-learning model and has determined several key elements that make the Sunchild model a gold standard for distance education.
Sunchild E-learning is a non-profit charitable organization and a fully accredited private high school that has graduated more First Nations students than any other on reserve school in Alberta, Canada for over 12 years. Through their E-learning model, First Nations students can complete their high school diplomas without having to leave their home communities. It was developed to allow in culturally relevant content as well as integrate in flexibility for students to access material at their convenience online anytime and anywhere.
The Sunchild E-learning community program has seen course completion rates for aboriginal students of greater than 70% and graduation rates of greater than 80% in each of its 12 years of operations. This compared to graduation rates of less than 4% and course completion rates of less than 20% in northern Alberta public school divisions.
Presenter: Mavis Sacher, Principal, Sunchild E-learning Community
2nd New Directions in Online Learning Boston March 31-April 2, 2014
Registration and Call for Papers for QM's 2014 Southwest Regional Conference, "The Landscape of Quality" NOW OPEN! The conference will be held at Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 24-25, 2014. Submit your paper . Submission deadline is February 15, 2014.
