On April 29, 2014, the Teaching Matters and Assessment Center and Department of Instructional Design & Technology came together to host Rutgers-Camden’s inaugural eLearning Conference. The conference featured brief faculty presentations, during which faculty members shared their experiences in moving courses into the hybrid format, the online format, or incorporating online technologies in their traditional, face-to-face courses.
Presenters included a variety of faculty members, such as Dan Hart (Psychology), Cindy Ayres (Nursing), and Charlene Mires (History), who discussed technologies like PollEverywhere, ThingLink, and Sakai blogs and how these technologies have created a more interactive learning experience for students. Attendees also were able to participate in hands-on activities, using iPads to create whiteboard recordings with Educreations and to participate in the conference backchannel.
Karen Swan, the keynote speaker from University of Illinois- Springfield, discussed the importance of teacher and social presence in online education. Many of the points faculty presenters discussed were reflected in the research presented by Swan.
Overall, 88 people registered for the conference, 64 attended in person, and a few attendees participated by watching the live stream and commenting in the back channel on Sakai.
If you’re interested in learning more about the technology presented or would like to view presentation recordings, join the 2014 eLearning Conf Sakai site. Keep your own experiences teaching with technology in hybrid, online, or face-to-face courses in mind to present at next year’s conference!