The Center for Teaching and Learning Presents:
Embracing the Online Learner
Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 | 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. (EST) | Held entirely online via Zoom
In recent years, an increasing number of faculty and students at Georgia Tech have experienced the possibilities that distance teaching and learning have to offer. Whether holding classes in completely virtual environments, utilizing online to flip or supplement their in-class experience, or something in between, faculty have been extending their pedagogy across time and space to reach students where they are in new and exciting ways.
During the Georgia Tech 2024 Celebrating Distance Teaching and Learning Symposium we will be celebrating those educators who have forged high-quality practices for teaching at a distance. This year's theme: Embracing the Online Learner, will focus on students in the online environment and feature sessions designed to empower educators to reshape their online educational experiences for their students by showcasing innovative methods and technologies they can take back and use in their own courses.
During the symposium, we will converse with:
- Inventive instructors who became early adopters of Generative AI and developed new techniques to wield its potential
- Expert online instructors who work with massive online learning courses
- Award-winning Online TAs and faculty from diverse backgrounds and disciplines
- Pedagogical specialists who work to bridge learning and technology together
- And, most importantly, we’ll have opportunities for symposium participants to connect with each other and exchange their thoughts and ideas throughout
Please join us for a day full of inspiring presentations, important conversations, and stimulating experiences as we work together to transform the landscape of distance teaching and learning.
Can’t commit to the whole day? That’s alright! While we would love to have participants attend all of the symposium, we welcome you to register below and attend the parts of the symposium you’ll be able to join us for.
Agenda
We recognize that our busy academic schedules may prevent attending the full symposium and we welcome you to come and go as needed throughout the day.
The below planned agenda will give you an idea of when each can't miss session will occur.
Morning Sessions
9-9:45am Opening remarks: "Embracing the Online Learner” by Ronnie Godshalk
9:45-10:45am Featured speaker: Andrew Medford, Winner of 2024 Teaching Excellence Award for Online Teaching.
Lessons Learned from Data Analytics for Chemical Engineers: Vertical integration, Group projects, and Peer Grading
10:45-11am Break
11-Noon Serving as a TA in an Online Course: Words from the Wise(r)
Noon-1pm Lunch break
Afternoon Sessions
1-2:30pm Keynote speaker: Michelle D. Miller: Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-3:30pm Birds of a feather breakout discussions
3:30-4:30pm Empowering Education through XR: Georgia Tech’s Cross-Functional Efforts
4:30-4:45pm Closing remarks
Session Details
9:-9:45am Opening Remarks-"Embracing the Online Learner” by Ronnie Godshalk
Veronica M. (Ronnie) Godshalk is the Associate Dean of Learning Systems within the Division of Lifetime Learning, and Principal Academic Professional, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Ronnie was the Associate Chief Academic Officer at Penn State Great Valley, was Program Director of Penn State’s B.S. in Business World Campus online program and has been the Business Administration department chair at both Penn State, Brandywine and the University of South Carolina, Beaufort.
Dr. Godshalk has taught courses in management, leadership, and strategy. She is the recipient of several teaching and research awards, including the Teaching & Learning with Technology Fellowship, D’lorio Faculty Research Award, and twice won the Arthur L. Glenn Award for Faculty Teaching Innovation at Penn State. She has won over 10 grants to support her research. Dr. Godshalk has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings, along with three books. With co-authors Jeff Greenhaus and Gerry Callanan, she recently published a 5th edition of Career Management for Life.
Her research interests include issues surrounding career management, leadership, and mentoring, as well as online pedagogy. She is an active member in professional associations, such as the Academy of Management and the International Association for Business & Society, along with 1EdTech, UPCEA and WCET. Dr. Godshalk had worked in the computer industry in sales and sales management prior to entering academia and has been a consultant for several Fortune 500 companies. In her free time, she is a devoted mother to two adult children, Tim and Lauren, and Ozzie, the family’s cockapoo puppy. She enjoys playing golf with her husband, Bob, along with baking and gardening.
9:45am Featured speaker: Andrew Medford, Winner of 2024 Teaching Excellence Award for Online Teaching.
Lessons Learned from Data Analytics for Chemical Engineers: Vertical integration, Group projects, and Peer Grading
Featured Speaker: AJ Medford, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Medford created Data Analytics for Chemical Engineers. Since the Fall of 2020, he has iteratively improved the course. One challenge serving three different cohorts of students: undergraduates, graduate students, and professional scientists and engineers, each with different skill sets and experiences. Yet, Dr. Medford believes that the course should “provide all students with the skills needed to apply analytics models in Python while also ensuring that all students remain engaged and challenged by the course materials.” To do this, he created a team-based approach that allows students to learn from each other while applying the course to real-world challenges.
11am Serving as a TA in an Online Course: Words from the Wise(r)
In this session, we will hear from Georgia Tech’s online TAs and Head TAs who recently won our 2023 Institute-wide TA of the Year Award. Panelists will share their experiences interacting with students at a distance while serving as a Teaching Assistant and give their perspective on some of the latest developments in distance education pedagogy. Panelists will address a mix of moderated questions as well as questions from attending participants. So if you’ve ever wondered about what it’s like being a TA for an online course or what unique challenges they face, join us for this session and get your questions answered.
Speakers
Estelle A Hansen, Mathematics, Winner of the Institute wide Online TA of the Year 2024
Kathryn A Krupczak, Computer Science, Winner of the Institute wide Online Head TA of the Year 2024
Brandon M Pries, Physics, Winner of the Institute wide Online Head TA of the Year 2024
1pm Michelle D. Miller: Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology
Dr. Michelle Miller is the author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology (Harvard University Press, 2014). Her latest book is Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World, coming out in 2022 with West Virginia University Press.
Dr. Miller is a Professor of Psychological Sciences and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. She completed her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and behavioral neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, and currently writes, teaches, and speaks about maximizing learning in today’s technology-saturated and rapidly-changing world.
2:45pm Birds of a feather discussions
Birds of a Feather
Various topics will be offered for discussion in breakout rooms by various Georgia Tech online and technology experts from across the institution. Participants are welcome to choose their own breakout rooms and engage in conversation with their peers.
Topics
Hyflex Teaching led by Ed Bailey, GTPE Lifetime Learning
Beyond “Files” – Content management in Canvas led by Simeon Payne & Lachelle Smith, OIT Digital Learning Team
Education in the AI Era: Transformations in Online Learning led by Tatiana Rudchenko, Scheller College of Business
Digital Credentials led by Eric Sembrat, C21U Lifetime Learning
AI Features within the Digital Learning Tools led by Takeyra Wagner & Samba Diop, OIT Digital Learning Team
Collaborative and Differentiated instruction for student success – using Canvas sections & groups led by Yahong Xu &Warren Goetzel, OIT Digital Learning Team
3:30pm Empowering Education through XR: Georgia Tech’s Cross-Functional Efforts
Empowering Education through XR: Georgia Tech’s Cross-Functional Efforts
Distance education traditionally uses technology to connect students and instructors separated by time and/or location to bring education to where students are, but what if you could also transcend reality itself? Extended reality (XR) technologies are swiftly making this a possibility. In this session, Georgia Tech’s XR Cross functional team discusses their efforts to encourage the use of emerging technologies in courses and research on campus. Topics will include spearheading an institute survey to learn more about how XR is being used in education, developing a Tech fee proposal to make XR technologies more accessible, as well as piloting class activities that are utilizing VR technologies to improve student engagement and learning.
Speakers
Warren Goetzel, OIT Digital Learning Team
Ameya Sawadkar, Center for Teaching and Learning
Alison Valk, Library
Meryem Yilmaz Soylu, C21U