ELI Learning Commons

Welcome to the ELI Online Spring Focus Session Learning Commons!

During the two-day event, you will access a variety of presentations followed by Q&A sessions where you can submit questions and communicate with other participants using chat. Because some of the most valuable interactions can occur between participants during and after each presentation, we have also organized a virtual Learning Commons to extend the conversation beyond session Q&A. Designed for sharing ideas and information, personal reflection, and collaborative knowledge-building, this suite of tools will help you explore how the program content applies to your institution.

The Learning Commons contains chat, wikis, polls, whiteboards, and information resources available within the web event learning space and EDUCAUSE Connect. Using these tools you can:

• Get the background
  Access session resources that provide an introduction to authentic learning and what it means to “learn in context.”
• Join the conversation
  ELI Focus Sessions provide opportunities to learn from campus innovators and each other. At the close of each presentation, you are encouraged to share responses to discussion questions posted in the Adobe Connect learning space. Throughout the day, these responses will be cleared from the meeting space and added to the Learning Commons discussion wiki, developing a community list of emerging themes and “take home” lessons.
• Weigh in
  At the beginning of each presentation, speakers will use the polling tool in the event learning space to ask questions ranging from, “Where are you located?” to questions that gauge your experience with a particular technology.
• Brainstorm concepts
  During each break, a shared whiteboard will be available for concept brainstorming with fellow participants. What are you thinking right now? What does it mean to be authentic? One word. Draw a picture. It’s your time to think out loud and in color.
• Pause for reflection
  ELI Focus Sessions catalyze learning for presenters and participants alike. Use the “New Learning Forms” to privately think out loud and share with us what you’re learning throughout the event.
• Start a conversation on your campus
  The content explored during the focus session can serve as an entry point for initiating conversations about the role of student-centered learning on your campus. Use these discussion questions to start your own planning or begin a new campus dialogue.
• Share your blueprint for the future
  This spring, ELI is embarking on a collaborative project to create a blueprint for the “classroom” of the future—realizing, of course, that it may not be a classroom at all. With wikis as the collaborative workplace, the EDUCAUSE community is invited to share ideas and expertise to help build a vision of what the ideal learning environment might look like. Comments will be used to construct simulated course environments, starting with easy-to-implement solutions for rethinking the traditional lecture format and scaling to “blue sky” initiatives that include global collaboration and opportunities to “learn by doing.” Take an opportunity to share what you’ve learned during the Online Focus Session and contribute to the “Learning for Life 2.0” wiki. (Please remember, the wiki is designed for asynchronous participation. If the wiki is locked, someone has the resources in use, so plan to return shortly to add your thoughts.)