Creating a Successful Learning Culture: Connecting Learners, Communities, and Information

Podcasting

Podcasts of preconference interviews with general and featured speakers are available at ELI2007 or ELIAnnualMtg2007. After clicking through these links, please scroll to the "Community" section of the page and click on the "Blogs" tab to see the available posts.

Audio from general and featured sessions will also be available at these links after the conference. If you generate podcasts at the Annual Meeting, please post them to the EDUCAUSE Connect site and tag them with the above links so they appear on the event podcast pages.

The importance of a college education has never been greater. In a world that generates exabytes of new information a year, that education must go well beyond covering content to a focus on critical thinking, reasoning, and living in a global society. What it means to be educated has changed as have learners, yet beyond being time-constrained there is little homogeneity in today’s student population. While some are digital natives, others fight the digital divide. Whatever the learner’s background, research points to challenge, support, and engagement as keys to successful learning.

Research and practice are increasingly focused on creating a successful learning culture. That culture is based in the habits and expectations of today’s students and faculty. How has technology changed our practices and expectations? Are there generational differences that must be reconciled? How are practices such as social networking and gaming changing what we can—and should—do? Successful learning goes beyond accessing information: it relies on connecting with others and becoming a member of a community. How can technology help? What kind of support do students—and faculty—need? Successful learning relies on evidence. How do we know that learning is occurring? Is technology making a difference?

Join us at the 2007 EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Annual Meeting, “Creating a Successful Learning Culture: Connecting Learners, Communities, and Information,” to explore our fundamental assumptions about what, where, and how we educate. We'll focus on the ways institutions can enhance student learning, going beyond specific examples of innovation to the processes and practices that enable systemic progress toward more effective learning.

Many sessions will deal with the ways in which information technology has changed learner habits and expectations. Connecting and collaborating are key trends in today’s information-rich environment, both for learners as well as for faculty and IT professionals. Research and practice point to the importance of learner involvement, active learning, and ongoing assessment and evaluation as components of a successful learning culture. Join us as we explore:

• What should we understand about learners, learning principles, and learning technologies that would allow us to enhance learner success? How do we build that into our institutional culture?
• How has technology changed the way people communicate and network? How can higher education leverage these changes to improve learning?
• How can technology help connect learners, communities, and information in meaningful ways?
• How do we address the need for evidence about learning, teaching, and technology? What questions should be asked? What evidence should guide future improvements?

In the ELI tradition, the annual meeting is a setting for interactive, hands-on learning and networking, with a variety of presentations, discussions, and workshops. Sessions will fall into one of three interest areas: learners, learning principles and practices, and learning technologies .

Featured Speakers

• First-Generation Ubiquitous Computing: Social, Mobile, and Gamelike—Bryan Alexander, Director for Research, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE)
• Connexions: Building Communities and Sharing Knowledge—Richard G. Baraniuk, Professor, Dept of Electrical & Computer Engineer, Rice University
• Creating New Spaces for Learning in Community—Deborah Bickford, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, University of Dayton, William Dittoe, Principal, Educational Facilities Consultants, LLC and David J. Wright, Director Curriculum Innovation & E-Learning, University of Dayton
• The 2007 Horizon Report: Six Technologies to Watch—Laurence F. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, and Rachel Smith, Director, Special Projects and Publications, The New Media Consortium (NMC); Cyprien P. Lomas, ELI Scholar in Residence / Director, Learning Centre, The University of British Columbia and Diana G. Oblinger, Vice President, EDUCAUSE
• Student Learning by the Numbers: The Opportunities and Challenges of Educating with Analytics—Michael Rappa, Alan T. Dickson Distinguished University Professor, North Carolina State University
• The Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative: Cognitively Informed Web-Based Instruction—Joel M. Smith, Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer, Carnegie Mellon University and Candace Thille, Director, Open Learning Initiative, Carnegie Mellon University
• Father Google and Mother IM: Confessions of a Net Gen Learner—Carolyn Lee Windham, Student, North Carolina State University
• While You Were Out: How Students Are Transforming the World of Information and What It Means for Publishing—Kate Wittenberg, Director, EPIC, Columbia University

Audience

• CIOs
• Academic technology directors
• Teaching and learning center directors
• Learning technologists
• Librarians
• Faculty
• Administrators

Important Dates

• Early registration deadline: December 22, 2006 (WAITLIST STARTED)
• Hotel registration deadline: January 4, 2007 (SOLD OUT - See Hotel & Travel page for options)

ELI meetings often fill up well before the event. We encourage you to register early, as space is limited. Note that although ELI members can register at no charge (four individuals for ELI full members; two individuals for ELI associate members), seats are not automatically held for ELI members. You must register to attend. Please register early to ensure your place at the annual meeting.

Premeeting Preparations

Speakers may recommend white papers, Web sites, articles, and other resources that may be helpful to review before the meeting. These materials will be posted on the Premeeting Preparations page as they become available.

Attend as a Team

Sending a team to the ELI Annual Meeting can be particularly valuable. Some institutions send a team to focus on an upcoming project; others use meeting attendance to reward and motivate innovators. Team participation in the ELI Annual Meeting is often used to build cross-disciplinary collaboration. The annual meeting offers team members an opportunity to share a common experience and reflect on the implications for their own campus. Participants find that the travel to and from the meeting, on-site discussions, and on-campus follow-up builds rapport, solidifies plans, and enriches collaboration. We encourage you to attend as a member of a team.