Narine Hall - InSpace / Champlain College

As an educator frustrated by the challenges and limitations of online learning platforms, machine learning professor Dr. Narine Hall was uniquely positioned to drive change. When the world went virtual, Dr. Hall quickly got to work. The result is InSpace, a new online learning platform that allows participants to break free of "Brady Bunch" boxes to create a fun, natural, and engaging environment that fosters interaction and collaboration.

1. Hall did not just build InSpace on her own experience, she interviewed more than 500 educators to find out what challenges they face in online learning so that she could conceive a platform to break down barriers in online learning platforms. In this talk, she will share what common themes she heard, as well as her journey to develop a solution.

Conference Strand: Remote Learning (COVID Response)

Target Audience: Other: Both Post-Secondary and K-12

Recording

Don Zhao - Messiah University
Michelle Brosey - Messiah University
Xuemao Zhang - East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

In the 2020 - 2021 academic year, many schools teach students online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A question that has risen is whether online education is as effective as in class, face to face education. It is critical to consider the impact of online learning on student success in specific disciplines, such as Occupational Therapy. This study examined Clinical Anatomy courses taught within the Messiah University Occupational Therapy Program over the last two years to compare face-to-face and online instructional methods as related to student achievement, persistence, and satisfaction. Clinical Anatomy is the course designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the structural, functional, and developmental anatomy of the human body. As the purpose of this study is to consider whether delivery methods impact student achievement or not, final grades earned are the metric used to evaluate student success. Another approach is to evaluate student perception and satisfaction. We used student evaluations of teaching to measure student satisfaction. Our findings showed no meaningful difference in measures of student learning outcomes between online and face-to-face instructional modes.

Conference Strand: Remote Learning (COVID Response)

Target Audience: Post-Secondary

Recording

Emily Allen - Davin Healthcare Software Solutions
Bridget Nettleton - SUNY Empire State College

This presentation will both describe and demonstrate how SUNY Empire State College's School of Nursing and Allied Health (the "College") used innovative cloud-based technology created by Davin Healthcare Workforce Solutions, Inc. to more effectively track clinical placements and manage the credentialing process for the College's nursing students.

Conference Strand: Emerging Technologies

Target Audience: Post-Secondary

Recording

Rebecca Hegel - SUNY Empire State College

Michael Fortune - SUNY Empire State College

This presentation will review the use of videos in online learning to facilitate instructor presence. Instructor presence is essential in teaching, but engaging learners and promoting a sense of community in online educational platforms can be challenging. Online learning can contribute to feelings of isolation for students, which can negatively impact student learning. It is known that the quality of teacher interactions can create a sense of community and is linked to student satisfaction and positive learning outcomes. This project highlights the use of SUNY Empire State College's video platform to create videos and embed them in an online course. Data from three terms of undergraduate nursing pharmacology is presented, a total of 28 participants responded. Participants viewed a weekly video by the course instructor which were posted in course announcements. Findings suggest that instructor videos positively impact the student experience. 

Conference Strand: eLearning

Target Audience: Post-Secondary

*There is no recording due to a technical issue

Carol LaRow - Carol LaRow - Educational Technology Consulting & SUNY Albany - School of Education, Niskayuna CSD teacher 33 years

Learn how to create customized, interactive Google maps, which are included in Google Drive. Use for lessons you teach and/or have students use them to demonstrate what they have learned in units of study. Students can use "My Maps" for collaborative student projects, project-based learning, individual reports, and teaching their peers. Maps help students visualize the world around them and understand where places are located and events took place. Teachers can illustrate lessons by showing students exact locations for historical events, famous landmarks, science lessons, upcoming field trips, timelines, current events, and more. Maps can be used with Google Classroom. They can be embedded on school webpages, blogs, etc. Users place “pins” on the map and add information - text, images, videos, slide shows, and links for more information.

This is a great tool for having students create projects to show geographical features, national parks, volcanoes, famous battlefields, the states, and more. "My Maps" is useful for both teachers and students. Teachers can add maps to web pages and/or post maps in Classroom for students to access as part of assignments. Student maps can be "shared" with teachers via Google Classroom, and they can be added to teacher websites to "publish" student work.

Conference Strand: How to/Integration

Target Audience: Grades K-12, Post-Secondary

Recording

Julia Vallera - Libraries Without Borders

Katherine  Trujillo - Libraries Without Borders

Libraries Without Borders (LWB) will present their Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) along with a community toolkit that details how the model can be replicated in other communities.  

The Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) takes a human-centered approach to transforming everyday spaces into community learning hubs.  LWB partners with laundromats to create access points for digital learning while families wash, dry, and fold their laundry. The project serves communities through access to information, education and cultural resources. Each WALI laundromat is different - so no two sites are exactly alike. The WALI model demonstrates how to provide relevant and responsive programming to a wide array of audiences that meets the unique needs of diverse communities.

We will present our recently finalized WALI community toolkit. It provides a detailed breakdown of the tech solutions, collaboration techniques, research methods, and development process for the Wash and Learn Initiative. Using the toolkit as an example, we will explain how to document and package projects so that they are shareable and replicable. Our goal is to provide conference attendees with resources and expertise on how to use human-centered design to meet people where they are, and provide them with the resources they need most.

Conference Strand: How to/Integration

Target Audience: Other: Multi-Generational

Recording

Michele Haiken - Rye Middle School & Manhattanville College

Storytelling is at the heart of our cultures and histories. Before we learn to read and write, we listen. In our classrooms today -- whether in person, remote, or hybrid -- podcasts are a great text for listening and learning.  Podcasting can also be utilized for student creation, creative expression, knowledge construction and empowerment. Producing a podcast requires students to research, articulate their ideas, understandings, and learning, as well as write, and use their verbal skills to communicate. They also become problem solvers and enhance their technological acumen. Podcasts need not be long recordings and expensive equipment is not necessary. The Literacy Standards and ISTE Standards for Students call for students to clearly express themselves in a variety of formats and platforms. When students create podcasts teachers are honoring student voices and experiences, mindful of the diversity of experiences that make up our schools and classrooms. When teachers ask students to share their stories, educators promote culturally relevant learning outcomes and transform literacy learning.

Conference Strand: eLearning

Target Audience: Grades K-12

Recording

Nathan Hammond - Eduspire Solutions

Remediation is more important now than it ever has been. 

FlexTime Manager (FTM) takes the headache out of scheduling remediation, enrichment, SEL, Genius, etc activities while providing students with Voice and Choice. Personalize your remediation/enrichment period with ease. FTM makes all of the following a breeze: scheduling and taking attendance, roster management, scheduling multiple activities during the same period, A/B/C smart lunch functionality, incorporating additional PD time for departments to meet in teams, and much more. 

FlexTime Manager is a must-see tool for the post-covid environment. Watch this 5 min overview video.  

Conference Strand: Emerging Technologies

Target Audience: Grades K-12

Recording

Lila Rajabion - SUNY Empire State College

Ruifang Hope  Sun - SUNY Empire State College

Using lab activities in the classroom  play an important role in supporting hands-on learning experience by enabling students to gain practical skills through experiments and providing them the chance to have a more detailed understanding of the content. Since the entire MSIT program is online, we needed to find ways to provide the laboratory activities in a virtual environment. Virtual labs can save money, time, and effort. The Virtual Lab is a web-based platform that is designed to improve learning approaches by introducing a safe and interactive lab environment for students in our MSIT program. By using the virtual desktop we promote student learning, inclusive, even if they have a slow computer as well. This found to be a useful, and enjoyable learning environment during our courses. It allowed users to practice either individually or in groups and gain a better understanding of the subject. In our presentation we will discuss two courses such as Computer forensics as well as Database management course. For example, for the computer forensics course, we will build a virtual forensics investigation station. Instead of asking students to install about 6 forensic tools, we provide them a web browser link to access the college Virtual Machines or Virtual Desktop, with pre-installed digital forensics tools. We will provide them with a unified virtual desktop interface, so they can use the virtual lab to complete forensic investigation activities.

Conference Strand: Emerging Technologies

Target Audience: Grades K-12, Post-Secondary

Recording