The Oklahoma Distance Learning Association will host its annual Spring Conference at the K20 Center on the University of Oklahoma Research Campus April 23, 2010 from 8:00AM – 3:30PM

When: Friday, April 23, 2010

Where: The K20 Center – 3100 Monitor Ave. – Norman – 73072

Program details to follow soon!

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“At times we hit bumps in the road,” Crescent Public Schools Superintendent Steve Shiever said.

via Online study is way of life at Crescent High School | NewsOK.com.

Reggie Smith III, Ascends to the Presidency of the World’s Premier Distance Learning Association.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) November 12, 2009 — The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) recently elected Reggie Smith III as President of the Association.  The non-profit organization, formed in 1987, promotes the development and application of distance learning for education and training, and serves the needs of the distance learning community globally. With this ascendency to the Presidency of USDLA, Reggie Smith becomes the first African-American member to assume this vaulted position. Earlier in the year Smith also received national recognition by receiving the 2009 Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) for Community Service.

“We welcome Reggie Smith as our new president.  Reggie brings knowledge and a level of acumen that will assist the association in its continued efforts to promote the development and application of distance learning,” said Dr. John G. Flores, USDLA Executive Director.

Reggie Smith currently works for Booz Allen Hamilton and has been involved in distance education since 1991 along with serving on several committees for USDLA since joining the board of directors in 2004. Smith, who has worked as a deputy director of Learning Technologies for Alion Science & Technology and vice president of operations for Magicsoft, is also a recognized authority on media and telecommunications issues, having received numerous awards and served as keynote or presenter at several national and international conferences, including VIRTUAL EDUCA International Conference, the e-Learning Conference & Expo, the TeleCon East, West & European Expos and the 22nd Annual Black Media Coalition’s Conference.

“Being the first African-American president to the Board of Directors of the United States Distance Learning Association, shows that USDLA understands the value in diversity and what it can contribute to its longevity,” said Smith.  “My background has enabled me to understand the total picture not just the technical perspective because it is not just about the technology but how it enables user communities to connect the dots and truly harness the knowledge continuum globally.”

About United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is a non-profit association formed in 1987 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. USDLA promotes the development and application of distance learning for education and training and serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity. Distance learning and training constituencies served include pre-k-12 education, higher and continuing education, home schooling as well as business, corporate, military, government and telehealth markets. The USDLA trademarked logo is the recognized worldwide symbol of dedicated professionals committed to the distance learning industry.  To learn more about USDLA, visit http://www.usdla.org.

About Booz Allen
Booz Allen Hamilton has been at the forefront of strategy and technology consulting for more than 90 years. Every day, government agencies, institutions, corporations, and infrastructure organizations rely on the firm’s expertise and objectivity, and on the combined capabilities and dedication of its exceptional people to find solutions and seize opportunities. Booz Allen combines a consultant’s unique problem-solving orientation with deep technical knowledge and strong execution to help clients achieve success in their most critical missions. Providing a broad range of services in strategy, operations, organization and change, information technology, systems engineering, and program management, Booz Allen is committed to delivering results that endure.
To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.boozallen.com.

Click Here to see the Program Brochure!!!

Special Presentation Alert!

James Deaton, Chief Technology Officer of OneNet, will be providing an update on services available through Onenet.

“Despite the appearance of OneNet’s web presence, the spirit of innovation has not waned. A number of recent activities have leveraged past years investments, recent deployments as well as exciting enhancements in the near future. This discussion will highlight opportunities that fall directly in line with the theme of “Interactive Online Learning”, highlighting enhanced video bridging capabilities and the capability to take the content with you offline.

We’ll also address a number of underlying services and features that can be leveraged for the ongoing resiliency of educational programs through “cloud-based” storage and computing. Keener insight into the overarching infrastructure will also be examined and techniques shared to enhance the operation for end users of highly interactive online technologies.”

ODLA 2009 Fall Conference & Membership Meeting

Friday, November 13, 2009

Now is the time to register! www.odla.org

The Oklahoma Distance Learning Association will be holding its annual Fall 2009 Membership Meeting and Conference on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 at OSU-Tulsa.

The ODLA website is still open for member and non-member registration.

Having difficulties? Please contact lisadcole [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 918-543-5472.

Theme: Interactive Online Learning

Date: November 13, 2009

Time: 8:00am – 4:45pm

Location: OSU-Tulsa

Address: Oklahoma State University-Tulsa

700 North Greenwood Ave. | Tulsa, OK 74106 | 918-594-8000

http://www.osu-tulsa.okstate.edu/campusmap.asp

* Join us live at the conference, live online or later at your convenience!
* Network with professionals from across the state from all walks of K-20 life.
* Register Now at: www.odla.org

Exhibitors

• Polycom
• Wimba
• Vbrick
• ASMSA – ODE
• OneNet
• Tandberg
• Ford Audio Video
• SoftChalk
• Visionality
• Crestron
• Impact Educational Software & Consulting

Make a weekend of it!
Stay in Tulsa and enjoy the BOK Center, Brady Theater, Blue Dome District, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame,
Cain’s Ballroom, and see the new OneOK Driller’s Baseball Stadium!

Recommended Hotels:

* Crowne Plaza – www.cptulsahotel.com $79/Night Ask for OSU Rate 918-582-9000
* Hotel Ambassador – www.hotelambassador-tulsa.com $159/Night 918-587-8200
* Holiday Inn Express – http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel-directory/oklahoma/tulsa $90.95/Night 918-585-7000
* Learn more about downtown Tulsa at: http://www.downtownlive.org or http://www.tulsadowntown.org

One award each is presented to a person and/or institution in the following categories:
a. K-12 schools.
b. Career Technology institutions.
c. Higher Education institutions.

Please provide a short paragraph summary of why you believe this person or learning institution should be considered for this award.

• Innovative Use of New Technology and/or Delivery System
Summary: This award is presented to the learning institution that is nominated for innovative uses of a distance learning technology adopted by that institution within the last 24 months. Emphasis is placed on individuals or groups which apply this technology academically in unique ways that advance the learning potential of its students.

• ODLA Lifetime Achievement Award
Summary: This award is presented to an individual that has made significant and continuous progress towards the mission of the Oklahoma Distance Learning Association since as early as 1994. Overall importance is placed on the academic contributions and distance learning advocacy performed by nominee.

• Best Practices Awards for Distance Learning Programming: Online or Synchronous
Summary: This award is presented to a learning institution, or unit within an institution, that develops a unique and/or rigorous distance learning program to benefit students in any K-20 environment.

• Best Practices Awards for Distance Learning Teaching: Online or Synchronous
Summary: This award is presented to an individual that excels within recognized synchronous and/or asynchronous distance learning environments as a faculty member in any K-20 environment.

• Outstanding Leadership by an Individual in the Field of Distance Learning
Summary: This award is presented to an individual that has demonstrated excellent leadership skills in the field of distance learning in any K-20 environment.

• Outstanding Development and Application of Technology in Support of Education in the Field of Distance Learning.
Summary: This award is devoted to a “behind-the-scenes” distance learning technician, instructional designer, faculty development instructor, and/or distance learning technology engineer that contribute to the operation of distance learning environments.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009
By Jake Dalton

Advertisements for online degree programs are springing up everywhere. It’s becoming more difficult to discern which programs provide a genuine education from those that let you print out your diploma after paying a small fee.

Generally, there are two perspectives on these programs. One camp views them as a legitimate and flexible method for more non-traditional students to begin or finish a bachelor’s degree. Raising children, working 9-to-5 and dealing with debt often discourage would-be students from enrolling at a local university; online courses help to get around those hurdles.

Others might view these degrees as a sort of cop-out to the full college experience: attending classes, communicating and collaborating with professors and peers, getting lost in the student union — the defining moments of college education. But in the past decade, many universities have started to extend education opportunities to non-traditional students and those unable to make it to a physical campus.

“Online degrees are a response to a market demand as much as they are infrastructure for a new income model,” said Andrew Schiller, a copywriter at Kansas City-based PlattForm Advertising, which specializes in the education industry. Schiller said online schools, such as the University of Phoenix, sprung up in response to the inflexibility of coursework at bricks-and-mortar universities. But for the most part, he said, those universities have caught up.

“The … bigger schools are enjoying a huge renaissance of non-traditional student enrollment; part-time, returning students in their mid-30s and 40s are the fastest-growing demographic in all education markets.”

BOOST THEIR EDUCATION

So what can online courses offer non-traditional students looking to boost their education?

“Online classes are more convenient for the learner, and it’s a great outreach for universities to get to students who can’t get to campus,” said John Curry, an assistant professor of educational technology at Oklahoma State University. On the other hand, “students sign up for (online) courses and don’t self-regulate. They think, ‘I’ll take it; it’ll be easy,’ and don’t stay on top of it.”

Curry said students aren’t entirely accountable for making online courses work — there’s equal weight resting on professors, too. He said some might think posting class notes online is an easy way out of teaching a class, but students and faculty have to work together to get the most out of the material.

Although the process of learning has remained largely unchanged for years, Curry said, the focus has shifted to how the lesson is delivered rather than the quality of the education. Despite this, he said that, given two identical candidates for a job, he would prefer to hire the applicant with the traditional degree. “I have a better sense of that person’s educational experience, but I don’t know about the other’s personal experience.”

Linda Kallam, the director of online learning at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, said employers now view online degrees in a different light.

“When online degrees first became available, there was very little quality control, and employers were skeptical about graduates from those programs,” she said. “As the standards for online programs have become more demanding, the respect for online degrees has improved.”

Kallam also said universities that have to meet accreditation standards offer online degrees with the same quality as traditional degrees. Ultimately, it’s best to research the university or institution before enrolling in online courses to make sure it’s up to the proper academic standards.

Schiller said many schools have stepped up the quality of online courses, and degrees earned online should be taken more seriously today.

“If it were about 2002, I would be wary about an online degree’s value. But now, there are tons of legitimate schools that have moved many programs online in a completely workable format.”

In recent years, several prestigious universities started to offer full courses in areas such as physics, foreign language and science via free digital distribution. Perhaps the most well known is the OpenCourseWare program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. What started as a for-profit model in 2000 grew to an in-depth — and, worth stressing again, free — sampling of MIT’s courses in 35 departments. Pretty revolutionary idea, especially coming from a university notorious for discerning acceptance practices and lofty tuition rates. Students who “enroll” in these courses are completely self-motivated and proceed through the course at their own pace. Of course, these classes won’t count toward a degree — students won’t earn course credit.

So OpenCourseWare likely won’t give a for-profit university a run for its money, but there’s something to be said about the free distribution of knowledge. Perhaps this innovation has a place in future iterations of the
e-degree model — time will tell.

Could online learning ever become a complete substitute for traditional on-campus courses? Will double-clicking become the future of raising a hand?

“(OSU) will always have a campus,” Curry said. “We’ll always have trees, the library and the football team. And the university is a business on top of everything else. Online classes are a great opportunity for those to access a quality education” that might otherwise be unavailable to them.

Kallam said traditional student enrollment will likely stay the same, while online enrollment rates will increase.

“The luxury of sitting in a classroom at a specific time for a specific amount of time isn’t an option for many people,” she said. “Online instruction provides flexibility and better meets the needs of busy individuals looking for an opportunity to earn a university degree.” —Jake Dalton

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