Events
- Annual Convention
- Great Teaching Round-up
- Leading from the middle
- fall conference for faculty leaders
- The Texas Network
"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision."
Events: 2012 Office Technology Schedule
Office Technology Summary
Friday, 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
"From Computer Literacy to Digital Literacy: The Evolution of Technology in the Classroom"
Speaker: Jon Haber, Executive Editor for Digital Strategy, Cengage Learning
Saturday, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.
"Online Trends in Community Colleges”
Speaker: Gordon Freedman, Vice President of Education Strategy, Blackboard
Friday, March 2nd, 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
"From Computer Literacy to Digital Literacy: The Evolution of Technology in the Classroom"
Speaker: Jon Haber, Executive Editor for Digital Strategy, Cengage Learning
Common wisdom, which has held strong since computers first entered the home, the workplace and the classroom, states that the ability to use computing technology is not just an important skill but a primary “literacy,” on par with reading, writing and mathematics in terms of its importance to life, productivity and learning.
Despite this, agreement on which specific skills need to be mastered to obtain this type of technical ability has remained elusive, as has a common term to describe the set of capabilities that make up a skill set understood to constitute a life-critical “literacy.”
In this presentation audience members will gain an understanding of the definition of digital literacy, the cornerstone of technology education, and how it can be taught, assessed and made part of every student’s educational experience.
Biography:
Jon Haber is the author of National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S): Resources for Assessment, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Jon has worked in the fields of educational technology, computer literacy instruction, assessment and certification for over twenty years as CEO of SkillCheck, Inc. (now First Advantage), developer of the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3), and now Executive Editor for Digital Strategy at Cengage Learning.
Saturday, March 3rd, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.
"Online Trends in Community Colleges”
Speaker: Gordon Freedman, Vice President of Education Strategy, Blackboard
Online activity in community colleges is helping to change the notion of what community colleges are and how their services to the community are defined. Five years ago, online courses were rare in the community college sector. You were more likely to see online courses for advanced placement, AP courses, in high school and in higher education in fully online master’s degree programs than you were to see them in community colleges. There were forerunners in online course development and delivery in the college space. They crossed the boundary between on-campus and online and now do both, or blended versions with ease.
The trends that are visible and growing today for online and community college over the spectrum from Associates Degree, to specialty degrees with employers, to dual and concurrent enrollment between high school and community colleges. In addition to the courses, a great deal of training and professional certificates are now online, and so are the support services, counseling and other functions. Going online for community colleges, or developing blending courses, builds the sense of full access community service. Freedman will give concrete examples of the various form of online activity and will discuss their impact on teaching and learning.
Biography:
Gordon Freedman, Blackboard’s vice president global education strategy, heads the Blackboard Institute, www.blackboardinstitute.com, and represents the company in terms of thought leadership, strategic vision and the integration of technology, policy and planning. His efforts are focused internally and externally on education to meet global economic demands and the learning styles of today’s students, including adult learners. Freedman has an extensive background in both K-12 and higher education and their cross-over in the various K-20 efforts underway at the state level in the U.S.
Freedman’s background in education includes employment at the California State University Monterey Bay start-up and running his own consulting firm, Knowledge Base, LLC, which had among its clients many colleges and universities and textbook publishers, and museums. In K-12, Freedman was a co-founder and long-time board member of the International School of Monterey, a K-8 California charter school, and he was among the founding group of www.iNACOL, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. In his work for the Blackboard Institute and in his non-profit board service, Freedman has been an advocate for improving K-20 student progression. In this regard, Freedman serves on the boards of Innovate-Educate New Mexico (www.innovate- educateNM.org) and the California K20 Education Technology Collaborative (www.k20cetc.org). Internationally, Freedman has represented Blackboard at numerous education including forums sponsored by the Organisation for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD), the European Union, the Universities UK (UUK), and the Association for Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
Freedman and his family live in Northern California. Prior to entering education, Freedman worked in government, media and was a film and television producer.
Office Technology Section Co-chairs:
Lizzette Rivera, Lamar Institute of Technology
Genevieve Allison, San Antonio College