Focus on Teaching & Technology Conference: October 24-25, 2013

by Michaella Thornton, Assistant Director for Instructional Design, Reinert Center 

Fall brings some of my favorite things: pumpkin spice lattes, apple picking with friends, settling into the fall semester, and the annual, regional higher ed conference hosted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis’s Center for Teaching and Learning: the Focus on Teaching & Technology Conference.  This year’s two-day conference offers hands-on workshops on Thursday, October 24 and a jam-packed presentation schedule for Friday, October 25.

While I have served on the planning committee for the past two years and presented and attended the conference prior to my committee involvement, I think this year’s program is going to be the best yet.

Dr. Amy Collier, Director of Digital Learning Initiatives in the Office of the Vice Provost for Online Learning at Stanford University, is one of two phenomenal keynote speakers. I saw Amy speak at last year’s annual POD conference in Seattle, and she is definitely someone to watch as a thoughtful and creative innovator and educator dedicated to open learning, online learning, and instructional development. To learn more, follow Amy on Twitter.

The second keynote speaker is someone I have followed since I first began using VoiceThread: Michelle Pacansky-Brock. Michelle is an author, speaker, consultant, online instructor, and faculty development specialist who is known for her research and commitment to humanizing and improving online learning. Her teaching has been recognized by The Sloan Consortium (Effective Practice Award, 2010 and Excellence in Online Teaching Award, 2007). To learn more, follow Michelle on Twitter.

Saint Louis University is also fortunate to have several faculty members presenting at FTTC on Friday, October 25:

• Jillian Baldwin Kim (co-presenting with Jerol Enoch, UMSL), English as a Second Language Program, Digital Media Production in the University ESL Classroom
• Dr. Michael Lewis, Department of Chemistry, An Approach to Flipping the Classroom in Chemistry
• Dr. Shawn Nordell, Department of Biology, Learning How to Learn

One important change to this year’s conference is that there is now a conference registration fee. If you register by Wednesday, September 25, you qualify for the early-bird fee of $80. The student fee is $25. After September 25, the registration fee jumps to $100.

For those of you interested in attending this conference, I’ll see you at UMSL October 24-25 with a seasonal latte in hand!