From Manuals to Micro-Credentials and Nanodegrees: Developing, Opening and Sharing Organizational Knowledge

Clark Shah-Nelson

Assistant Dean, Instructional Design & Technology
University of Maryland School of Social Work

In just a few decades, the ways we communicate with one another both in and out of the workplace have rapidly evolved. We now have the choice of completing virtual degrees, and the workforce is also increasingly more virtual, with global teams and even entirely virtual companies. With the ability to search for, learn and share knowledge about most any topic instantaneously and throughout our entire lives, what impact does this have on workforce training and development? What are proven strategies, technologies and resources that facilitate development, innovation, growth, and the sharing of organizational knowledge? Which practices and technologies are currently helping organizations develop an agile, diverse, and adaptable workforce and which are on the horizon?

Create a Culture of Quality to Support Online Student Success

Kaye Shelton

Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
Lamar University: Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Global)

When looking at initiatives to support the success of online students, the first place to start should be with the quality of the program. Using best practices, institutions can create and sustain a quality online learning environment from course design and teaching effectiveness to having the appropriate services and resources available.

Empowering Adult Learners Through Immersive Technologies

Rae Ann Hirsh

Program Director of the Early Childhood Education Program
Carlow University

Often adult learners bring rich contextualized experiences to the college classroom relating to their field of study. Sometimes these experiences are helpful in understanding and applying theory. Sometimes these experiences are hindrances – stopping points for further learning, as the adult learner may think their context is the ‘right’ or finished context for applying or understanding a particular theory. Immersive technologies can be tools of empowerment and transformation in these contexts. Students can capture their work experiences through technology which validates their current understanding and use virtual or augmented technologies to transform the work experiences to encourage deeper learning and transformation.

A Regional Response: Culmination of the Day’s Thinking and Invitation to Continue the Collaboration

Facilitator:

Kathleen Ives

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Online Learning Consortium

Panelists:

Rachael Afolabi Royes

Carlow University

Clark Shah-Nelson

University of Maryland School of Social Work

Kaye Shelton

Lamar University: Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Global)

Rae Ann Hirsh

Carlow University

Significant changes are coming to online education. From balancing the need for educational innovation against regulatory realities, to using data driven approaches to better understand and manage change, to a new model of the university built around competency-based assessments, these are just a few of the factors driving change. The day’s final session brings together the thoughts and conclusions generated from the OLC Collaborate – Pittsburgh discussions to formulate a regional response to the changing educational environment. Topics gathered by OLC facilitators and session archivists during breakout sessions along with those posted online by participants during the day will be used to guide this interactive final session. Led by Kathleen Ives from OLC, each of the day’s keynote speakers will have the opportunity to address the collectively generated questions and topics and place them in the context of the broader changes occurring in higher education. The OLC Collaborate – Pittsburgh response will become the second contribution to a national discussion as the OLC Collaborate sessions continue across the country.