Separating the Innovation from the Promises: Orienting the Innovate Conference for Critical Figuring

Workshop Session 2

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Brief Abstract

The excitement and possibility of a conference like OLC Innovate can often turn to frustration once back at a home institution.  Trying to share knowledge gained is difficult:  the energy of the room is replaced with the tradition of your school, people who were not there for the shared experience and regulations which can seem counter to the ease with which we discuss academic innovation.  How can the lessons of the conference best be applied when the conference is over?

This workshop will ground the innovation concept in an historical definition, understanding the term is both a practical mechanism as well as an inflation of hype.  Through this critical perspective, we will reframe tacit assumptions about innovation in small groups, and use our lenses to then consider the meaning and making of innovation at our home institutions.  What are the lessons you are looking to learn at this conference, what is your sense of why your institution is not 'doing this' now, and how can the conference provide you the scaffolding to build a bridge between the present and the prospective future?  This session will provide a framework to utilize throughout the conference in bridging these gaps and having implementable takeaways upon returning home.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Ben Scragg, The Ohio State University

Ben works in the Office of Distance Education and eLearning at The Ohio State University, where he is the Program Manager for College Ready Ohio, a state-funded grant initiative aiming to bridge the worlds of K12 and higher education through teacher professional development, strategic technology implementation, and online/hybrid learning. In addition, Ben coordinates OSU’s GE Online initiative, which aims to develop beautiful online sections of high-enrollment general education courses. Ben has master’s degrees in educational philosophy and psychology and in business administration, both from The Ohio State University. A former high school educator and learning specialist with OSU’s student athletes, Ben is also an Associate Director with the non-profit iBELIEVE Foundation, which promotes leadership development in Appalachian youth.

Co-presenter: Rolin Moe, Seattle Pacific University

Rolin Moe is an assistant professor and the Director of the Institute for Academic Innovation at Seattle Pacific University. For over a decade he has worked as an education administrator across multiple institutions: K-12, higher education, and informal/non-formal spaces. Rolin is a prolific author in both popular and scholarly press; his work has appeared across the publishing landscape including at Real Life magazine, the Journal of Learning, Media & Technology, Current Issues in Emerging eLearning and Hybrid Pedagogy. Rolin holds a doctorate in learning technologies from Pepperdine University. His teaching background mixes his unique background as a social scientist with experience in the creative arts, drawing from work as a literary agent for a boutique agency in Los Angeles. A pioneer in online teaching and learning, since 2003 Rolin has taught distance courses on topics ranging from social science research to writing for film and television.