Arizona State University is set to host a virtual training event to help all faculty across higher education prepare online courses for the fall semester.
The event, REMOTE: The Connected Faculty Summit, is to be held July 13-14 and will provide a forum and support for faculty to help them design the most effective and engaging online and blended-learning courses for students, the university announced last week.
“During this unprecedented time, the fall semester promises to be complex and unusually challenging for educators and administrators,” Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, said in a press release. “With technology redefining learning, we are convening REMOTE: The Connected Faculty Summit to bring together the best of online teaching nationwide and help higher education faculty discover immediate ways to improve online class delivery and to obtain navigation assistance around blended delivery. This is particularly a time when we in higher education need to collaborate and advance creative responses for teaching and learning.”
The event will be comprised of more than 60 half-hour sessions led by faculty members with experience in online and blended-learning course design. Sessions will include perspectives on best practices, pedagogy, techniques and tools to provide actionable insights around teaching, as well as address issues of diversity and inclusion in the online classroom and mixed-mode teaching and techniques to promote student engagement and well-being.
“Faculty are preparing for the coming year in an environment of uncertainty,” added David Levin, university entrepreneur in residence at ASU and executive producer of REMOTE. “Student needs in this new world are going to be different and courses are going to be hybrid — combining various online and face-to-face elements. We’re excited to offer two days of vital information, networking and interaction that will provide faculty with insights on how to make the most of online and blended teaching.”
The virtual event will also allow faculty participants to engage in a 3D experience where they can navigate throughout interactive spaces, including a campus-like lobby, presentation halls with multiple sessions running simultaneously, virtual booths to chat with experts and chat lounges allowing for networking and group conversations.
The summit is free of charge for faculty, learning practitioners and administrators.
