Call for Proposals

Keeping the Touch in Technology 2005:
Launching Globally Engaged Learners: the Technology Imperative
An important challenge of the 21st century is our capacity to deal with change. Many suggest that change is the only constant in our fast-paced, globally-connected, technology-rich world. Sources of information have developed and increased exponentially, thereby diminishing the university’s role as the principal repository of knowledge. Graduates entering the workforce are required to have the capacity for higher-order thinking, practical skills, and global awareness, as well as the ability to adapt and perform well in diverse arenas.
 
How does American higher education respond to such global and societal changes? It is being called to a new dynamism that focuses on learning and its myriad dimensions. Higher education faculty and institutions are grappling with the issue of how to effectively prepare students for a contemporary world whose hallmarks are global change and interconnection. Many are contemplating the meaning of a contemporary liberal education and how it can be made more practical and more engaged. How can we enrich classroom interaction with experiences in the workplace, the larger community and the world? The rapid, magical transportation provided by technology is an obvious component of the solution. It offers flexibility in time, both for exposure to information and for mastering of skills and/or an entire discipline. It also offers flexibility of communication. Technology has opened almost limitless resources that unveil infinite vistas and possibilities to lifelong learners.

As institutions of higher learning adapt to these changed realities, as they adopt innovative approaches to producing integrative thinkers, they are evolving in ways that can be transformational. They are thus better able to launch students into a globally interconnected world. These students are comfortable working in diverse groups and communicating in more than one language. They have great knowledge and awareness of the world’s culture. They have been imbued with a sense of responsibility for their fellow citizens of the world.

These global forces and realities will form the back-drop for our reflections at THE Forum ‘05. It is in this context that we will continue to showcase important developments in the use of technology to enhance teaching & learning, professional development, and assessment.

Come, participate in an inspiring atmosphere created by your fellow global learners as they present advances made and lessons learned from exploring the frontiers of teaching and learning. Come, share with your regional and national colleagues what you are doing and learning as you experiment with new ways to use technology in your courses, in your professional development, and in your assessment of student learning.

Due to its success, THE Forum will again offer a concurrent session on Sunday, April 17. Please note that conference organizers may approach proposal writers to request changes in their sessions to better fit THE Forum needs. Proposals will be selected by a review panel.
 
Special THE Initiatives
Roundtable Discussions

This year THE Forum will offer Roundtable Discussions on Tuesday morning (consult Projected Forum Schedule in this Call). These discussions will provide an opportunity for intense exploration of a topic by participants. Networking and mutual support in particular subject areas are the natural products of roundtable discussions. Please consult the enclosed proposal submission form and submit a proposal if you are interested in facilitating such a discussion on a topic of your choice.

For the last five years we have featured a special track for presentations by recipients of Louisiana Board of Regents (BoR) Distance Education (DEI) Grants. The track has proved to be an important outlet for sharing the results of teaching and learning innovations in Louisiana. The track is being continued and will include reports by recipients of the newly created Supporting Electronic Learning and Essential Campus Transitions (SELECT) grants.The purpose of the BoR Track is to showcase some of the contributions to student learning made by Louisiana faculty with the support of BoR DEI/SELECT funds. Proposals for sessions in this track will follow the same format as proposals for other conference sessions, but they will be reviewed by the BoR Electronic Learning Committee. Although first preference in this track will be given to DEI/SELECT Grant recipients, proposals from other Louisiana faculty may be submitted for this track as well. The BoR is again continuing its support of THE Forum as a general sponsor.


Another feature that was introduced at the 2000 Conference was the Poster/Demo Session. The session was very well received by conference participants, and it will be continued this year to encourage actual demonstrations of technological teaching innovations. The purpose of the session is to offer primarily a visual display to present information about a particular project or practice. Electronic/computer presentations may also be used. Faculty who formerly exhibited at inTech will be incorporated in THE Forum through the Poster/Demo Session. Please note that the session will occur on Monday, April 18, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. as part of the evening social hour.
Presentation Categories
A. 30-Minute Individual or Team Presentation:
Present and explain your work using active discussion and learning strategies to engage your audience.

B. 60-Minute Workshop:
Involve participants in an interactive session using hands-on teaching practices to address your topic.

C. 1-Hour Poster Session:
Offer a primarily visual display of information about your project, practice or approach, including an opportunity for one-on-one discussion with conference participants. (Could include a work in progress.)

D. 30-Minute Individual or Team Presentation
(Louisiana Board of Regents DEI / SELECT Grant Track):
Present and explain innovations developed and discoveries made as a result of the instructional projects supported by BoR funding.

E. 30-Minute inTech Team Presentation:
Demonstrate how partnerships between faculty and commercial technology innovators can benefit student learning and the development of electronic or web-based learning tools.

F. 1-Hour Roundtable Discussion:
Intense exploration of a topic.

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