11035

11035

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (no formal paper)

Training Virtual Developmental Faculty to Employ Emerging Technologies: An Inclusive Approach
Sheryl Bone, Kaplan University, Rochester, Michigan, USA, sbone@kaplan.edu Katherine O'Neil, Kaplan University, Columbus,Ohio, USA, koneil@kaplan.edu Susan Di Marino, Kaplan University, Chicago, Illinois, USA, sdimarino@kaplan.edu Angela Lavine, Kaplan University, New Jersey, USA, alavine@kaplan.edu Kenneth Cline, Kaplan University, Georgia, USA, kcline@kaplan.edu

In order to sustain the growth and maturation of distance learning, virtual educators, especially part-time instructors, face challenges in learning to master emerging technologies and best practices. Townsend (2003) argues that higher education, “has accommodated itself to a class of teachers who receive… minimal support for teaching, academic research, and professional development” (p.23). To address this issue, Eney, Davidson, and Lau (2008) suggest that institutions “encourage faculty, both full- and part-time, to contribute ideas and hold workshops where they can discuss how they have effectively used these teaching/learning tools in their classrooms” (p. 68). The Department of Student Success at Kaplan University does just that by focusing on a multi-level approach to training its developmental faculty to use emerging technologies and best practices. Through an inclusive approach, department leaders, full-time professors, and adjuncts cooperate to develop best practices and master emerging technologies.

A forum of departmental leadership, full-time faculty, and adjuncts will discuss how members of the department work together to implement new technologies for teaching developmental learners. The forum members will also examine how this collaboration encourages experimentation with emerging technologies for developmental learning. Forum members will demonstrate the department’s highly organized and well-maintained department website as well as share formats for live and recorded training sessions with department leadership, veteran full-time professors and experienced adjunct faculty. Forum members will also encourage attendees to suggest new methods of training and inclusion within their own departments.

Eney, P., Davidson, E., and Lau, P. (2008). Instructor manuals that reach beyond the basics. NADE Digest, 4 (1), 61-70. Townsend, R. B. (2003). Changing relationships, changing values in the American classroom. New Directions in Higher Education, 123, 23-32.
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Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All Audiences training virtual faculty emerging technologies