Keynote+Bonk

Dr. Curtis J. Bonk
**University of Indiana, USA** Professor, Instructional Systems Technology President, CourseShare // cjbonk@indiana.edu //

Stretching the Edges of Technology-Enhanced Training: From Tinkering to Tottering to Totally Extreme Learning
Some insist. Some resist. Others persist. Such is state of online learning today. But what is highly resistible for some is often passionately irresistible for others.

Many are content to tinker with blended forms of learning. They dip their toes into the technology change movement by embedding shared online videos, simulations, timelines, collaborative groups, and open access articles in their courses.

Others enter deeper waters and push toward the edges of what is possible. Their classes are teeter-tottering on the brink of transformation. Such instructors hand over the keys to their learners and let them drive for a bit. These risk taking instructors might enjoy reading a learner-designed wikibook, listening to a student generated podcast show, or watching the results of an international video competition.

Then there are those who find themselves at the extreme edges of this learning planet. They might tap into virtual explorers, artists, archeologists, and adventurers to excite their learners. It is in such courses that scientific discoveries appear live. Mobile, virtual, and telepresence technologies become the new norm.

It is time to stretch toward the edges of learning from those of us tinkering on the shores to those whose learning approaches are tottering in new directions and even landing in totally extreme or alien lands. This talk will showcase examples from all three worlds—the world of the tinkerer, the totterer, and the totally extreme.

Which world will you find yourself?

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Curt Bonk is Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and President of CourseShare. Drawing on his background as a corporate controller, CPA, educational psychologist, and instructional technologist, Bonk offers unique insights into the intersection of business, education, psychology, and technology. He received the CyberStar Award from the Indiana Information Technology Association, the Most Outstanding Achievement Award from the U.S. Distance Learning Association, and the Most Innovative Teaching in a Distance Education Program Award from the State of Indiana. A well-known authority on emerging technologies for learning, Bonk reflects on his speaking experiences around the world in his popular blog, TravelinEdMan. He has coauthored several widely used technology books, including The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education (2009), Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing (2008), The Handbook of Blended Learning (2006), and Electronic Collaborators (1998).

Dr. Bonk will discuss how emerging technologies amplify the need for faculty to stretch toward the “edges of learning.” He will showcase examples from three worlds of faculty learning — the tinkerer, the totterer, and the totally extreme.

Dr. Bonk’s session is sponsored by the Pan Pacific Distance Learning Association (PPDLA).