Attend from Anywhere:
Unlike other professional conferences, the OTL
Conference Online has no physical venue. Taking
place completely over the Web, the conference is
wherever you are.
Despite its online format, the event is anything
but a solitary or static experience. There is no
shortage of opportunities to meet peers, share
information, expand your professional network -
and learn from talented colleagues. Over 95% of
participants in other LearningTimes-produced online
conferences report that the virtual experience
is at least as meaningful and valuable - if not
more so - than attending an offline conference.
Engaging Speakers:
The OTL Conference Online features an incredible
line-up of dynamic speakers and authors -- all
of whom are respected practitioners in the field. During OTL, the presenters
not only share scores of online teaching and learning techniques from
their own practice, but facilitate a lively dialogue with a community
of participants. The result: a frenzied sharing of practical take-aways
that each participant can immediately integrate into their own online
teaching, and an instant network of peers that serves as an ongoing
resource to all members of the OTL community.
Co-Chairs: Palloff & Pratt:
Despite their near-legendary status as speakers
and authors in the field of online instruction,
Drs. Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt remain humble,
down to earth and downright endearing. Approachable
and practical, their teaching strategies are honed
by their ongoing time spent teaching online courses
and reflecting on what they themselves have learned.
They have translated the knowledge they have accrued
in several best-selling books by Jossey-Bass, including:
Collaborating Online, Building Learning Communities
in Cyberspace, Lessons from the Cyberspace
Classroom,
and The Virtual Student. As Honorary Conference
Co-Chairs -- and guest editors of the Online Teaching
and Learning series of guide books by Jossey-Bass
-- Palloff and Pratt bring a fun, collegial, and
practical spirit to this unique event.
Professional
Networking:
Online conferences produced by LearningTimes are
known worldwide not only for the richness of their
content and the quality of their programs, but
also for their warm and very human sensibility.
The LearningTimes team strives to create a culture
of sharing and produces the conference with an
array of tools and events that foster relationship-building
with peers and the growth of professional networks.
Participants cite the connections they made with
others in attendance online as among the most valuable
elements of the online conference experience .
Includes an Instant
Library:
The OTL Conference Online is the first multi-day
online event to include an instant library of best-selling
books for each registrant. When you register, you
will be sent your choice of 3 books from the popular
Jossey-Bass Online Teaching and Learning series
of guide books - at no additional cost. We even
pick up the cost of shipping -- so there's no hidden
costs to you. Choose three different books, or
select two or more of the same and share them with
colleagues. During the online conference, tune
in and interact with the authors of the books you
selected as they answer your questions, present
additional strategies, and facilitate the sharing
of new ideas. No other event so deftly combines
the on-demand resources provided by a series of
guide books with the kind of learning that happens
when we freely and meaningfully interact with our
peers.
Useful Handouts:
In addition to the three books each participant
will be sent upon registering, several of the speakers
and panelists of OTL Conference Online will offer
bonus materials to support our work as education
professionals. Practical in nature, the handouts
are yours to download, print and put to use immediately
in your own work.
Live Interactive
Sessions:
The OTL Conference Online Program Committee has
crafted a jam-packed two days of access to top speakers,
great content and exceptional networking opportunities.
Each day of the conference will include about half
a dozen live online sessions facilitated by leading
authors and panelists. Participants will hear and
interact with workshop leaders and other attendees
on topics designed to offer practical strategies
for improving online learning courses and programs.
Each session will last about one hour, and will feature
live two-way web-based audio, visuals, and real-life
demonstrations of best practices at work.
Full Session Recordings:
All workshops are recorded and posted immediately
to the conference community site so that participants
unable to attend live or who wish to watch again
can experience the sessions when it is most convenient.
In addition to the real-time dialogue, some participants
may choose to post ideas and questions for the
speakers before or after the event in threaded
discussion areas, to be addressed live and in the
recorded sessions. Access to the session recordings
is available for at least six months after the
OTL Conference Online. No matter what time zone
you are in, you can still enjoy the full conference
experience.
Pre-Conference Online
Workshops:
The two-day online conference is preceded by a
special one-day Pre-Conference Program entitled " Essential
Skills for Teaching Online". The Pre-Conference
workshops will be led by faculty members of
Fielding Graduate University and will take place
October 16, 2007. Choose the special Pre-Conference
option when you register for
OTL. Learn more about the Pre-Conference workshop
sessions.
Anytime Discussions and Networking:
The LearningTimes Conference Community that is home
to the OTL Conference Online is designed to afford
ample on-demand and networking opportunities. Discussion
forums, audio blogs, searchable member directories,
integrated "who's on now" messaging and
special "show and tell" areas provide a
rich array of communication options before, during
and after the conference.
Bonus Sessions:
The full slate of Online Teaching and Learning
sessions with OTL authors will be complimented
by several bonus sessions sponsored by Wiley's "For
Dummies" series. These extra workshops, included
at no additional charge, are on essential topics
for education professionals involved in online
teaching. With access to sessions like "Podcasting
for Dummies", "Blogging for Dummies" and "Skype
for Dummies" -- and a special session on "PowerPoint
for Educators", the OTL Conference Online
-- like the OTL guide books themselves -- keeps
the focus on practical techniques and skills, offered
in a collegial and accessible manner.
Conference Community:
Produced by LearningTimes, the leader in online
conferences for education, the online conference community acts as the
hub for the event. Access to fellow participants and great content begin
before the conference commences with member introduction areas, downloadable
materials, and topic-based discussion areas. Once the conference is
underway, the site takes on a buzz and the frenzied pace of the best
offline conferences. Participants meet new contacts and old friends
on their way into each online conference session, and engage in the
kind of conversations that characterize the best face-to-face gatherings.
But it all happens without expensive travel and airport security hassles.
The conference community survives the event itself, continuing to act
as repository for all the great contact generated during the two-day
conference, and a hub for ongoing access to the human network brought
together for the conference. Tap into it at any time.
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Is there a physical venue
for the conference?
Nope! The OTL Conference Online
takes place entirely over the Internet.
You attend from any web connection,
interacting with speakers and colleagues
in a lively and meaningful manner -
from anywhere.
Are groups rates or site licenses
available?
Absolutely! Significant savings are available for groups of10 or more registrants.
Registering a group is a great way to provide professional development opportunities
(and an instant library of books) for your whole team or staff -- at a tiny fraction
of the cost of sending them to a face-to-face conference. Contact
us for details.
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If
I can't attend the live sessions,
is it still worth my while participating?
Without a doubt! The live sessions are
one part of the conference experience.
We record all of the presentations,
and offer a wide array of on-demand reources
and asynchronous forums for interacting
with presenters and participants across
all time zones. Furthermore, you get
three books to keep, and access to the
full conference site is available for
at least six months after the OTL Conference
Online!
Do I actually receive 3 books with my registration?
Yes, we actually send you your choice of 3 books in the Jossey-Bass Online Teaching
and Learning series just for registering. We even cover the cost of shipping
the books to you, so you get an instant library, and attend a world-class
conference.
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Here are a few comments from
participants in online events produced by
LearningTimes:
"My brain is happy!"
"In the last few days online I met more people and gained more practical
knowledge than at any face-to-face event I have attended in the last few years.
And at a fraction of the cost."
"Astounding!"
"This was not your typical 'conference by bulletpoint'.
The presenters facilitated amazing discussions full of resources I started to
use on the spot."
"Who needs the buffet?"
"I didn't need a lunch buffet to make new professional contacts. The creative
networking activities made the whole experience come
alive. And I have new project collaborators to show for it."
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