USDLA Soundbites

Dr. Gerry Hanley is the director of the California State University Long Beach Center for Usability in Design and Accessibility (CUDA), executive director at MERLOT and SkillsCommons, and an emeritus professor of psychology. Prof. Hanley will open up this year’s USDLA national conference with a keynote presentation titled “Opening Learning for All by Serving Stone Soup Globally”. In the keynote, Dr. Haney will talk about how free and open educational resources and services are being used to expand access to education for diverse communities nationally and internationally, which can improve equitable access to sustainable employment. The Stone Soup folktale serves as an effective change management strategy for digital and distance education by providing inclusive methods that leverage free and open educational resources and services. In this podcast episode, Gerry offers insights into open education resources (OER), framing OER in a global context and highlighting both MERLOT (www.merlot.org) and SkillsCommons (www.SkillsCommons.org) - two indispensable OER resources for today’s educational institutions and workforce. Among other fascinating thoughts, Gerry also graciously offered keen insights into change management, explaining how the adoption of OER in a higher-education institution, for example, has ripple effects touching just about every office on campus, and benefitting everyone from the institution to the faculty and, most importantly, to the student.To hear Dr. Hanley’s captivating keynote presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Valery Oleinik, a fellow USDLA board of directors member, gamification expert, and all-around fascinating person, who will preface her USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites on how we can use gamification to infuse new life into syllabi and, by extension, into any document capturing the essence of a training program.

Dr. Melissa Venable is an online advisor at BestColleges, in which capacity she leads and writes the annual Online Education Trends Report. At this year's USDLA national conference, Dr. Venable will offer a presentation titled “2020 Online Education Trends: Student & Administrator Insight”. This 6th annual report from BestColleges presents trends in online education gained through feedback from 398 online program administrators and 1500 students. This year's trends are presented in five categories: learner demographics, online learning experience, marketing and recruitment, program design and development, and student satisfaction.In this podcast episode, Melissa offers a few insights into the topic, sharing some of the history of the annual BestColleges Online Education Trends and how the report has improved over the years. To hear Dr. Venable’s full presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Dr. Gerry Hanley, executive director at MERLOT and SkillsCommons and emeritus professor of psychology, who will preface his USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites on open educational resources.

Dr. Toni Sims-Muhammad is the associate vice president for academic affairs at Allen University. At this year's USDLA national conference, Dr. Sims-Muhammad will offer a presentation titled "Do I have to Take Online Classes? Capturing the Millennial Experiences at a Private HBCU”.In this podcast episode, Toni offers a number of insights into the topic, covering the perceptions that students of color have about taking online courses and the challenges they associated with the experience. To hear Dr. Sims-Muhammad's full presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Dr. Melissa Venable, the online advisor to Best Colleges, who will preface her USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites regarding the Best Colleges’ 2020 Online education Trends Report.

Dr. Reggie Smith III serves as CEO and executive director of the United States Distance Learning Association. In our initial USDLA Soundbites episode, Dr. Smith sets the stage for this first podcast series, by offering unique insights into the history and mission of the association and describing the broad constituency it serves. Dr. Smith also discusses the unique role the association plays in the distance-learning industry, offers an overview of the events and publications that the association offers, and mentions a variety of ways in which you can get involved with USDLA, beginning with attending our upcoming virtual conference. Subsequent episodes in this series will feature presenters from the USDLA 2020 virtual national conference.In our next episode, we will be joined by Dr. Rhonda Blackburn, the current USDLA president, who will preface her conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites on how best to lead virtual teams.

Dr. Rhonda Blackburn is the past president of TxDLA and the newly elected president of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). At this year's national conference, Dr. Blackburn will offer a presentation titled "The Music of Virtual Management", during which she will discuss the management of our current workforce, where more and more companies and schools are hiring virtual employees. From creating the right culture to staying on the same page, Rhonda will touch on a variety of aspects that will help you supervise, manage, and support your virtual team.In this podcast episode, Dr. Blackburn offers a few tips on how best to lead new virtual teams as well as existing teams switching to a virtual format in light of the pandemic. To hear Dr. Blackburn's full presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Dr. Toni Sims-Muhammad, associate vice president for academic affairs at Allen University, who will preface her USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites on how to engage millennials in the online classroom.

This podcast provides an overview of the USDLA National Conference held virtually July 21 - 24, 2020. Visit us at usdla.org to learn more about this premier event.