The call for proposals is below and additional information is at the Interface web site: http://interface.at.ufl.edu. At the web site you can view presentations from past Interface sessions and see how the “lightning round” format works.
Call for Proposals for INTERFACE:
Interface, the University of Florida conference providing demonstrations, discussion, and peer networking focused on improving teaching and learning by deploying innovative pedagogy using new and emerging technologies, invites interested instructors to submit a presentation proposal for the Interface Faculty Seminar, scheduled for April 25, 2013.
WELCOME:
Members of the higher education community often cite “professional development” as a primary reason for attending and presenting at conferences and meetings. You now have the opportunity to contribute your expertise to a professional development opportunity for yourself and your peers by submitting a proposal for the Spring 2013 Interface Faculty Seminar to be held on April 25th in the Smathers Library, room 1A.
THEME: Learning on- and off-line: “Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing”
Teaching and learning are complex processes that defy simple description and characterization. From the origins of formal education in the streets of Athens to the present, civilizations around the world have looked for better ways to educate. America today continues that long struggle in response to an increasingly diverse society, changing economic structures, and the frenetic pace of technological change. In this context, calls for “blended learning” encourage us to think productively about how to leverage both face-to-face and online tools for improved educational experiences.
To teach, we must be masters of content and structure, establishing an appropriate scope and sequence for students to experience or “Read” the content, as well as be cognizant of how to set standards for learning and how to appropriately assess and evaluate learning through activities “Reflecting” upon the content. New technologies, in particular, enable new ways for us to “Display” important content and concepts for students through maps, animations, timelines, and the like. To be successful instructors, we must also be able to engage students in hands-on “Doing” activities to apply their emerging knowledge on a topic. In this process, we must carefully consider the nature of the content that we are teaching, as well as the dynamics of both individual learning practices and the “blended” classroom to make appropriate decisions about instructional assignments and activities.
We invite you to join us in exploring and examining pedagogy, the science of teaching, and the teaching practice itself in blended learning environments as they relate to “reading, reflecting, displaying, and doing” in our disciplines.
GET INVOLVED:
Help create an informative program, demonstrate applicable real-world examples to your peers, make valuable contacts, participate in a community of innovation, gain personal recognition, and promote your institution’s achievements.
PRESENTATIONS:
Presentations will be in a 10-minute, “lightning round” format. If you are unfamiliar with this format, we encourage you to view the archive from past Interface programs to see a series of effective lightning round sessions as examples of the format: http://interface.at.ufl.edu/past_sessions/index.html
Suggested guidelines for structuring your presentation:
- What I teach [ 2 minutes]
- Problem [2 minutes]
- Technology [2 minutes]
- Stumbling Blocks [2 minutes]
- What I Learned [2 minutes]
PROPOSALS:
Guidelines
Proposals should be limited to one page and include a descriptive title and abstract. The abstract should include a brief description of what you teach, the problem, the technology, challenges, and what you learned.
Submitting
To be considered, proposals for must be submitted by 5PM, March 7 (Friday). To submit, please email your proposal to the conference organizers, Doug Johnson (wanderer@ufl.edu) or Tawnya Means (tawnya.means@warrington.ufl.edu).
Reviewing and Notification
Proposals will be peer reviewed by a committee of past presenters, all of whom are instructors at the University of Florida. Accepted proposals will be notified on or about March 25.
Notes:
Please keep an eye on http://interface.at.ufl.edu for additional information and for registration to open.
Also, this year’s keynote speaker will be Curtis Bonk, Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University. He is an internationally recognized speaker on online teaching, learning, and technology, and author of over 275 articles and many widely known, referenced, and used books: The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education; The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs; A Special Passage through Asia E-Learning; and , Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading , Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing.