Conference Presentations

Originally confined within four walls, classes have expanded into a multitude of blended and online options that offer flexibility in terms of time and place. Advances in technology have changed the way we teach, communicate, and learn from each other. However, what happens when we don't account for various perceptual/motor/cognitive abilities when designing and procuring digital course content? Let's get together in this session to discuss the human impact and to create more accessible content.

How many roadblocks have your students encountered? In our session, you will get to collaborate with your peers on common accessibility challenges and we will show you how ReadSpeaker's TTS solutions can assist with breaking thru these roadblocks.

What does it take to create a culture of quality? It’s much more than endorsing a set of quality assurance standards. Who are the people, and what are the supports, policies, processes, and facets of institutional culture that drive online course quality assurance implementation? In this session, we’ll share and examine the research gathered from a mixed-methods study. The approach employed included a survey about these facets of institutional QA implementation and optional follow-up interviews.

Are you looking to make your online lessons more engaging? In this session, we will discuss what an engaging lesson for secondary learners might look like in the online environment. In addition, we will offer tips, strategies, and tools for developing online lessons that will captivate your learners.

This presentation will explore considerations for maintaining and supporting educational equity within the context of online learning.

Join us to learn how 2gnoMe ("To know me") platform for teachers facilitates large-scale, personalized professional learning, at scale, aligned to any required framework or set of standards. This session will elevate your practical understanding of ways to simplify what the districts are already doing to improve the teaching mastery and meet teacher retention goals. This session will be of interest to K-12 leaders, as well as content and training providers. 

Hello? How are you? What do you need? How can we help? Anyone there? Do you feel like you are shouting into the abyss of the Internet and hoping your secondary students respond? This session will dive into unique ways educators can connect with virtual middle and high school learners. Tips for providing mental health supports, strategies for team building in live sessions and interventions for poor attendance will be discussed.

Have you been asked to serve elementary students fully online for the first time?  We can help.  Learn about the "Glow and Grow" opportunities that IDLA experienced when serving elementary students last year.

Ever wonder how your online teaching skills stack up? The National Standards for Quality Online Teaching provide a framework for you to benchmark your skills. Take the self-assessment powered by 2gnoMe to see your strengths and receive valuable professional development options to help address any gaps in your practice.

Imagine that you were sitting in on a class and you could not hear, view, interact with, and/or interpret the material being taught. Chances are, you might end up feeling disconnected, isolated, and more than anything, frustrated. The good news is that when we take time to specifically focus on accessibility when designing and deploying course content, we can break down those barriers and the possibilities are endless. Come join me on this accessibility adventure!

Education has seen an increase in the number of one-to-one initiatives in the past few years. As a result, many institutions have been replacing traditional printed textbooks with a variety of digital resources. Moving away from print options should have brought good news for individuals with different perceptual, motor, or cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, digital content developers have implemented new technologies without regard to persons with disabilities leaving many students on the outside looking in.

Planning and designing courses for the online or hybrid classroom can be challenging! Learn how Michigan Virtual Instructional Designers take a team approach to creating quality online courses using research-based strategies, design templates, and best practices for planning and designing an online course.

Social Emotional Learning isn't just something that is designed and developed in a course. It takes active training and a set of skills with an online educator to know what "just-in-time" supports are needed for students. Learn how Virtual Arkansas has taken the course-embedded elements of SEL and brought them full circle through leveraging all forms of communication in their courses with their teachers' learner-centric approach and systematic steps to interact, invest, and maximize every opportunity to support and build capacity in students.

Learn how IDLA Secondary teachers make sure their communications to parents or guardians are seen as important and accessible. Participants will be given examples of different forms of popular mainstream communications that go out to parents during a typical course session.

Ever wonder who is behind all that robust feedback that comes from an official course review? They’re teachers just like you! Learn what it’s like to be a QM-Certified Reviewer, and about new opportunities for you to get involved, and give back to the community!