Sloan-C Workhsop on Blended Learning and Higher Education:

BLENDED LEARNING, LOCALNESS AND OUTREACH
May 7 - 9, 2006

Join us in Chicago for the only workshop in the United States to focus exclusively on blended learning.  

Building off the work of Sloan-C organizations from the past two years this workshop will identify principles of blended learning, substantiate theories, evaluate practices, highlight critical policy areas and establish benchmarks—all with an eye to making localness and outreach the touchstones of work in blended learning. Institutional strategies for planning and implementation will provide participants with guidance in getting started, moving forward and evaluating the effectiveness of blended learning initiatives focusing on local populations.

The workshop will incorporate panel presentations, panel discussions, case studies and breakout sessions. Panelists come from University of Calgary, University of Central Florida, City University of New York, Penn State, University of Illinois, University of Maryland University College, Kent State, Michigan State and Indiana University.

The activities will build throughout the two-day workshop beginning with the general theme of blended learning and localness, to principles of blended learning, to specific examples of how these principles lead to educational enhancements and increased access. A key session of the workshop will be a report on the upcoming book on Blended Learning Research.

Participants will be given "take-aways" that will map major principles and guidelines, as well as participate in activities that help them plot their own route, given their own starting points and institutional imperatives. Blended learning has the potential to change what higher education institutions are fundamentally to become not just something we do but something we are.

This workshop is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago.