Speakers-2023
The SUNY Online Summit is an annual event and gathering of the SUNY Online Teaching community of practice. This event took place as a face-to-face event at the DoubleTree Hotel, Syracuse, NY (March 8-10, 2023), and as a live virtual event. The event was recorded, no guarantees are made regarding quality of recordings. Materials and resources were collected from the presenters, and are provided as is. Times listed were approximate and ET.
Opening Remarks – Special Guest SUNY Provost-in-Charge Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik
Track: Plenary
Kim Scalzo is the interim senior associate provost of Digital Innovation and Academic Services (DIAS), former executive director of SUNY Online and Interim Executive Director of Academic Technologies and Information Services (ATIS). For the five years preceding the launch of Open SUNY, Scalzo served as director for SUNY Center for Professional Development. Prior to joining SUNY, Kim was an administrator at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she started as the director of Professional and Distance Education Programs, and moved on to serve as the director of Distributed Education and Multimedia before a four year term as the director of Outreach Programs. @kimscalzo Linkedin
Presentation: SUNY Online Update
Track: Plenary
Tracks: Online Admin/Leadership, Online Student Support, Online Instructional Designers, Online Faculty
Dan Feinberg is the interim director of SUNY Online
Presentation: SUNY Online Update
Track: Plenary
Presentation: Panel: Using AI to improve online learner writing and online instructor effectiveness
Chris Price is the academic programs manager for the State University of New York (SUNY) Center for Professional Development (CPD). At the CPD, he designs and implements professional development programs for faculty and staff, facilitates the SUNY Faculty Development Community of Practice, and coordinates the SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant (IITG) program. Prior to his position at the CPD, he was director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at SUNY Brockport for 12 years. He started working at Brockport after receiving his PhD in Political Science from the University at Albany in 2004. Chris continues to teach online for Brockport as an instructor in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program.
Panel: Investigating Videoconference Tools for HyFlex Courses
Panelists
Tracks: Online Faculty, Online Admin/Leadership, Online Instructional Designers
Erin Maney is the SUNY Online Communications & Community Engagement manager. She was previously an Open SUNY senior instructional designer, and prior to that came to the team from Monroe Community College where she served as an instructional designer. She has worked for community colleges and universities in Wisconsin and Florida before returning to upstate NY. Erin was formerly an English teacher for K-12 districts and continues to teach developmental writing courses and college orientation seminar as an adjunct instructor. After leaving the traditional classroom, she served in many roles supporting educators in K-12, at-risk youth facilities, technical and career high schools, community colleges, and universities. Much of her experience is focused on developing and facilitating training programs, finding new and engaging ways to communicate content, and developing meaningful learning opportunities for both faculty and students. @expertlymade LinkedIn
Moderator: Erin Maney, SUNY Online Communications & Community Engagement Manager.
Recognition: SUNY Effective Online Practices Recognition and Showcase Panel
Track: Plenary
Moderators: Erin Maney, SUNY Online Communications & Community Engagement Manager with Alexandra M. Pickett, Director, Online Teaching, SUNY Online.
Recognition: SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors
Track: Plenary
Daniel Stanford has been creating innovative faculty development and online learning programs since 2003, and his work has received awards from the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network, the Online Learning Consortium, the Instructional Technology Council, the University of Wisconsin, and NAFSA. In 2023, he established an online interest group to foster collaboration around emerging use of AI in education. More than 350 instructional technologists and faculty development leaders from dozens of institutions have used the group to connect, share knowledge, and develop AI resources for educators (groups.google.com/g/ai-in-education, bit.ly/ai-in-ed-group). Daniel holds an MFA in Interactive Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He currently teaches courses in user experience design and works as a faculty development and instructional technology consultant based in Atlanta.
Presentation: ChatGPT Workshop: A Hands-on Guide to AI Challenges and Opportunities
Tracks: Online Instructional Designers, Online Faculty, Online Admin/Leadership
Harry Cargile, is the director of academic technology strategy and integration and is currently serving as a co-lead for the SUNY Digital Learning Environment project. He has been a part of SUNY since 1999 working with academic technology and most specifically learning management systems.
Presentation:Update on the Migration to the new SUNY DLE
Tracks: Online Student Support,Online Admin/Leadership, Online Instructional Designer, Online Faculty
Norman Vaughan, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Education at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has co-authored the forthcoming book Community of Inquiry: Seven Principles of Blended Learning as well as Teaching in Blended Learning Environments: Creating and Sustaining Communities of Inquiry (2013), and Blended Learning in Higher Education (2008). In addition, he has published a series of articles on blended learning and faculty development. Dr. Vaughan is the Co-founder of the Blended Online Design Network (BOLD), a founding member of the Community of Inquiry Research Group, the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning and he is on the Editorial Boards of numerous national and international journals.
Website LinkedIn Community of Inquiry
Presentation: The Seven Principles of Blended Learning
Rob Stephan is an archaeologist by training and has taught in the University of Arizona’s Department of Religious Studies and Classics since 2016. He hails from Cincinnati, OH but made the unpopular decision to attend the University of Michigan for his undergraduate studies. While in the glorious land of maize and blue he studied Classical Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, and Near Eastern Studies. Upon completing his BA in 2005, he left the Midwest to take his talents to Stanford University’s PhD program in Classics where he earned his PhD in 2014.
Today, Dr. Stephan is a faculty member in Classics at the University of Arizona where he teaches courses on Greco-Roman history, mythology, sport and spectacle, and the ancient economy. Outside the classroom, his research interests focus on digital pedagogy, gamification, video production – all of which center on the goal of producing online courses that students actually want to engage with. This, of course, is often a difficult task when the entirety of the world’s information and entertainment is but a few clicks away. His most recent projects have encouraged students to explore classical antiquity through open world video games; to construct their own ancient monuments using 3D modeling software; and to engage with these monuments in a virtual reality setting.
Rob’s pursuit of online teaching excellence has earned him the 2020 College of Humanities Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Arizona, as well as the 2021 University of Arizona Five Star Faculty Award and the 2021 Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence. In his free time he mentors and tutors students in a variety of subjects, although his Saturdays are still dedicated to watching Michigan, Stanford, and Arizona on the gridiron. Bear down and go blue!
Presentation: Scaling Techniques for Asynchronous Online Courses
Tracks: Online Faculty, Online Instructional Designers, Online Admin/Leadership
Michele Forte is the Project Manager for Student Supports initiatives for SUNY Online. In this role, she facilitates and supports several multi-campus, cross-functional communities of practice including those focused on early alerts and the implementation of online orientation, advising, and readiness tools at the system level. Dr. Forte is also a coach with the New York Student Success Center (NYSSC) Coaching Academy as well as for the SUNY REACH initiative. Dr. Forte is also an Associate Professor at SUNY SUNY Empire State College (ESC) and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State. She has extensive experience in mentoring and coaching diverse organizational and student populations in various educational and not-for-profit settings. Her scholarly interests include competency-based frameworks for assessing learning, high-impact coaching and mentoring models, and connections between grief, loss, and resilience. Linkedin Profile
Kiara Williams has been a strong leader and passionate voice in student-centered spaces for as long as she can remember. In April of 2017, she was selected to be the top scholar for the prestigious Goizueta Endowment Award, granting her a full ride to Georgia State University and adventures to last a lifetime. Kiara received her degree in Human Learning and Development with focuses on Family & Community Advocacy, Psychology, and supporting multilingual populations. She has served as a teacher, mentor, scholar, world adventurer, university ambassador, student fellow, and is now taking on new adventures in the nonprofit field. Kiara’s most recent career move took her back to the “Big Apple” to join Braven and The City College of New York as their Founding Program Manager of Accelerator– an experiential leadership and career course that inspires, develops, and supports underrepresented college students as they work towards securing strong first jobs and living their legacies. Prior to Braven, Kiara entered the tech space with her role at Apple where she was able to serve as a student liaison for the Inclusion & Diversity@College team, work hands on with Apple’s Diversity Network Associations, and connect with company leaders during her leadership experience as an AppleCare team manager, all while supporting the larger population of Apple product users in her core position as an iOS Support Advisor. Kiara immersed herself in the education, equity, and online learning field when she was chosen to be a Fellow for Every Learner Everywhere’s 2021 Inaugural Student cohort. This work allowed her to share her unique identity and experiences with an extensive network of higher education leaders, researchers, and major stakeholders in the student journey. As a recent student with online learning experience, she has been able to offer insight and suggestions for faculty and staff, as well as articulate challenges that she has faced firsthand in these environments.
Some of her most notable engagements include:
- The WCET 2021 Leadership Summit Series: Practical Considerations for an Uncertain Future (Panelist).
- The 2022 WCET Webcast: Reflections on 2021 and Aspirations for 2022 from Digital Learning Leaders and Learners (Panelist).
- OLC Accelerate 2022- Charting a Learner-Driven Future for Online Learning: A Student Panel on Centering Humanization and Care | Closing Plenary (Virtual Panel Moderator).
- OLC Accelerate 2022- Closing Plenary: Reflecting Onwards: Voices from the Field of Online and Blended Learning (Lightning Talk Speaker).
- The 2023 D2L RiSE Summit- Dallas, TX (Featured Speaker).
Above all, Kiara strives to ensure that student voices do not go unheard when and where it matters the most. She has a passion for education, impact, and growth, and believes that if she can share her light with at least one individual, then it will all be worth it. Linkedin Digital Business Card Twitter
Panel Presentation: Online Student Panel
Co-Moderators:
Dr. Michele Forte, SUNY Online Student Supports/Success Project Manager & Associate Professor & Mentor in Community and Human Services,SUNY Empire State College.
Kiara Williams, Program Manager of the Braven Leadership and Career Accelerator @ The City College of New York (CCNY), Georgia State University Class of 2021 and Every Learner Everywhere Inaugural Student Fellow
Tracks: Online Student Support, Online Admin/Leadership, Online Instructional Designer, Online Faculty
Bridie Killoran is the Career & Learning Pathways and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) manager at Atlantic Technological University in Ireland. She has been charged with managing the establishment of a Regional Service for Careers and Learning Pathways, including the RPL for flexible and online learners in the technological sector workplace. This new role is linked to the ambitious collaborative Higher Education 4.0 project led out by members of the Connacht Ulster Alliance (CUA) and supported by funding from the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 3 initiative.
Killoran has over 18 years of experience managing, developing and delivering excellent outcomes for the Careers Advisory and Guidance Service in GMIT, a thorough understanding of national and international labour market skills and requirements sought by employers of graduates and postgraduates, and has developed and delivered employability modules and employability statements for the Higher Education Sector. She has extensive experience of creating and implementing strategies to develop the employment and career progression opportunities of graduates and postgraduates, has planned and managed projects to collate large amounts of data for use in measuring and analyzing the employability and career paths of GMIT students, and was a member of the CUA Innovative Opportunities Transforming Education Project in 2019 – iNOTEWP3: focusing on the development and delivery and effectiveness of flexible learning from a student services and student experience perspective. She has andMSc in Careers Guidance: University of Ulster, Diploma in Careers Guidance in Higher Education from the University of Reading , and a B.Sc. (Management) from Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology. She is also holds accredited professional development in RPL, neurolinguistic programming, universal design in teaching and learning, facilitation, coach practitioner, and other psychometric assessments. Linkedin Twitter
Dr. Carina Ginty is Head of Teaching and Learning at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Galway, Ireland. Carina led the iNOTE project ‘Developing Digital Teaching and Learning Capabilities’ (DigitalEd.ie) for the ATU funded by the HEA innovation and transformation fund (2.8 million euro, 2019-2022). She is currently co-leading the HigherEd 4.0 (mycareerpath.ie) a HCI funded project, valued at 12 million euro (2020-2024), the ATU Re-imagining Assessment Project supported by the National Forum for Teaching and Learning in Ireland and a key collaborator on the Education Programme for the EU Green Alliance involving 9 European universtities. Carina was recently appointed the ATU Institutional Lead for NTUTORR, a national Technological University project funded by the EU Commission under NRRP valued at 37 million euro (https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-and-resilience-facility/irelands-recovery-and-resilience-plan_en). The NTUTORR project is designed to transform learning, teaching and assessment in the technological university sector in Ireland by focussing on enhancing the student experience and developing the capabilities of all staff to address a sustainable pedagogical and learning environment with particular and critical focus on digital transformation, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). LinkedIn Twitter
Supporting Online Learner Success with Pathways and Recognition of Prior Learning
Tracks: Online Student Support, Online Admin/Leadership, Online Instructional Designers, Online Faculty
Mark Gale is an associate professor of Instructional Design at Athens State University and is in charge of designing and developing the instructional design undergraduate program at the university. He has over 15 years of experience with design and delivery of technology enhanced and online courses. In August 2022, he was principle author on a grant proposal that was awarded to the University and launched the ActiveFlex project at the university. Prior to his current position, he served as director of the university’s Academic Technology Services unit which dealt with instructional design and faculty development. His hobbies and interests include multimedia development, board games, video games, Legos, and anything else his two young kids are interested in.
Joy Oettel is an instructional designer/multimedia specialist at Athens State University where she designs courses with an emphasis on active learning strategies and flexible methods of interaction. She also supports faculty members in implementing ActiveFlex elements into their instruction. Joy has eighteen years of experience as an educator and curriculum director for EdTech companies. She received her B.A. in English from Auburn University, her M.Ed from the University of Montevallo, and a B.S. in Instructional Design from Athens State University. She resides in Decatur. Alabama where she enjoys working as a ceramic artist and hiking with her husband and two daughters.
ActiveFlex: Courses that Adapt to Your Life and Schedule
Tracks: Online Instructional Designers, Online Faculty, Online Admin/Leadership, Online Student Support
Summit Networking: Dessert Social – Summit Socials
Discussion Facilitators:
John Zelenak, Operations Manager, SUNY Online. @JohnZelenak
Rob Piorkowski, Assistant Director of Online Teaching, SUNY Online. @rob_piorkowski Linkedin
Alexandra M. Pickett, Director of Online Teaching, SUNY Online. @alexpickett @AlejandraPickett@mas.to
Erin Maney, SUNY Online Communications & Community Engagement Manager. @expertlymade @ExpertlyMade@mindly.social
Session: Social Networking Event: Dessert Social
Tracks: Plenary, Online Instructional Designers, Online Faculty, Online Student Support, Online Admin/Leadership– all are welcome!
Bettyjo Bouchey is associate professor and vice provost of Digital Strategy and Operations at National Louis University where she is responsible for standards of quality and service for online programming across the institution, alternative graduation pathways, learning experience design, and academic innovation, overall. Dr. Bouchey has had the opportunity to lead all aspects of an online campus and programming in her career and spends time each week in deep dialog with an engaged personal learning network discussing the evolving nature of online education. Dr.
Bouchey holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University at Albany, an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Doctorate in Education from Northeastern University. She is a co-founder of the CORAL Research collaborative focused on online leadership and scholarship; her personal research interests include the nature and future of organizational structures of online units in institutions of higher education, as well as inventive and high-impact pedagogical practice in online teaching. Dr. Bouchey writes and is widely quoted in the academic and popular press; her articles and curriculum vitae can be accessed here: LinkedIn Website Twitter Profile Google Scholar
Following the data…how to support online students through data-informed action
Tracks: Online Admin/Leadership, Online Student Support, Online Instructional Designers, Online Faculty
Marc Austin serves as the associate provost and dean of Augusta University Online. Dr. Austin has spent the past two decades launching new, innovative approaches to online, executive and adult learning programs. Most recently, Dr. Austin served as executive director of Innovation and New Ventures at George Mason University where he oversaw the Continuing and Professional Education division. He was instrumental in developing the Micro-Credentials at Mason program in collaboration with partners such as Amazon, as well as launching 20+ online graduate programs, to help Mason rank 7th in the nation for Best Online Colleges for ROI in Masters Degrees. Austin is an ardent advocate for pathway programs taking students from community college to 4-year degrees and was instrumental in standing up the ADVANCE NOVA/Mason partnership, which the Aspen Institute described a gold “standard program” for degree seeking community college students. Much of his work has focused on skills-based learning and workforce outcomes. Dr. Austin has been a featured speaker for WCET, The Chronicle of Higher Education, ASU/GSV and others. For the past eight years he has served as visiting professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business where he teaches Corporate Strategy, drawing on over 15 years as a management consultant. Dr. Austin holds a PhD from Columbia University, a MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.
LinkedIn Twitter
How do Universities Define “Online Learning”?
Tracks: Online Admin/Leadership, Online Instructional Designers
