Educators from across North America share their fearless teaching experiences at the 2014 Active Learning Conference
It was totally appropriate that the 2014 Active Learning Conference was held at the Peter B. Lewis Building on the Case Western Reserve University campus in Cleveland, OH. The building, designed by revolutionary architect Frank Gehry, is home to the Weatherhead School of Management and reflects the school’s innovative approach to teaching.
The same innovation was highlighted by a dozen speakers from universities across the United States and Canada. Each speaker highlighted case studies of how active learning technology improves student outcomes. Attendees also received a preview of soon-to-be-released upgrades to the Echo360 system. And finally, attendees had the opportunity to network and share their experiences with their peers in higher education and information technology.
Here are just a few highlights from the conference.
Colin Montpetit, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa shared his best practices for using student engagement solution, LectureTools. Professor Montpetit teaches genetics in lecture classes with as many as 600 students. Through his creative use of LectureTools, students in his classes are now able to learn collaboratively and interact with the lecture materials, with the instructor, and with each other.
Four presenters from our host institution, Case Western Reserve University, shared how they use Echo360 and LectureTools to deliver content through lecture capture and engage students inside and outside of the classroom. They presented case studies on how CWRU has moved beyond just lecture capture to enable greater student interactivity and engagement in diverse curricula including law, accounting, and chemistry.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing detailed blogs covering many of the presentations from today. We’ll also provide links to session videos. The 2014 Active Learning Conference showcased the innovative ways these leading North American institutions are fearlessly embracing technology to develop new pedagogies and improve both the teaching and learning experience. Share your own experiences with active learning using the hashtag #2014ALC.
