Arizona State U to Share Help with Remote Instruction in Free Online Conference

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 06/23/20

Arizona State University is hosting a free two-day online conference to help all higher education faculty prepare remote courses for the fall. The event will run July 13-14. On the first day, the event will run from noon to 4:30 p.m. Pacific time; the second day runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

According to ASU, "REMOTE: The Connected Faculty Summit" will feature 70-plus half-hour sessions delivered by educators with extensive practical online and blended teaching and learning experience from universities and colleges around the country, to share "useful and evidence-backed practices" on general online and subject-specific teaching topics.

The event will have two broad categories of presentations: "disciplines" and "topics." Disciplines will be led by faculty currently running large successful online courses, who will share guidance on best practices, pedagogy, techniques and tools. Topics sessions will provide tips to support all disciplines, covering subjects such as diversity and inclusion in the online classroom, effective assessment, mixed-mode teaching and techniques to promote student engagement and well-being. Both types of events will allow for live questions and answers.

There will also be eight sessions on policy issues for U.S. and international higher educational institutions. Michael Crow, president of ASU, will deliver opening remarks.

The platform upon which the event takes place will allow attendees to navigate throughout interactive spaces, including a lobby, presentation halls with multiple sessions running simultaneously, virtual booths and chat lounges for networking and group conversations. Participants will be able to share virtual business cards.

"Faculty are preparing for the coming year in an environment of uncertainty," noted David Levin, university "entrepreneur in residence" at ASU and executive producer of REMOTE, in a statement. "Student needs in this new world are going to be different and courses are going to be hybrid — combining various online and face-to-face elements. We're excited to offer two days of vital information, networking and interaction that will provide faculty with insights on how to make the most of online and blended teaching."

According to organizers, the sessions will be recorded and made available to registrants through the end of 2020. Free registration is available through the REMOTE website.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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