Virtual IT Forum 2021
For the second year, the IT Forum will be delivered as a virtual professional development event taking place on Saturday, October 2, 2021! Interested? Please see below for the schedule of presentations. Register HERE!
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Opening Session, 8:15 - 8:30 AM ET
Engaging in Professional Development During the Pandemic: Welcome to the IT Forum With changes in the Georgia Council of Media Organizations (GACOMO) after 2015, the GAIT leadership needed an event to meet the professional development needs of using and integrating technology for its members. In 2018, the first IT Forum became a reality in collaboration with the Educational Technology & Foundations department at the University of West Georgia. For the next two years, the one-day event was a success until the pandemic hit. The IT Forum has adapted to virtual programming and welcomes everyone from K-12, higher education, and beyond. |
Danilo M. Baylen leads the Georgia Association for Instructional Technology (GAIT) as its President since 2019. He is a Professor of Instructional Technology, Media, and Design in the Department of Educational Technology and Foundations at the University of West Georgia. Also, he is the current Executive Secretary to the Board of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). He has served as the Event Coordinator for the IT Forum (onsite and online) since 2018.
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Session A, 8:30 - 9:20 AM ET
Engage, Interact, Immerse: Building Interactive Online Learning Tools In response to COVID-19, many of us became amateur video makers, crafting educational videos for our students to view asynchronously. While this certainly worked for some of our students, many teachers noticed that most students became unresponsive to the video format. This presentation will offer another solution: an interactive online learning tool format that combines the best of short videos, games, and other interactive elements that require active participation from the students. You will learn how to plan these modules, the tools used to build them, and user testing to ensure the interfaces work for the audience. |
Amber Spratlin is the Director of Online Learning and E-Resources Librarian at LaGrange College. Her research interests include instructional design, technology integration, and information literacy education.
Session Moderator/Facilitator
Linda Johnson, Media Specialist Riverdale High School |
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Session B, 9:30 - 10:20 AM ET
Using Instructional Technology in the Classroom Technology has made a teacher's life easier. Or has it? Let us prove it to you by introducing you to a plethora of products you can use, right from opening your lesson to closing and evaluation. These are some of the platforms we have successfully used with our K12 students. To mention a few, we are fans of Illuminate, Infinite Campus, Padlet, Nearpod, Edpuzzle, Quizizz, Goformative, Google suite, etc. We hope you will find something to take away from this presentation, which you can use in your classroom. Session Moderator/Facilitator
Phyllis Snipes, Professor Emerita Department of Educational Technology and Foundations College of Education, University of West Georgia |
Yamini Mital is a science teacher at Clarkston High School. She has an undergraduate degree in Science and Education and a graduate degree in British Literature. Kayla Borghelli Stoddard teaches gifted and AP Biology at Eastside High School. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Science Education at the University of Georgia.
Beth Gelb is a deaf and hard-of-hearing teacher at Briarlake Elementary School. She received her master’s degree in special education from the University of Tennessee. Lisa Taylor is an educator at Livingston Elementary School. She teaches 5th grade Science and Social Studies. Previously, she taught all subjects in 2nd and 3rd grade. Currently, all are graduate students and completing an educational specialist degree at UWG. |
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Session C, 10:30 - 11:20 AM ET
Lessons Learned from Corporate Instructional Design Applied to a Graduate Program Many people enter into the instructional design field through various paths. Some people are pivoting out of the K-12 classroom, while others are in training or other organizational development spaces and are designing and developing materials for learners. These people are known as designers-by-assignment. They are being asked to do the work of an instructional designer, but many do not have the formal background. In this session, I will discuss my knowledge as a designer-by-assignment and how I obtained the necessary skills to become an instructional designer. With twenty years of corporate experience and graduate degrees in the field, I now oversee an instructional design and development graduate program. I can bring those experiences into the classroom to prepare my students for the workplace. Session Facilitator
Jiyoon Jung, Assistant Professor Leadership, Technology, and Workforce Development Department John L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services Valdosta State University |
Yvonne Earnshaw is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Master of Science in Instructional Design and Development program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Learning Systems from Florida State University, an M.A.Ed. in Instructional Technology from Virginia Tech, and an M.A. in Technical Writing from Portland State University. Yvonne's research interests are learner/user experience design, online teaching and learning, and workplace preparation. In addition to her academic experience, she has over 20 years of professional experience in technical writing, instructional design, and usability consulting. She has worked at several major national and global corporations, including Intel, IBM, Cisco, and Nike.
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Session D, 11:30 - 12:20 PM ET
Igniting Hope in Youth from High-Risk Settings Educators often struggle for survival and cannot resolve their differences with challenging youth, who are given labels due to behaviors of acting out that they may display. This research explores a mentoring program that uses an alternative to traditional behavioral models in working with youth and provides evidence-based insights into creating a community of acceptance and hope. This unique approach to mentoring embraces identity and integrity to inspire hope in youth from high-risk settings and form intimate connections. Session Facilitator
Daesang Kim, Associate Professor Leadership, Technology, and Workforce Development Department John L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services Valdosta State University |
Thomas A. Peterson has served for 30 years as a professor of Critical Theory and Philosophy of Education at the University of West Georgia. He teaches courses including philosophy, critical theory, and history of education. His interests include the teacher's inner life, renewal, spirituality, and working with youth from high-risk settings. Son of a preacher, Tom lived his formative years in South East Asia. Before UWG, he was an elementary/middle school principal in North Carolina, a high school teacher in California and Maryland.
Jeremy Surry has a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of West Georgia. Currently, he is a graduate assistant and pursuing a master's degree in Psychology. He wants to obtain a Ph.D. and have practice using the Open Dialogue Approach.
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Session E, 12:30 - 1:05 PM ET
Educational Technology Oldies & Goodies Are you looking for ways to engage better and best meet the needs of all learners? This presentation will provide educators with both old and new educational technology tools in their daily instruction. Also, the session will share several technology tools supporting student accessibility and student engagement. Further, the presenters will explore easily implemented educational technology tools during this presentation. This presentation will be interactive, where the attendees will have the opportunity to explore the technology tools shared. The discussion will ensure attendees are aware of ways they can utilize these tools in their instruction. Our education is ever-evolving, and these technology tools can support you as you enhance your instructional practices. Session Moderator & Facilitator
Lara Willox, Professor and Chair Department of Education Technology and Foundations Interim Associate Dean, College of Education University of West Georgia |
Alexis Rey teaches 5th grade Reading, English Language Arts, and Social Studies at Central Elementary School in Carroll County. She earned a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of West Georgia with dual certification in Instructional Technology and School Media Library. She is working towards a specialist in Instructional Technology at UWG.
Rosemary Thigpen is an Instructional Coach at Central Elementary School here in Carroll County. She is a 13-year veteran of the teaching profession with experience in two school districts and three grade levels. She received an Early Childhood Education Teaching Certificate from the University of West Georgia, a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Mercer University, and a specialist in School Library Media from UWG. She is a Google for Education Certified Trainer.
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Session F, 1:15 - 1:50 PM ET
Use of Automated Communication in the LMS: Maintaining Contact and Providing Information Last summer, the LaGrange College employed the Personalized Learning Designer to send LMS-originated communique directly to students based upon their performances on assessments. Session participants will see examples of the PLD used in that online course and ideas about basic instructor-to-student recommendations and encouragements. Participants will engage in discourse and leave various ways to implement or extend similar tools at their home institutions. Finally, ideas for extensions of the tool for future terms will be shared and accepted. |
Jon M. Ernstberger is the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and a Professor of Mathematics at LaGrange College. He earned his doctorate in Applied Mathematics with a Computational Concentration from North Carolina State University in 2008 and has research interests focused on pedagogy, student success, and computational applications of mathematics. He has also served in various administrative roles at LaGrange College on General Education (Director), Online Instruction (Director), and Graduate and Adult Programs (Faculty Chair).
Session Facilitator
Amber Spratlin, Director of Online Learning & E-Resources Librarian LaGrange College |
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Session G, 2:00 - 2:50 PM ET
Evolving Instruction: Meeting Students Where They Are After identifying a lack of library instruction for online ENGL 1101 students, the college library created online library instruction from scratch. This solution is in its second version and continues to be a well-used but easy-to-maintain option for library instruction. This online library instruction also uses the opportunity for scaffolded library instruction in other classes. This presentation will cover the instructional design process through version one and version two, the library department's lessons, and the benefits expressed by librarians, faculty, and students. It will explore the intended and unintended consequences, including using live sessions, flipping the library instruction classroom, and scaffolding instruction into the course. |
Shannon Gibson is a Librarian at Chattahoochee Technical College at the North Metro Campus in Acworth. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of West Florida and a master’s degree in Library Science from The Catholic University of America. She is working toward a Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology from Georgia State University.
Session Moderator & Facilitator
Sungwoong Lee, Assistant Professor Department of Educational Technology and Foundations College of Education, University of West Georgia |
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Session H, 3:00 - 3:50 PM ET
Bringing Makerspace to Online Learners: Prepare Teachers for Maker Education Recent years have witnessed a movement that encourages people to learn, express, and discover through making and creating. Educational makerspaces, bringing the maker movement to the school settings, have been viewed as a new education revolution. There is a need to help K-12 teachers understand the makerspace ideas and technologies. However, not every teacher has convenient access to makerspace resources. This presentation shares experiences using telepresence robots to bring maker space resources to online learners and K-12 teachers. Also, we will discuss how we implemented virtual professional development activities (e.g., telepresence field trips, maker projects) to prepare teachers to use maker technology and design maker-centered instruction. Finally, the presenters will discuss the results/impacts, educational significance, and implications of using makerspace to support teaching and learning activities. |
Ye Chen is an assistant professor of Instructional Technology, Media, and Design at the University of West Georgia. She received her Ph.D. from Syracuse University. She graduated with a master's degree in Educational Technology and an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering. Dr. Chen teaches courses in technology integration and instructional design and development. Her research interests include designing and evaluating technology-supported learning environments, preparing teachers for integrating emerging technology, and learning analytics.
Li Cao is a professor of educational psychology at the University of West Georgia. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses for teacher education and UTeach programs. His research focuses on metacognition and self-regulated learning in the traditional face-to-face and e-learning environment. Before his appointment at UWG, Dr. Cao taught at St. Mary's University (Minnesota), McGill University (Canada), and Chongqing University (China).
Session Moderator/Facilitator
Taralynn Hartsell, Associate Professor Leadership, Technology, and Workforce Development Department College of Education and Human Services Valdosta State University |
Big Thanks to the Session Moderators/Facilitators!
