Month: May 2019

LED Research Group Impact at 2019 InnovateX

The LED Research Group made an impact at InnovateX on May 16, 2019 at the Ohio State University. We gave two sessions at the conference in the Experience and Excite tracks, and presented our ideas to a packed audience of academics, practitioners, and students.

Our first session was “Digital Engagement: What Students Want from Your Online Class?” In this session, Drs. Ana-Paula Correia and Rick Voithofer hosted a panel of current and former students who had taken online courses for the Master of Learning Technologies at the Ohio State University. The panelists include LED members, Karen Bruce Wallace, Erin Clarke, and Cara North, as well as Anna Leach and Robbie McCord. They shared their thoughts on how to make online classes more engaging. They discussed the technologies and teaching methods they preferred, shared recommendations and solutions to help instructors improve their online teaching, and talked about how they applied their learning beyond their online course. Afterwards, they participated in a robust question and answer session, where they fielded a range of challenging questions from the audience.
Panel on Digital Engagement, May 16, 2019 at InnovateX

Panel on Digital Engagement, May 16, 2019 at InnovateX

Our second session was “Creating Interactive Learning Experiences.” In it, Cara North, incoming LED member Sean Hickey, and Karen Bruce Wallace explored the importance of choice in learning. They examined how choice could improve learners’ engagement, covered principles of using choice in learning, and offered a range of applications in the form of interactive demos. The demos included adventures built in Camtasia and Storyline, Keynote, and Twine.

Creating Interactive Learning Experiences, May 16, 2019 at InnovateX

In addition, the three presenters structured the session around the idea of choice. The audience could choose from whom they wanted to hear, what topics they wanted to be explored, and help to navigate the demos. That way, the audience could experience the power of choice for themselves.

LED had a fantastic time at InnovateX, and hope to return next year!

Making it Through the First Year: An Appreciative Take of the Research Group

By Erin Clarke (clarke.333@osu.edu)

If you are reading this, you may be interested in starting a Ph.D. or how what it is like to be in a research group. Well, I will begin by telling you that being a first-year doctoral student is no joke. It is stressful and draining on many levels, but I can confidently say that being in the Learning & Experience Design Research Group has helped. The LED Research Group offered me the support (both academic and emotional) I needed to get through my first year. When I was accepted into the Learning Technologies Program in the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE) here at OSU, my advisor told me I would be joining her research group. Honestly, I was intimidated and had no idea what to expect. I falsely assumed that I would have to give up my personal research interests to participate. However, I have learned that a good research group allows each member to contribute their own perspectives to the group’s work.

As a first-year doctoral student, I had very little confidence in my work and not any substantial research to my name. That is okay!! It is thanks to the members of the LED Research Group that I plucked up the courage to create and present my first ever research poster for the EHE Research Forum.

Erin presenting at EHE Research Forum on February 14, 2019.

My advice to anyone joining a research group is to listen and take advantage of the opportunities extended to you through your participation in the group. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a member of the Educational Studies Diversity Committee (EDGE), be working collaboratively on a manuscript for journal submission or soon be traveling to Las Vegas to present at the Association for Educational Communications & Technology conference so early in my doctoral studies. I am so excited that my work with the group this past year culminates this week at the OSU 2019 Innovate conference. It has been one heck of a year, but looking back, I can say it was worth all the hard work, and I look forward to two more years.

Come and Learn from LED at Innovate on 16 May 2019

Ohio Union Exterior

LED members will be presenting at two highly interactive, engaging sessions at InnovateX on 16 May 2019.

Digital Engagement: What Students Want from Your Online Class

10:15-11:00, Great Hall Meeting Room 1

Meaningful engagement in online learning is a major challenge when teaching at the college level. Do you know what students want from your online class? In this interactive panel presentation, students from Ohio State’s online Master of Learning Technologies program candidly discuss their experiences with teaching methods and technologies in higher education. Gain insight from a variety of students, and take the opportunity to ask them your questions.

Creating Interactive Learning Experiences

11:15-12:00, Great Hall Meeting Room 1

Did you flip pages in narrative adventures such as Choose Your Own Adventure? Did Black Mirror: Bandersnatch snatch your attention? Both excite their audience by offering meaningful choices and encouraging multiple attempts through branching storylines. Learn how the research behind—and applications of—choosing your own adventures inlearning can inspire curiosity and encourage higher-order thinking. Experiment with sample games created through simple presentation software, an eLearning module, and video.

Come and start your conference experience by learning with LED!