Lab sessions are one-hour hands-on sessions conducted in the special Hands-On Alley computer labs throughout the conference. Hands-On Alley labs feature presentations by community college practitioners and League corporate sponsors that allow conference participantss to experience state-of-the-art hardware and software applications. Lab sessions are offered to audiences of 30 to 50 and are expected to center on hands-on exercises and learning activities.

Sample Hands-On Alley Lab Descriptions

Mathematics Help for Students and Faculty
Participants examine the factors that support student learning, develop content understanding, and help keep students current when classes are missed. Examples include interactive practice problems, guided solutions, homework problems, a grade book, test creation, and Excel spreadsheets. Come and receive hands-on practice embellishing and personalizing what your students learn. Participants experience these factors and supplemental materials using mathematics software and Blackboard.

Want to Buy, Use, or Integrate a PDA Into Your Classroom? Start Here!
Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are useful tools in the classroom and have hundreds of educational uses. Participants use a Palm Pilot V to learn basic PDA features and operating functions, how PDAs can be used in the classroom and in the office, and how to obtain the latest downloads to improve organization and time management.

Learning Center Courses, facilitated by recognized leaders, provide in-depth coverage of current information technology topics. Learning Center Courses are fee-based, three- or six-hour, lab- or nonlab-based sessions that deliver a body of practical knowledge and applications. Learning Center Courses augment the conference program by providing in-depth exposure to specific topics. Selection of faculty for these courses is very competitive and is based on course content and thoroughness of the proposed course design. Lecture-only presentations are not accepted.

Sample Learning Center Course Descriptions

Design and Implementation of an Institutional Web Strategy: Considering the Website and the Classroom
This course offers participants the exceptional opportunity to experience instructional technology from two sides: The student-teacher front line, including examples of face-to-face, online, and hybrid learning, as well as the IT backend that supports learning and the business operations of the college. The presenters alternate between demonstrating a collegewide system that uses a portal and database-driven content management tools and hands-on exercises using Macromedia Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash. This course gives participants the opportunity to examine the complete range of educational technology services in and out of the classroom. By examining in-class as well as organizational technology solutions, participants will be better prepared to develop their own varied and integrated technology skills and solutions, as well as answer the big-picture question, "How do all of the parts of instructional technology fit together?"

Organizing for Outcomes in a Technology Mediated Learning Environment
Rapidly proliferating online and blended learning environments create newly emerging challenges for faculty and administrators. Inconsistent results or even catastrophic failures may result when adapting successful courses from traditional settings to online and blended learning environments. Online delivery environments interact with curriculum choices, making organizing for outcomes critical. Participants in this course examine a communication-based, student-centered, outcomes-driven model for designing and evaluating online delivered curriculum. Participants apply model elements to personal examples to examine the model's impact on course design, student outcomes, and quality control.

Poster Sessions
Poster Session presentations take the form of an exhibit and are delivered primarily through the use of graphs, diagrams, pictures, data, and narrative text on bulletin boards. Presenters must arrange for their own display materials. During their assigned time periods, participants informally discuss their presentations with conference participants by making brief remarks, sharing information, and answering questions about the presentation topic. Conference participants are free to move from one presentation to another during the Poster Session. Presenters are encouraged to have ample handout materials available for participants. The conference will provide a table and two chairs for each accepted Poster Session presentation. Please note: No electrical support or internet connections are available in the poster session area.

Sample Poster Session Descriptions

A Survey of the Use of Distance Learning in Postsecondary Career and Technical Education
This session presents findings of a survey of 554 colleges to determine how distance learning is being used in the delivery of career and technical education courses. Participants learn the extent to which it is being used in rural, suburban, and urban schools and the types of delivery technologies being used. It is particularly beneficial to instructors, administrators, and technology coordinators.

Business + Technology = Our E-Business Program
The presenter demonstrates how one community college worked to merge business knowledge and information technology skills into a single degree program that meets the needs of businesses engaged in e-commerce. This session provides information about how the DACUM process was used to create a program that meets the needs of the workforce, and should benefit individuals interested in developing an interdisciplinary curriculum that is based on workforce needs.

Roundtable sessions afford a personal and interactive setting for exploration of key issues related to each conference track. Roundtables are particularly well suited for exploratory topics and topics that require small group interchange. Roundtable presenters are expected to facilitate substantive discussions or small group activities and to distribute handouts. Roundtables are aimed at audiences of 10-12, are limited to two presenters, and cannot accommodate equipment other than a laptop computer provided by the presenter(s). Please note: Laptop computers will need to be battery operated, as Roundtables do not have access to power outlets. Roundtables also do not have access to an internet connection.

Sample Roundtable Discussion Descriptions

A Conversation About Teaching in Online Classrooms
Are you new to teaching online, an experienced online instructor, or just thinking about teaching online? This roundtable session is for you. Participate in stimulating conversation regarding online teaching led by English and business instructors who have been teaching online for several years. Concerns about grading papers, test taking, cheating, and web-page creation are just some of the issues discussed. Bring your experiences, ideas, and concerns to share.

Factoring Distance Learning Class Duties Into Faculty Workloads
A college administrator and faculty member share their college's experiences establishing faculty loads for online and TV courses. Related faculty loads from four other community colleges are also discussed. Handouts include current faculty loads from these five institutions. The presenters encourage participants to share factors considered in faculty distance learning loads at their respective institutions.