This month's newsletter contains several examples of the life that is pumped into learning online through your generosity and spirit of sharing. We encourage you to share the news and information below with colleagues who would benefit from participation.

LearningTimes is honored to be working with our friends at the Teaching in the Community Colleges (TCC) Online Conference. Now in its 9th year, the goal of TCC is to offer college educators a viable professional conference via the Internet. This completely global, online, virtual conference is targeted for practitioners in higher education, who can participate from the comfort of home or from campus computers located anywhere in the world.

Learn more about and register for TCC 2004 at:

http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu/registration.html

(Group discounts available for multiple registrants from the same institution.)

Sen. Hillary Clinton

The Honorable Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will be leading a live LearningTimes/TCC panel on April 21, 2004 at 3:00 pm EDT (New York Time). Senator Clinton's live online remarks will kick off a panel discussion on non-traditional students who are pursuing a college degree. Non-traditional students make up 47% of undergraduates today, and include people balancing their education with full-time jobs and parenting.

• Joyce S. Tsunoda, Emeritus Chancellor for the Community Colleges, University of Hawaii;
• Mark David Milliron, President and Chief Executive Officer of the League for Innovation in the Community College;
• Abraham Lackman, President, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities; and
• Thomas Flynn, President, Monroe Community College, SUNY.

The session will be featured during the 9th Annual TCC "Teaching in the Community College" Online Conference (see above). Visit the LearningTimes.org calendar for details:

http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes?go=398815

Editor's Note: Free webcast recording is now available:

We are pleased that the Illinois Online Conference (IOC) for Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee has decided to again open the Conference Community and all of its resources to the public, at no charge.

When combined with IOC 2003, there are now over 170 interactive presentations on topics of critical importance to K-20 education professionals -- a wealth of current knowledge that is now freely available as a vital resource to the education community at large.

To join the IOC 2004 Conference Community, please visit: http://home.learningtimes.net/ioc2004

You may also read a recent press release.

	The "IOC Wrap-Up and Awards Show" is a multimedia, on-demand show which provides a summary of the IOC 2004 conference on teaching and learning (see item 3 above). It features highlights of the 2nd annual event, clips of live sessions, and introduces the distinguished winners of the IOC "Innovations Awards" to four unique recipients who are advancing meaningful innovations in the education field.
The IOC also unveiled five awards for Distinguished Presenters at IOC 2004. The "Conference Wrap-up and Awards Program" may be viewed at: http://www.learningtimes.net/ioc2004awards.shtml

In partnership with synchronous instructional experts InSync Training, LearningTimes congratulates the most recent groups to complete their course of instruction and become "Certified Synchronous Training Professionals". Interested in learning more about becoming a Certified Synchronous Training Professional? Come to our free informational seminar to learn all about it, and receive a link for a 10% registration discount.

Check your schedule and mark your calendar for:

Monday, April 26th at 11:00 am New York Time. Click to register: http://home.learningtimes.net/insync?go=397153

Participants in the free session can interact with the moderator and ask questions about this unique synchronous certification program. For more information on our program please visit: http://www.learningtimes.net/certified.shtml

Or try "Learn to Learn Online", a free session focused on learning in the synchronous environment. It demystifies the technology for the participants so they have a positive learning experience.

• Mon, Apr 19, 2004, 10:00 am New York Time
  http://home.learningtimes.net/insync?go=339189
  
• Fri, Apr 30, 2004, 11:00 am New York Time
  http://home.learningtimes.net/insync?go=339200

6 - THIAGI: TECHNIQUES for LIVE (ONLINE) INSTRUCTION

Thiagi

On Thursday April 29, 2004, LearningTimes and Dr. Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan will complete the first cycle of the critically acclaimed "Virtual Classroom Six-Pak" series. These workshops break new ground in creative instructional approaches to the live online classroom. The final session on "Openers and Closers" will teach participants to add powerful beginnings and endings to their training sessions.

There is still time to register for "Openers and Closers." The entire "Virtual Classroom Six-Pak" is available as webcast archives, supported by dozens of templates and support materials to put these concepts to work immediately.

http://www.learningtimes.net/thiagi.shtml

Martin Dougiamas, Toolsday Guest from Moodle

Many of the opportunities within LTN for learning from one another have been member-initiated. Toolsday is an example of a widely popular series, designed and delivered by members of the "Virtual Communities Working Group" (LCWG) within LearningTimes.org. Toolsdays are member-led, live online "show and tell" sessions in which a collaborative tool or activity is showcased. The spotlight may be turned on a new collaborative use for an existing or readily available tool; the concatenation of a series of tools in an engaging manner; or on a specific tool that enables effective collaboration in the learning process.

http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes?go=z905175

Recent sessions include one led by Martin Dougiamas of Australia, founder of the open source course management system Moodle, and another by Jeff Cooper, who spotlighted the Tapped In educational community.

8 - LIBRARY WORKSHOPS
RSS, Alternate Funding & More

Steve Coffman Rebecca Jones

LearningTimes continues its commitment to information services through the timely introduction of professional development opportunities. The LT Director of Library and Information Service Programs is pleased to announce two new workshops: FND115 "Funding for Libraries: There Are Alternatives" Led by Steve Coffman and Rebecca Jones, this workshop contends that it’s time for us to look at alternative funding models for libraries and determine if there are other ways of resolving age-old funding issues. The workshop will explore various alternatives, from earned income to sponsorship, used by other non-profit organizations such as NPR and museums. Begins April 22nd. Details and registration.

RSS115 "The Beginners Guide to Weblogs and RSS" Led by Steven Cohen, this hands-on training workshop will explore some of the current software tools that are being used to publish to weblogs as well as read content via RSS. If you have ever thought about creating your own weblog or utilizing an aggregator to read news but have been a bit skeptical then this training session is for you. Begins May 11th. Details and registration. Steven Cohen

Have you become a fan of Elluminate Live? Over 4000 LTN members have experienced live and archived webcasts using this platform over the past 10 months as participants, presenters, or "Member Office Holders" in LearningTimes.org. The "Elluminati" are a growing group of users who share their stories, best practices, and challenges in the "Elluminate Online Community".

"Join" the community and watch for news about the first Elluminate Users Conference, to be held completely online October 13 and 14, 2004.

10 - TOP 5 RECORDINGS THIS MONTH
Presidents, Palloff & Pratt, Moodle & More

There are dozens of informative recorded interactive webcasts, on a wide-range of topics, available throughout the LearningTimes Network. Based on recent archive access data, we are pleased to present the "LTN Top 5 Archives" for April 2004!

"Thiagi Presents Techniques for the Live Virtual Classroom" - This free event with Thiagi provided an overview of some practical, creative and effective techniques or "frames" -- adaptable to your own instruction (online or offline) -- that maximize engagement and learning in the live online environment.

"Palloff & Pratt on the Virtual Student" - Drs. Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt spoke at the 2004 Illinois Online Conference about practical ideas for working with online students.

"Toolsday Recording: Moodle Creator Martin Dougiamas - An Online Discussion" - An informal live conversation with creator and lead developer of the Moodle platform, Martin Dougiamas. Moodle is an open source course management system - a software package designed to help educators create online courses. One of the key attributes of Moodle is a strong grounding in "social constructionist pedagogy".

"IOC 2004 Keynote: Leadership and Educational Technology" - This interactive keynote from the Illinois Online Conference featured a discussion among five community college presidents on the effects of the technology revolution on college presidents.

"Moving Every Child Ahead, Essential 21st Century Learning Strategies" - From the ICT Literacy community, this session was the second in a series on "ICT Literacy for All", featuring Ferdi Serim, author of "Information Technology for Learning". The webcast explore the creative uses of technology in support of educational climates that prepare students for their dynamic future.

Thank you for your involvement in the LearningTimes Network (LTN). It is the willingness to share and collaborate among nearly 15,000 LTN members across the globe that has made LearningTimes a vibrant and open place for education-minded people to meet, network and learn.

Founder
The LearningTimes Network
http://www.learningtimes.net