TxDLA Lounge & Learn Summer Lunchtime Webinars
Brand new, FREE one hour weekly webinar series led by distance learning experts.
June 1 through September 8
Thursdays from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm*
*August 20 is a special K-12 Day from 10 am to 3 pm
Live webinars are free and open to anyone. Free on-Demand resources are also available for two weeks starting 24-hours after the live webinar.
Become a TxDLA member to get unlimited access to all resources.
Upcoming Webinars
Moderator: Lisa Brown, Director of the Office of Extended Education at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University. Secretary TxDLA
Rolando Garza, Interim Director of Distance Education at Texas A&M University Kingsville, Former President of Texas Distance Learning Association.
Peggy Holzweiss, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University.
Teela Watson,Director of Instructional Services – Digital Learning and PK-16, Education Service Center, Region 11. TxDLA K-12 Board Member.
Mark Workman, Dean of Distance Learning, Blinn College, Member at Large for Texas Distance Learning Association
Now that you have moved your courses online in a time of pandemic emergency, how can you transform your course to the next level of effectiveness and quality? What are the best practices in the online course development environment from the experts who have developed online courses for decades? Move beyond “good enough” to a superior quality and challenging digital learning environment that will motivate your students and help transform the learning and lives of your students.
presented by AJ Thompson, Digital Resources
Learn about how you can utilize a portable rack solution in Zoom rooms. Explore the latest options for using software-based meeting solutions, including Shure.
10:00 am to 3:00 pm Central Time
Includes Free TxDLA Membership ($35 value) through March 31, 2021 for K-12 (including ESC's) Staff ONLY
TxDLA has designed a special training opportunity specifically for K-12 staff including administrators and teachers. The Virtual Learning Camp will offer tools and best practices for teaching in a remote or virtual environment. Watch here for more details coming very soon!
Four sessions will be offered from 10am to 3pm:
Screen Capture Fun! Digital Tools for Remote Engagement in a K-12 Environment
Engage By Design Lite: Best Practices for Remote Learning
Intrepid: Connecting with Students Through Technology
Moving Texas K12 Online Learning Beyond the Pandemic
Free on-Demand recording of the event will also available to any TxDLA member.
TxDLA is a State of Texas Continuing Professional Education Provider for K-12 educators and can provide the CPE number to participants upon completion of the event.
Dr. Hannah Rosen, Science Interactive
We might be isolated. We might have traded in handshakes for elbow bumps, and conference meetings for Zoom calls. But never have we better understood the power of community. When the COVID-19 pandemic closed campuses around the world, Science Interactive (formerly eScience Labs & Hands-On Labs) sprang into action to help teachers move their lab science courses online quickly and effectively. Our lab solution has always been strong, but we knew that teaming up with similar companies would help us provide educators with more flexibility as they navigated the online environment. Through our newest partnerships with BioDigital, Odigia, and Fully Digital Labs, we are able to provide a more robust offering of online lab solutions to instructors pivoting online during the pandemic and beyond.
Join as she discusses strategies for transitioning to online learning, the power of partnerships, and the future of distance education.
View "Lounge & Learn" Summer 2020 Webinar Recordings & Resources
John Copeland, Barco
Come see how Barco has quietly partnered with almost 400 customers in both the traditional education market and in corporate learning & development to deploy an innovative solution called weConnect that includes both an in room and virtual classroom solution that includes high quality two-way conferencing, polls, questions, quizzes and even break out sessions. Why is it different that the others? Mainly because of the scalability, quality and functionality. Tune in to see what it’s all about!
Marianne Boeke, NC-Sara Associate Director, and Jeannie Yockey-Fine NC-Sara Associate Director
The SARA Landscape: This session will give a brief update on the searchable national catalog of distance education programs, the Guide (state authorization surveys), data reporting, professional licensure notifications and the federal regulations. In addition, we will provide ample time for discussion on next steps for SARA.
Join TxDLA to View Below Webinar Recordings
Paul Stisser, Director, Educational Institutions and LMS Partnerships, ReadSpeaker
In this webinar, ReadSpeaker will address remote, blended, or brick-in-mortar learning that needs a certified LMS solution that is essential to support all learners while also providing a web-based AT solution to support address learner accommodations with assessments, print-disabilities, content outside of the LMS, and offline.
Moderator:
Charlene Stubblefield, Prairie View A&M University
Panelists from Texas A&M University System Council for Academic Technology and Innovative Education (CATIE):
Dr. Lisa Bunkowski, Texas A&M University Central Texas
Dr. Sunay Palsole, Texas A&M University College Station
Back by popular demand! Get your questions answered about HyFlex. Follow-up question will be answered:
- What benefits does the Hy-Flex model have over a blended model?
- How to I teach with students online and in the classroom?
- How do you address attendance for the remote colleagues *IF* they are not able to be in the live remote class? Do you allow them to watch the recording and then grant attendance, or they have to write a blurb, synopsis, etc.? or Do you not worry about attendance?
- Do you feel you would need to be able to adapt for the remote students when wearing a mask? It’s hard to connect at a distance, but with the face covered, how can you make that connection?
- How was the camera and microphone setup in your rooms?
- Which live streaming service did you use in class?
- How did you get students engage with the students what where watching the stream?
And more….
Resources from Webinar:
Moderator:
Charlene Stubblefield, Prairie View A&M University
Panelists from Texas A&M University System Council for Academic Technology and Innovative Education (CATIE):
Dr. Spicer-Runnels, Texas A&M University San Antonio
Dr. Lisa Bunkowski, Texas A&M University Central Texas
Dr. Sunay Palsole, Texas A&M University College Station
If there was one scenario -- besides being back to normal or fully remote in the fall -- that we hear more about than others, it would be HyFlex. What is HyFlex and how does it work? What are best practices for setting it up? Can it be the ideal method for flexibility and choice to students? Don't miss this lively discussion where panelists will define HyFlex, describe different HyFlex scenarios, and clear up misperceptions while getting questions answered!
Darcy Hardy, PhD – Associate Vice President, Client Success Director at Blackboard, Inc., and John Scott, PhD – Product Manager, Blackboard Ally
Accessibility has been an important pillar in Texas distance education for some time, yet addressing accessibility issues with digital content at scale can be a daunting task for an institution. A commitment to inclusive design that employs Universal Design for Learning principles can have an impact not just on students with disclosed disabilities, but can also improve the learning experience for diverse 21st century digital learners, including first generation students, low-income students, and second language learners.
In this interactive webinar, we’ll discuss how institutions across Texas have historically approached the challenges of digital accessibility, and explore some key accessibility trends in Learning Management System course content across Texas higher ed institutions. We’ll also discuss how institutions can leverage Blackboard Ally in their LMS to integrate Universal Design for Learning principles into their learning experiences, and share our recent data illustrating how students and instructors are using the Ally toolset across the state of Texas.
Twyla Tasker Ph.D., Assistant Professor & Melissa McDowell Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Angelo State University
Online learners face a significant number of “rabbit holes” as they navigate the “wonderland” of their distance education. To promote success and persistence, instructors and administrators must engage their students in virtual feedback, guidance, and mentoring. Presenters will share strategies “looking through the glass” of the future for online students.
Webinar Resources:
Speaker sponsored by 
Kim Loomis, Founder, CEO - i3Digital PD.com
Summer slide is a known issue in education. What’s not fully known is the impact summer slide will have in the fall when compounded by disjointed learning from the spring pandemic and resulting school closures. How will learning be reshaped as we look toward the fall? While no one is certain what the 2020-21 academic year will bring, we know it will be full of new challenges and new hopes. Instead of risking the potential for a large number of students to fall further behind or deepening significant gaps in learning, let’s use summer as a time to mitigate the risk and plan for a successful fall opening.
Resources from Webinar:
Brad McKerihan, Senior Training and Development Manager; Tina Jones, Learning & Development Training Specialist, Lead Student Success Specialist, and Coach; and Mike Embry, Associate Vice President, Partner Success, InsideTrack
Responding to a student who is considering dropping or stopping out can be extremely challenging, especially during this time of uncertainty.
In this webinar, student success experts from InsideTrack will introduce the CLEAR framework which can make these conversations easier and more effective. Re-entry strategies and real-life student stories will be shared to help illustrate how you can implement this tool and help your students in the most productive way possible. InsideTrack partners with institutions and organizations to improve student outcomes while generating insights about the student experience. We’ve supported more than 2 million students since 2001 and serve over 4,000 programs.
Resources from Webinar: