JOIN US VIRTUALLY FOR 2020
Tuesday July 21, 2020 – Thursday July 24, 2020
ONLINE – Virtual Conference
Anywhere in the World!
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ACCESS:
LOGINS
Desktop app: We will have two areas for you to log into. The first login area is the desktop app (you can also download the mobile app called ERMobile in the Apple and Google play store if you need to take the conference on the road!). You will login with the email address that you registered with and your Registrant ID.
URL: https://ww2.eventrebels.com/er/static/demo_app/index.html
Meeting Room Links: The second area you will log into is the meeting room links page. You will have a unique link, so please don’t share this. You will only be able to log into one device at a time. Your personal link was provided in a unique email sent to you within the past few days.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The conference will take place starting at 3:30 pm eastern time on Tuesday, July 21st and run through 1:00 pm eastern time on Friday, July 24th. The full schedule is located at https://content.usdla.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/USDLA2020VirtualConferenceSchedule.pdf. You can also access the schedule within the app and within the Zoom Meeting area. Throughout the day we will come together as a full group to talk continue to guide you through the full program. Each session will have a moderator to help the presenter and they will also be there to guide you to what is coming next!
SPONSOR AND EXHIBITOR TIME
The exhibit hall is open throughout the conference, but there will be special times that is dedicated to the exhibit hall. Sponsor/exhibitor information will be in the app. The area called Exhibitors will give you a list of all the exhibitors and will provide information for each of them. The area that says Floormap will have the exhibit hall diagram where you can you and visit with each one. You will see a “table” for each one next to their logo. If you click on it, you will see their Virtual Room Link. This is how you will access their room to talk to them.
We will have a “scavenger hunt” with the exhibitors. As you visit their booths you will receive a letter. Once you gain all the letters, you will unscramble it to create a phrase, take a picture of it and send it to dmusdla2020vconf@gmail.com. We will draw from these entries at around 3:55 pm eastern on Thursday. The Scavenger Hunt sheet is attached to this email, but it is also in the app for you to print off!
Tuesday: During the Opening Reception, you will have a chance to hear from each of our sponsors/exhibitors and then have time to start visiting with them.
Wednesday: 3:00-4:00 pm and 5:00-6:00 pm eastern time
Thursday: 3:00-4:00 pm and 5:00-6:00 pm eastern time
Friday: 10:00-11:00 am eastern time
DRAWINGS
We will be doing drawings throughout the conference. If you were one of the first 100 registrants then you received a goodie box from USDLA! In that box, you will find a blue raffle ticket. Make sure you keep that handy! If you were not one of the first 100, email jravella@usdla.org to receive a raffle ticket number! We will do a drawing after each keynote and other times that we are together as a full group! You MUST be present to win! Good Luck Everyone!
BACKGROUND: Come join us for the premier distance learning networking event in the United States. All Distance/Digital Learning experts from around the world are welcome to attend, in fact we have had attendees from the UK, South Africa, Poland, Turkey and other countries at past conferences.
Our 2020 National Conference will be a virtual event
The Association has been following the national travel restrictions closely as they impact the ability for many of our attendees to travel for the remainder of the year.We initially believed that moving our conference from May to September would put us in the clear as the Covid-19 pandemic subsided and we gradually returned to a new normal.
Given the lack of immediate visibility, the Board of Directors have decided to move to a virtual format for our National Conference this year. The virtual event will take place Tuesday July 21st through Thursday July 24th and will closely resemble that of our past physical events, complete with ground-breaking DL sessions, vendor events and networking opportunities.
Those who have previously registered for the physical conference will have the option to receive a full refund or a partial refund if they would like to participate in the virtual event.
The cost of the virtual conference will be $300 for non-members (includes a 1 year USDLA membership) and $200 for current USDLA members.
We appreciate your understanding during this very transitional time, however we are confident we can provide a world class distance/digital learning virtual event that will make you feel as if we were all physically together.
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2020 National Conference is the premier event for professionals in the distance learning industry. Our 2020 event will be held Tuesday July 21, 2020 – Friday July 24, 2020 and promises to deliver an action-packed agenda that will bring together distance learning practitioners from across the country to our virtual stage.
The format of the event allows attendees to learn about relevant topics from many different points of view. The moderate size makes it possible for attendees to actively participate. Please contact Rhonda Blackburn at 979-255-0289 or rblackburn@usdla.org for more information.
Thank you for your interest and hope to see you virtually!
Who will be attending USDLA’s 2020 National Conference?
Presidents
Provosts
Faculty (K-12 /Higher Ed)
Deans
CIOs
Professional Trainers
Partners
Instructional Technologists/Designers
Developers
System Administrators
Schools/Colleges & Universities/Corporate & Many More!
Opening Keynote Speaker – Dr. Gerry Hanley – Executive Director, Merlot
Director, California State University Long Beach Center for Usability in Design and Accessibility (CUDA)
Executive Director, MERLOT (www.merlot.org) and SkillsCommons (www.SkillsCommons.org)
Title: Opening Learning for All by Serving Stone Soup Globally
Abstract: Free and open educational resources and services are being used to expand access to education for diverse communities nationally and internationally which can improve equitable access to sustainable employment. The Stone Soup folktale serves as an effective change management strategy for digital and distance education by providing inclusive methods that leverage free and open educational resources and services.
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Luncheon Keynote Speaker – Sae Schatz, Ph.D., Director – Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative
Title: Embrace Lifelong Learning
Abstract: Sae Schatz, Ph.D., serves as the Director of the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, a government program for research, development, and policy stewardship of distributed learning. Before joining the civil service in 2015, Sae worked as an applied human–systems scientist, with an emphasis on human cognition and learning, instructional technologies, adaptive systems, human performance assessment, and modeling and simulation. During that time, she led the authorship and execution of the Marine Corps’ “Making Good Instructor Great course” and was also the chief scientist for the award-winning Border Hunter research effort and the Joint Staff J7’s Blended Learning–Training project. Sae is a professional graphic designer, who often uses her visual design skills to enhance professional publications, presentations, and infographics—in order to help scientific concepts better overcome the research–practice gap.
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Closing Keynote Speaker – Dr. Robbie Melton – Transitional Dean, Graduate School and professional Studies, Tennessee State University
Title: Year 2020 – Emergence of the Internet of Everything (IoE) SMART Distance Education Technology Transformation
Abstract: The rise of connected ‘SMART technologies provide new opportunities for transforming distance teaching and learning for the digital workforce. This presentation showcases the innovations of IoE Smart Technologies (EduGadgets) as data-driven transformation educational and workforce tools.
