The United States Distance Learning Association Will be Hosting Public Policy Week January 16th-20th 2024
Top Issues Impacting Distance/Digital Learning in The Year 2024
This annual meeting of distance/digital learning policy will provide a week of complimentary webinar sessions focused on the most serious challenges facing the industry with respect to education and training.
About PPW
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) has been helping to shape public policy for over 3 decades with respect to digital and distance learning. This year, USDLA is hosting a free virtual series of webinars meant to bring awareness to the policies on the table in Washington, DC that could impact distance/digital learning.
Detailed Schedule
Day 1: Tuesday, January 16th
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 from Noon to 1:00 pm EST
Session: AI and Higher Education
Presenter: Rob Robinson, Higher Education Strategic Technology Expert – A highly-skilled technologist, strategist and trainer, Rob Robinson, gleans business insights from artificial intelligence and machine learning-driven analytics to implement effective change management initiatives at scale. Proven expertise at building consensus for strategic plans and new initiatives predominantly through training and learning development opportunities that bring everyone from faculty and staff to executive level administrators and stakeholders into alignment. Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-robinson-25a72722/
Abstract: This session on AI and Higher Education will explore public policy issues in this landscape of artificial intelligence implementation in academic institutions. Discussion will center on ethical and privacy implications, and evolving guidelines surrounding integration of AI technologies.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm EST
Session: Public Policy Challenges in Higher Ed – Distance Learning and Disability Access
Presenter: Matthew Reed is the executive director of The Harkin Institute of Public Policy & Citizen Engagement. As executive director, Reed leads all aspects of The Harkin Institute, which was founded by former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin in 2013, to engage in rigorous public policy research and citizen engagement programming that advances social justice, fairness, and opportunity for all. Reed comes to The Harkin Institute after serving most recently as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey, one of the most acclaimed and comprehensive, multi-campus community colleges in the nation. As Vice President for Academic Affairs, Reed served as Chief Academic Officer for the college’s 9,000 students and more than 180 full-time faculty members.
Recognized as a national thought-leader for his work on expanding access to higher education, Reed has been a featured columnist for Inside Higher Ed since 2007 and has published numerous articles as well as Confessions of a Community College Administrator, a book which has served as a key text for community college leadership programs. Prior to Brookdale, Reed served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, MA, as Division Dean of Liberal Arts at the County College of Morris, and as Dean of General Education at DeVry University in New Jersey. He has also served as Senior Executive Officer for the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.
Abstract: A longtime community college chief academic officer, now with The Harkin Institute, will speak to the promises and dilemmas of distance education for students with disabilities. After the shock of 2020, how can we build on lessons learned and move towards a more inclusive experience? What tensions need to be addressed? And what might be next?. This session on public policy challenges in higher education discusses the multifaceted issues affecting academic institutions from Covid to AI.
Presentation Link
Webinar Recording Link
Day 2: Wednesday, January 17th
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from Noon to 1:00 pm EST
Session: Policy Outlook on Economic & Workforce Development
Presenter: Michael Edmondson, Ph.D. Associate Provost for Continued Learning, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Vice President of Continued Learning for the New Jersey Innovation Institute. Business Experts Press has published eight books authored by Dr. Edmondson. His latest book is Nurturing Equanimity: Creating A Caring Culture. To visit the Nurturing Equanimity page click here. Due to his expertise with organizational development and significant publishing record, Business Experts Press also appointed Dr. Edmondson to serve as the Co-Editor of its Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior Collection.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm EST
Session: Navigating Public Policy
Presenter: John Bellocchio – John Bellocchio is a former educator and educational administrator who pioneered distance learning in many venues and handled issues of public and intergovernmental policy in both the public and private sector, both PK-12 and in high education. Bellocchio currently operates a company that provides service dogs to those in need, utilizing the latest in distance learning and AI technology to teach individuals how to work with their service dogs. Bellocchio is also a US Department of Defense certified victim advocate who uses distance learning to train victim advocates and uses distance learning technology to fight for victims throughout the United States and the world.
Abstract: This session offers an exploration of the challenges faced by institutions and dives into the complexities of public policy in higher education, Speaker discusses the need for adaptive policy frameworks to shape effective and responsive higher education policies. Click here for additional details.
Day 3: Thursday, January 18th
Thursday, January 18, 2024 from Noon to 1:00 pm EST
NO SESSION
Thursday, January 18, 2024 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm EST
Session: The PreK-12 Teacher Workforce
Presenter: Ryan Wise, Dean of the Drake University School of Education. Dr. Ryan Wise began serving as dean of the Drake University School of Education in April 2020. Prior to his time at Drake, he was director of the Iowa Department of Education from July 2015 through March 2020. As director, Wise led with an emphasis on working together as an education system to make Iowa’s schools into places where adults can collaborate and students can thrive. He made it a priority to stay connected to Iowa schools, and visited 240 school districts statewide.
Dr. Wise was named Policy Leader of the Year by the National Association of State Boards of Education in 2017 and has worked in education at the local, state, national and international levels.
He began his career as a high school history teacher in Mississippi and Nebraska before moving to his home state of South Dakota to launch and lead Teach for America on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations. He also worked to eliminate educational inequity around the world as one of the founding staff members of Teach for All, a global network of education entrepreneurs.
Dean Wise earned a doctorate in education leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification in history and social studies from Creighton University.
Abstract: Dean of the Drake University School of Education, will discuss preservice teacher education programs and the challenges programs and their students face when providing students with the skills necessary to teach in the 21st century. This webinar focuses on the public policy issues within the PreK-12 teacher workforce, addressing critical issues that impact educators and students alike. Discussion goal is to raise awareness with the aim to strengthen the foundation of primary and secondary education.
Presentation Link (Available upon request – (ryan.wise@drake.edu)
Day 4: Friday, January 19th
Friday, January 19, 2024 from Noon to 1:00 pm EST
Session: Curriculum Standardization in a Consortial Model
Presenter: Greg Edwards, Head of Learning at Rize Education.
Gregory Edwards is the Head of Learning at Rize Education. He holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University and an MSc in Machine Learning from the University of London. While paying his way through school, he discovered his passion for teaching as a high school economics teacher. Prior to Rize, he worked as an executive trainer in AI, teaching fortune 500 executives how to leverage new technology and oversaw a team designing coding bootcamps for large companies. He currently leads the instructional design team at Rize, using data to define the best learning design standards possible for students. Greg is passionate about helping students find their career fit at the undergraduate level.
Abstract: Greg Edwards, Head of Learning at Rize Education, will explore how his team approaches curriculum development and course design within a consortial model. Greg will discuss some of the common challenges and best practices in order to maintain high levels of course quality, rigor, and career relevance for students while addressing the concerns of internal stakeholders. The goal for this discussion is to provide a framework for evaluating and optimizing online courses for hybrid degree programs.
Presentation Link
PPW Survey
After you attend a session, kindly take a moment to fill out the PPW 2024 session survey letting us know your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us to constantly improve the event.
Social Media Kit
The official hashtag for this event is #USDLAPPW2024.
Our social media handles are:
- @USDistanceLearningAssoc on Facebook
- @us-distance-learning-association on LinkedIn
- @USDLA on Twitter.
Our logo variations are attached here for presenters and panelists to use in their social media posts and/or to personalize their Zoom backgrounds.
Contact
For questions, suggestions, or to volunteer for PPWW please contact:
Alexandra Salas – asalas@usdla.org
Public Policy Chair
PPW Archives
All 2024 PPW sessions will be recorded and the recordings will be available for free to those who register for the webinars, as well as for USDLA members. If you would like to learn more about USDLA membership, please visit https://usdla.org/membership/.