A panel of five internationally recognized experts on online/distance learning met virtually last week to inform Quality Matters on the value of interaction, including learner-to-learner interaction, in online education.  The Quality Matters Rubric is grounded by the research literature and the rubric review and revision process (currently underway) will be guided by the state of the research on this topic. QM Standard 5.2 currently reads: Learning activities foster instructor-student, content-student, and if appropriate to the course, student-student interaction.   This standard is unchanged since the original 2003 FIPSE grant.

For our subscribers, the elluminate recording is available. E-mail info@qualityMatters.org for the link for the full 3.5 hour elluminate session.

QM subscribers are invited to submit a proposal for an information session, workshop, great idea or poster presentation at the 8^th Annual Sloan Consortium Blended Learning Conference and Workshop, to be held March 28-29, 2011 at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort in Oak Brook, Illinois.  The 2011 theme is "Evidence to Practice:  Fulfilling the Promise."  This teaching and learning modality is more than a combination of online and face-to-face instruction.  It is, fundamentally, a rethinking of how we teach, how our students learn, and how we can harness myriad possibilities for academia that we have not yet realized.  This unique modality of instruction has the potential to impact all levels of education.

The Blended Learning Conference and Workshop seeks proposals that provide research, effective practices, and transferable strategies for the field of blended learning.  Proposals that address specific considerations of instructional design/course development, academic planning/institutional strategies, assessment/evaluation, faculty development, and pedagogy as they relate to our conference tracks - Access, Blended Teaching and Learning, and What Works and How Do We Know:  Seeking Evidence and Impact in Blended Learning- are especially encouraged.

Proposals must be submitted by 11:59pm ET on Friday, December 3, 2010. Submit at http://sloanconsortium.org/blended/call_for_presentations

This Call for Presentations is being sent electronically only. 

Please share this information with colleagues who may be interested.

For additional details on the conference and to sign-up for conference updates, visit our website at http://sloanconsortium.org/blended