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Assoc. Prof. Rachel VanWieren
National University, USA
Rachel VanWieren, PhD is an
Associate Professor in the College of Letters and Sciences at
National University. She directs the BA Spanish program and is
course lead for General Education Spanish and ASL courses. She
teaches classes in Spanish language and Latin American and US
Latino literature, culture, and history. Her research is in the
field of Latin American literary and cultural studies. She
recently co-authored a book chapter “Reimagining the Left in
Neruda: Inclusivity and Encounters with Secondary Characters”
that was published in ReFocus: The Films of Pablo Larraín
(Edinburgh University Press, 2020). Dr. VanWieren’s latest
articles are “Reconsidering the Patagonian Worker Movements of
the 1920s: Francisco Coloane’s and Luis Sepúlveda’s Rebellious
Chilotes” in A Contracorriente and “Sketching Social Mobility in
the Gold Rushes of California and Patagonia: Bret Harte and
Manuel Rojas” in Hispanófila. She has extensive experience in
creating, designing, and maintaining online language, culture,
and literature courses, and has presented on best practices and
new developments in these areas.
Speech Title: Implementing Cultural Diversity Reflection
Assignments in Online Courses
Abstract: Cultural competence is an institution wide
learning outcome at many colleges and universities, but it can
be challenging to figure out how to advance students toward this
goal in an online course. Reflection assignments are one way to
make meaningful cultural learning an integral part of an online
course in any discipline. Students are guided through an online
culturally diverse experience that relates in some way to the
course material being covered, which may include having students
do a virtual museum visit, explore a website, listen to a
podcast or music, or watch a recorded performance. Then the
student is required to report on their experience and reflect on
how it relates to their own life and worldview. This
presentation will discuss the process of developing these
assignments, give some examples and tips and invite the audience
to think about how they could do this in their courses. |
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Assoc. Prof. Mah Boon Yih
UiTM Penang Branch, Malaysia
Assoc. Prof. Dr Mah Boon
Yih, who is also a Microsoft Certified Educator, Microsoft
Innovative Educator Master Trainer (2021-2022), Microsoft
Innovative Educator Expert (2021-2022) and Graduate
Technologist, is an Associate Professor at the Academy of
Language Studies, UiTM Penang Branch, Malaysia. He holds three
degrees: PhD (E-learning), MA (Applied Linguistics), and BAEd
(Hons) in ELS. As the outcome of his doctoral thesis, Dr Mah has
become the founder of Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction
(WeCWI), an award-winning hybrid e-framework for instructional
design and language development, as well as WeCWI Integrated
Solutions (WeCWIIS), a solution-driven web-based consultancy at
https://www.wecwi.com. Dr Mah is included in Who’s Who in
Science and Engineering 2011-2012 & 2016-2017, Who’s Who in Asia
2012, 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century (7th
and 9th Editions), Top 100 Educators 2012, Dictionary of
International Biography (36th-38th Editions), Who’s Who in the
World 2013-2015, Top 100 Professionals 2015, Leading Educators
of the World 2015, and 50 Fabulous Edutech Leaders 2019. In
addition, he is also the winner of the World Education Congress
Global Awards 2016: Education Leadership Award (for Excellence
in Education, Leadership & Teaching), Rector’s Special Award
2017, Award for Excellence in eLearning 2019, The Top Best
E-learning Award 2020, and Anugerah Pengajaran (Kelompok Sains
Sosial dan Kemanusiaan) in UiTM AAU2020.
Speech Title: Digital Citizenship: Preparing Today's Learners
for Tomorrow's Skills in the Internet Age
Abstract: Teaching in the Internet age means we must
teach tomorrow's skills today," says Jennifer Fleming. When we
look at digital citizenship pedagogy, we see it as a collection
of guiding principles that help learners, including educators,
utilise technology correctly, securely, and responsibly. We
could explore emphasising on what learners are able to do rather
than what they should not do. These abilities include using
technology to improve your neighbourhood or school, using
technology to make your voice heard by public officials, talking
politely online with individuals who have different ideas than
you, and recognising the quality of online sources of
information. Positive digital citizenship education has a bigger
influence on students. To inspire students to be good digital
citizens, we must emphasise the following five BE statements: Be
online; be public; be personal; be courteous; be attentive. Good
digital citizens are conscious of how they utilise technological
tools to conduct online activities that can have an influence on
their personal health and well-being, as well as the health and
wellness of others in their physical and digital settings. Since
everything we publish online influences how others see us, our
online interactions and postings become our first impressions.
Every interaction should begin with them reflecting on their
true self. As technology continues to expand and become more
prevalent in classrooms, it is critical that students learn
appropriate digital citizenship skills in a variety of learning
situations. It is impossible to learn or master good digital
citizenship abilities all at once. Educators should examine many
components of effective digital citizenship and identify ways to
incorporate them into existing classroom courses and activities.
These five BE statements will encourage peer collaboration,
challenge educators to rethink traditional approaches, and equip
students to prepare students to consider others first and drive
their own learning in the digital age. |
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Assoc. Prof. Meltem
Eryilmaz
Atilim University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eryilmaz
currently conducts research on artificial intelligence
technologies, augmented reality, data minig, distance education,
e-learning and adaptive learning at Computer Engineering
Department of ATILIM University, as well as jointly continuing
to publish articles with international institutions on the same
and similar topics regarding Statistical Risk Assessment of
Cyber Educational Systems. She has many publications, scientific
articles, national and international conference papers, book
chapters, editorials, newspaper and magazine articles. She has
served as an academic advisor to many graduate and doctoral
students. She is the Secretary General and Honorary Member of
the Computer Engineers Solidarity and Assistance Association
(BMDD-CENG), founding member of the Academic Informatics
Foundation (ABV)Turkey and member of Executive Board of
Informatics Association of Turkey (TBD).
Speech Title: Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Virtual
Universities and Faculty Development for Digital Teaching and
Learning
Abstract: Faculty development refers to the activities
which help faculty members in improving their knowledge, skills,
teaching effectiveness and improving the vitality of educational
institutions through attention to the competencies required by
teachers to enhance academic excellence. Given the Internet
revolution, higher education administrators are increasingly
aware of the rising demand for online learning. Therefore,
online higher education needs to incorporate new teaching
methods and technologies. In turn, students need to use new
methods of learning when moving from traditional classrooms
(face-to-face) to virtual classrooms and sharing knowledge.
Artificial intelligence technologies have played a significant
role in the development of online learning and improving the
performance of higher education institutes. Machine learning,
which is a branch of AI, can be used to select the most
appropriate content according to the individual skills and needs
of the students by processing the information related to
students, teachers and subjects. Machine learning algorithms
analyze students’ interactions to provide necessary feedback to
help students progress in the content they learn. For example,
machine learning algorithms have been applied to develop the
Brainly system, which is the social media site for classroom
questions. This system helps students answer homework questions
and allows them to collaborate to come up with solutions. Proper
shaping of the performance of teacher will also affect the
learning of students positively. At this point, AI technologies
provide students with the opportunity to be guided in more than
one course anytime and anywhere. Increasing the number of
students and crowded classes negatively affects teachers’
performance. AI technologies have a savior role for the teacher
at this point in time and enhance traditional face to-face
training in many ways. Therefore, it should be considered as a
supportive method rather than as an alternative to traditional
education. Personalization, Grading, Tutoring, Global
Interaction with Peers, Feedback on Course Quality, Meaningful
and Immediate Feedback to Students are some of the benefits that
AI brings to the education system. To take full advantages of
such technologies, teachers of various disciplines must develop
themselves and must have the tools to use systems efficiently in
order to help students by explaining result data effectively and
appropriately. Considering the research in the field of
e-Learning, it is stated that the best practices are
applications that require effective use of technologies such as
wrap-up and collaborative methodologies that encourage students’
participation and learning. In general, the results stated that
the self-learning method used to design the online courses for
professional development may suit the needs and motivations of
faculty members depending on their experience in online learning
and their background. |
