"Web 2.0: Social Media and ODU" is subject of CLT Summer Institute and Technology Fair

The Center for Learning Technologies (CLT) invites all faculty members and administrators to attend the 2009 Summer Institute and Technology Fair, to be held May 18-20 in Webb Center.

Each year, the institute offers faculty members the chance to share, reflect, analyze and learn from one another on the subject of what works (and sometimes, what doesn't work) when integrating technology into the teaching and learning process.

This year's CLT institute, Web 2.0: Social Media and ODU, focuses on social media and on the technologies that students are using to communicate at home, at work and at school.

On Monday afternoon, May 18, a pre-institute Technology Fair will offer examples of the new technologies that a number of faculty members have been utilizing in their courses. Refreshments will be served, and guests are encouraged to mingle among recent Faculty Innovator Grant recipients, online course developers, social media implementers and others to observe and discuss the various highlighted projects.

(Faculty members who would like to share stories of any technology that has worked well in their courses should contact Susan Boze at sboze@odu.edu.)

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, May 19 and 20, guests are invited to participate in a series of seminars which define Web 2.0 and social media to help determine what applications these popular media may have in the academic arena. A panel of students will discuss the ways that they use social media.

Institute participants can also take part in a "speed dating" event, at which they will be introduced to a variety of different social media. The legal and ethical issues raised by the use of social networks (including privacy, data mining and intellectual property) will also be addressed.

In the afternoons, a series of brief hands-on workshops will be held in the CyberLoft in Webb Center, offering faculty members an opportunity to try out a variety of social media (including wikis, blogs, virtual worlds, and photo and audio sharing) and determine what applications they may have in their teaching and research efforts.

Participants will enjoy continental breakfasts and luncheons on Tuesday and Wednesday. Door prizes will be awarded at various times during both the Technology Fair and the Summer Institute.

Participants may attend all or any portion of the institute. More information is available at http://clt.odu.edu/si. To register, visit http://clt.odu.edu/facdev.

So that CLT can get an accurate count of participants for food and door prizes, participants should register for each day that they plan to attend. For more information, write clt@odu.edu or phone Boze at 683-3172.