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Issue No. 21, Winter 2011

• Happy New Year from the MERLOT Executive Director
• 2011 Conference – Call for Papers
• Free Sloan-C Membership for MERLOT Members
• MERLOT Played Role in Inaugural 2010 Global Education Conference
• MERLOT Gets Better with Age
• MERLOT ELIXR Recognition by Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education

• Nominations Sought for 2011 MERLOT Annual Awards
• Become a MERLOT Peer Reviewer
• JOLT - Journal of Online Learning and Teaching - December Issue Now Available

• Sloan-C Workshop - OER: Use, Re-Use, Share
• Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana Webinar Series
• Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching
• Empowering STEM Faculty for Learner Centered Environments
• AACE - Global Time Conference on Technology Innovation, Media and Education
• CENIC 2011 Annual Conference
• 21st Annual SITE International Conference - Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
• MERLOT 101: An Introduction to MERLOT
• 2011 Tools for Life: Secondary Transition and Technology Fair
• CUE and Tech Ed join Forces
• Blended Learning Conference and Workshop
• Encouraging Your Faculty to Use MERLOT to Enhance Their Classes
• eLearning Africa's 6th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
• Online Teaching Conference 2011 - Call for Participation
• International Symposium on Academic Globalization

• Does MERLOT have materials for tablets and smartphones?

• Who is really using MERLOT?

 

Happy New Year from the MERLOT Executive Director

Dear MERLOT Community,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, filled with family, friends, and lots of fun. We’ve closed out this first “2,000” decade and it’s a nice opportunity for us to reflect on the significant accomplishments of our MERLOT community. Growing from about 2,500 materials to over 27,000 materials through individual members' contributions to our collection is a very significant accomplishment. We should soon reach the 100,000 MERLOT member milestone as well. We could not have achieved our sustainable and scalable success without your participation, enthusiasm, commitment, expertise and generosity. Thank yous are well-deserved to everyone who helped.

As you will read in this issue of the Grapevine, MERLOT has a number of exciting events and services coming to you in 2011. We look forward to our continued global collaborations that brings open quality online resources and expertise to our growing community of open education resource users.

Cheers,
Gerry

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2011 MERLOT Conference – Call for Papers

MERLOT is again partnering with the Sloan Consortium to present the 2011 Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Conference, July 11-13, 2011 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, CA.  The due date for submissions is February 21, 2011.  The Call for Proposals submission site is: http://sloanconsortium.org/et4online/call_for_presentations

Faculty, students, instructional designers, instructional technologists, and academic administrators are encouraged to submit proposals. Tracks and MERLOT Track Chairs are:

• Pedagogy (Dorothy Fuller)
• Administration, Infrastructure, and Support Services (Vicki Suter)
• Instructional Design and Support of Online Classes (David Wicks)
• New Learning Communities (Deb Gearhart)
• Inventive uses of Media and Tools (Jane Moore)

 

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Free Sloan-C Membership for MERLOT Members

As part of our continuing relationship, Sloan-C is offering a free, three month individual Sloan-C Membership to MERLOT members. This gives MERLOT members full, online access to Sloan-C resources without committing to a full individual membership. Benefits include:

• 10% discount on Sloan-C publications
• Access to the Sloan-C JALN (Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks)
• Full Sloan-C web access: Effective Practices, Job Line, reports, Annual Online Learning Survey Reports , Listserv, Sloan-C networks
• Access to Practitioner Documents ("Tips & Insights" from Sloan-C workshops)
• Upcoming Free Webinars: Key topics for online higher education
• Membership in public, online forums (a place where Sloan-C members and Affiliates can exchange information)
• Permission to display Sloan-C member logo on website
• Access to the list of faculty who have completed certificate programs

Contact membership@sloanconsortium.org for more information .  Use this coupon code on the payment page:  Discount Code: IND-MERLOT_3MT.  Click here to register.  By registering, you will be signed up for the Sloan-C mailing list. You may opt out at any time.

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MERLOT Played Role in Inaugural 2010 Global Education Conference

The first-ever, completely online, and free 2010 Global Education Conference sponsored by Elluminate was conducted on Nov 15-19.  The conference goal was to "create a game-changing event for global education, and to set the stage for future collaboration as part of a global community."  There were more than 15,000 unique presentations from 62 different countries, and included participation from MERLOT staff and editorial board members.  All sessions were recorded and can be accessed from http://www.globaleducationconference.com/recordings.html.

 

MERLOT Gets Better with Age

We are continually enhancing www.merlot.org with new and exciting changes. Recent enhancements include:

• A link to the Federated Search page from the Search box on MERLOT pages.
• Revised “Delivery Platform” options to include smartphones and tablets for both Contributing a Material and Advanced Search of Materials. Users can also access the Federated Search through all portals.
• Share links to MERLOT materials on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• A new link in the “member join” wizard makes it easier to become a MERLOT reviewer. 

For previous, recent enhancements to MERLOT visit http://about.merlot.org/MERLOTEnhancements_past.html

 

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MERLOT ELIXR Recognition by Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education 

The MERLOT ELIXR project was recently selected as an Innovation Award finalist by the Professional and Organizational Network in Higher Education (the professional association for faculty development and teaching support). The awards "recognize innovative ideas that have improved learning and teaching, as well as enhanced the general effectiveness of higher education faculty members". 

The MERLOT ELIXR project was selected as the 2010 award finalist in the category of Faculty Development Using Technology. The MERLOT ELIXR project was a collaboration of 30 higher education institutions led by a team based at the California State University Office of the Chancellor, supported in part by a grant from the Department of Education's Fund for Innovation in Post-Secondary Education. The collaboration created over 100 digital media case stories for faculty development, along with processes and tools to expand and sustain the collection. More information on the MERLOT ELIXR project is available at http://elixr.merlot.org.

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Nominations sought for 2011 MERLOT Annual Awards

The MERLOT awards program recognizes outstanding work by MERLOT colleagues.  Two major awards are:

• The Innovative Use of MERLOT Award - to an individual, department, or program that demonstrates novel, comprehensive, or creative use and/or application of MERLOT materials and services.  Nominees must provide evidence of an impact on students that can be demonstrated through qualitative or quantitative research, or anecdotal evidence.
• The Institutional Stewardship Award - to an individual or group to recognize efforts to promote MERLOT at an institutional level. Recipients will have exhibited an outstanding example of stewardship in spreading the use of MERLOT throughout a campus or system.
  

We are seeking nominations for these awards for 2011.  You can obtain a nomination form from cathy@merlot.org. The nominations must be completed by February 28, 2011.

NOTE: The Fall, 2010 Grapevine neglected to list the World Languages Classics award that went to “Novosti Nedeli,” by Richard Robin from George Washington University.  

 

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Become a MERLOT Peer Reviewer

GRAPE Camp is a series of three webinar training sessions focusing on the MERLOT Peer Review Process, and is open to anyone wishing to do peer reviews for MERLOT. New GRAPE Camp sessions are:

• February - Thursdays (3, 10, 17) at 11AM Eastern/8AM Pacific
• March - Wednesdays (2, 9, 16) at 4PM Eastern/1PM Pacific
• April - Thursdays (7, 14, 21) at 2PM Eastern/11AM Pacific
• June - Wednesdays (1, 8, 15) at 3PM Eastern/Noon Pacific

Learn more and register at:  http://taste.merlot.org/peerreviewer.html.  Please encourage your colleagues to participate as well.

 

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JOLT - Journal of Online Learning and Teaching - December Issue Now Available

The December 2010 issue of the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT) is online at http://jolt.merlot.org/currentissue.html - with article titles and abstracts also in Spanish. Some 2010 highlights about JOLT:

• 122,000 visits to JOLT site
• 293,000 pages viewed
• Visitors from 186 countries/territories
• 44% of visitors from outside the USA
• 276 papers submitted
• 500+ reviews completed
• 76 papers (850 pages) published
• 28% overall acceptance rate
• Spanish titles and abstracts now provided for every paper

Reviewers Needed
With a record number of submissions for the Winter issue, more reviewers are needed.   Please contact co-editors Ed Perry (eperry@memphis.edu) or Michelle Pilati (mpilati@riohondo.edu).

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Sloan-C Workshop - OER: Use, Re-Use, Share (Workshop Feb 2-11)

Phil Moss,Director of Educational Partnerships and Planning for MERLOT, will be conducing a workshop February 2-11 on Open Educational Resources (OER). The workshop, offered through Sloan-C, provides an overview of OER and related issues including challenges and issues related to OER, through online presentations, readings, and discussions. The workshop sessions and topics will provide introduction to OER issues including where to find them, quality assurance, licensing, and use. The workshop may be counted toward the Sloan-C Certificate. To hear the webinar on this topic which took place on January 19th, visit https://sas.elluminate.com/mr.jnlp?suid=M.6380CAB59DBAE2A6E7C0E45652456C&sid=251. For registration and information go to http://sloanconsortium.org/workshop/february2011_open-educational-resources-use-reuse-share

 

Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana Webinar Series

The Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana is hosting a series of six FREE webinars for faculty, staff, and administrators working at public colleges and universities during the Spring 2011 semester. Download the webinar flyer for a list of topics, dates, times and presenters, along with registration instructions.

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Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching (Feb 4-6)

The 2011 Lilly Conference at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, North Carolina to highlight evidence-based learning and teaching.  For information visit http://www.uncg.edu/tlc/lillyconference/.

 

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Empowering STEM Faculty for Learner-Centered Environments (Feb 9)

This is the first in a series of free webinars presented through the Multi-versity activity of the Catalyst initiative sponsored by Hewlett Packard, and provided by The Sloan Consortium. The FREE webinar is from 11:00AM - 12:30 EST. Read more about the Multi-versity at http://sloanconsortium.org/news_press/hp-catalyst.  STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) education succeeds when the education is learner-centered.  At Empire State College, we have an extensive array of STEM courses at all levels, primarily in math and science, which incorporate activities based on the principles of learner-centered education. In this webinar, we will share strategies for empowering STEM faculty to embrace this environment. Register for the free webinar at
http://sloanconsortium.org/webinar_stem_feb2011

 

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AACE - Global Time Conference on Technology Innovation, Media and Education (Feb 22-24)

The Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education is holding a cross-disciplinary online conference focusing on technology, media and education. Visit http://www.aace.org/conf/gtime/.

CENIC 2011 Annual Conference (March 7-9)

The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) will hold its 15th annual conference, EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS, at the University of California, Irvine Student Center in Irvine, California. For information visit: http://cenic2011.cenic.org/about/index.html.

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21st Annual SITE International Conference - Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (March 7-11)

Celebrating over 20 years of Leadership in Technology and Teacher Education this year's conference will be held in Nashville, TN. For information visit: http://site.aace.org/conf/

MERLOT 101: An Introduction to MERLOT (Webinar Feb 23; Workshop March 9-19)

This webinar and workshop will demonstrate some of the many tools and services that MERLOT has to offer.  Participants will learn to navigate MERLOT, and to participate as MERLOT Members.  Workshop assignments will allow participants to tailor their work to their own disciplines and courses.  Some of the key MERLOT tools will be demonstrated, so participants can create “play lists” for materials that can be used for both face-to-face classes and online classes.  The workshop may be counted toward the Sloan-C Certificate. For more information or to enroll, visit: http://sloanconsortium.org/workshop/march2011_merlot-101-introduction-merlot.

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2011 Tools for Life: Secondary Transition and Technology Fair (March 7-8)

Tools for Life is for secondary educators, post-secondary educators, special educators, therapists, counselors, service providers, job developers, and other rehabilitation specialists, and especially secondary students with disabilities and their families. For more information visit http://www.idahoat.org/dnn/Services/Training/ToolsforLife/ToolsForLife2011.aspx

 

CUE and Tech Ed join Forces (March 17-19)

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Blended Learning Conference and Workshop (March 28-29)

The 8th Annual Sloan Consortium Blended Learning Conference and Workshop will be held at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort in Oak Brook, IL, March 28-19, 2011. For more information, visit: http://sloanconsortium.org/blended.

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Encouraging Your Faculty to Use MERLOT to Enhance Their Classes (Webinar March 30; Workshop April 13-23)

MERLOT, in partnership with the Sloan Consortium, presents this workshop to provide faculty developers with tools and knowledge to design and conduct training sessions, seminars, workshops, etc. Attendees will learn basic MERLOT navigation and then will focus on how to encourage faculty to use the resources to help save them the time and effort of developing them on their own. The workshop may be counted toward the Sloan-C Certificate. For more information or to enroll, visit: http://sloanconsortium.org/workshop/april2011_encouraging-your-faculty-use-merlot-enhance-their-classes.

eLearning Africa's 6th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training (May 25-27)

eLearning Africa's 6th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training will be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. For information visit http://www.elearning-africa.com/.

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Online Teaching Conference 2011 - Call for Participation (June 22-24)

The Online Teaching conference focuses on K-20 faculty, staff, and administrators engaged in the delivery of online services such as student, faculty, library, and technical support. Steve Hargadon, Social Learning Consultant for Elluminate/Blackboard Collaborate will be the keynote on June 23rd. January 31, 2011 is the deadline to submit a presentation proposal. For more information, go to http://otc11.org/.

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International Symposium on Academic Globalization (July 19-22)

The 4th Symposium on Academic Globalization: AG 2011 will be held in Orlando, Florida. For information visit http://www.iiis2011.org/wmsci/website/AboutConfer.asp?vc=22.

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Find learning materials designed for a Tablet or Smartphone

With the iPad and other tablets becoming more and more important in teaching and learning, it isn't a surprise that learning materials for these "platforms" can now be found in MERLOT. MERLOT has made significant changes to the Advanced Material Search page to allow for easy discovery of such materials.

To see the options available to search and locate such materials, go to the advanced search page at http://www.merlot.org/merlot/advSearchMaterials.htm.

You will see there are now 6 different categories to search for materials. To locate materials designed for a tablet or smartphone, open the second section, "Find materials that work on different delivery platforms, including Learning Management Systems, Smart Phones, and Tablets."

Once you select the options you want, click Search and you will see how many fit your criteria. Remember that this is a new feature in MERLOT so it will take a little time for more materials to be catalogued with such metadata.

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In case you were wondering what goes on in MERLOT, here are some statistics to give you a sense of member activity.

As of December 31, 2010 here's what's in the MERLOT collection:

• Learning Materials – 26,445
• Peer Reviews - 7,325
• Member Comments – 7,713
• Personal Collections - 17,431
• Learning Exercises - 1,413

How many people visited MERLOT in 2010?

• MERLOT had 596,222 visits to the www.merlot.org website in 2010.

What top 10 countries used MERLOT the most in 2010?

1. United States	6. Philippines
2. Israel	7. India
3. Chile	8. Mexico
4. Canada	9. Australia
5. UK	10. Spain

 

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