The 2011 Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology was held Friday and Saturday, March 25-26, 2011. On the 25th, our keynote speaker, Clay Shirky, met with several Penn State faculty members from the colleges of Communications, Liberal Arts, and IST, as well as the University Libraries. This was a casual conversation among peers on the topic of community engagement.
Also on the 25th, the Media Commons held a seminar on transmedia and education. Evening activities included a dinner in honor of the keynote at the Carnegie House as well as several "food for thought" casual dinners around town.
The Symposium took place on Saturday, March 26, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Education, Rob Pangborn, introduced our keynote speaker, Clay Shirky. Approximately 410 faculty, staff, and students attended the event. The day featured 23 faculty-led presentations, four roundtable discussions, and a packed panel on student and faculty expectations of technology and education. Additional activities included "birds of a feather" lunch tables, a hands-on demonstration area, and a publisher demonstration room featuring Barnes & Noble, Cengage, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson. Several sessions are available on the TLT YouTube page.
We experienced a phenomenal amount of back-channel conversation. Attendees at the event, and from other locations, contributed to the dynamic discussion by posting comments on Twitter, pictures on Flickr, blog posts, etc. by using the Symposium tag, tltsym11.
We will continue to update the Symposium site (http://symposium.tlt.psu.edu/) throughout the year with session recordings, the keynote address, and the student panel. The 2012 Symposium will take place on March 24 and will once again be held at the Penn Stater. Erin Long remains the overall chairperson for the 2012 event. Hannah Inzko will be the new program chair.
Highlights
- EVERY Penn State campus AND college was represented in attendance figures!
First time this has happened! - More attendees than ever before remained throughout the day
- So much so that the last session was well over capacity and break area packed
- The student panel at the end of the day was very well received
- The break area was crowded and a constant hot spot for informal conversations and networking opportunities
- The hands-on demonstration area drew a constant crowd
Hands On Area
- One-Button Studio
- VoiceThread
- University Libraries Search Tool
- CMS
- NBC Learn
- iPod/Location App
Social Media Use
- Several blog posts on Blogs@PSU platform. See Penn State Voices page with tag "tltsym11"
- Over 400 photos tagged and shared. See Flickr photos tagged "tltsym11"
- Constant Twitter stream and backchannel communication
Survey Highlights
- 129 responses
- Keynote speaker, Clay Shirky was very well received (4.5/5)
- Student panel was second highest rated (4.2/5)
- The pocket guide scored well rather than a full printed guide and folder combo. This was a green effort that many people noted their appreciation of.
- 53% of respondents used the tltsym11 tag to view/share content
- 43% used Twitter to stay connected
- 33% wrote blog entries
- While not a choice, several others responded that they posted to Facebook and YouTube to stay connected throughout the day
