Dr. Pranesh Aswath
Dr. Aswath is Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the UT Arlington College of Engineering. He co-developed the curriculum for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Material Science and Engineering, and has served on the national Action in Education Committee, which is part of ASM International and ASM Education Foundation. He has 14 patent applications and issued patents, has published over 70 journal publications and 40 conference papers and additionally has garnered over $3 million in research funding.
Dr. George Siemens
Dr. Siemens, an internationally known expert and theorist in the field of digital learning, is the executive director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge (LINK) Research lab which explores the critical demands new learning technologies place on higher education. He is the director of the MOOC Research Initiative, a project focused on Massive Open Online Courses that has been supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Siemens was one of the originators of open online education. He taught one of the first open online courses in 2008 while a professor at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. The author of two books, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and Knowing Knowledge, he is co-founder of the yearly Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference, and is the founding president of the Society for Learning Analytics Research.
Dr. Samuel H. “Pete” Smith
Pete Smith, Vice-Provost for Digital Teaching and Learning, launched UT Arlington’s Center for Distance Education in 1997 which has grown into the largest provider of distance education among four-year institutions in the state of Texas. He continues to lead a complex network of instructors, both on and off-campus, that provides distance education through a variety of platforms to students throughout the nation and around the world. Smith also oversees classroom technology through the Educational Technology Support Services group as well as the LINK Research Lab. His research focuses on language education, the role of internet technologies in teaching and learning, and localization and translation.
On November 17, from Noon until 1 pm, in the Rady Room (601 Neddereman Hall)
Pete Smith moderated a panel discussion, with Dr. Siemens and Dr. Aswath:
Title: Designing and Running a UTA MOOC
Abstract:
The art and practice of teaching and learning in digital environments is a growing area of interest for universities nationally and internationally. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have caught the attention of academics and administrators since 2011. Globally, over 10 million students have signed up for courses on platforms like edX and Coursera. The University of Texas System was one of the first universities to join edX. UTA has committed to running several open courses over the next year. This panel discussion will explore the experiences of designing, developing, and running UTA open courses. Discussion will also focus on ways in which the lessons of MOOCs, and online learning specifically, can be incorporated back into classroom instruction.