“Impact Learning” Podcast Episode

A few weeks ago, I was invited to join Dr. Maria Xenidou as a guest in the podcast that she hosts called “Impact Learning.” I truly enjoyed our conversation. We covered so many different topics. We talked about my educational and professional background. Life as a faculty member and eventually transitions to discussing topics related to instructional design and technology (online learning, research methods, motivation, and others). If you have an hour to spare above is the podcast player and below are the notes from the episode.

EPISODE NOTES

Production team:
Host : Maria Xenidou
Producer: Julie-Roxane Krikorian
Introduction Voice: David Bourne

Contact us:
impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

Music credits:
Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals
Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Where to find more about Enilda Romera-Hall:
LinkedIn
Her page on the University of Tampa website
The masters she teaches in Instructional Design and Technology
Personal Website
The different courses she teaches
Her publications

Mentioned in this episode:
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá
Centennial College
Emporia State University
Programs in Instructional Design & Technology at Old Dominion University
University of Tampa
Dr. Jozenia Colorado-Resa 
Dr. Ginger Watson
Dr. Thomas Reeves

Listen to this episode and explore:
Enilda’s interest in various topics at a bilingual school in Panama City (3:03)
Moving to Canada and studying computer programming (7:56)
Getting a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (9:54)
Why she chose to study Instructional Design for her Masters (10:32)
Enilda’s decision to pursue a PhD in Education and the impact of her mentors during this time (12:46)
How she combines teaching, mentoring and researching in her current role as Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator at Tampa University (16:50)
Enilda’s thoughts on the biggest advancements in Instructional Design since she started working in the field (20:34)
Improving Instructional Design: learning how to apply the research findings to the practical field (23:18)
Enilda’s book: a collaborative project designed to bring theory to practice (25:49)
The trends that Enilda sees in the future of instructional design and technology (30:09)
Enilda’s work in online social communities (32:01)
How to use social media to advance higher education and career development (33:16)
How COVID has affected the digital learning experience (38:08)
What demotivates students in an online course (41:32)
How to make synchronous meetings attractive to students through active learning experiences and games (45:12)
How Enilda builds the courses she teaches (47:49)
Sharing her work openly to help others learn from it (50:22)
What keeps Enilda up at night or what she thinks of first thing in the morning (54:14)
What Enilda wants to leave her mark on during her lifetime (54:58)
How her 4-year-old son has influenced her creativity during the pandemic (57:24)

A sabbatical during COVID-19

Where do I start?

I guess I can start by writing that a few months into my sabbatical the world turned upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, I was able to use my time to complete the tasks that I had outlined for my sabbatical period. April and May did require a significant adjustment since we had to manuoiver a new work schedule without child care. Maneuvering this new schedule required being realistic about what I could accomplish and saying “no” to some invitations for new collaborations.

The first two months of my sabbatical were as planned. I worked on writing two chapters for the book “Research Methods in Learning Design and Technology.” Book chapter authors submitted their completed and revised book chapters to me by the end of January and I worked on doing final reviews of each book chapter. I initially had planned to submit the book to the publisher by mid-March, but I switched the format of the last chapter, and this required giving extra time to my co-authors to complete their writing. This meant that I had to delay the submission of the book documents to the publisher until mid-April. Thankfully, by the time the world turned upside down in mid-March, all my co-authors and book chapter authors had turned in all required documents to me.

One of the elements of my sabbatical that was partially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was work-related travel. I was scheduled to attend the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Convention in San Francisco in mid-April and the conference was canceled. I am glad it was canceled, I am also glad it was not held virtually. April was a month of re-adjustement, tension, and stress for many. I was also scheduled to travel to Florence, Italy to present at the DEPIT Annual Meeting at the University of Florence. This event was re-scheduled for an online format.

I had some personal travel plans changed because of travel restrictions. I was scheduled to spend all of March and a portion of April in Panama City, Panama, where I was going to work while spending time close to my family. So, I traveled to Panama at the end of February and was monitoring all the news related to COVID-19. Due to the way the virus was spreading, my family and I decided it was best for us to travel back to the United States, so we changed our flights to travel back on March 22 (which is the day Panama was scheduled to close their international airport). On the evening of March 20, I received an email from COPA airlines letting me know that our flights had been cancelled. I was shocked and extremely disappointed. However, we all stayed calm and determined that we would just ride the storm in Panama. That same evening, as a last attempt, we figured we would see if there were any flights on March 21 to Tampa with a different airline. Thankfully, we did manage to fly back to Tampa on March 21. My dad was in Panama with me and we were also able to find a flight for him to fly back to Toronto (within one hour difference of our flight), which gave peace of mind. I would not have left Panama without my dad.

The weeks after returning from Panama, were weeks of adjustments as mentioned at the beginning of this post. In addition to all the tasks for the book, I was also scheduled to write a manuscript (with a deadline) that I had not even started. It took discipline to stay focus. I admit that there were many emotions related to what was happening in the world with the pandemic, leaving Panama, and experiencing the “new normal.” I felt like I had to work hard on my “emotional intelligence” to get the paper written and deliver all the book materials to the publisher.

I am thankful for the sabbatical term. In addition to the tasks mentioned in this post, I also used the time to work in revisions to several manuscripts and continue mentoring my undergraduate student (we presented at a conference in February and are currently working on a few writing tasks). Of course, I spend time with my family (even more than planned due to the lack of childcare).

Since my sabbatical ended, I am back to serving as the Graduate Coordinator of the Instructional Design and Technology program and I taught a six-week summer intensive course on Learner Motivation in June. I definitely missed my students and the joy of our convos.

 

Webinar Recording:Universities in the Age of #COVID-19

This morning I participated in a webinar organized by the Società Italiana di Ricerca sull’Educazione Mediale dedicated to: how universities in different countries are coping with higher education in the age of COVID-19 and the future directions (immediate future and long-term suggestions). Special thanks to my colleagues in Italy for the invitation to serve as a panelist in the webinar and for the diversity of the speakers from Spain, China, Lebanon, New Zealand, and Brazil [Here is a link to the recording]

I would also like to share a few of the resources that were shared during the webinar by myself and other colleagues:

UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education: Handbook on Facilitating Flexible Learning During Educational Disruption

The International Council for Open and Distance Education: Tips for Distance and Online Teaching #LearningTogether

UNESCO: National learning platforms and tools

DQ Institute: Digital Institute, Culture, and Innovation

European Commission Education and Training: Coronavirus: online learning resources

The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)’s Response to the COVID-19 Virus: https://www.aect.org/aects_response_to_the_covid-1.php

 

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Instructional Design Practitioners, Students, and Faculty: Social Media Groups

I am putting together a list of social media groups, specifically Facebook and LinkedIn groups, to share with the students in the UT IDT program. I thought it would be a nice resource that would allow them to be expose to diverse groups of instructional designers in different settings, levels of experience, and locations. I remember when I first started my IDT master program it seemed like there was hardly anyone else who knew what was instructional design. In any case, I know it can feel like just you and your classmates are learning about instructional design. In reality, we have large communities of instructional design practitioners, students, and faculty. This is a work in progress list, I will add more groups as I come across them.

Podcast Episode (@VisionOfEd): #SocialMedia in #HigherEducation

This past week, I was invited as a guest speaker in the Visions of Education podcast series. I am sharing it here for anyone who is in the education field and wants to subscribe to the podcast. Also, I want to share the link to the podcast episode. I discussed SocialMedia in HigherEducation:

You can click on this link to access a full list of resources (articles, books, and videos) mentioned in podcast episode: https://visionsofed.com/2019/03/10/episode-108-social-media-in-higher-education-with-enilda-romero-hall/

This is a one of five podcast episodes that focus on #SocialMediaEd discussions leading up to the SITE conference next week in Las Vegas, NV.

The EduTech research group at #FURC2019 (@UTinquiry)

This past weekend The University of North Florida hosted the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC). Many undergraduate students from The University of Tampa presented topics in which they engage on research. One of these students was Renata Sindicic, who has been working with me and collaborating in research since last August 2018. I feel extremely proud of Renata, #FURC2019 was her very first time presenting in a conference! She worked hard on the design of the poster and practice her presentation prior to the event. I am thankful to have her as part of the research team!

Renata presented preliminary results of our research related to the use of social media by undergraduate students.

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Renata_Sindicic

Trends in ID&T Database

The biggest benefit I get out of FB are the groups that I belong to. They are great for sharing resources and learning from others. Recently, in one of those groups a colleague from a different institution shared a link to the Trends in ID&T Database:

The Trends in ID&T Database is now live! You can access information from more than 80 resources pertaining to the innovations employed and valued in K-12 schools, higher education, and business and industry. We also welcome contributors to help keep the database current. Additionally, please feel free to use this resource within your classes! Find out more at trendsandissues.org

Editorial: “The (Re)adaptability of Research Methodologies in the InstructionalDesign & Technology Field”

This editorial was recently published (online first). It will be available on print in the next issue of TechTrends introducing the articles that showcase “innovation in research methodology in the instructional design & technology field.”

#Podcast Interview: “How the Future of Learning is Online”

Earlier this summer, I was invited to share my thoughts on online education in an interview hosted by Dr. Will Deyamport, III as part of his podcast series [The Dr. Will Show Podcast]. It was a really neat experience. Some of the questions and topics address include:

  • Where does online learning come into play (when looking at different models, school missions, and varying ways to delivery instruction)?
  • How does teaching and learning change when the classroom can be accessed via any device connected to the internet?  
  • What is the learning curve for teachers in learning how to design and deliver instruction via a Learning Management System?
  • What are some of the skills needed to be an effective instructional designer of online learning?
  • Where do you see online education going within the next 5 to 10 years?
  • What do you say to those educators or individuals who believe online education is a fad or doesn’t deliver on providing the same quality of education as face-to-face instruction?

Here is a link to audio podcast:

https://thedrwillshowpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/dr-enilda-romero-hall-how-the-future-of-5365e68d 

#HKAECT18: New Media for Educational Change

I feel like I have neglected my blog a bit this summer but I have to be honest it has been a busy summer (just like every summer — this is starting be a trend in my life). Anywho, this post in going to be nice, sweet, and short post because its going live today (enough of neglecting my blog).

I attended the Hong Kong AECT conference a few weeks ago. It was amazing! I mean this very honestly. I like learning from others and connecting with different people. I know for a fact that I will experience this (learning from others and connecting with colleagues) at the conferences that I attend regularly, AERA and AECT (this is why I go back to those conferences every year). But I also like to put myself in uncomfortable situations that force me to talk and meet people who I have never connected with in the past. So I made a promise to myself that I would aim to attend a conference that I have never attended before because: a) I want to know what others, who are outside my network, are researching and b) because I think it will expose me to topics that are new to me.

With this in mind, last year I attended the Social Media and Society conference in Toronto which by the way was an absolutely fantastic experience (if I had the budget, the time, and the energy, I would have gone to Copenhagen this year — where the conference was held — and then to Hong Kong to attend HKAECT). This year, I decided to attend HKAECT18 conference. I saw that a friend and colleague attended last year (Dr. Ana Paula Correia) so I reached out to her to ask about her experience. I also saw that the theme of the conference which aligned well with my research interested so I submitted a conference proposal. It was accepted and a few months later I was on a plane to Hong Kong.

I wish I could put into this blog everything that I experienced and the topics we discussed but since I have other things I should be writing, I am instead going to share the link to conference program: http://www.hkaect.org/hkaect2018/programme.html (some

A few things I do want to mention:

  • All sessions were well attended and we had some really good discussions about the topics presented
  • Presenters were prepared, addressed questions, and engaged with the audience
  • There were several social aspects to the conference that allowed us to continue conversations outside the presentation rooms in a more informal manner (coffee breaks, lunch, and dinner)

I saw that the call for proposals for HKAECT19 was posted today: https://www.aect.org/docs/HKAECT2019-Call_for_Papers.pdf. If you are considering attending and have questions, please feel free to reach out.