To my fellow EdTech colleagues,As you begin to formulate your next blog post or article, I'd like to make a suggestion.  The voices of women contribute valuable ideas to the future of teaching and learning innovations. As such, it is my hope that we can all work together to foster a culture in EdTech that encourages women to be active participants in this evolving space.  Here are a few ideas.What not to do.Don't correlate educational technology with the sale and exchange of women's bodies for sex.  If you aren't sure what I mean, please see Perry Samson's "Pimp your LMS" post on LinkedIn for an example.  The glorification of pimp culture undercuts the severity sex trafficking, which is a reality for millions of women around the world.  Hopefully, you can be a bit more creative than this and come up with a reference that doesn't alienate your female readers or make them never want to use your product (Echo360 in this case).Don't associate texting in class with male masturbation, as Stephen t. Ziliak did in today's issue of Inside Higher Ed:"Texting off in class means just as it sounds. It begins when a texter-offer has the urge to text off or when he feels in his pants the vibration of incoming text or data, which might, in fact, have been delivered by a classmate seated close by to him. Even in courses strictly prohibiting texting during class, today’s texter-offer can hardly resist, and many give in to the temptation."We've seen enough products be deemed "sexy" through the media and pop culture (guns and cars come to mind).  We don't need to sexify educational technology too.  It's not witty. It's offensive.What to do:Focus on the issues.  Contribute thought-provoking conversations that foster inclusivity.Discuss and recognize the achievements of women that are often overshadowed by those of men. For an example, see this post by Michael Berman, "Who is Sharla P. Boehm?"That is all. Sincerely,Michelle Pacansky-Brock@brocansky

Click here for the online version of the infographic.I have a vivid memory from my experiences teaching as a full-time art history instructor at Sierra College that has left a lasting impression on me. It was around 2004 and I had been teaching online for about a year or so and I was seated with other faculty at the Sierra graduation ceremony. It was a hot Rocklin afternoon and the sun was in my eyes, but I was excited to experience the magical, inspirational event of graduation. As I sat listening to the names of students be called out as they walked across the stage and accepted their diplomas, I heard the name of one of my online students be announced. An strange, unfamiliar feeling came over me. Yes, I clapped and cheered, just as I was doing for other students (especially my own), but it was different. At that very moment, I realized that he and I would not be sharing a handshake or a hug, as I would do with my face-to-face students, after the ceremony. It dawned upon me that he would not be able to identify me as his instructor and nor him.That moment awakened me to the gap that can exist between students and their instructors (and students-students) in online classes.  And, from that moment, I made an effort to reconcile this gap. I started by toying with Audacity to transform my text announcements into voice messages to my students.  That was a good change. But it wasn't until I started using VoiceThread and bought a Flip video camera to record an introductory video of myself that I had evidence of bridging this gap.The evidence came on another warm afternoon when I pulled into the college parking lot. As I opened the door, I was greeted by a young man who exclaimed, "You are my online instructor!" It was a very cool moment and one that I cherish to this day. We had a brief conversation and I walked away with a smile.Since then, I've tried lots of different strategies in my classes and, despite the fact that our world has become more connected through social technologies in recent years (that are easy to use and often free), I still have students who regularly share with me that my class is different -- because they feel like they know me and they feel like I care. This isn't to say that online instructors who use voice/video and interactive tools to design and facilitate their courses are the only instructors who care. But these strategies are key to my ability to be present in the experiences of my students. And they're key to my ability to share my inflection, my concern, and my enthusiasm for them -- nuances text cannot convey.This week, a series of online conversations spurred by Laura Gibbs and Amy Collier surfaced that delved into the value of an active, authentic presence by an instructor in online classes. They made me recognize how important this conversation is and I hope these dialogues continue.Meanwhile, my with my team at CSU Channel Islands, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to "humanize" an online class. I started using this term when I wrote my eBook about VoiceThread, but using VoiceThread is not the only way to humanize an online class.  Below, you will see a new infographic I put together in an attempt to concisely communicate what humanizing is to me. These are principles we have infused into the Online Teaching Program at CI and they seem to be making an impact on how faculty relate to the idea of online classes.  It really does matter when faculty development for online teaching is provided in an online format. It is the only way to immerse faculty in an experiential learning experience and recognize just how meaningful online learning can be and how important it is to know your instructor as a human.  I work about 300-miles away from the faculty I support in these classes.  I believe their experiences would not be quite as impactful if I was in an office down the hall.We've shared the infographic is shared with a CC-BY license, which provides permission for you to re-use the infographic without permission, as long as it is attributed (this item has a joint attribution to me and Teaching & Learning Innovations@CI).Next week at ET4Online in Dallas, Jill Leafstedt, Kristi O'Neil, and I will be using the infographic to frame our workshop, How to Humanize Your Online Class. And next month, I'll be facilitating an online workshop for ELI on the same topic.  I hope to connect with some of you in these two venues!I hope this is a resource that will be used by many.

Tomorrow, I'll be flying to Dallas to attend #ET4Online, the OLC/MERLOT 8th Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium 2015. I have attended every one of the previous seven ET4Online events, but this year is special for me as I have the honor of being the Conference Chair.The past year of planning has brought me closer to many amazing leaders in the online learning space, including Jason Rhode, Assistant Conference Chair; Laura Pasquini, OLC Program Chair; and Jane Moore, MERLOT Program Chair. This dynamic group brought endless energy, ideas, and creative problem solving skills to our planning. The conference steering committee was also incredible to work with. Far too many rock stars there to list!While there is no way for me to capture all the great things happening at ET4Onine in Dallas this Wednesday through Friday, here some of the sessions I'm especially looking forward to. If you attend any of these sessions, look for me and say hello! :)Wed, 4/22*Sessions noted with an asterisk will be streamed live for our virtual attendees.8:30am-10:00am: How and Why to Humanize Your Online Class.*  #ET4Humanize. I will be co-facilitating this workshop with my great colleagues, Jill Leafstedt and Kristi O'Neil-Gonzalez. In-person attendees (up to 50) will receive a copy of our infographic (shared in this blog post) and I'll be raffling off two copies of my book for those who are there in person (sorry, virtual attendees).  10:30am-12:00pm: VoiceThread 101*.  If you are reading this blog, you know I'm a fan of VoiceThread. This workshop by Jaimie Hoffman (a colleague of mine) and Patrick Krispen will be a must-attend for anyone interested in becoming a VoiceThreader! Oh! And they'll be giving away a PRO account or two. VoiceThread is also a National Sponsor of the conference this year and will be on site in the exhibition room! Stop by and say hello!1:00pm: Leading from Where You Are: How to Develop Great Ideas and Get Senior Administration to Support Them*.  Michael Berman (who I work with), Crista Copp, Kyle Johnson, and Jennifer Sparrow will lead this session. What can I say? They're all incredible, so how could I miss it?2:00pm: EdTech as a Practioner/Leader - Career Forum Roundtable.  I'll be one of the featured panelists and will be joined by Michael Berman and Sorel Reisman.  Catherine Honig and Barbra Sperling will be facilitating this event. I look forward to sharing some of the things I've learned in my career as I shifted from an art history professor to a consultant and then into my recent role at CSU Channel Islands as a Teaching & Learning Innovation Specialist. 4:00pm: Connected Learning, keynote by Mimi Ito.* To me, there is nothing more important than examining how social technologies are changing the way people learn. We are so very fortunate to have Dr. Ito present this year's keynote. I've been excited about this since last summer!Thurs, 4/238:15am: Beyond Alt-Metrics: Identities and Influence Online.* Plenary session by Bonnie Stewart. Issues of identity are always of interest to me. It will be especially intriguing to hear findings from Bonnie's research on this topic, as they relate to online experiences.  9:40am - Teacher Tank.* #ET4TTank. NEW this year! Join five of the startups in this year's Launch Pad as they each share 5-minute presentations designed to dazzle our superstar edtech sharks: Tanya Joosten, Bonnie Stewart, and George Siemens. Thanks to Donna Murdoch for coordinating this session! Also, the winner of the Teacher Tank will lead a hands-on session in the Technology Test Kitchen at 4:30pm on Thursday!3:30 - EdTech Women: A Conversation.* Inspired by a blog post by Rebecca Hogue after last year's conference, I coordinated this panel comprised of Amy Collier (moderator), Tracy Clark, Keesa Muhammad, Patrice Torcivia Prusko, and Maha Bali.  Can't wait to hear the reflections and stories shared by this diverse group of women in edtech. 6:00pm - Women in EdTech Dinner. This new, special event is sold out! But you can follow our reflections via Twitter using this hashtag:  #ET4Women.  A generous sponsorship by LoudCloud allowed the $20 donations contributed by each attendee to go towards funding an EdTech Women scholarship for the 2016 OLC conference.  Many thanks to Whitney Kilgore, Christine Hinkley, Katie Fife Schuster, the OLC leadership team, and LoudCloud for supporting this extra endeavor this year!Fri, 4/248:00am: Thought Vectors in Concept Space*.  Plenary Session by Gardner Campbell.  I've heard so many great things about Gardner Campbell and this will be the first time I will have the pleasure to hear him. Looking forward to this one!1:15pm - The ET4Online Unconference -- follow along at #unET4Online.  This year's unconference is going to be dynamic and inclusive, as it will be fueled by the energy of Jesse Stommel (on-site facilitator) and Maha Bali (virtual facilitator). I arrange my flight home around this event! See you there!Other things not to miss:The Technology Test Kitchen -- a hands-on lab for emerging technologies led by Master Chefs. You'll find the TTK in the exhibition hall. Many thanks to Laura Pasquini, Jessica Knott, and Ben Scragg for their great work on this event!Discovery Sessions -- This year, for the firsWht time, the Discovery Sessions will be shared on-site and online!  Virtual attendees may view the presentations through this ThreadBox (a curated collection of VoiceThreads) and ask questions in the form of voice or video comments. ThreadBox is a VoiceThread feature that has not yet been released to the public. This exciting sneak peek was made possible through the generous sponsorship of VoiceThread. VoiceThread also provided all participating Discovery Session presenters with a free 1-year Individual Higher Ed License ($99 value). Launch Pad -- Visit the seven edtech startups that were selected to participate in the Launch Pad this year! Interact with these entrepreneurs and provide honest feedback about their emerging products. There are some great tools to check out here!Virtual Buddies -- #ET4Buddy. If you are attending virtually, Maha Bali and Rebecca Hogue are pairing up this year to pilot a new idea. Maha will be attending virtually from Cairo, Egypt and Rebecca will be on-site. Rebecca will be using synchronous video tools to pull Maha into the live action. These video feedback will be pushed out to Twitter so all virtual attendees (or anyone else) can share in the experiences. To engage, check out #ET4Buddy.I know I missed a lot of great happenings in this list -- but I hope it's helpful to you, especially if you are a first-time attendee at ET4Online. See you in Dallas!

Last week, I attended the 8th Annual OLC/MERLOT International Symposium of Emerging Technologies for Online Learning (#ET4Online) in Dallas, TX with over 600 other educators in person and roughly another 500 (going from memory on this figure) who attended virtually.  Over the past several days, I've been reading Tweets and blog reflections shared by attendees.  This conference will re-emerge in April 2016 with a new title, OLC Innovate: Innovations in Blended and Online Learning (to be held in New Orleans in April 2016). The transformation of the conference is significant, as there are many elements shifting in the conferencing landscape.I had a moment during Mimi Ito's keynote that made me pause. Dr. Ito asked each member of the audience to hold up a thumbs up or thumbs down to indicate their perception of the impact technology has on young people today.  I was stunned to see how many thumbs down I observed -- in an audience of online educators. Changing this attitude is important. If we, as educators, do not value the potential of the connected age, how can we design and facilitate learning experiences that empower students to harness the opportunities presented to us?#ET4Online showed that use of Twitter in higher ed edtech circles has matured (and the conversation continues, as you can see in the search widget below) and, as such, is deeply reshaping what it means to "attend" a conference. Rebecca Hogue (on-site in Dallas) and Maha Bali (attending virtually, based in Egypt) piloted an ET4Buddies concept. Using mobile video technologies, Rebecca pulled Maha into face-to-face conversations and events at the conference. Maha also participated as a panelist on the Women in EdTech: a Conversation and Messy Learning panels.   #ET4Online Tweets On the Women in EdTech Panel, Maha noted her deep appreciation for Michael Berman (whom I have the pleasure of working with), an individual who supported Maha's efforts to get to Dallas in person this past year. After the conference, Jill Leafstedt (another colleague of mine) noted that she was impacted upon hearing Maha, in Egypt, speak of Michael's supportive efforts. Jill wrote on her blog, "working closely with Michael I already know he is a great mentor, but to hear this coming from someone halfway around the world was truly remarkable. I don't know if Michael and Maha have spent much time together face-to-face, but it was clear, Maha knew the same Michael that I knew and that this connection was having a deep and lasting impact on her career." What's fascinating is that Maha and Michael, to this day, have never met face-to-face. In Dallas, I sought out meeting Adam Croom after Laura Gibbs, over Twitter, strongly encouraged me to connect with him at the conference.  I did so and found myself excited and speaking about the ideas that Laura and I regularly share. Interestingly, I've never "met" Laura either. Yet, she has played a formative role in how I think about teaching online.  I also connected in person for the first time with Sam Eneman and Dave Goodrich, after years of online interactions.Several people have noted how more meaningful the conversations were at ET4Online this year and in comparison to other edtech conferences. Patrice Torcivia said it best, "There were less power points and more crayongs; less talking at us and more listening; less structure and more messiness; less learning objectives and more learning subjectives."  I believe this is deeply interconnected with changes in the nature of relationships.  And, as such, I question what the phrase "attending a conference" means today.Mimi Ito and Bonnie Stewart, two of the great general session speakers at the conference (Gardner Campbell is the third) mentioned "knowledge abundance" in their talks. As we continue to convene once a year in this context of knowledge abundance, we must be rethinking what "a conference" should be like -- structurally and procedurally. Mimi also has audience members use their smarphones to Tweet out findings from small group conversations and Bonnie showcased her powerful findings from her dissertation study, which examined how participation on Twitter shapes the identities of educators. How we define value is shifting in the social era.  Community and openness are valued more and the relevance of sitting and collecting/absorbing information from an expert is diminished.  Hopefully, these insights help us to identify with the preferences of our learners. One outcome of this connected age is a new sort of preciousness or aura of face-to-face experiences. We still long to be there together, but for different reasons. So, a good question to consider is, "Why do we attend conferences today?" Virtual relationships are flourishing. Faculty, IDs, instructional technologists, CIOs, and more are learning from each other beyond the edges of our institutions and the close of a conference.   When we are together in person, there seems to be a desire to spend time relating to each other as humans and less time passively receiving information. Patrice Torcivia reflected on her experiences at ET4Online (specifically in reference to the Women in EdTech Panel), "The conversation was raw, emotional, and transparent. ... We need as many conversations like this as it takes." I agree, Patrice. And, as such, I've heard many requests for shorter "sessions" and longer "open time" between these formal sessions to allow ample time for spontaneous conversations/learning/connections to occur.What do you want OLC Innovate 2016 to look like? Let us know here (shout out to this year's amazing OLC Program Chair, Laura Pasquini, for developing this form!).

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I've written previously about the institutional focus at CSU Channel Islands, my place of employment, to foster a culture of "humanized" online learning.  In April, Jill Leafstedt, Kristi O'Neil-Gonzalez and I facilitated a workshop at ET4Online titled "How to Humanize Your Online Course" and next week, I will be starting a 4-week online course for the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) on the same topic.  This course does require registration through ELI. A discounted rate is available to ELI members.The ELI course will incorporate asynchronous activities, including participating in a VoiceThread conversation; participating in Twitter polls; sharing reflections/resources/questions via Twitter (#HumanizeELI); creating a high-energy course bumper video in Animoto; creating a course banner in Canva; and curating these visually-oriented content creations into a Tackk that will be posted to our course Tackkboard!  The course is intended to pull higher education faculty, instructional designers/technologists, administrators (and other roles I'm missing) into an immersive learning environment that is designed around the principles of humanizing an online class.An ELI digital badge will be earned by those who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and into the exciting landscape of content creation!The asynchronous activities are anchored by the following four live sessions:"The Foundations of Humanizing"  I am the presenter for this one. Tues, 5/12; 10am-11:30am PT/1pm-2:30pm ET"VoiceThread for Universal Design: Supporting the needs of diverse learners" Guest presenters: Jaimie Hoffman and Jaime Hannans from CSU Channel Islands. Wed, 5/20; 10am-11:30am PT/1pm-2:30pm ET"Reaching out, being there: What we know and don't know about social presence"Guest presenters: Patrick Lowenthal, Boise State University and Joanna Dunlap, University of Colorado, DenverThurs, 5/28; 10am-11:30am PT/ 1pm-2:30pm ET"Humanizing share session!"In this session, I will invite volunteers from our course to share their Humanizing Showcases and reflect on their experiences and key takeaways.I look forward to learning with those of you who participate. Everyone is invited to follow our hashtag on Twitter and learn with us! #HumanizeELI

New approaches to online learning take advantage of new mobile devices and the willingness of learners to engage across platforms, technologies, and infrastructures. Learning languages is no different, and the focus now with new technologies, which are used in online forums, bachelor degree programs, graduate programs (for example, and online master's in Spanish), and even Ph.D. programs is all

Join me on Monday, May 11th at 4pm PT/7pm ET for this Hangout on Air!Join in on the back channel with #AISMOOC.The purpose of this Hangout on Air is to learn how to cultivate, grow and leverage vibrant communities in a virtual or blended class and share instructional strategies that will maximize the potential of the community to boost learning in your virtual classes.Chris Long will be facilitating this HoA, which is in support of the Virtual Classroom MOOC he is currently teaching for UCI Extension’s Advanced Instructional Strategies in the Virtual Classroom offered through Coursera. Everyone is invited to view and ask questions!Participants:Chris Long, AIS MOOC Instructor and Technology Coordinator for Huntington Beach Union High School DistrictMichelle Pacansky-Brock, Teaching and Learning Innovation Specialist at CSU Channel Islands, Associate Faculty at Mt. San Jacinto CollegeDavid Theriault, High School English Literature TeacherMatt Payne, online studentHow to view:On Monday, 5/11/15 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET Go to the Event page on Google+Or view it on YouTube here

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Photo by Seriykotik CC-BY-NCThis is a long-overdue reflection about the impact of incorporating conversations about Women in EdTech into the ET4Online conference program. Yes, it's a late reflection, but it's one I've been meaning to write since the end of April and it must get done, late or not.  For my more general reflections about the conference, please click here.The 2015 OLC/MERLOT ET4Online incorporated a panel session titled "Women in EdTech: a conversation" and a "Women in EdTech Dinner," sponsored by LoudCloud Systems. The events were strongly attended and I feel it's really important to talk about why they were coordinated and theorize on why they were so popular. (View a Storify of #ET4Women here by Patrice Torcivia.)To do so, I will turn to the insights of Caroline Turner, a former corporate executive and business attorney turned author/consultant.  After Turner left her executive level position, she wrote:"When I left..., it surprised people. I was 'at the top of my game.' My kids were out of college so the hard part of juggling family and work was over. But I lacked the passion it took to keep it up. I couldn't name a cause of my decision to leave. It just felt like it was time to move on. Then I began to notice how much company I had as a former successful woman executive... I began to reflect on what really caused me to leave the C-suite...That women leave their jobs at a higher rate than men is confirmed by ddata from the Bureau of Labor adn by private research. While women's role in the family is a significant factor in the attrition rate of women, equally important is the general job dissatisfaction that women express." Turner goes on to suggest that the workplace is an environment created by men and, as such, it values and models masculine attributes.  And this general job dissatisfaction that she alludes to may be attributed to years, even decades of attempting to conform to masculine approaches of success.Successful women professionals are like "canaries in the coalmine," says Turner.  Canaries placed in coalmines die because of a toxic environment. For a canary to survive, we wouldn't just keep pushing more of them into that toxic coalmine. Instead, we would work together to remove the toxicity from the environment. Frequently, we read about the need to "get more women" into the STEM careers, high level executive positions like CIO, and other male-dominated areas.  But less frequently, we hear critical conversations about the need to probe our workplace environments and make them more inclusive. During the Women in EdTech panel with Amy Collier, Patrica Torcivia, Keesa Johnson, Tracy Clark, and Maha Bali, one participant recalled the experience of pumping breast mile on a toilet in a public bathroom at work.  I had that same experience and I wondered how many other women in the room and viewing the live stream had too. These "raw" conversations made me also recalled when I learned about my unplanned pregnancy days after accepting my first full-time faculty position and the guilt I felt when I shared this with my Dean.  I thought about how ludicrous it was for me to feel guilty and how this guilt was something my husband, who also worked full-time, could not relate to.  Soon there-after, I learned that my faculty contract included a whopping five days of birth leave. My need clearly were not represented here, that was clear. These examples begin unveil the masculine values around which today's workplace was built, which to this day are not recognized by most and talked about even less. They also reveal the experiences and feelings women endure silently in an effort to "be professional." In a previous blog post, I wrote about how vital it is for the voices of women, and other marginalized identities, to be part of our current edtech dialogue. We need more bloggers, keynote speakers, authors, Hangout hosts that are women and people of color...especially in a time when innovation is so needed. But, as the canary analogy demonstrates, we need to simultaneously have conversations about these silent and pervasive issues. Recognizing the problem is the first step in making it better.At the Women in EdTech dinner at ET4Online, I felt empowered to sit down in a room with women and men who had chosen to spend their evening sharing experiences and having "raw" conversations that crossed generational lines.  We've received some terrific feedback about the conference, overall, feeling "family like." The sense of community was strong.  Scott Hamm left this lovely comment on my blog, "at times [I] feel like most conferences are microcosms of Silicon Valley's heavy white male dominance and perpetuate the limited role of minorities and women ([which] was encouraged ... this year)."Let's work together to keep the conversation going.