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D2L Connection: Massachusetts

December 6, 2024

With presentations, workshops and networking, D2L Connection: Massachusetts is perfect for your learning and professional development. You’ll discover tips and tricks and have the chance to connect with peers in education to share insights and best practices. Learn and collaborate on topics such as:

  • AI-enabled Education
  • Inclusive Learning and Personalization
  • Shaping the Future of Learning
  • D2L Brightspace and H5P Tips and How To’s
Date

View Agenda View Agenda
Duration

6 Hours 30 Minutes

Location
Bentley University LaCava Campus Center 175 Forest St Waltham, MA 02452
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Innovation in Education and Technology

In a rapidly evolving landscape, D2L Connection: Massachusetts serves as a dynamic platform for thought leaders in the field of education and technology to come together and explore the transformative power of change. This event will explore Innovation in Education and Technology, acknowledging the changes we are seeing and how we can embrace and adapt to the transformational changes that are reshaping education.

Engaging discussions will revolve around key topics including inclusivity and efficiency in course design, AI, and addressing skills gaps. Join us as we navigate the intersection of education and technology, paving the way for a brighter future! 

Why Attend?

  • Gain professional development hours with in-depth sessions on D2L Brightspace providing practical experience for you to take back to your institution
  • Network and build lasting connections with likeminded peers during dedicated networking sessions
  • Ask questions and give feedback directly to D2L team members

Where?

Bentley University LaCava Campus Center

A campfire pit outside a hotel

Accommodations

Courtyard Boston Waltham

387-389 Winter St
Waltham, MA 02451

*There is no formal room block for this event, please book through the hotel directly.

Sponsors

Readspeaker logo

Agenda

8:30 am - 9:00 am

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Registration and Light Refreshments

9:00 am - 9:10 am

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Guest Speaker: Dean Patterson, Deputy CIO, Bentley University
Host: Ben Campbell, VP, Solution Engineering, D2L

Keynote
9:10 am - 9:55 am

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Keynote | Resilience and Vulnerability - Finding courage to ask ‘What if we…?’

Speaker: Ben Campbell, VP, Solution Engineering, D2L

Reflecting on change and the opportunities it affords us.

9:55 am - 10:05 am

Break

Interactive Group Activity
10:05 am - 11:05 am

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Sailboat to Success!

Facilitator: Ben Campbell, VP, Solution Engineering, D2L

Join us for an interactive working session where we will collaborate on how your organization can identify your learning vision, determine what supports you have in place, assess what is slowing you down, and how you can achieve your goals.

11:05 am - 11:15 am

Walking Break

11:15 am - 11:55 am

Breakout Sessions


  • D2L Lumi is where AI meets education. Join us to see this powerful new suite of AI tools in action. You’ll see firsthand how D2L Lumi enhances, rather than replaces, the human touch in education.

    In this session, you’ll discover:

    • How to generate Practice and Quiz questions from existing course material
    • How to reduce the manual work of creating discussions and assignments
    • Upcoming D2L AI advancements shaping the future of educational technology


Speaker: Sasha Perkins, Senior Solutions Engineer, D2L
Location: Danielson Room (Room 375AB)


  • AI is all that educators and instructional designers can talk about nowadays. How exactly do we use AI for our designing and improving our learning experiences though? In this session, we’ll take a deep dive into real-world examples using ChatGPT, Gemini, DALL-E, and more. We’ll cover concepts such as rethinking learning strategies, building your own GPT, applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) perspectives, designing ChatBots, virtual instructors, and other relevant topics.


Speaker: Dr. Luke Hobson, Assistant Director of Instructional Design at MIT, University of Miami
Location: Room 325ABC


  • During their multi-year LMS evaluation, Westfield State University asked their students to provide their feedback and ideas. With nearly 400 students participating in the process, the Center for Instructional Technology was able to learn about the student’s largest key takeaways as well as their concerns in a variety of areas, most notably, digital accessibility. Join Lynn Zayac, the Director of the Center for Instructional Design at Westfield State, as she walks through their LMS evaluation process through the student perspective and explains how they reached a decision to move forward with Brightspace.


Speaker: Lynn Zayac, Director, Center for Instructional Technology PLATO Online Program and Course Development Instructional Designer at Westfield State University
Location: Room 305AB

12:00 pm - 12:45 pm

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Lunch

12:45 pm - 1:00 pm

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Mid-Day Remarks

Speaker: Stephen Laster, President, D2L

1:00 pm - 1:15 pm

Walking Break

1:15 pm - 1:55 pm

Breakout Sessions


  • Whether teaching online or face-to-face, fostering consistency, connection, and community is key to meaningful learning experiences. This presentation explores the theory behind these essential pillars and highlights how practical approaches to achieving them with tools like the All New Creator+ can support educators in bringing these strategies to life.


Speaker: Lindsay Shipman, Senior Manager of Product Enablement
Location: Danielson Room (Room 375AB)


  • The pace of change at higher education has accelerated at an unprecedented rate driven by pandemic and more recently with the technological developments in (Generative) AI. This rapid transformation poses significant challenges for designing innovations and new technology implementations. The question then becomes, how can we acknowledge and manage this unprecedented pace of change especially for faculty and students in the classroom? How do we continue to drive innovation and integrate new technologies while navigating these challenges? How do we ensure our institutions continue to provide a transformational learning experience for our students?

    In this interactive session we will focus on technologies that are disrupting higher education (AI, Immersive and Virtual Reality, Compute Power, etc.) and moving us from a one-size fits all model to a more personalized learning model, promoting inclusivity, increasing efficiency and flexibility. We will discuss trends in technologies impacting higher education and share details on how Bentley University is embracing the changing landscape of technology in areas of learning management, course and curriculum design, immersive learning, and research computing. In this session we will share how we utilize such disruptions to inspire a multi and trans-disciplinary approach to program and course development across the institution, from pre-college to post baccalaureate, degree and nondegree programs. We will then discuss our approach for piloting and deploying these programs through examples of what Bentley has been exploring for the past five years, and then dive into how we leverage technology infrastructure like cloud computing, learning management, and modern A/v and network designs to scale up and transform how we learn and perform research.


Speakers:

  • Liz Paushter, Director, Education Innovation and Learning, Bentley University
  • Dean Patterson, Deputy CIO, Bentley University
  • Gaurav Shah, Sr. Director of Academic Technologies and User Experience Design, Bentley University

Location: Room 325ABC


  • We need your input on how to make your EdTech tools work better together for you. 1EdTech is a non-profit organization that works with suppliers like D2L to make your technology work together. When a student registers for your class, she should automatically appear in your Brightspace roster. When you want her to use an external tool, you should be able to plug it into your Brightspace virtual class space. When you want to return her final grade to your registrar’s software, that should be easy, too. Today, all these tasks are largely out of your way because of the work of 1EdTech and its members—including suppliers like D2L and colleges and universities.

    But there’s a lot more we can do together. Some are technical, like making sure your student data are private or providing your IT departments with the ability to vet the safety of AI tools. Others could be more directly visible to you, like helping you get the information you need to spot students in danger early or helping you analyze which course content is more or less effective. Our community creates technical standards that make such tools easier to build. But we need your help identifying the most important problems and opportunities we can work on.


Speaker: Michael Feldstein, Chief Strategy Officer at 1EdTech
Location: Room 305AB

1:55 pm - 2:05 pm

Walking Break

Panel Presentation
2:05 pm - 2:50 pm

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

AI, Innovation Strategy, and Organizational Success

Moderator: Dr. Emma Zone, Senior Academic Affairs Director​, D2L

Panelists:

  • Gaurav Shah, Senior Director, Academic Technology and User Experience Design, Bentley University
  • Dr. Robert MacAuslan, VP of AI, SNHU
  • Dr. Andy Shean, CLO, Penn Foster
  • Thais Lyro CPO, Penn Foster

This panel discussion will feature an insightful conversation on the transformative potential of AI in higher education and beyond. Topics will include how AI tools and frameworks can be integrated into institutional strategies to drive innovation, enhance student experience, improve operational efficiencies, and optimize teaching and learning. Panelists will explore the challenges and opportunities with AI adoption, including the importance of preparing students for a workforce that will require skills using AI, as well as best practices for success with this rapidly evolving technology.

2:50 pm - 3:00 pm

Room 395 (Executive Dining Room)

Wrap-up and Closing Remarks


This event occurs in the past

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