CONTACT: STEPHEN PRADARELLI
100 Old Public Library
Iowa City IA 52242
(319) 384-0007; fax (319) 384-0024
e-mail: stephen-pradarelli@uiowa.edu

Release: April 1, 1999

UI to host 'Innovative Uses of the Web to Enhance Learning' teleconference

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Educators hoping to make the most of Internet technology might benefit from sitting in on a teleconference titled "Innovative Uses of the Web to Enhance Learning" Friday, April 16 at the University of Iowa.

The PBS-produced program, sponsored locally by the UI New Media Coalition, will air in Room 301 (South) of the Lindquist Center on the UI campus. The program will run from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and include an opportunity for questions and answers with two panels of experts, one via satellite and one in person.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served after the program.

The PBS program will air from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and feature a panel made up of distance educators from around the world: Fred Bail, educational psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Barbara C. Howard, business management, finance and real estate, Northern Virginia Community College; Ronald Oliver, computer science, Edith Cowan University in Western Australia; and
Chuck Scheebeck, Center for Distributed Learning, California State University.

The panel will present teaching models for distributed learning, share research on the use of online technologies, provide stories about successes as well as efforts in Web-based learning that didn't fully succeed and offer planning and design tips for the novice as well as the experienced distance educator.

UI experts will be on hand for about 30 minutes following the program, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Kathy Heilenman, an associate professor in French and Italian, and Kenneth Brown, an associate professor in management and organizations, will talk about their use of the Web in teaching and take questions.

To register and for more information, visit the UI New Media Coalition's Web site at http://www.uiowa.edu/~nmc/als, or contact Tom Rocklin, director of the Center for Teaching, at (319) 335-6048.