Higher education faces challenges and opportunities across the globe. In addition to environmental and political challenges, we face specific issues such as shifts in the demographic composition of university students and the potential impact of technologies like AI on education and the workforce. To respond to these challenges, we must become more flexible, both in what we deliver and how we deliver it. To collectively prepare for this required flexibility, I propose a focus on building capacity in three key areas: faculty digital fluency, flexible learning modalities, and emerging technologies.

Enhancing faculty digital fluency is vital for navigating technological and societal changes. We’ll define digital fluency and share specific strategies for faculty development, including training programs, peer mentoring, and augmenting resource accessibility. Through facilitation of continuous learning and adaptation, we enable educators to confidently navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.

Developing flexible learning modalities is essential for delivering learning experiences effectively. Traditional instructional methods may be too rigid to meet future needs. Through the application of learner-centered principles and leveraging adaptive learning technologies, we can tailor curricular offerings to more flexible modalities, ensuring success.

Consistently improving the adoption of emerging technologies requires a systematic approach to exploring and implementing them. This presentation will suggest strategies for identifying, evaluating, and integrating these technologies into teaching and learning, while overcoming adoption barriers. Examples of successful technology integration will offer insights into harnessing the potential of innovation.

By enhancing faculty digital fluency, developing flexible learning modalities, and consistently improving adoption of emerging technologies, we can deliver effective, boundaryless learning experiences that empower learners and redefine education.

Speaker Biography

Dale Pike,
Virginia Tech, United States

Dale Pike is an accomplished academic technology leader with over 29 years of experience in instructional technology and online learning in higher education. His past roles include serving as the Director of the Instructional Assistance Center at Snow College in Utah, Associate Dean for Instructional and Information Technology at UNC Charlotte, and Director of Academic Technologies at Boise State. He currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Technology-enhanced Learning at Virginia Tech.

In his current role, Dale oversees all aspects of institutional support for technology-enhanced learning, including comprehensive support for online and blended programs. Services managed include instructional design and production, support for digital learning platforms (including Canvas and Zoom), and support for faculty digital fluency development. He also has responsibilities for improving the accessibility of learning content and environments and has a strong track record of advocating for, supporting, and delivering successful outcomes in this area.

His professional areas of interest include personalized learning, agile methodologies, and the study of creativity and innovation within organizations. Recently, generative artificial intelligence has dominated his time and attention, from leading workshops and faculty communities of practice to actively exploring the implications of this potentially transformative (and disruptive) technology.

Dale is also passionate about personal creative pursuits such as pottery, watercolors, and calligraphy. He is committed to making a positive impact in his community and is actively involved as a board member of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, a local nonprofit organization.

About the Presenter(s)
Dale Pike is an accomplished academic technology leader with over 29 years of experience in instructional technology and online learning in higher education.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

Bookmark