«The Continuing Evolution of Online Instruction: A Never-Ending Saga»

Despite decades of research, development, and application of educational technology, and in particular, “remote learning,” adoption rates of eLearning practices by higher education instructors has yet to meet the hopes and expectations of eLearning proponents.

In this session we will briefly review some key developments in the history of eLearning in order to focus on contemporary practices that can help provide impetus to eLearning activities in these days of the Corona virus pandemic.  A description and the role of Open Education Resources (OER) will be presented and illustrated through the collection of MERLOT Computer Science and Information Systems learning materials. The IEEE Education Society’s commitment to OER utilization in its fields of interest, through its partnership with MERLOT, will be described through its recently endorsed, web based, Teaching with Technology Resource Center.

Bio

Dr. Sorel Reisman is Professor Emeritus of Information Systems at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). He is President Emeritus of the IEEE Computer Society (2011), IEEE Computer Society Merwin Medal Awardee (2018), recipient of the MERLOT Distinguished Service Award (2019), Fulbright OER Specialist, and IEEE COMPSAC Standing Committee Chair.  Prior to joining academia in 1986, he held senior management positions in Canada and the U.S., at IBM, EMI, and Toshiba.  He currently serves on the IEEE Publications, Services, and Products Board (PSPB), the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) Strategic Planning Committee, the IEEE Future of Conference IP Committee, the Conference Portfolio Review Committee, and the IEEE Xplore Platform Guidance Group. Dr. Reisman served for almost 15 years as Managing Director and system architect of the California State University Chancellors Office MERLOT project and is currently the MERLOT International Relations Advisor. In 2020, he led the CSUF LMS Migration Task Force, moving from Moodle to Canvas.

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