Creating Learning Environments That Engage Today's Learners

During the EDUCAUSE Teaching and Learning Challenges 2009 Project (http://www.educause.edu/eli/challenges), the community identified "creating learning environments that promote active learning, critical thinking, collaborative exchange, and knowledge creation" and "reaching and engaging today's students" among the top five challenges. The results were not surprising. As IT professionals and teaching and learning practitioners we've struggled with these challenges for some time. Today's technologies only intensify the search for strategies to foster truly collaborative learning environments that defy our definitions of time, space, and tradition to engage students in learning that is social, immersive, and learner-centered. In this interactive discussion session, we'll explore these top challenges, exchange ideas for how individual campuses are confronting these issues, and discuss strategies for moving forward on a solution-driven agenda as a community and on our own campuses.