Western to Host ‘Lessons in Remote Learning' Panel Webinar Aug. 12 

As students and teachers around the country have experienced, online education is here to stay. The free “Lessons in Remote Learning” panel on Aug. 12 will provide students, faculty, community members and other learners the opportunity to hear from remote learning experts. 

The panel will be held via Zoom from 10-11 a.m.; registration is free at https://alumni.wwu.edu/event/western-insights-lessons-remote-learning. 

As fall approaches, K-20 educators are looking at different delivery models designed to allow distancing while delivering a quality education. The obvious question is: What have we learned from our sudden pivot in March, and what will this mean for September and for years to come? 

On the panel are Chris Reykdal, Washington’s superintendent of Public Instruction; Matthew Miller, program director of Elementary Education in Western’s Woodring College of Education; and Justina Brown, instructional designer with Academic Technology and director of Western’s Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment. The discussion will be moderated by Dawna Drum, chair of the College of Business and Economics’ Information Technology Committee.  

“Western’s faculty have engaged in a massive course design overhaul this summer, some taking dozens of workshops to help them learn strategies and technologies to be ready for remote teaching and learning this fall,” said Brown. 

Brown works with Academic Technology, Outreach and Continuing Education and Western Libraries as a support crew for faculty. She says each instructor needs a unique set of ideas and solutions to be successful.  

“What’s hopeful is that we have a community of resources and our faculty never cease to amaze me when it comes to this work. I expect to see benefits to our course offerings long after we return to Western’s buildings,” Brown said. 

 Lessons in Remote Learning is presented by the College of Business and Economics, Woodring College, and the Alumni Association at Western Washington University. Western Insights is an online panel series created in response to COVID-19 to provide Western alumni, friends, students, and the broader region with access to information on current events drawing from the University’s nationally respected experts. This free series is offered entirely online and is open to everyone. 

Watch previous Western Insight sessions online at https://cbe.wwu.edu/western-insights.