January 31, 2011

Presentation will focus on distance learning trends

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- In today’s high-tech world, more and more life and learning takes place online.

A February presentation at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will offer information about how to most effectively teach via the Internet. The College of Education and Human Services Scholarship Brown Bag Series lecture by Paul A. Asunda, assistant professor in the Department of Workforce Education and Development, is set for noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8. It will be in Wham 219, the Dean’s Conference Room, on the SIUC campus.

Faculty, staff, students and community members are welcome to attend “Designing Instruction for the Distance Learner: A Demonstration of Tools and Resources that Support Learning.” Bring your lunch if you like. Organizers will provide light refreshments.

“In response to the changing landscape in higher education, learner preferences and the pervasiveness of technology in our lives, many organizations, including educational institutions, provide learning opportunities at a distance. Today, the increasing integration of technological innovations into the learning environment provides individuals from all walks of life with the training they need to be effective and efficient in meeting their professional needs. This presentation will discuss distance/online learning trends and demonstrate content management systems and video conferencing technologies that support teaching and learning,” Asunda said.

The lecture will highlight areas of emerging interest for distance learning delivery, evaluate distance education resources and look at emerging distance education delivery tools. In addition, Asunda will discuss and give examples of the various distance learning delivery systems and touch on the implications of each on teaching and learning.

Asunda completed his doctorate in 2007 in workforce education at the University of Georgia at Athens. He also holds an international MBA (2002) from the United States International University (now Alliant International University) in San Diego and a bachelor of arts in education from Kenyatta University (1999) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Prior to coming to SIUC in August 2008 as an assistant professor in Workforce Education and Development, he was an assistant professor in curriculum and instruction at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tenn., and adjunct faculty in the business and general studies division at Athens Technical College in Athens, Ga.

Asunda’s publications, conference presentations and University instruction cover various areas of workforce education with a concentration on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, teacher preparation and how businesses adapt new technologies in the workplace.