October 13, 2025
Virtual Illinois Online Higher Education Symposium is Nov. 7
CARBONDALE, Ill. — SIU Carbondale faculty, staff and graduate students are invited to participate in a free, virtual event on Nov. 7, which will bring together educators, administrators, instructional designers and instructional technologists involved in online learning in Illinois and beyond.
“Doing Less with Less, Effectively: Illinois Higher Education Symposium” is from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The symposium is organized and coordinated by administrators from 11 higher education institutions, including SIU Carbondale and SIU Edwardsville, with an invitation for nationwide participation and online learning in digital education. The symposium is for those who “learn, teach, develop, support or administer online education.”
Topics for this year’s event include online pedagogy (generally), AI and technology, leadership in online programs and instructional design. The event highlights Illinois thought-leaders and invites nationwide participation for collaboration and innovation in online learning.
Joe Sollustio, chief of industry engagement and senior vice president at Ellucian, will present the keynote “Modern Leadership for Modern Learners” at 9 a.m. Sollustio is also host of the EdUp Experience Podcast and co-author of “Commencement: The Beginning of a New Era in Higher Education.”
Following the keynote, four sessions will run concurrently in three Zoom break rooms, with the sessions covering four topics:
- Artificial intelligence and technology.
- Leadership and administration.
- Instruction and instructional design.
- Roundtables.
Symposium information, the event schedule and registration details for the keynote address and the breakout sessions are available in the event program.
The program, now in its second year, was co-created by SIU Carbondale Online and Extended Campus, along with collaborators from Northern Illinois University and Illinois State University, with SIU Carbondale’s Center for Teaching Excellence providing all the initial organization and administration.
Several faculty and staff at SIU Carbondale will be presenting at the symposium.
Craig Engstrom, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), is presenting “A Show-and-Tell Roundtable: Click Less, Achieve More — Tools and Techniques for Greater RSI (regular and substantive interaction).”
Abby Razer, a D2L Brightspace administrator, and Leticia Velasquez, an instructional development specialist, both with CTE, are participating in a virtual roundtable “Let’s Talk About Less: Creative Faculty Support With What You’ve Got.”
Tirza Vargas-Giron, a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the School of Education, and Gaudencia Wegulo-Lukhafwa, a graduate master’s student in curriculum and instruction and research assistant in SIU Carbondale’s STEM Education Research Center, are also poster presenters in the session “Virtual Labs in STEM: A Catalyst for Inclusive Biology Education for Nontraditional Students.”