Conferences are listed in order from the earliest to the farthest out from today’s date. If you have others to add to this list, please let us know!

MVCR (Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality) Online Courses
(repeated year round)
The Illinois Online Network (ION) sponsors a series of highly-rated, 8-week, online courses for faculty who teach online, or would like to do so. Completion of certain courses in the MVCR curriculum can also earn faculty the “Master Online Teacher Certificate.” Courses can be taken on their own or as part of the Certificate program. Most courses are free to ION members, which BHC is! A few Advanced Online Seminars are $50 for ION members. See http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/courses/aboutmvcr for current course listings and schedule.

Illinois Online Conference
Sponsored ILCCO, Illinois Community Colleges Online
[2010, TBA]; entirely online
ILCCO sponsors this conference entirely on the Internet using: email, web-conferencing, synchronous chat and collaborative discussion areas, as well as other engaging Internet technologies. This online conference was created to focus on issues and concerns of K-20 classroom faculty and related technology support, learning resources, and student services staff. Sessions focus on teaching and learning topics primarily, but also feature a variety of demonstrations of products developed for instructional or student service applications. The conference fee allows participants to access all synchronous and asynchronous events, as well as all archived sessions for up to a year.

League for Innovation Conference on Teaching and Learning
March, 28-31, 2010; Baltimore, Maryland
The League for Innovation sponsors two conferences a year, aimed at community and technical college audiences. This one is geared for community college professionals as they work together to improve student and organizational learning by exploring innovations in (1) Learning and Teaching, (2) Leadership and Organization, (3) Workforce Preparation and Development, (4) Student Services and Activities, (5) Basic Skills and Developmental Education, (6) Resource Development and Foundation Management, and (7) Research, Assessment, and Accountability. In other words, it has something for everyone, including faculty! Their other conference is held in October and focuses more on technology innovations being used for teaching in the community college. See its description below.

The Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching and Learning:
The Learning Educator: Fostering Our Own Development for Better Practice and Results
February, 19-20, 2010; Bloomington, MN
The Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching & Learning is an alliance of colleges and universities that supports and promotes outstanding college teaching and learning.  We provide distinctive cross-disciplinary, multicultural, and practical educational development that draws on cutting-edge knowledge to help colleges and universities excel in educating students for the 21st century.

National Institute for Staff & Organizational Development (NISOD)
Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence
May 30--June 2, 2010; Austin, TX
NISOD sponsors this conference every year in Austin, TX. Since 1978, the conference has focused on community colleges and other institutions that have an “open door” admission policy. Many faculty selected by participating colleges for innovative teaching awards are invited to attend; hence, although there are tracks for administrators, faculty support personnel, and student services staff, many of the sessions focus on innovative teaching at the community college.

Faculty Summer Institute of the Illinois Online Network (ION)
[2010 TBA]; Champaign, IL
Illinois Online Network (ION) sponsors this annual event which focuses on effective strategies, techniques and technologies for teaching online in the community college. Usually, the conference targets faculty relatively new to online teaching from Illinois institutions. This year, it is being combined with the ION Summer Institute geared towards online instructors from four-year colleges in Illinois too. Many faculty from BHC have attended this excellent event.

Teaching Professor Conference
May 21-23, 2010; Cambridge, MA
Magna Communications, publishers of the Teaching Professor newsletter, sponsor this annual conference which focuses on teaching and related issues, such as grading, writing assignments for large courses, classroom management techniques, dealing with students who aren’t motivated or won’t come to class prepared, problem-based learning approaches, to name but a few. Also appropriate are topics relating to instructional health and well-being: departmental policies and practices conducive to teaching; innovative teaching awards; ways to keep teaching fresh and invigorated; scholarship on the subject of teaching; and even the thoughtful reflections that have been used to explore and understand an individual aspect of teaching like the development of a particular style, the evolution of a teaching philosophy, or the recognition of the importance of teaching for understanding.

League for Innovation Conference on Information Technology 2009
[2010, TBA]; Location TBA
The League for Innovation sponsors two conferences a year, aimed at community and technical college audiences. This one is geared for community college professionals interested in the application of technologies, especially (1) the latest technology innovations and approaches that help accelerate learning; (2) hands-on and demonstration sessions designed for new and experienced educators; (3) expo comparison of products and services demonstrated by vendors; (4) and multiple opportunities to network with other faculty, support staff, and tech-savvy professionals about your personal interests. The League's other conference is held in March with a broader teaching/learning focus. See the description above.

Lilly conference on College and University Teaching
[2010, TBA]; Location TBA
Lilly sponsors a international conference in November of each year in Ohio and regional conferences in the South, East and West. Follow the link above for the locations and dates for 2010. Lilly Conferences are retreats that combine workshops, discussion sessions, and major addresses, with lots of opportunities for informal discussion about excellence in college and university teaching and learning. Internationally- known scholars join new and experienced faculty members and administrators from all over the world to discuss topics such as gender differences in learning, incorporating technology into teaching, encouraging critical thinking, using teaching and student portfolios, implementing group learning, and evaluating teaching.

13th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks(ALN)
[2010 TBA]; Orlando, Florida
"Asynchronous learning networks" or ALN is a descriptive phrase that describes online learning environments of all kinds, offered through higher education or corporate training. This popular conference always includes a robust track on "effective online instruction," engaging preconference workshops on hybrid/blended/Web-enhanced instruction as well as a host of interesting new technologies or approaches related to online learning. Faculty represent about half of the usual participants, with distance education or academic administrators, faculty support personnel, and technical support staff making up the rest.