Peter J. Shea
Educational Theory and Practice &
College of Computing and Information
University of Albany
Albany, New York



Biography:
Dr. Shea joined the department of Educational Theory and Practice in Fall 2004 with a joint appointment with the School of Information Science and Policy Studies. Previously he was the Director of the SUNY Learning Network, the multiple-award winning, online education system for the State University of New York. As Director of SLN, Dr. Shea oversaw daily operations of four functional groups - faculty development and training, end user technical support, technology infrastructure development, and program administration and marketing.

Dr. Shea has also served as manager of the SUNY Teaching, Learning, and Technology Program and is Project Director for SUNY's participation in the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT), an international collaboration for peer review of discipline specific online learning resources. He is also a State University of New York system representative to the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative and member of the USNY Technology Policy Council.

Dr. Shea has served for several years as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, where he has taught at the graduate level both online and in the classroom. His research focuses on the student and faculty experience in technology-mediated teaching and learning, most recently on the topics of "teaching presence" and community in asynchronous learning networks. He is the author of many articles and several book chapters on the topic of online learning and co-author of "The Successful Distance Learning Student". He is a co-recipient of several awards including the EDUCAUSE Award for Systemic Progress in Teaching and Learning for the State University of New York, and Sloan Consortium Awards for Excellence in Faculty Development and Asynchronous Learning Networks Programs. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association and the editorial board for the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks.

Content:
Online learning and blended learning environments have the potential to dramatically change education at all levels. Recent research suggests that moving instruction online may profoundly impact who learns, what is learned, who teaches, and how we define education more broadly. This presentation will review current trends that are shaping the future of teaching and learning and provide examples of how online and blended technologies, coupled with complementary pedagogical approaches, can have a positive impact on educational outcomes.