Service-Learning in Online Courses: Opportunities and Challenges

As online learning has developed and grown exponentially in recent years, there has not been a corresponding growth in the field of civic engagement within higher education. The opportunities to improve communities by effectively incorporating civically engaged teaching into online courses are numerous. Please join colleagues for an exploration of questions including:

• How are faculty currently implementing service-learning in online courses? What are the challenges and benefits?
• What types of service are online students engaging in? Community-based research? Separate, place-based volunteering at individual sites?
  
• Do  blended or hybrid courses that combine face-to-face and online learning offer unique opportunities?
  
• What opportunities might online service-learning open up? International partnerships? Serving more rural communities or communities without colleges or universities?
  

Presenter
Jean Strait, Ph.D.,is associate professor in education at Hamline University, in St. Paul, Minnesota. She published some of the earliest research on service-learning in online courses, and has vast experience as a service-learning practitioner. Jean is Co-editor with Marybeth Lima, of The Future of Service Learning, New Solutions for Sustaining and Improving Practice.

For more information and to register visit: http://onlineservice.eventbrite.com/