eDesign Collaborative Blog

The eDesign Collaborative (eDC) Blog is a dedicated resource to announcements, updates, upcoming events, surveys, and other items for the eDC community. 

Announcing: 2019 eDC ThinkTank Roadshow

After successfully piloting virtual ThinkTanks in 2018 with Utah State University and Oregon State University, we’re happy to announce the 2019 eDC ThinkTank Roadshow schedule. We’ve tweaked things a bit and the 2019 eDC ThinkTanks will now be free and open to all members of UPCEA! Non-members will be charged a nominal registration fee.

We hope you are as excited about the 2019 schedule as we are and will share this information with your colleagues in instructional and multimedia design! Registration for these events will open soon, so watch your email for an announcement!

  • Friday, February 8th – Penn State University – Operationalizing Innovation
  • Friday, March 22nd – Arizona State University – Elevating Instructional Design
  • Friday, May 3rd – University of Wisconsin – Faculty Professional Development
  • Friday, July 19th – UC Irvine – Creating a New Design Team: Necessities, Successes, and Pitfalls
  • Friday, October 4th – Brigham Young University – Modified Agile Development & Workflow Processes

What is a ThinkTank: Most conferences have the format of bringing people away from universities to share what they are doing…however, much is lost without seeing things in context. Ours is a “Flipped Conference Model” where we bring people to universities and show them how things work in real time. We meet the whole team, tour, and then spend time in panel discussions and Q&A to learn more. So why attend? To have a behind the scenes look at a university and meet the whole team, network with those in your similar situation and workshop best practices to bring home.

  The eDesign Collaborative serves higher education instructional design teams (instructional designers, multimedia developers and team administrators) in higher education seeking networking and professional development.


Learn more about the UPCEA eDesign Collaborative here.


UPCEA Blogs and Updates:  

Policy Matters | Both Parties Release Higher Ed Policy Reforms (October 2019)

Welcome to the October edition of Policy Matters. Each issue has the latest updates and actionable items in public policy for adult and nontraditional education stakeholders. Major Update Both Republicans and Democrats Release Legislation for Major Higher Ed Reforms We now have a clearer vision of where this Congress’ Democrats and Republicans stand on how to…

Emboldening Student Driven Learning in the Online Environment

By SmartBrief Editors This post is produced in partnership with UPCEA.   The world of professional, continuing and online education is in constant flux. Former associate dean of academic affairs at Syracuse University and current University of North Carolina at Greensboro division of online learning dean, Dr. Karen Bull provides her perspective in this online…

Why Smart Cities Need Liberal Arts Graduates

As a lover of science fiction, I find myself picking movie genres that depict a future society fighting against the tyranny of unfair rulers protecting what they think is a utopian society. Ultimately, the masses win and freedom reigns. What our future society will look like depends on many things. Whether it will be dystopia…

Overdue Urban Solutions: Smarter Houses and Buildings

In reflection of my reading or movie choices, I just now realized that my genre of movies centers around how society must survive in the future.  There is a clear adversary and the inhabitants of the future city have an opportunity for freedom from tyranny.  It’s a struggle for potential utopia or the choice of…

Policy Matters | Sen. Alexander wants to pass scaled-back HEA (September 2019)

Welcome to the fourth installment in our monthly public policy primer, Policy Matters. Each issue has the latest updates and actionable items in public policy for adult and nontraditional education stakeholders.  Major Updates Senator Alexander Announces Intent to Pass Scaled-Back Higher Education Act Reauthorization Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) stated he wants to attempt to update broad-based…

UPCEA Supports Passage of FUTURE Act

UPCEA, along with ACE and other undersigned organizations representing Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and the higher education community at large, we wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the House and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority…