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:  

President Trump Signs Campus Free Speech Executive Order

On March 21st, President Trump signed an executive order on “Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability on Campus” that directs federal agencies which provide funding for university research to be sure that they are funding colleges that support free speech on their campuses. This was an “historic action to defend American students and American values…

White House Releases Vision for Higher Education Act Reform

The White House released their vision of what reforms should be made to the Higher Education Act (HEA) during the reauthorization of it in Congress.  It’s proposals within mirror the budget it also proposed just one week prior. Some of the major retooling includes: changing accreditation process to focus on outcomes; a significant cut for…

The Rise of a New Entertainment Category: Esports

As I deepen my liberal arts side by reading Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One, it caused me to flashback to my 70s and 80s childhood of videogaming and skateboarding. It also piqued my interest in exploring the impact of today’s esports world and trends in the gaming community. In professional, continuing, and online (PCO)…

Trump Administration Releases Budget Cutting Approximately 10% of ED Funding

On Monday March 11th, the Trump administration released their budget proposal for the 2020 fiscal year. Included in the proposal is a $7.1 billion cut to the Department of Education, approximately equal to 10% of its total current operational budget. These proposals follow similar attempts in past budgets the administration has put forward. The cuts…

Five Key Trends for Professional and Continuing Education Leaders in the Next Five Years (The EvoLLLution)

Higher education is on the cusp of major changes. Enrollments are on the decline—both online and on campus—and the trend is expected to accelerate. Graduates are laboring under substantial college loan debts totaling more than $1.5 trillion. Employers are demanding that applicants possess soft and hard skills that many college graduates do not hold. At…

What is Regular and Substantive Interaction? The Term That Has Defined Online Learning Still Lacks Clear Definition (Elearning Inside)

There’s an issue with online higher education that has yet to be resolved. For learners to apply for federal student loans, and for institutions to receive these Title IV funds, online or distance programs must demonstrate “regular and substantive interaction” (RSI) between students and instructors. There’s just one issue in following this guideline. No policymaker…