Hear from others about the kind of work that I have provided over the years working with many different institutions and faculty to improve the teaching and learning experience for everyone.
Lance provided multiple faculty development sessions at the Urban College of Boston during Fall 2022. He spent careful time working to understand the unique position of our entirely adjunct faculty, our multilingual student population, and our campus technology landscape. He crafted college specific training materials that the faculty are still raving about – and the live-virtual sessions were the top reviewed offerings of the semester. I’m so glad we asked Lance to join us as part of our faculty development series.
Dr. Danielle Leek, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Urban College of Boston
Lance was invited to Providence College to speak on Open Education Resources during our faculty Instructional Technology summer institute in June 2021. He did a wonderful job working with both faculty familiar with (and using) OER and faculty being introduced to open pedagogy and resources for the first time. The discussion was lively, fun, and our faculty felt it was a great use of their time. I highly recommend Lance and we will be asking him to come back!
Julie A. Cicilline, Providence College. OER’s Secret Level: Open Pedagogy And Empowering Student Engagement
Lance Eaton facilitated a two-part virtual workshop on Open Pedagogy to TCU faculty interested in community-based learning. It was a pleasure to work with Lance to develop the plan for the workshop. He created online materials and led the initial session to provide the basics for adopting Open Pedagogy, challenging faculty to practice some of the tools before re-grouping three weeks later to discuss their experiences. Faculty members in attendance were very intrigued by the topic and developed innovative approaches to increase student engagement and agency. I was very satisfied with the balance between theory and hands-on activities Lance incorporated in his facilitation. He certainly contributed to enhancing teaching and learning for instructors and their students.
Rosangela Boyd, PhD, Texas Christian University. Beyond the Semester: Using Open Pedagogy to Make Learning & Activities Have Lasting Impact
We invited Lance to offer a three-part workshop series on HyFlex Pedagogy to prepare our faculty for the Fall semester. The sessions were held remotely on Zoom to facilitate social distancing. Lance was able to engage faculty from a variety of departments and with a variety of technological abilities, helping to ease some of their concerns about preparing for the Fall semester. At each workshop, he provided valuable resources and group activities to help faculty map out their courses and anticipate potential issues they might encounter. Faculty appreciated how Lance balanced sharing his own ideas and experience with letting faculty hear from their colleagues.
To add to the concerns of preparing for a HyFlex semester, the workshop took place right when a hurricane hit Connecticut, leaving some of our faculty without power for several days. Lance was understanding and flexible, working with us to shift the workshop so that faculty wouldn’t miss out on the content. I highly recommend Lance as a professional development facilitator. Thanks for an engaging program!
Kaitlin M. Walsh, University of Saint Joseph. Hybrid Flexible During a Pandemic Workshop
“Lance Eaton spoke at Franklin Pierce University on the topic of open pedagogy. I had heard him speak at a workshop on OER and thought he would be a good fit for the digital literacy initiative we are pursuing at Pierce. Besides providing an overview of open pedagogy, Eaton provided numerous examples of how he is applying its principles in the classes he has taught (popular culture, American Literature, among others). Some of these included having students edit existing Wikipedia pages and create blogs in order to create a kind of “digital footprint” for themselves that will help them when they begin their job search.
While obviously an advocate of open pedagogy, Lance was quick to provide numerous caveats. Faculty hoping to adopt its principles should break themselves in slowly. And not all students will respond positively to open pedagogical methods. Some may be overwhelmed by the possibility of helping to shape the content of their courses. “
Lance also discussed some leading scholars in the field, among them Maha Bali,
Paul O. Jenkins, Franklin Pierce University. Open Pedagogy: Doing By Discipline. January 2019.
“Lance was invited to come to the Community College of Rhode Island and, in a half-day workshop, inspire faculty to develop a culture of reflective practice. He was generous with his time and expertise throughout the planning process to share his knowledge with our faculty. It is a testament to his ability to engage authentically with our faculty and his command of a diverse set of teaching practices that he met this challenge and exceeded our expectations. His presentation embodied the principles he was advocating through regular points of reflection and sharing. “
Karen Bellnier, Community College of Rhode Island. Let’s Get Critical: Reflection, Inclusion, and Open Praxis in Teaching and Learning,
“We invited Lance to speak at our institution’s summer institute in July 2019. The sessions were conducted at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Lance connected with us via web conference from Boston. The presentation and keynote was well received and incredible! The topic was on accessibility in online learning and the faculty and staff who attended the session enjoyed the talk and have referred back to the keynote. A big thank you to Lance Eaton!”
Rachael Afolabi Royes, Carlow University. The Struggle Is Real & Often, Invisible: Accessibility and Universal Design for Online Learning
“Lance Eaton’s plenary presentation titled “Fundamentals of OER: Everyone gets Pi” was the highlight of our Professional Development Day at Bunker Hill CC. Lance is a lively and relatable speaker. His command over the topic of Open Educational Resources and engaging style resonated well with Mathematics faculty. The material was engaging and hands-on. Lance’s mid-session cellphone activity energized the audiences. Participants took away real knowledge and actionable tips related to curating, implementing, licensing, and sharing, to use in development of OER courses. After walking off the podium, he was met with several of the participants, all waiting off-stage to further interact with him. Lance continued to bond with them off-stage by sharing his expertise. Lance consistently received high ratings on quality, content, and understanding in our feedback survey.”
Swati M. Kellar, Bunker Hill Community College, Making Sure Everyone Gets Pi: The Fundamentals of OER, January 2018.
” Lance Eaton conducted a session titled “Choice by Design: Using Hybrid Flexible Pedagogy to Empower Students” at the South Carolina Technical College System’s annual Faculty Institute. Faculty from the 16 technical/community colleges were given resources to aid in the pedagogical process. Lance’s presentation style and knowledge about the subject kept the audience engaged throughout the session. Due to the positive feedback from Lance’s session at the Faculty Institute, we invited him to conduct a webinar for faculty and staff across the state. The webinar, “Let’s Talk: Strategies for Meaningful Discussions & Rewarding Group Projects in Online Courses,” was our most popular session for 2018. Participants learned how to improve discussions in online courses, engage online students in meaningful group projects, and various other methods to engage students in online courses. Lance’s ability to engage audiences and openness and flexibility to the audience needs makes him a joy to work with on professional development training.”
“Lance delivered a workshop on digital service-learning for faculty and staff to help us expand civic engagement opportunities beyond the boundaries of time and location. He was very knowledgeable on the subject and his experience as a faculty member and instructional designer proved essential and useful in encouraging newcomers into the field of service-learning.
He brought great energy, exceptional personal skills, professionalism, and expertise to the workshop. His sense of humor, strong work ethic, and passion for learning make him one the most dedicated and enthusiastic individuals with whom I’ve had the pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Lance as a facilitator and educator. He will bring his extensive skills, knowledge, and experience to help create an effective and engaging learning experience to your faculty and institution. “
Melba Acevedo. Northern Essex Community College. Digital Service Learning: Taking Volunteering Online. November 2016.
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