Mr. Nicolo Bates is the CEO and founder of TEDU Inc. The mission of the TEDU (pronounced "tee-doo") is to enable higher education with sophisticated academic support technologies so that no student is left without access to the help they need to perform to their best ability in each class. To learn more about this education technology company, please visit https://tedu.app/about.In the post-covid education environment, the dependence on out-of-classroom academic support to combat compounding learning loss has never been higher. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Nicolo will review innovative practices to increase student participation and access to academic support programs, while also improving student-deficiency data collection and analysis practices. To hear TEDU's CEO and founder speak on this topic, please join us at this year's 35th anniversary conference by registering at usdla.org. In our next podcast episode, we'll be joined by Will Bowden, who will preface his USDLA keynote speech by sharing a few soundbites about how the Complaint Free Movement. To stay up to date with upcoming episodes and USDLA events, please follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast. Thank you!

Dr. Makola M. Abdullah is the President of Virginia State University. An internationally-renowned educator recognized for outstanding research, Dr. Abdullah is a leader and academic visionary committed to excellence. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Dr. Abdullah will keep us motivated mid-week with a speech addressing the profound pandemic shift and its impact on the distance learning community. To hear VSU President Abdullah speak, please join us at this year's 35th anniversary conference by registering at usdla.org. In our next podcast episode, we'll be joined by Nicolo Bates, who will preface his presentation by sharing a few soundbites about best practices academic support services. To stay up to date with upcoming episodes and USDLA events, please follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast. Thank you!

Dr. Kelvin Thompson is the Executive Director of the University of Central Florida Center for Distributed Learning and Co-Host of the TOPcast Teaching Online Podcast. In this special NDLW 2021 edition of the USDLA Soundbites podcast, Dr. Thompson and NDLW producer, Dr. Georgianna Laws, have a conversation around the theme of this free and virtual national conference that attracted close to 500 distance-learning professionals from the U.S. and around the world. Listen to this interview to get a taste of what Dr. Thompson's keynote will be about. It is not too late to join us! To listen to Dr. Thompson's NDLW 2021 keynote live stream, and to participate in this year's conference, please register at https://usdla.org/events/2021-ndlw/#Registration

USDLA Board Member and CEO of Oiada International, Eric Jones has been opening doors to global education for many years. Oiada is a non profit organization providing award winning educational programs via videoconferencing. Over 450,000 students have participated in 50 US states and 32 countries.As part of Black History Month, Oiada International is offering two live virtual tours. "Slave Dungeon" and "Eye Opener" tours are led by tour guides in Ghana. "The Eye Opener" focuses on the reality of the African continent, fact vs. myth, not seen in modern day media. The "Slave Dungeon" is an historical account of what slaves experienced. This dungeon is the largest slave port built to hold 1500 slaves, where they spent 2 weeks to 3 months waiting for the slave ships.Tours are available through February 23rd. To register, please visit https://www.oiadaintl.org/black-history-month.

In this season finale, you will meet Dr. Shana Garrett, who serves as Dean at Walden University, overseeing the School of Criminal Justice, the School of Psychology, and the School of Public Policy and Administration. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Dr. Garrett will offer a presentation titled “Pure Heart Leadership: An Authentic Approach to Leadership Development”. Dr. Garrett authored the Pure Heart Leadership model based upon over 20 years of professional experience within higher education; utilizing several key psychology theories of Maslow, Rogers, and Bandura; and blending in a mindfulness approach to developing talent. To learn more about this model, visit https://shanagarrett.com/. In this podcast episode, Shana provides keen insights into key aspects of the Pure Heart Leadership approach and how it can benefit you on your higher-education career development journey. To participate in Dr. Garrett’s presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.Thank you for following the first season on USDLA Soundbites and please stay tuned for season two, highlighting the next major event at the United States Distance Learning Association. Please follow USDLA on social media and subscribe to this podcast, to stay up to date with upcoming USDLA events!

Tara Powers is a global thought leader on remote work and international best-selling author. She serves as CEO of Virtual Teams School (https://virtualteamschool.com/) and well as CEO of Power Resource LLC (https://powersresourcecenter.com/). She authored the book “Virtual Teams for Dummies” and her latest book, “Working From Home For Dummies” is being released this year - so stay tuned!At this year’s USDLA national conference, Ms. Powers will offer a presentation titled “How Remote Workers Can Collaborate, Communicate & Connect”. People aren’t just learning from afar; they are working that way too. Today, half of U.S. workers work remotely at least part time. Through her USDLA conference session, Tara will teach you how to collaborate, communicate, connect, and navigate technology to succeed in this transformative workplace shift to virtual work.In this podcast episode, Ms. Powers provides keen insights into key aspects leading to success in virtual teams, including strategies for onboarding remote workers, types of team assessments to use and the ideal timing of their administration, construction of effective team agreements, and much more. To participate in Tara’s presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Dr. Shana Garrett, an authentic higher-ed leader and author of the Pure Heart Leadership approach. Dr. Garrett will preface her USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites about how Pure Heart Leadership can be helpful to you.

In this episode, we are joined by two guests from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM): Dr. Langenau & Ms. Shultis. Dr. Erik Langenau is PCOM's Chief Academic Technology Officer and Director for Professional Development in Online Learning, and Ms. Brooke Shultis is the Assistant Director for the PCOM Department of Professional Development in Online Learning. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Dr. Langenau & Ms. Shultis will offer a presentation titled “Online Method to Introduce Classroom-based Faculty to 21 st Century Learning”. While professional schools of health sciences traditionally rely on face-to-face learning, classroom-based faculty have been increasing their adoption of online teaching and learning tools. In this podcast episode, Erik and Brooke discuss PCOM’s solution to bridging this unique training gap: a four-week, asynchronous, facilitated online faculty-development program called “Crash Course: Engaging Today’s Learner”. To participate in Dr. Langenau’s & Ms. Shultis’ USDLA presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual national conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Ms. Tara Powers, a global thought leader on remote work and international best-selling author. Ms. Powers will preface their USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites about ways in which remote workers can collaborate, communicate, and connect.

Ms. Carrie Purcell is head of strategy and partnerships as well as the co-founder of Tech Adaptika. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Ms. Purcell will offer a presentation titled “Live Virtual Classroom and the eLearning of Tomorrow”. Tackling some of the most prevalent challenges of eLearning today, LiVe Virtual Campus by Adaptika breaks the mold by creating an engaging new synchronous learning and collaboration environment. Employing gamified learning principles, LiVe keeps learners coming back and enables live sessions, meetings, and tutorials connecting a global community.In this podcast episode, Carrie describes the LiVe Virtual Campus by Adaptika and offers keen insights regarding the future of online learning. To participate in Ms. Purcell’s presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Dr. Erik Langenau & Ms. Brooke Shultis from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. They will preface their USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites about an online faculty-development method meant to Introduce classroom-based faculty to 21st-century learning.

Dr. Richard Tillman is an educator and research psychologist teaching at the University of Cincinnati psychology department. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Dr. Tillman will offer a presentation titled “Creating Meaningful Connections in Distance Learning When Time is Limited”. Students feel more of a connection to their classroom community when they feel valued as individuals. Yet how can this time-consuming endeavor be achieved by faculty members without self-depleting, when we know that these professionals wear so many hats and have such limited time? Some strategies Dr. Tillman shares involve strategically using high-touch approaches to connect with students through short videos, email and messaging options, and discussion-board interactions, in addition to automating anything possible.In this podcast episode, Richard offers insightful advice on how you can authentically and meaningfully engage your learners without becoming overwhelmed and without compromising your life-work balance. To participate in Dr. Tillman’s presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Carrie Purcell, co-founder of Tech Adaptika, who will preface her USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites on how the Adaptika LiVe Virtual Campus is ushering in tomorrow's eLearning solutions today.

Valery Oleinik is a fellow USDLA board of directors member, gamification expert, and all-around fascinating person. At this year’s USDLA national conference, Ms. Oleinik will offer a presentation titled “Syllabus Resuscitation: Revive Your Course Using Gamification”. If you put together some amazing course content but your learners still aren't engaged, please don’t be discouraged and know that you are not alone! Though her an interactive and collaborative conference session, Valary will help you start at the very beginning, and explore ways to turn your syllabus into a document learners don’t just gloss over but genuinely want to read!In this podcast episode, Valary talks about why learners often do not read the course syllabus and what you can do to strategically change that, among others, tapping into some of the basic principles of gamification. To participate in Ms. Oleinik’s engaging keynote presentation, please join us at this year's July 21 to 24 virtual conference by registering at usdla.org.In our next episode, we'll be joined by Dr. Richard Tillman, an educator and research psychologist teaching at the University of Cincinnati psychology department, who will preface his USDLA conference presentation by sharing a few soundbites on how faculty members can foster meaningful connections in distance learning, despite the limited time available to them.