Hello UDLA friends! From the Tuesday evening dinner with USDLA Board Members at a variety of Orlando restaurants to morning yoga classes, you won’t want o miss this year’s national conference, July 17-20, at the gorgeous Wyndham Orlando Resort.
Check out planned event activities: https://usdla.org/2023-event-activities/
Last call for Hotel reservations at $129 per night: https://usdla.org/2023-hotel-registration/
View the entire conference schedule: https://usdla.org/2023-schedule/
Today, we also bring you:
- A letter from our outgoing president, Eric Jones
- Q&A with our sponsor WolfVision — be sure to stop by Booth 14 to say hello!
- An invitation to participate in a research study on School Leadership, Culture, and Teacher Well-Being from Amie Bergersen & Peter Demerath of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Scroll down for all that! And if you haven’t already registered, click here to join us in Orlando: https://usdla.org/2023-registration/
We’ll see you soon! — The USDLA Communications team
A Parting Note from USDLA President Eric Jones, 2022-2023
Dear USDLA family and friends — I am thrilled to share with you my wonderful experience over the past year as the 2022-23 President of USDLA. It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve in this capacity and I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such an amazing team.
Over the past year, our team has made great strides in advancing the field of distance learning. We have faced unprecedented challenges, but the dedication and commitment of our team have propelled us forward. I am proud to say that we have emerged stronger and more united than ever before. We have achieved many milestones and made significant progress in enhancing the quality of distance learning. We have fostered meaningful collaboration and partnerships with other organizations to create a framework for bettering education.
I am grateful for the amazing team that supported me throughout my tenure and who contributed to the positive momentum and growth of USDLA. Their unwavering dedication, high level of professionalism, and collective skill sets helped us create a strong foundation that positions USDLA for greatness for many years to come.
As I reflect on the past year, I am filled with a sense of hope and optimism for the future of USDLA. With Chuck Sengstock taking the reins as our next President and Pat Cassella continuing as Executive Director, the direction we are heading in is truly inspiring, and I have no doubt that USDLA will continue to be the leader in the field of distance learning.
Thank you once again for affording me the opportunity to serve as the 2022-23 President of USDLA. I look forward to the bright future ahead and I am excited to continue working with all of you as your Chairman of the Board for 2023-24 as we advance our mission.
Eric Jones, President
Meet USDLA Sponsor: WolfVision
A Q&A with Marta Scoppa, director of US Sales, WolfVision
USDLA: Tell us about the history of your company and the need it is filling in the industry.
Marta: WolfVision has a long legacy of designing and manufacturing high-quality visualizers, also known as document cameras. The first Visualizer was introduced to the market in 1988 by the Company’s founder Joseph Wolf, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, in addition to the well-known line of excellent Visualizers, WolfVision developed all-in-one presentation and collaboration solutions called Cynap, ideal for classrooms, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and courtrooms. Think of WolfVision’s Cynap solutions as an “all-in-one” powerful content aggregator, providing users with a wireless presentation, collaboration, and web conferencing solutions capable of simultaneously supporting collaboration for in-person and remote participants in classrooms and lecture halls. Meant to be the AV centerpiece of a room, Cynap solutions allow our users to scale down the hardware footprint of the technology significantly, eliminating rack space without sacrificing any of the functionality in the room.
USDLA: What have been your organization’s biggest challenges?
Marta: In general, learning in real-time the needs and challenges of our customers to be better equipped to solve technological challenges facing education, business, healthcare, and government organizations.
USDLA: What are your big wins?
Marta: We are proud that our solutions are used on many universities and college campuses, in the United States and across the world. It is especially rewarding when our solutions positively impact the lives of faculty and students and when our technology delivers a durable, cost-effective, and flexible approach to in-person and hybrid learning.
USDLA: Who is your ideal client, and how has the business grown in recent years?
Marta: Anyone interested in providing thoughtful, flexible, and scalable technology that can adapt to and support the ever-changing demands of today’s learning environment and workplace.
USDLA: How has USDLA been helpful in your efforts?
Marta: WolfVision is a new member of the USDLA, and we are excited to be part of this organization. We strive to learn from our members and to contribute to the organization’s goals. Above all, we hope to build long-lasting partnerships with USDLA members and partners.
USDLA: What does the future look like for your organization?
Marta: With an eye always towards the future, WolfVision continues to invest heavily in research and development. We are committed to pursuing innovation and excellence and delivering products synonymous with quality, durability, and value.
About WolfVision: A leading global developer and manufacturer of award-winning presentation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing systems and solutions, WolfVision’s systems are used worldwide. Clients include leading universities and other educational institutions in corporate meeting spaces during presentations, meetings, web conferences, training sessions, and demonstrations, and they are also used in courtrooms for viewing and management of judicial evidence. WolfVision worldwide headquarters is located in the Vorarlberg region of Austria, Europe, and we have regional offices in the USA, Germany, Japan, Singapore, India, Dubai, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Our systems and solutions are available and supported worldwide via our global distribution, sales, and service network. At WolfVision, when people have something to say, getting the message across and making an impact should be as easy as possible. Our presentation and collaboration solutions aim to help our customers communicate better and share knowledge, whether the audience is in the same room or on the other side, because knowledge matters — to all of us. Learn more at wolfvision.com.
Research of the Week: You are invited to participate in a survey on School Leadership, Culture, and Teacher Well-Being
An invitation from Amie Bergersen & Peter Demerath, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Question: How is your well-being impacted by your school leaders and culture? We are conducting a research study through the University of Minnesota, looking at the specific actions leaders can take that impact well-being. You are invited to participate if you identify as a teacher in the United States. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Background Information: We are conducting a study to understand better the connections between school leadership, culture, and teacher well-being and to determine how leadership and culture influence teacher well-being. The survey results will inform and shape the development of concrete recommendations leaders can take to improve teacher well-being.
Procedures: If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete a short survey. The survey should take about 15 minutes. You may also choose to participate in an optional focus group (60 minutes).
Risks and Benefits of Being in the Study: There are no immediate or expected risks for participating in the survey. The survey is completely confidential. There are also no immediate or expected benefits for you for participating in the survey.
Confidentiality: Records for this study will be kept private and stored in university-approved programs. This includes all survey responses, transcripts of focus groups and interviews, and any other information that is shared. The two researchers will only access your information and will be deidentified prior to sharing any results or reporting. Any reports that may be published will not include information that makes it possible to identify participants.
Voluntary Nature of the Study: Your decision on whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with the University. You may choose to exit the study at any time.
Contacts and Questions: The researchers conducting this study are Amie Bergersen and Peter Demerath. If you have questions, now or later, you are encouraged to contact them at berg2939@umn.edu and pwd@umn.edu.
This research has been reviewed and approved by an IRB within the Human Research Protections Program (HRPP). To share feedback privately with the HRPP about your research experience, call the Research Participants’ Advocate Line at 612-625-1650 (Toll-Free: 1-888-224-8636) or go to z.umn.edu/participants. You are encouraged to contact the HRPP if:
- Your questions, concerns, or complaints are not being answered by the research team.
- You cannot reach the research team.
- You want to talk to someone besides the research team.
- You have questions about your rights as a research participant.
- You want to get information or provide input about this research.
You may have a copy of this form to keep for your records.
Click here to participate: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aVj11GRmvU5WMWW