Getting to know ELI (the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative)

EmergingEdTech has been a fan of EDUCAUSE for years now, but this particular initiative had slipped under our radar until we came across it last week.

“While EDUCAUSE serves those interested in advancing higher education through technology, ELI specifically explores innovative technologies and practices that advance learning. As these innovations mature, ELI works with the larger EDUCAUSE community to integrate them into the higher education mainstream.” Check out their About page for a more complete overview.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) began as the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, which began in 1994, when most campuses had adopted information technology to some degree for administrative purposes, but not many saw it as part of their learning environment. NLII was a part of Educom at the time, and sought to bring about systemic change in higher education by identifying how technology could facilitate effective teaching and learning. In August 2004, the NLII examined its position in the market and the changes that might the organization stronger, and this ultimately resulted in a transition to the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) as it exists today.

The ELI Web Page contains a breadth of Resources, including the following:

• Links to events, like the 2012 ELI Annual Meeting (to be held Feb 13 – 15 in Austin Texas, but it will also have an expanded online presence).
• Podcasts and Video presentations and interviews
• A variety of upcoming online Focus Sessions and Seminars noted on the Events page, as well as Proceedings from those past.
• Another ELI resource we like is the “Learners” page, which groups resources into 3 subgroups – Net Generation Learners, Adults, and Faculty.
• EDUCAUSE's first e-Book, “Educating the Net Generation“, published in 2005 (but still an informative and relevant read), as well as a variety of additional resources.

Stop by the ELI site today and learn about the resource available there, and get involved if you wish!

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