Santa Fe
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
Site and Participant Information
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, NM
Share, Connect, Collaborate, and Renew
OTESSA25 in Santa Fe, NM, is a scholarly colloquium fostering interdisciplinary dialogue in educational technology and instructional design. Using the World Café model, the event will promote idea sharing and collaborative problem-solving.
We invite proposals addressing Grand Challenges in research, design, and policy, focusing on global educational issues such as learner stress, promoting democratic ideals, accessibility, and equity. Submissions should critically frame problems, explore the role of instructional design and technology (IDT) in addressing issues, and align with international frameworks like UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Our Approach – The World Café
The World Café methodology is a flexible and structured approach to facilitating large-group dialogue, guided by seven integrated design principles. It creates a welcoming, café-style environment where small groups engage in multiple rounds of discussion, rotating tables on a set schedule to encourage diverse perspectives. A host introduces the process, setting the context and etiquette, while carefully crafted questions guide conversations. Insights from these discussions are shared collectively so all participants can learn from the collective wisdom of all. This process includes developing and workshopping possible publications towards a special issue in the OTESSA Journal. See the full call for proposals for details on the process and the deadline for a ~2,500 draft to be shared with other participants. We will provide more details upon acceptance of proposals.
Located in the Land of Enchantment
Santa Fe, New Mexico, the oldest capital city in the U.S., is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, adobe architecture, and vibrant arts scene. Nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, it blends Indigenous, Hispanic, and Anglo influences. The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, located on Museum Hill, is a premier institution dedicated to Native American history, art, and traditions. It features extensive collections of pottery, textiles, and jewelry, alongside contemporary Indigenous works. Through exhibitions, research, and education, the museum preserves and celebrates Native cultures, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the region’s diverse and enduring Indigenous heritage.
Santa Fe and the surrounding areas are also home to hiking and biking trails, national parks, and welcoming day spas (like Ojo Santa Fe).
OTESSA-US Chairs
Stephanie Moore
Matthew Schmidt
Jason McDonald
Keynote (Online – full OTESSA Conference)
Thomas C. Reeves
Professor Emeritus
Department of Workforce Education and Instructional Technology,
University of Georgia
Thomas (Tom) C. Reeves, PhD is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at The University of Georgia. He was a Fulbright Lecturer in Peru and has given invited presentations in the USA and more than 30 other countries. He is the former editor of the Journal of Interactive Learning Research, and the author of nearly 200 scholarly papers. His co-authored books include Interactive Learning Systems Evaluation, A Guide to Authentic E-Learning, Conducting Educational Design Research (two editions), MOOCs and Open Education Around the World, and MOOCs and Open Education in the Global South. His research interests encompass educational technology in developing countries, educational design research, medical and public health education, and prison education. He currently lives at The Spires at Berry College in Rome, Georgia with his wife, Patricia M. Reeves, Professor Emerita of Social Work at The University of Georgia, and their two West Highland Terriers, Zipper and Button.
Dr. Reeves will join OTESSA virtually to discuss themes he has published on recently such as focusing our research and practical scholarship on problems and needs instead of things or tools. His keynote helps to frame our efforts in the Santa Fe colloquium to develop a strategic framework for research focused on grand challenges related to instructional design and educational technologies.
Reframing Togetherness: Shifting our focus from technology to problems
Keeping in mind the overall theme of “Reframing Togetherness,” this presentation will emphasize the need to change the focus of our research in educational technology from “things” such as Generative AI or Virtual Reality to serious problems such as educational inequity or absenteeism. Unfortunately, much of our research continues to be focused on things rather than problems. Today, I will present an updated and more urgent perspective on this issue. I will recommend three important directions for research in our field.
1. We must conduct research in ways that influence practice.
2. Our research must rigorously account for time-on-task and other hidden factors.
3. Our research must clarify the nature of innovations using a common set of critical learning design factors.
Keynote (Onsite – Santa Fe)
Brad Hokanson
Professor, Graphic Design
Design Graduate Program Director
Mertie Buckman Professor of Design
University of Minnesota
Brad Hokanson is Emeritus Professor of Design at the University of Minnesota. He has a diverse academic record, including degrees in art (Carleton), architecture (Minnesota), urban design (Harvard), and received his PhD in Instructional Technology from the University of Minnesota.
He teaches in the area of creative problem solving and has published research in the fields of creativity and educational technology. He won his college’s awards for outstanding teaching in 2002 and 2008, and served as the Mertie Buckman Professor of Design Education from 2016–2021. His most recent book on the development of creativity is Developing Creative Thinking Skills: An Introduction for Learners.
He served as President of the Association of Educational Communication and Technology in 2017 and as Interim President in 2020. Visits to Buenos Aires, when possible, support his Argentine tango habit.
He is currently working as a faculty coordinator with the University of Minnesota College in the Schools, a state funded program to allow for-credit courses to be taught in high schools by trained high school teachers. His Creative Problem Solving course is offered in four high schools, with performance comparable to his on-campus course.
Seeking Design Questions: Finding and Framing
Finding and approaching a problem is one of the essential skills for a designer in any field. It is not one that is organized or constrained by a recipe of steps; there is no list or dictum, but rather, it is an exploratory process guided by the beliefs, ideas, values and skill of the designer. This finding and framing of any problem is critical for “The formulation of a problem, is often more essential than its solution…”(Einstein and Infeld, 1938),
At the beginning of the digital age of education, designers began by replicating the simplest forms of teaching while straining out the more complex aspects of learning. We now have come to more favorably view the richer and more engaging aspects of the educational process. Solving challenging problems involves investigation, hypotheses, concepts, perceptions, which are all examined and tested, providing rich rewards. We seek designs with depth that advance learning and education.
It is a process that seeks questions and finds solutions in a myriad of ways. It is the richness of design, with complex and contradictory solutions. We proceed by finding more questions than those included in a design brief or problem description, and in framing a different understanding of a design challenge.
As designers, we must “…produce novel, unexpected solutions, tolerate uncertainty, work with incomplete information, apply imagination and constructive forethought to practical problems and use drawings and other modeling media as a means to problem solving” (Cross, 1999).
Visiting Santa Fe
Flights / Travel
- Santa Fe: Major airlines have flights into Santa Fe (recommended)
- Albuquerque: The ABQ airport is larger, but is 1 hour away. Major airlines have flights into ABQ.
- If you prefer this option, then we would recommend getting a rental car.
- There is also a train – the Rail Runner – that you can catch near the airport that has a stop in Santa Fe – Santa Fe Depot – which is 0.6 miles from Santa Fe Plaza (or 0.5 to 1 miles from most hotels and the plaza). For those considering this option, we strongly recommend that you research and plan the shuttle and van connections to and from the train stops.
- Travel from hotel to MIAC – most hotels are 1.5-2 miles away
- May be walkable for some / many (Google Maps estimates 30-40 minute walks from most hotels)
- Recommend Uber / Lyft / cab or rental car
- If necessary, Stephanie can shuttle in her car or enlist spousal support using our van 🙂
Hotels
Most hotel options are ~1.5 miles (~30-minute walk) from MIAC, as they are just blocks away from downtown Santa Fe with access to dining, shops, and other museums, and the railyards (the site for a wonderful weekend farmer’s market). There are too many options to list, so this is a curated list across different budget ranges (attempted to order by price for June 4-7). We encourage attendees to research further options.
- El Sendero Inn
- Hotel Santa Fe (note: very popular; prices can change quickly)
- El Farolito Bed & Breakfast Inn
- Las Palomas (further away, 2.3 miles)
- Four Kachinas Inn
- The Parador Santa Fe
- La Fonda on the Plaza (note: very popular; prices and availability can change quickly)
Things to Do
Museums and Art Galleries:
- NUMEROUS Museums and Art Galleries – too many to list. Several are very close to MIAC. Many others are in the Santa Fe Plaza area in easy walking distance of hotels in the area, such as the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
- Right by MIAC:
- Santa Fe Botanical Garden;
- Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian;
- Museum of International Folk Art;
- New Mexico Heritage Arts Museum
Hiking:
Close to MIAC – Sun Mountain Trailhead (moderate)
Near Santa Fe: there are numerous trailheads around Santa Fe, in different directions. If this is of interest, we recommend getting a rental car to be able to drive to different trailheads.
Dining and shopping:
There are numerous shops and restaurants in downtown Santa Fe, right within easy walking distance of most hotels & inns. We recommend staying in a hotel
Popular dining:
Most will be on or near the Plaza or the Railyards
- La Fonda on the Plaza (recommend making reservations; $20-40; Stephanie’s father thinks these are the best chili rellenos around)
- Plaza Cafe Downtown ($10-20, easy walk for most hotels)
- Pantry Rio ($10-20, easy walk for most hotels)
- Tia Sophia’s ($10-20, easy walk for most hotels)
- Santa Fe Teahouse & Bistro (very limited parking but a paradise if you love tea and brunch like Stephanie does 🙂 )
- Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen ($10-20 but further out; breakfast and lunch)
In the area:
Most people come for the museums and art galleries, which are close to most hotels, so you can take in a lot just nearby, within walking distance. But if you want to stay a while and explore more, here are some recommendations:
- Meow Wolf (described as “immersive art;” $$$)
- Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort (day visits without overnight stays are very popular)
Santa Fe Farmers Market (Saturday mornings, at the Railyards near the depot)