LTC Hosts LIFE Faculty Showcase - Feb 9, 2009

The Learning Technology Center hosted the LIFE Faculty Showcase on January 15, 2009. Several LIFE instructors described for other faculty their projects to use technology in their teaching and discussed the impact of these methods on their students.

The LIFE program has always brought faculty together at the beginning of semesters, but lately, these gatherings have been technology workshops or presentations around a particular topic. “We brought back the showcase format with faculty describing their own accomplishments with technology in instruction,” says LIFE Coordinator Chad Fulton. “And with 25 faculty attending and the feedback I’ve gotten, it’s been a great success.”

Melissa Mosely, Assistant Professor in Curriculum & Instruction, appreciated the new perspectives she gained by attending. “I visited several stations that challenged my thinking about the use of technology in the preservice literacy classroom, in particular the presentation of my colleague, Brent Hasty, on service/learning iMovies. I am now asking my students to consider the mode of the presentation at the beginning of a project so that they can learn through the use of the technology tools.”

Mary Claire Gerwels, an instructor in Educational Psychology, used discussion boards so that her students could exchange ideas with Korean students and discuss differences in teaching in the two countries. Lynn Surrette, Curriculum and Instruction, described how her students used the College’s e-Portfolio system to create records of their professional development. Sherry Langston, Curriculum and Instruction, asked her students to video record and analyze their teaching, and also in Curriculum and Instruction, Brent Hasty’s students reflected on their citizenship projects with short iMovie videos. Dottie Hall and AJ Welton, Curriculum and Instruction, described their use of blogs to streamline student communications and assignments. Diane LaGrone, with the UTeach Liberal Arts program, discussed the pros and cons of using blogs and Facebook.

Many of these instructors received help from the LTC’s IDEA Studio to determine what technologies would best achieve their instructional goals. Says Coordinator Karen French, “The IDEA Studio helps faculty get started with the technology and define instructional outcomes.”

Several faculty who attended the Showcase have since come to visit the IDEA Studio. They were inspired by the presentations to start developing their own instructional technology projects. That outcome is the best indication of the Showcase’s success.

—Laurie Caldwell, LTC Communications Coordinator

Related Sites:

• LIFE Program
• IDEA Studio