April 2008 News

Posted April 29, 2008 Two UD student-produced video documentaries on the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and on Hurricane Katrina in 2005 will be shown from 2:30-4 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, in 204 Kirkbride Hall.

The documentaries were produced as coursework for a UD sociology/ women's studies seminar on disaster, vulnerability and development that required students to interview researchers, disaster relief workers and volunteers who responded to the natural disasters. The documentaries also incorporate footage collected by UD's Disaster Research Center during field studies.

Tricia Wachtendorf, assistant professor of sociology at UD, said that the project gave students the opportunity to work creatively and collaboratively on presenting what they learned in the seminar and to hear first-hand accounts of the large-scale relief efforts.

The free public event, which will be followed by question-and-answer sessions moderated by student producers, is cosponsored by the Disaster Research Center and UD's student chapter of the Earthquake, Engineering Research Institute. For more information, call (302) 831-1254.

Posted April 14, 2008 The deadline to nominate yourself or a colleague for the “Exemplary Use of Technology in Teaching” award is April 30. You can complete an online nomination form.

The award identifies and rewards faculty members who incorporate technology into their teaching to enhance student learning. Winners will each receive $500 to use for professional development or to enhance their teaching with technology. The number of award winners each year depends on the number of submissions and the evaluation by the judges.

Over the past 3 years, award winners have come from departments across campus: Dorrie Deluca, accounting and management information systems; Jingyi Yu, computer and information sciences; Nancy Edwards, individual and family studies; Jennifer Lambe, communication; Richard Hanley, philosophy; and Chandra Reedy, art history.

Because the award is designed to recognize individual faculty efforts, technology applications that have been completely designed and implemented by academic support units are not eligible.

This year, the nominations will be judged by

• James Dean, Professor, English (2005 award recipient),
• Kathy Pusecker, Outcomes Assessment Analyst, Office of Educational Assessment, and
• Pat Sine, Director, Office of Educational Technology.

Award recipients will be notified May 9 and awards will be presented during the Summer Faculty Institute (June 2-6).

To find out more, visit the award web site.