June 2008 News

Posted June 4, 2008

Lester Ray, a development executive with Apple Inc., hosted the afternoon session of UD's Summer Faculty Institute on Tuesday, June 3, in Gore Hall, during which he addressed the frequent divide between technologically savvy college students and traditional lecture hall teaching practices.

Ray opened his presentation with "Did You Know," a YouTube podcast produced by Shift Happens, that cites jaw-dropping demographic, educational and Internet-use statistics all pointing toward a worldwide shift in information sharing and learning. (Click here to see the podcast.) Ray then shared tips on how university-level educators can best reach students and boost instruction time through the use of computer-based technologies.

“The amount of technological information is more than doubling every two years,” Ray said, “and we live in a much more competitive environment than we've ever lived in before.”

He focused particularly on the educational value of podcasts and emphasized their versatility and portability before making the point that in this day and age “digital environments can happen anywhere.

“Syndication feeds for playback on portable devices enhance the possibilities for both transmitting and receiving information,” Ray said. “And podcasting is not just one thing. It's a range of resources.”

Ray outlined the different types of podcasts, from simple audio feeds to video and audio feeds to enhanced podcasts, and addressed the uses of each, as well as his own strategies for creating them, before capping his lecture with examples of effective podcasts and opening the floor to questions and answers.

“The technology isn't the hard part,” he said. “The hard part is finding out how to enrich learning and make best use of class time.”

June 2-6, 2008 The 2008 Summer Faculty Institute to be held June 2-6 will focus on matching technology tools to learning goals. Come and explore the connections between technology and teaching and learning. Building upon what you want your students to learn, this institute will present an overview of the myriad choices of technologies available and guide participants toward specific strategies for their teaching.

Friday, June 6, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

About this session
UD's Exemplary Use of Technology in Teaching Award winners will showcase their award-winning projects at the 2008 Summer Faculty Institute from 1:30–3:00 p.m., Friday, June 6, in 127 Memorial Hall.  The Award seeks to identify and reward faculty for incorporating technology into their teaching to enhance their students' learning experience.

This year's winners will each receive $500 to use for professional development or to support their efforts with technology in teaching. The projects were evaluated based on criteria set by a panel of judges from various University units.

About the presenters
The honorees are:

• Cihan Cobanoglu, associate professor of hotel, restaurant, and institutional management, for the eXperimental guest room project at the UD Courtyard by Marriot;
• Bernard McKenna, assistant professor of english, for a student-produced scholarly edition of an Ismael Reed notebook;
• Tricia Wachtendorf, assistant professor of sociology, for multimedia-based research of current issues in disaster relief; and
• Meredith Wesolowski, adjunct professor of biology, for an online instructional environment using Second Life and other tools.

UDaily article, "Exemplary Use of Technology in Teaching Awards presentations set June 6."

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Thursday, June 5, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

About this session
It was not long ago that producing multimedia digital content required expensive equipment and technical expertise; we are at a point now where we can create compelling content with nothing more complex than a web browser. This presentation reviews lessons learned from exploring 50 web sites for creating content via slide shows, timelines, media mixers, comic strips and presentation makers—and shows how the same story can be told 50 different ways. This session will conclude with a discussion of the 2008 New Media Consortium/EDUCAUSE Horizon Report.

About the presenter
From 1981–1986, Levine attended the University of Delaware where he earned a BS in Geology, minor in Computer Science and a Phi Beta Kappa key before heading west. After a Masters in Geology at Arizona State University, Levine accepted a position as Programmer Analyst/Instructional Systems at the Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction (MCLI). Projects on the MCLI web site, like the Ocotillo, the Maricopa Learning eXchange and Feed2JS furthered his expertise in this area. In 2002, his interests took him into blogging, RSS, and other Web 2.0 technologies. In April 2006, he joined the New Media Consortium (NMC) where he is the Vice President, Community and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He provides service to more than 260 member organizations via web tools, resources and communications. He is the lead technical designer and planner for all NMC web resources, facilitates face-to-face and online conference events and conducts research and support for the NMC Horizon Report. Levine blogs at cogdogblog.com.

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Wednesday, June 4, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. article go

About this session
This session highlights practical ways to apply technology to improve instruction and learning. An overview of podcasts, digital filmmaking, and mini-documentaries will demonstrate innovative ways to merge media with course content. In small groups, we will explore simple ways to enhance your pedagogy with technology.

About the presenter
Kimberly Dyar is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher employed as a media specialist at Rising Sun Middle School. She holds a M.Ed. from Frostburg State University. Her teaching career has spanned both public and private schools in grades K-12. In addition, she has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at Frostburg State University and McDaniel College. Since completing the American Film Institute’s Screen Education program, she has taught filmmaking to teachers and students. Dyar serves on the Technology User Support Team for Cecil County Public Schools and provides ongoing professional development opportunities to faculty.

A student panel is also scheduled as part of the afternoon session.

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Tuesday, June 3, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

About this session
Ray will present an interactive talk about the impact of technology on a changing profile of learners. Ray's wide-ranging talk will delve into enhancing curricular pieces that have been a problem, globalization, and how to best engage students using laptops in the classroom.

About the presenter
In his work with Apple, Inc., Ray has conducted large-scale professional development events for educators such as designing and delivering the hands-on technology training for the State of Maine’s one-to-one laptop initiative. As administrator in the South Brunswick School District, Ray managed staff and budgets to provide staff development and new programs and courses. Before becoming an administrator, Ray taught biology, chemistry and physics at the high school level. At Ramapo College, Ray assisted in the development of the Masters of Educational Technology and designed and delivered the foundation course “Linking the Mind, Technology and Learning.” Ray has a long and diverse involvement in environmental education, ranging from scout leader to president of the statewide environmental education organization. Serving on the Governor’s Environmental Education Commission under three administrations, he was involved in the crafting of New Jersey’s environmental standards for education. Recently, Ray has applied his experience in Geographical Information Systems and environmental education to develop the watershed component of Revitalizing Science Teaching and Remote Sensing Technology (RST2).

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Monday, June 2, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Welcoming remarks
Havidán Rodríguez,
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and International Programs

Opening plenary presentation
Selecting Sakai Tools Based on How People Learn
Fred Hofstetter, Professor of Education

About this session
Faculty members require a wide range of instructional strategies to meet the diverse needs of students. Sakai offers flexibility by enabling faculty to decide which tools will be available to students. From the assignment feedback system, the chat room and forums, to the testing, grading, wikis, blogs and podcasts, the Sakai tool set has proven invaluable to students progressing toward their goals. Hofstetter will provide evidence of the success of Sakai’s potential based on student achievement, course evaluations and survey results.

About the presenter
Hofstetter is Professor of Education at the University of Delaware. He is the author of Internet Literacy and Advanced Web Design among other books. He works with other faculty to offer graduate programs in educational technology at the master’s and doctoral levels.  Hofstetter has participated as a pilot user of Sakai and a member of the Learning Management System committee.

Faculty panel session on Sakai
Following Professor Hofstetter's presentation, four other faculty members who have also piloted the use of Sakai (Fall '07 and Spring '08 courses) will share their experiences in a panel discussion. The panelists, who teach in four different disciplines, and their students used a wide range of Sakai tools for communication, collaboration, content distribution, assignments, and evaluation/feedback. Therefore, this panel discussion should help attendees project which Sakai tools will work in their courses, what issues they might face in coverting a course from WebCT, and what other issues Sakai might raise.

Richard Gordon (moderator),
Computer & Information Sciences

Spring Davidson,
Accounting & MIS

Don Lehman,
Medical Technology

Bob Simons,
Psychology

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June 2-6, 2008 Registration is free but required for all sessions. Space is limited, so early registration is advised.

All members of the campus community are invited to attend the keynote and general sessions. The institute seeks to further the connections between technology and teaching and learning.

The institute is co-sponsored by IT-User Services, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education, Office of Educational Assessment and the University Library.