Faculty Development
iPad Grant Program
Intended to encourage new and innovative instructional
approaches, the Emerging Technologies Committee is pleased to
announce its first Teaching Innovation Project: iPads in the
Classroom faculty development opportunity for the 2010-2011
academic year.
This project awards 20 iPads to a faculty member with an
innovative course design project. The purpose of the project is to
study the impact of mobile computing in teaching and learning
through carefully designed projects that integrate the technology
into one or more components of a course. This activity will provide
some initial findings about the impact of this technology on
teaching and learning, potentially affirm or discount the viability
of this specific technology in teaching and learning and establish
sustainability benchmarks for potential multi-year implementations
of this or similar technologies.
All full-time faculty were invited to apply for this grant, and
upon review of their proposals for unique and specialized use of
iPad technology as a learning tool, the following recipients of the
inaugural Emerging Technologies iPad grant were announced. Each
recipient is listed along with an abbreviated version of his or her
proposed project description.
- Michelle Stigter, Modern Languages, Literatures and
Cultures: The impetus to create an interactive,
communicative classroom in which students think, communicate,
breathe and occasionally even eat "auf Deutsch" has put an enormous
burden on the instructor to continuously supplement the curriculum
with realia. The iPad provides immediate and interactive access to
such tools and brings the German speaking universe to students
through use of maps, Flikr and city websites, video, apps to
enhance German essentials - such as translation and vocabulary -
allow cultural study of multiple German-speaking countries; not
just the culture of Germany, but Austrian, Swiss, German-American,
etc. The iPads will have a significant impact on teaching method
and students will be drawn into functioning in German through a
variety of listening, writing, and reading tasks in an authentic
environment.
- Marjorie Hennessy, Center for Urban Ecology:
The iPads would be incorporated into the Fall 2010 Environmental
Practicum course where students work with community partners,
stakeholders, and experts; specifically slated to work with "Lights
out Indy", a non-profit that collaborates with building managers in
downtown Indy to resolve an urban ecological issue - window strikes
and mortality of migratory birds in downtown areas due to night
lighting. The iPad technology will promote "network" material
sharing and mobility while collecting data, interviews, surveys and
other information needed to fulfill assignments. Lastly, the Center
for Urban Ecology (CUE) is working to develop a series of
smartphone apps, called "Indian Apps" through its Rain Barrel
project. At the heart of IndianApps is a computer platform that
links smart phones and handheld devices to citywide databases which
can then be openly accessed and updated by the public for data
compilation. iPads use by course participants may allow for a beta
testing launch of this App.
- Larry Lad, College Of Business: Two
sections of MG 490 - one with IPAD on without - with two
assignments proposed: a two week" state of the world"
analysis and presentation, and one week for a kick off to the
Institutions analysis and presentation project. The course will
function as analysis between a control and test group to explore
depth of inquiry outside of using PCs and library resources.
Initial question to address include: What will the iPad do to
encourage more in depth analysis and exploration? Will the
use of a control group create competition between sections? Beyond
the novelty of this tool, what new types of inquiry does it
encourage? Students also will discover some unexpected or unplanned
learning with the technology, and new ideas for teaching and growth
from observing the students as they utilize the technology will
likely be acquired.
- Kate Morris, Psychology: Many online
demonstrations relay prejudice and discrimination and use of such
demonstrations in class show students that they, themselves, can
fall prey to prejudice. Students will complete a variety of online
prejudice demonstrations and the beginning and end of the semester
to see if being a student in the course affects students'
responses. The iPad provides direct impact of the demonstrations as
they occur and subsequent class discussion on affective and
cognitive reactions to the demo. Completion of demos at
beginning and end points will gauge whether a semester course on
prejudice actually reduces prejudicial attitudes across time.
- James McGrath, Philosophy and Religion:
Explore the usefulness of iPads for interacting with classic texts
as well as for integrating student reading with other types of
academic and social interaction. Whether using iPads can allow
students to feel connected in their reading experience, commenting
in an interactive and communal fashion on the same texts, will
depend on the existence or otherwise of apps that can facilitate
this. Nevertheless, through the use of Blackboard and Facebook,
space can be created that can allow students to move between texts
and discussion of them. Ultimately, the only way to discover what
will and will not work effectively (if at all) when all students in
a class have iPads is to give them iPads and see what happens.
- Andrea Gullickson, Music: Ear training
and sight singing assists students to develop skills that allow
integrated knowledge of music theory with the art of making music.
Incorporation of certain applications (Karajan Pro, Do Re Mi,
Virtuoso) will provide a multi-sensory and small group approach to
class exercises. Rather than solely aural identification of an
interval, use of the iPad allows students to identify the interval
and also see the piano keys associated with the interval - both
enhancing the experience of visual learners and adding a useful
tactile component. The iPad will promote collaboration
outside of class and allow students to experience coursework on a
multi-sensory level with instant feedback - reducing anxiety of
those with no previous experience with theory and/or aural
training.
Transforming Teaching through Technology
Eight faculty from across the university community Were selected
for the inaugural Transforming Teaching Through Technology faculty
workshop held August 2-4, 2010. This program was jointly sponsored
by the Office of the Provost and the Center for Academic
Technology. Each participant submitted an application describing a
pedagogical experience, problem or question they wished to explore.
Over the summer, along with Center for Academic Technology staff
and faculty colleagues, participants engaged in discussion about
these topics, learned new technology skills and were ready to start
the fall semester with a transformed course component.
Selected participants include:
- Vivian Deno - History & Anthropology
- Panos Linos - Computer Science & Software Engineering
- Shelly Furuness - Middle and Secondary Education
- Rocky Colavito - English/University Writing Programs
- James F. McGrath - Philosophy & Religion
- Elizabeth K. Mix - Art Program
- Allison Harthcock - Media Arts
- Priscilla Arling - Management Information Systems
These faculty members will be presenting the results of their work
and the impact it had on their courses throughout this academic
year in various venues.