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As
many of you know, I consider myself a “non-techie” who happens to be
very comfortable in the tech world. My doctoral studies were in
Educational Psychology and Technology, but my first love is examining
and understanding how people learn.
Whether you are teaching face to face in a classroom with a
blackboard behind you and a piece of chalk in hand or in front of a
computer screen creating online streaming presentations and exercises,
the foundations of teaching remain the same.
While innovations like streaming video and animated presentations
are appealing in their own right, I believe technology is a tool that
you use to meet your needs, not just because it’s available. The
primary difference in teaching today is that your toolbox has grown
larger, and with the increasing number of tools comes the confusion of
choosing which tool is right for each of your jobs. When the wrong tool
is chosen the technology becomes disruptive rather than useful. As many
of you may have experienced: when technology works well, it can be
great—and when it behaves badly, it is a nightmare.
I have witnessed these disruptions while working at USC, National
University, and e-learning course development companies University
Access and Quisic. Course Management Systems (like WebCT) seem to be
able to do everything but the one simple task you desperately need, such
as tracking student time on a specific course exercise.
Or you carefully plan and beautifully film a demonstration that
when viewed on a computer by a student with a dial-up modem looks more
like a garbled mess than an eloquent learning experience.
I have also seen the moments when technology and instruction work
together flawlessly, enabling students to experience situations akin to
the real world without leaving their desks, or view images up close
allowing them to see the details in a way that could never happen from
the back of a large lecture hall.
Once again, the trick is finding the right tool for each job. By
rummaging through and building toolboxes over the years, I have become
familiar with more technology tools than this “non-techie” ever
intended.
Title 5, under the leadership of Sue Brinkmeyer, has done a
phenomenal job of bringing distributed technologies such as WebCT to our
campus and has piloted innovative technologies such as video capturing,
editing equipment, and Smartboards.
Many of you have contributed significant time and effort to these
projects and have seen your efforts rewarded in positive student
response and learning. Courses like Sandy Lee’s Student Development
101, Barb Erfurt’s Physical Education 115, Mark Maier’s Economics
101, Brett Miketta’s online Computer Science/Information Science 101,
Chris Juswiak’s English 191, Javier Gago’s Biology 102, and Bob
Holmes’ Accounting 101 course are just a few examples of the
innovative work taking place on our campus daily. Thank you!
Many of you may never choose to use all of the tools in the
toolbox, but those who choose an
appropriate tool will be sure to benefit. My goal is to make your
choice and the implementation of these technology tools as easy as
possible. To that end, we have instituted a new Student HelpDesk for
WebCT, revised the WebCT course templates to make them even easier to
use, and are continuing to add information to the online courses and
WebCT website http://www.glendale.cc.ca.us/new/offerings/online.htm.
Through working closely with our governance committees such as
TMI, CCCC, ITC, and with the Academic Senate and the Guild, I am
confident that we can determine how and what technologies best serve the
instructional needs of the college and allow instructors to build their
own individual toolboxes.
In the larger picture, the Master Plan Task Force has identified
strategies that include
educational technology. Several of these strategies question
where Glendale College wants to go in relation to the use of the web and
innovative learning methods. My priority is to look continuously for
ways that technology can be used to support and even improve
instruction, and help clarify the benefits and tradeoffs associated with
various technology directions.
On a more personal note, my first few months at Glendale have
been both challenging and energizing.
I have seen why people stay at Glendale for many years and
believe that the coming years will be equally rewarding.
I am truly looking forward to developing an adaptable toolbox
that is just right for our community and culture, allowing each person
to choose the tools best suited for his/her needs.
The road to implementing and using technology can be a rocky one,
but my goal is to help make Glendale’s ride as smooth as possible.
I look forward to the drive and hope you do too.
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“...we have
instituted a new Student HelpDesk for WebCT, revised the WebCT course
templates to make them even easier to use…”
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