Ed Tech Academy 2011

As we're among friends here, there's no point in false modesty -- last week's EdTech Academy was a rousing success. The three day event attracted approximately sixty attendees from a broad range of academic disciplines and offered a variety of presentations, both low tech and high, all designed to make us focus on the possibilities that could present themselves in the classroom if we are willing to try new approaches and to reevaluate our current practices with a fresh eye.

Jeffery Norfleet and Dr. Robbie Kendall-Melton of the TBR eLearning Initiative shared a plethora of mobile apps, the equivalent of a technological candy shop, while Barry Dahl gave an equally impressive series of talks on Web 2.0 tools that can be integrated into the online classroom as well as on the assumptions (often faulty) that faculty and administrators frequently make with regard to distance learning.

In addition, there was much in-house talent, as members of the EdTech committee discussed our newly drafted distance education rubrics and our emphasis on quality instruction in web based and hybrid classrooms. There was also an overview of library services with a focus on using e-books and databases to supplement or even replace textbooks.

If Roane State’s SAILS initiative has taught us anything, it is that we need to listen to our students when they speak about how they learn and to be sensitive to their learning styles. Toward that end, Learning Center student tutors Ben Mixer and Brittany Whorley delivered a workshop on how YouTube videos could be effectively integrated into the curriculum.

Only one week out from the start of the Academy, and we’re already seeing faculty implementing some of the ideas and strategies into their teaching. We have had instructors restructure their existing courses to make them more user -friendly from the student perspective, other faculty offering up classes for the peer review process, and still others coming into CTAT for podcasting training. Barry Dahl’s very constructive criticism of the current rubrics will no doubt lead the members of the Ed Tech committee to reevaluate our thinking and to revise the documents to make them still more useful to faculty and beneficial to students.

If you were not able to attend this year's Academy, you can still enjoy the wealth of data on educational apps collected by Dr. Kendall-Melton and her team by visiting www.tbrelearning.org and view Barry Dahl's presentation materials by visiting barrydahl.com/resources.