Innovative Uses of Technology to Enhance Learning

Dr. Kerry Anne McGeary, Assistant Professor in the Economics and International Business Department, has been teaching online courses with the aid of a Tablet PC provided by the Center for Teaching Excellence. Since the online environment is essentially a space for written interaction, electronic networks that attempt to bring human impact to an online course through taped video taped or audio lectures may be less than ideal reproductions of the face-to-face classroom experience. The online environment requires most interactions to be computer mediated communication (CMC). There are many ways CMC can be augmented, yet most mechanisms do not offer any human impact. Dr. McGeary will discuss an easy and effective way to provide some human impact to CMC through use of a tablet computer, which allows for the hand written word to be used in place of the type written word.

Dr. Hande Benson, Assistant Professor in the Decision Sciences Department, has been lecturing with the aid of a Tablet PC provided by the Center for Teaching Excellence. A challenge in using this new technology is finding a balance between using presentation slides, which are too often static, and the blackboard, which lends itself well to spur-of-the-moment discussions that nevertheless go unrecorded by the professor. Although not without a few bumps in the road, the goal of finding a balance was accomplished, with positive feedback from the students. Dr. Benson will share her experiences in preparing and presenting course materials for her Operations Management courses using the Tablet PC.

Marcos deArruda, Instructor in the Finance Department, has worked with various emerging technologies to enhance student learning in both face to face and online teaching environments. He will demonstrate how to capitalize on the use of Tablet PCs, Handheld P.C., iPods, SmartPhones, and Web Video Cameras to develop effective learning tools for courses targeting both online and on campus learners. He will also discuss the pros and cons of using such technologies, and will talk about the resources needed for the successful implementation of ScreenCasts, Podcasts, and Video Podcasts in the FIN 601 Corporate Finance course.

Sandwiches, salad, and beverages will be served.