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NSO 2006

Academic Computing Center > ACC in the News > Technology takes a Firmer Position in the Classroom

Technology Takes a Firmer Position in the Classroom
Mellon Seminar , Summer 2004

Source: Outlook Student's Newspaper, Volume VI, Issue 4

In his February 2004 “State of the University” address, President Waterbury described the astounding rapidity with which the faculty has adopted the “new technology and informatics in teaching. “Since 2000-01,” he pointed out, “the equivalent of 1,119 faculty members have undergone training in WebCT course software, webpage design, and other computer applications. Currently 118 courses out of 836 are using WebCT software and over 2,400 students took WebCT-based courses in fall 2003.”

Information technology (IT) has been penetrating AUB more and more forcefully since the end of the Lebanese civil war. With the establishment of the Academic Computing Center (ACC) in 2000, the Information Services Department of the University Libraries in 2002, and the Center for Teaching and Learning in 2004, the new technology has become an increasingly vitalizing component of classroom teaching.

Lectures by visiting experts and the organizing of regional and in-house workshops and seminars have been etching a high profile for IT on campus. Last summer a seminar, “Creative Use of Resources in Course Design,” funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, was offered to AUB faculty members from June 22 to July 30. Four AUB instructors and six professors, representing seven departments, took part in the six-week learning session.

An e-mail message sent to all faculty members in May 2004 to invite applications set out the purpose of the seminar: to enhance teaching by assisting “faculty in making further use of various academic resources now available and to integrate them in the development of specific courses.”

Stiff eligibility requirements ensured the seriousness of the ten successful applicants. The seminar was open to full-time AUB faculty members already possessing basic computer skills, including basic knowledge of Word, PowerPoint, and use of the World Wide Web. Each participant had to be working on a curriculum committee-approved course to be offered in the respective faculty during the 2004–05 academic year; and the course had to have a research component involving use of the print and electronic resources of the University Libraries. Participants had to be ready to commit 14 hours per week to the seminar, and could not be teaching more than one three-credit course or its equivalent during the summer. Each member of the seminar received a $3,000 stipend to guarantee summer free time.

The seminar was divided into three major areas. The information literacy component on library resources, both print and electronic, was presented by Samira Megdessian, information literacy librarian of Jafet Library, and Aida Farha and Hilda Nassar of the Saab Medical Library. The Department of Education’s Amal Bou Zeinuddine steered the “students” through the intricacies of course syllabus design, and ACC Director Rosangela Silva introduced them to the classroom management tool, WebCT. Participants attended a number of group meetings in each of the three components and numerous one-on-one individual sessions. At the end of the seminar, each participant gave a presentation from the syllabus of the course she/he had worked on throughout the seminar.

Despite the rigorous eligibility requirements and the intensive hard work of the seminar, the 2004 participants were almost unanimous in their enthusiasm for the course and had high praise for the value of the experience. Several commented on the practical applications offered: “One of the things I liked best about the seminar,” said Fatea Ramlawi, an instructor in Medical Laboratory Technology, “was the encouragement to apply immediately what we learned. Because of the immediate application, I learned things I will never forget. ‘Involve me and I will understand,’” she quoted.

Others cited the practical solutions offered by WebCT in course management, visual aids, and discussion boards. “WebCT encouraged shy students to interact with me via the communication tools,” one of the participants reported. “WebCT will definitely increase the opportunity for students and teachers to converse and for classmates to communicate with each other outside the classroom. This interactive learning environment…will involve students more collaboratively in the process of learning,” said another.

The syllabus design component opened the eyes of many who had always felt comfortable in designing their own courses. “It changed my thinking about the syllabus, in terms of the alignment of the syllabus with the mission of the university, faculty, and department,” wrote one. Another said, “I finally added a very important section related to course policies, including attendance, exams, research, and academic integrity.” Almost all said their teaching would change significantly through the influence of the seminar.

But as Provost Peter Heath suggested, technology is only a tool in the end; only an informed, knowledgeable, and creative teacher can use IT to the best advantage of the students, the subject, and the University.

Interested in joining the seminar in summer 2005? Further information and application forms will soon be sent to all faculty members by the Office of the Provost.

For more information on the Mellon Seminar go to :
http://staff.aub.edu.lb/~acc/Mellon/2004/main.htm