Faculty tech skills shine at symposium

From using iMovie in language classes to decreasing budgets with new software, faculty and staff members showed their technological prowess at the annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium.

Sponsored by the Instructional Design for eLearning group and the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, the symposium was held March 19 in the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons.

Gisella Licari, from Modern Languages and Literatures, shared how she incorporates iMovie into her beginning and intermediate Italian courses. She said her students enjoyed collaborating to create an iMovie, and the software had capabilities to incorporate writing, speaking and listening skills.

Regina McClinton, director of the Intercultural Training Certificate program, uses many videos in her ITC 100-level courses. The cost of duplicating videos, coupled with the time needed to show a video during class became burdensome. McClinton now uses Ensemble, a video platform, that works in concert with Blackboard and allows videos to be viewed on a student’s time or during class.

College of Education faculty members Sean Lancaster and Andrew Topper gave the keynote address.

Before presentations began, participants heard selections from the New Music Ensemble. Musicians read their music from iPads controlled with foot pedals.