|
 Spotlight on..
The
faculty spotlight will inform the campus community of ways technology is
used, inspire other faculty to use technology, generate discussion, and
demonstrate how technology can enhance and enrich instruction, both in and
out of the classroom.
Serendipitous
is the word Victoria Gay uses to describe her role in helping to bring
technology to Columbia State classrooms. Victoria has, in fact, been lucky
enough to be in the right place
at the right time. During 1999 and 2000, her very first year as full-time
faculty, the Renaissance Center in Dickson, TN, offered several training
sessions in the use of FrontPage to create web pages and web courses.
Having attended these sessions, Victoria felt equipped to develop a
web-based Basic Reading course during the summer of 2000. At the time,
Victoria was also enthusiastic about using lessons from the Holocaust in
her classroom and decided to build the reading course around those
lessons. The course earned her recognition from the
Tennessee Holocaust Commission, and she was awarded an expenses-paid
trip to Washington D.C., where she would attend a three-day workshop in
Holocaust instruction at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In
2004, she was named a Holocaust Educator of the Year by the Tennessee
Holocaust Commission, due partly to the pioneering spirit that led her to
develop the online course.
The
advent of WebCT at Columbia State introduced a new challenge for Victoria,
who developed an online Developmental Writing course that had its first
run during the spring 2005 term. The course is taught completely online,
except for a face-to-face orientation held the first week of the semester.
It incorporates quizzes, paragraphs, essays, discussions, peer reviews,
literature, grammar, PowerPoint presentations, exercises,
mechanics--all things to be associated with an English or writing course.
Her next goal is to convert the course to a hybrid. She also intends to
revisit the online Basic Reading course, which no longer is offered, and
extract from it a Developmental Reading hybrid course. She believes hybrid
courses may promise greater success for the Columbia State student
population. The hybrid course offers them the technology experience they
need, as well as an instructor in close contact, and, at the same time,
will maximize classroom space.
Victoria
is most proud of her accomplishments as chairperson of the Instructional
Delivery Subcommittee for the SACS self-study from 2001-2003. The impact
of this committee is apparent in every office, in computer labs, on the
web, and in a growing number of classrooms on every campus. Out of this
committee sprang the Instructional Technology Training Committee for which
she served as recorder during 2002-2003. And out of that committee sprang
technology plans, technology training, the FITT Center, the Faculty
Technology Mentor program and the Instructional Design Team. Victoria has
served as a Faculty Technology Mentor since 2003 and a Design Team member
since 2004. She also currently serves on the Distance Education Committee.
So what does
Victoria think about teaching with technology?
"I think I'm only
beginning to scratch the surface with my own use of technology in both the
traditional and virtual arenas. Just the other day, I was discussing the
use of climactic order with a writing class, and I asked to look at one
student's cellular phone. This thing could text message, record videos and
send them; it folded into a tiny compact, offered many different bell
tones, held his calendar. The class and I had a difficult time deciding
what features are the greatest selling points. Anyway, my point is this:
Keeping completely abreast of changes in technology is next to impossible,
but if we are not using technology in our classrooms, then we have our
heads buried in the sand. More importantly, we may also be missing out on
better ways to meet the learning needs of our students. Using multi-media
stations, posting assignments and resources on the web, and providing a
variety of activities for my students not only offer me opportunities to
reach individuals as well as the group, but using these tools also
continues to make my job more interesting."
What's
next?
"I
hope to improve upon some of the things I've started. Web-enhancement of
traditional
courses will be one goal. This practice is already working well for many
of my coworkers. Web-enhancement would allow me to move some teaching
materials from my website into WebCT or the platform of the future,
whatever that may be. I want to do more with hybrid courses because I see
the online course as being less than ideal for most students who place
into developmental studies courses. I have worked some in helping
part-time faculty with using technology by offering multi-media station
training and by providing a unit on assessment for part-timers
participating in the web-based adjunct training developed by Joni Lenig. I
would like to continue serving as a resource for this incredibly important
group. Most of all, I'd like to continue meandering along this fortunate
path I've happened upon. It's been quite good to me, and I believe it to
be good for engaging students as well." |
