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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.
Spotlight on..
What were you doing in the summer of
1998?
If you were Shelly Ganter you were
creating an online Basic Writing course from
scratch. At the time, she did not have a computer in her office and
really "did not know what the Internet was." The course was first offered in the fall of '98 and has since been
overhauled several times in order to use different test-authoring tools, html
editors and course management systems—and to reflect her changing ideas about
online pedagogy.
What were you doing in the summer of
2001?
If you were Shelly Ganter, you were
creating a Composition I course for the debut
of the Regents Online Degree Programs. This course continues to be the only
Comp I course offered by the RODP, up to ten
sections per semester.
As course developer, Shelly was the unofficial coordinator of the Composition I
classes during the first few semesters of the program and mentored faculty
involved at institutions across the state. As technologies and software
evolve, Shelly has had to change right along with them. She has been
responsible for updating the course every semester and even for overhauling it
as formats, software, and program priorities have changed.
 In
the winter of 2001, Shelly received a "Trailblazer
Award" from the TBR for contributions to the RODP . She was
also nominated for Outstanding RODP Faculty Member in the summer of 2002.
In the spring of 2003, Shelly
received an "Innovations Award"
from the Distance Learning Committee of the Tennessee Board of Regents for her
work in distance learning at Columbia State and in the RODP.
What were you doing in the fall of
2003?
For the fall of 2003, Shelly was
creating a Composition I course for students at Columbia State. She has
developed new supplementary websites every semester for her other Columbia State courses
as well. She provides PowerPoint instruction, assignment information, and
opportunities for discussions and group work in her courses.
Other Important Undertakings
Shelly has served on Columbia State's
Distance Education Committee since Fall 2000. She has also been a valuable member of
the Instructional Design Team since Fall 2003. She served on the
Campus Pipeline Implementation Team in 2000-2001. During Columbia State's SACS
self-study, Shelly served on the Instructional Delivery Sub-Committee from 2001-2003.
What's
next?
"I've enjoyed creating and teaching internet courses these last
few years, but I'm more interested now in using the internet to make the
traditional class more flexible and interesting. I'd also like to revise my
online courses so that they are less self-contained and make more use of
online materials available on the "wider" web--texts, discussion boards,
videos, and blogs."
What
do you think about teaching with technology?
"The online "environment" is especially good for
writing students since everything that they do in an online composition
course must be done in writing. As far as her online classmates are
concerned, a "virtual" student IS what she writes: she can fascinate,
befriend, or move people with her writing but can also confuse or infuriate
them. She has a real audience for her writing, something that only
professional writers have in the "real" world. Online instruction may not
work equally well for every subject area, but supplements like online
discussions and workshops can help to keep course material on students'
minds when they're off campus and can encourage, for example, the less
self-confident student to "speak up" when he's ready to--after he's
reflected on yesterday's lecture and while he's still excited about the idea
he came up with on the drive home."
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