Upcoming Workshop: Teaching, Learning and Technology

By Brian Nielsen, Manager, Learning Support Systems
NUIT Academic Technologies

Following last summer's very successful Teaching, Learning, and Technology (TLT) workshop, NUIT Academic Technologies and the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence are again offering this weeklong event. TLT, set for August 30 through September 3, is designed to serve Northwestern faculty interested in application of new technologies to their teaching.

Faculty attending the workshop will be selected from those nominated by their respective deans or departmental chairs and will be exposed to a range of technologies and pedagogical methods. The TLT experience has been carefully designed not to present technology for its own sake, but to help faculty explore more deeply their own approaches to teaching, to consider the classroom experience in light of contemporary learning theory, and to try out new approaches in a collegial environment with hands-on experiences using a range of accessible software applications. Extending the range of expertise in a variety of technologies, Claire Stewart, head of Digital Media Services in the Library, and associate professor Scott Lipscomb from the School of Music also contribute considerably to TLT.

At a recent TLT workshop, WCAS assistant political science professor Andrew Roberts (left)
confers with facilitator Scott Lipscomb, associate professor in Music Studies.

Though learning and pedagogy lie at the center of the TLT workshop's theme, attendees do get hands-on exposure to a number of software applications, including Dreamweaver and HTML (for Web publishing), PowerPoint (for creating slide shows as accompaniments to lectures), and Macromedia Flash (for creating interactive learning media). These and other software applications are presented in such a way as to meet needs of both the experienced and the relatively novice technology user by offering both structured tutorials and plenty of one-on-one attention by seasoned technologists.

The practical and the theoretical are brought together in the workshop through a number of live presentations by Northwestern faculty with direct experience in using advanced technologies in their teaching. As with the selection of participants nominated by their respective deans or chairs, workshop planners have intentionally drawn faculty presenters from a wide range of fields to ensure that opportunities for interaction among all involved are enriched. The format of these presentations is also informal, and attendees are exposed not only to "expert" demonstrations of technologies for learning but to less successful attempts as well, allowing critical discussion of the many factors entailed in planning new learning options.

Those who have experienced the TLT workshop in past years have on the whole been very satisfied with it, and many have gone on to actively apply new understandings about pedagogy in their classrooms.

"This has truly broadened my own understanding and awareness of the possibilities inherent in the use of appropriate technology," commented one participant. Others have evaluated it as "eye-opening" and "excellent in its breadth and depth." Not only has the content in both learning theory and technology been appreciated, but several participants have commented positively on the considerable contact they get with colleagues from other disciplines. Getting to know staff from both the Searle Center and Academic Technologies who may serve as ongoing consulting resources after the workshop is done has also been a plus.

What has been especially appreciated by the workshop facilitators from both the Searle Center and Academic Technologies is that they too have gained valuable learning along with the regular workshop attendees. The weeklong experience offers many opportunities for informal conversation, reflection on past learning experiences, and the sharing of ideas about how the Internet and other emerging technologies might shape the University in the future.

Through such exchanges, both organizations have built new relationships with creative scholars and used those relationships to extend their missions in new directions. In a number of cases, attendees from the first two annual workshops have maintained relationships with Academic Technologies, resulting in further refinement of software ideas that were born in the workshops.

The Web site at <www.at.northwestern.edu/tlt-workshop> offers considerably more detail for readers interested in learning more about the upcoming TLT workshop. Faculty interested in attending this year's Teaching, Learning, and Technology workshop should speak with their chair or dean and ask to be nominated for participation in the workshop! The nomination deadline has been extended from June 1 to June 18.