First Teaching withMedia Conference Ignites Faculty Enthusiasm for Technology in the Classroom

By Melissa Fassel

On April 24, UMass Boston faculty from across the disciplines demonstrated ways to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom at a “Teaching with Media” conference. The event, sponsored by Chancellor Gora and hosted by the Instructional Technology Center (ITC) and the Center for the Improvement of Teaching (CIT), was a resounding success, drawing more than 75 participants to its 19 presentations.

Staff members of ITC, experienced with the pros and cons of faculty’s use of technology, came up with the concept for the conference last semester and sought CIT’s assistance, in order to draw many faculty that have not used the ITC in the past. Chancellor Gora, enthusiastic about the university’s technological advances, provided funding for the event.

A number of attending faculty remarked on how encouraging it was to find out that their colleagues were using similar technology in their classrooms. Not only did faculty members have the opportunity to showcase innovative uses of technology in the classroom, they were also able to share suggestions as well as woes. As Sara Baron, ITC director, said, “We got a real feel for how people are using technology for learning.”

The Graduate College of Education’s Gonzalo Bacigalupe, who presented “Collaborative Learning Using Synchronous and Asynchronous Discussions: Dialogical Threading and Chatting,” referred to the event as “top notch, incredibly well designed and organized,” and was impressed with the level of care ITC took to fit the needs of the faculty.

Vivian Zamel, CIT director, commended the vision of Sara Baron and ITC in developing an original conference, forward-thinking, and supportive of faculty.

A wide range of subjects were addressed, from faculty-developed software for keeping track of the composition of music to innovative methods of combating plagiarism with technology. Other faculty presentation topics included Celia Moore’s “Using Technology to Foster Active Student Learning in an Interdisciplinary Course,” Mark Pawlack’s “Quantitative Reasoning: Linking Pedagogy with Technology,” and Thanh Nguyen’s “Building a Virtual Learning Community with Prometheus.”

This is the first semester that CIT and ITC have collaborated on technology in teaching initiatives. The first collaboration was the discussion series “High Tech or Why Tech: A Discussion of the Pros and Cons of Using Technology for Teaching and Learning,” which took place in early April. Members of both ITC and the CIT felt the event was a strong success – bringing together the technologically experienced with first-time users in an effort to assist all faculty members in becoming technologically sophisticated in their teaching.

Image: Staff members of the Instructional Technology Center and Media Services: Back row - John Jessoe, Ray Melcher, Chris Pahud, John Potter, Apostolos (A.K.) Koutropoulos. Second row - Sara Baron, Caroline Cappuccio, Angela Carretta, Eileen McMahon, Robert Fitzgerald, Richard Fish. Front row: Jason Belland. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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