Focus on OIT
OIT Presents at EDUCAUSE Annual Conference
Educause is a nonprofit association whose mission is "to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information."
At this years' EDUCAUSE conference in Denver, there was lots of energy around active learning and student engagement. Nearly 5,000 people attended the premier gathering for higher education IT professionals, both face-to-face and online, representing all 50 states and 52 countries worldwide.
Wayne Morse and Leah Chuchran (both of ATS) presented their work to a standing-room only audience on the Active Learning and Engagement Initiative (ALEI). The initiative launched in January 2012 and twenty faculty participants from across the university have already incorporated what they have learned into their curriculum.
The session included:
- How the program was conceived through a Student Government Association president suggestion about instructor use of Blackboard
- Steps of program development
- How the pilot of "Edgewalkers" contributed to the next iteration of the full-semester long program
- Interviews and assessment data from participants
ALEI, hosted out of Emory's Center for Interactive Teaching (ECIT), is supported by the entire Faculty Services team. Although Morse and Chuchran presented at EDUCAUSE, Chris Fearrington (ATS) played an instrumental role in developing and implementing the initiative throughout the year.
The ALEI program teaches instructors how to integrate active learning, course design, and assessment strategies into their curriculum with a technology-enhanced focus. The upcoming spring ALEI session is set to begin on January 30, 2013 which will include faculty from the School of Medicine (Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Pathology, Pediatrics, Physician Assistant), Emory College (English, Chemistry, Japanese, Comparative Literature) and the School of Nursing.
- Leah Chuchran, Academic Technology Services