January 2009 – January 2010 | The Educational Technology Center

January 2009 – January 2010

Summary of Educational Technology Center Activities

January 2009 – January 2010

  1. Introduction
  2. Initiatives and Projects 2009 – 2010
  3. Events
  4. Workshops, Consultation and Outreach
  5. Community Outreach
  6. Academic Websites
  7. EdTech Website and Online Resources
  8. Task Force Participation
  9. Partnerships
  10. EdTech Staff

EdTech Report pdf

Introduction

The Educational Technology Center is Northeastern University’s hub for integrating novel technology and teaching. The Center screens emerging technologies for offerings that can best serve faculty needs, helps faculty assimilate new technology, collaborates with faculty teams to develop and implement customized technology-based projects, and helps formulate university policy on technology-supported teaching and learning. For over a decade, the Center has pursued its mission as an agent of change via three guiding principles: continually monitor and respond to evolving technology, innovate collaboratively, and pursue simple solutions to complex problems.

Initiatives and Projects 2009 – 2010

Electronic Portfolios Pilot
The EdTech Center has spearheaded a pilot on using electronic portfolios for assessment, documentation of progress in a program, career goal setting and advising, and building electronic resumes. During 2008-2009 approximately 500 students and 70 faculty participated in 11 pilot projects of the eportfolio system TaskStream (see the EdTech Center web site for descriptions of the pilot projects). During 2009-2010, 7 of those projects continued into a second year, involving approximately 530 students.

Electronic Portfolios for Writing
Late in 2009, the Writing Program initiated a large-scale eportfolio project, integrating TaskStream into 9 sections of Advanced Writing in the Disciplines and 8 sections College Writing, involving 8 instructors and approximately 320 students. These faculty are meeting bi-weekly as an inquiry group throughout the Spring 2010 semester with an EdTech instructional designer to monitor and evaluate the pilot.

Digital Media Projects

Interactive Course Development Project

EdTech staff provided planning, one-on-one consultation, and technical assistance to faculty to develop the following digital media assignments for their students. Students completed the assignments in the Digital Media Design Studio.

  •  English - short films on poets/artists whose work dealth with memory and representation of the past
  • English first-year writing - digital-based retrospective essay exploring the relationship between text and images in their writing
  • Physical Therapy - an online forum to analyze
    therapeutic exercise prescriptions for specific patient case scenarios
  • Math co-op - digital stories reflecting on their co-op experiences
  • University Health and Counseling Services -Mental health and wellness audio podcasts

Clickers (Personal Response Systems) Pilot
The EdTech Center spearheaded the pilot for selecting and implementing Turning Technologies as Northeastern’s university-wide clicker vendor. 10 faculty members and over 800 students in Bouve, CBA and CAS participated.

The EdTech website includes information on the process for obtaining clickers, as well as tutorials and best practices for the use of clickers in different disciplines.

Math Problem Sessions Online
EdTech Center staff are working with Math faculty to develop interactive online problem sessions.

Game Design
EdTech staff assisted summer fellows with evaluation of COE online game, Gekkoman.

Research Projects
The EdTech Center staff assist faculty with conceptualizing instructional technology components during the grant-writing process, then develop websites that support the grants. Recent examples include:

  • ALERT – website supporting the ALERT center, which conducts research on explosive-related threats to this country
  • IGERT – website on Intelligent Diagnostics for IGERT fellows
  • Human Trafficking - website for Human Trafficking data collection and reporting project
  • EVIDAAC - Evidence in Augmentative and Alternative Communication database and website
  • Offshore Geohazards – website to support the international partnership to foster research and education in offshore geohazards.
  • Training for Early Intervention Practitioners – conceptualization and development of flash-based training program to help practitioners learn how to assess children through observation of natural play.

TA Workshop
The EdTech Center collaborated with the department of economics to develop a 3-day training program for economics TA’s. Materials for the workshop including processes, teaching tips and technology strategies that could be used to expand the workshop for other departments

Teaching with Technology: Assistance with planning, design, development and delivery of Face-to-Face, Hybrid and Web-enhanced Courses.
EdTech staff assisted faculty in the colleges of Bouve, CAS, Business, and Engineering in enhancing their courses with the following tools, technologies and practices:

  • Lecture Capture: Webcasting, Podcasting
  • Blackboard tutorials (walk-in, online, and
    phone support)
  • Managing Online Discussions
  • Multimedia and Course Materials
  • Articles about Teaching Online
  • Social Networking Tools
  • Course Design Evaluation
  • Teaching Large Classes
  • Online testing

The Center’s newly re-designed website offers a range of resources for faculty creating online course elements as well as fully online courses.

Online Course Development
EdTech Center staff are providing one-on-one and group consultation to faculty in CBA, CAS, Engineering and Bouve to plan, design, develop and deliver undergraduate courses.

Related assistance:

  • instructional design
  • development of online course components
  • consultation and training in how to use Blackboard, produce narrated Powerpoints, podcasts and online quizzes

H1N1 Disruption Planning
The EdTech Center created a series of pages to help instructors continue teaching in the event that classroom instruction must be interrupted. Many of the recommendations, such as backing up files, are good practices to follow even when classes proceed as planned.

Events

The EdTech Center hosts a range of events to help faculty establish connections with colleagues in other disciplines, share best practices, and learn more about possibilities for enhancing teaching with technology. Recent events include:

Tech Trends for Teaching, February 23, 2009
Annual day of short presentations highlighting current technologies related to teaching.

Teaching with Technology Day, April 28, 2009
Annual event with keynote, workshops and faculty presentations. The next Teaching with Technology Day event is scheduled for April 14, 2010.

Faculty Brainstorming Sessions
Webcasts and hosted discussions on topics of interest to faculty. Recent sessions included:

National Writing Day
EdTech Center staff participated in the English Department’s event by presenting “Writing with New and Emerging Technologies,” a demonstration for faculty, October 20, 2009.

Online Conferences
EdTech Center hosted viewing of the following online conferences:

Workshops, Consultation and Outreach

EdTech Center staff promote exceptional teaching by helping faculty solve pedagogical problems, and integrate appropriate technology to challenge today's students to excel.

Demonstrations, Workshops
The EdTech Center offers a variety of workshops and demonstrations related to Teaching and Learning with Technology. In the last year, the Center offered more than 40 sessions including demonstrations and customized workshops. Many of these sessions are captured and made available online and at the EdTech SmartBar. Demonstrations include:

  • Digital media assignments
  • Blackboard: Embedding Media
  • Extending Blackboard: Tips for multi-section courses
  • Podcasting: Recording your lecture
  • Podcasting: Enhancing your lecture
  • Online collaboration with Google tools
  • Educational wikis and blogs
  • Blackboard
  • Digital story telling
  • Mobile phones for teaching
  • Rich media sharing (Flickr, YouTube, Slideshare)
  • Explore a Virtual World (Second Life)
  • Building Mashups from Multiple Data Sources

Consultation, one-on-one and “just in time” assistance
EdTech staff have expertise in a variety of areas including strategic planning, instructional design, online teaching and learning strategies, digital media integration, web development and learning space design.

EdTech staff members and co-op students offer:

  • One-on-one consultation and drop-in “just in time” assistance to accommodate faculty needs and schedules at the EdTech SmartBar.
  • Self-paced tutorials, web resources and digital
    media workstations.
  • Office visits. By appointment, Co-op students go to faculty offices to provide teaching with technology assistance.
  • Customized workshops for groups upon request.

Introductions to Center resources
EdTech Center staff facilitate discussions with faculty about their needs, and describe EdTech services and projects during departmental faculty meetings hosted at the EdTech Center. Since its opening, the center has hosted the following academic departments:

  • Math
  • Health Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Biology
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Economics
  • Physical Therapy
  • College of Business Administration
  • Journalism
  • English

The Center also hosted the following groups:

  • Undergraduate Deans
  • Coop directors
  • Writing Curriculum Committee
  • Teaching Excellence committee
  • Universal Design
  • Instructional Technology Group
  • Biology Capstone working group
  • English Teaching Assistants
  • Writing Instructor mentors

The EdTech Center also hosted a variety of software demonstrations:

  • NVIVO research analysis software
  • Blackboard assessment tool
  • Zotero bibliographic tool
  • iClicker Personal Response Systems
  • Turning Technologies Personal Response System

Community Outreach

  • The EdTech Center seeks to foster new university connections with the local community. In March, the Center collaborated with the Department workshop for Boston Public School teachers on creating digital portfolios.
  • In June, the Center hosted the Mayor’s Creative Industries planning meeting

Academic Websites

Web Development

The EdTech Center consults with departments and centers to create websites that highlight their goals. This year’s sites included the following:

EdTech Website and Online Resources

In January 2010, the EdTech Center launched its new website. The re-designed web site makes it easier their interests through tagged content. On average the EdTech Center receives over 800 unique visits each month. Website content areas include:

Task Force Participation

EdTech Center staff lead and participate on task forces focused on the use of new technology to support teaching and learning.

  • eportfolios for assessment
  • clicker research and implementation
  • identification of software to develop online teaching aids
  • Lecture Capture
  • Classroom Technology
  • Web Resources and Standards
  • Instructional Technology
  • Digital Commons

Partnerships

NU partners

External Partnerships
The EdTech Center staff delivered presentations and papers and attended conferences by these groups:

EdTech Staff

Professional Staff
Alicia Russell
Director
strategic planning, outreach, grant writing, OL learning, evaluation

Rachel Bertolani
Web Designer and Training Manager
website development, training

Seth Merriam
Multimedia Developer
workshops, multimedia integration, Web 2.0

Katelynn O’Brien
Internet Systems Developer (programmer)
website programming

Laurie Poklop
Curriculum and Instructional Designer
eportfolios, assessment, OL course design

Victoria Wallace
Curriculum and Instructional Designer
outreach, clickers, events, TA Training, digital media projects

Co-op Students
Molly Gilette
Chelsea Costaney

Also of Interest:

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The Educational Technology Center is Northeastern's hub for the exploration, development and dissemination of technology to enhance teaching and learning. The Center is also an agent of change,...

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