Teaching director candidate stresses technology in learning

New technology can be used to help students explore creative ways of demonstrating their knowledge.

This is how FaCIT director candidate Robert Adams approaches learning.

Adams, the second of three candidates being interviewed for the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching director position, emphasizes technology in his current position at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

“This allows students to present their knowledge with both visual and textual information and makes it more complete,” Adams said.

Adams was the second candidate interviewed for the position. An open forum was held Monday in the Charles V. Park Library Strosacker Room.

“This presentation is a way to see how he interacts with the people who attend,” said Ireta Ekstrom, instructional developer for innovative teaching.

Adams role as FaCIT director, should he be hired, would be to help professors evaluate themselves and advise them on how to best teach their students.

During the demonstration, he showed faculty how easy it is for students to use flip videos, one of the technologies he teaches with. Outside of video, features like pictures, music, visual effects and narration can be added.

In addition to students enhancing their learning experience, Adams said faculty at Loras also use the video technology for class.

Faculty post mini-lectures of about five or ten minutes long for students to view before going to class, he said.

“More can happen with engaging students in class (using videos) as opposed to just presenting information,” Adams said.

After the presentation, faculty who attended were given the chance to question Adams. During questioning, the ethical side of video recording was discussed.

Adams said CMU’s relationship with shooting video on campus could be a great opportunity to address issues with students and get them to ask themselves questions such as “what am I doing with this video?”

Adams also has found video to be a fairly inexpensive way of learning. Flip videos, he said, go for only around $100.

The final FaCIT director forum will be held for Eli Collins-Brown at 2 p.m. Friday in the Bovee University Center Lake Michigan Room.

university@cm-life.com