Faculty Academy 2002
Monday, May 13 |
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| 9:00 - 12:00 |
Breakout Sessions |
12:00 - 1:30 |
Lunch on your own. There are a number of locations close to the College that serve lunch; ask us for a recommendation. |
1:30 - 5:00 |
Break Out Sessions |
Tuesday, May 14 |
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9:00 - 12:30 |
Breakout Sessions |
12:30 - 1:30 |
Lunch / Technology Proficiency Roundtable |
1:30 - 5:00 |
Break Out Sessions |
5:00 |
Reception |
| Monday |
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| Session A |
Session B |
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| 9:00 | Windows XP in the Education
Community Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows XP, is coming to the Mary Washington College campus and other campuses across the country. Get an overview of XP's new features, its ease of use, and its stability in this software demonstration session. Learn how to better organize your files, lessons, and pictures. Easily find your most often used programs. You can even allow computer support staff take control of your computer remotely. They can then fix your computer or show you how a feature works. The best thing about XP is that it is a very stable operating system, allowing you to get things done. Come take the Grand Tour of Windows XP. |
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| Introduction to
Web Interactivity: Forms and JavaScript Adding basic feedback mechanisms to a web site using HTML forms is not difficult. Extending this to the creation of complex scientific simulations using JavaScript can be as involved as an author wishes it to be. This workshop will illustrate these tools in actual web pages and will introduce participants to the use and construction of forms and the foundations for learning Javascript. Participants should be experienced with writing simple web pages. |
10:00 | Dynamic Web Page Creating With
Java Server Pages (JSP) The JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology provides a method for creating dynamic, interactive web sites by combining the formatting capabilities of HTML and the programming capabilities of the Java programming language. JSP facilitates the creation of web sites that can dynamically create web page content in response to user actions. This presentation will focus on the software (free-ware) required to create web sites using JSP and will present example web pages showing some potential applications for JSP. |
| 11:00 | A Panel Discussion on Computer-Assisted
Instruction: An Ongoing Critical Assessment In recent years instructional technology has altered the landscape of many higher education classrooms. Educators have been slowly introducing various forms of computer technology into the curriculum with the hope of improving and enriching student learning. The perceived potential of computer-managed or computer-assisted instruction in today’s educational environment is so pervasive that many institutes of higher learning, Mary Washington College included, have established computer literacy requirements to be met by all future graduates. With this in mind, 6 faculty members from varied disciplines (physical and natural sciences, English, linguistics and mathematics) participated in a Teaching Innovation Program seminar to assess the benefits and limitations of computer-assisted instruction. This panel discussion will share some of our findings. In particular, we will reflect on the scarcity of studies on the use and assessment of instructional technology and flaws in study design or implementation (e.g. student self-selection, control of variables, etc.). Further, important resources/readings on the utilization of technology as it impacts students with disabilities will be discussed, along with the role that gender differences play in computer aided learning. Finally, shifts from teacher-lecturer to student-centered learning and growing issues of cognition/memory will be discussed. While this group discussion will offer what we have learned thus far from our readings and research and our own personal experiences, we also hope that it will serve as a starting point for a thoughtful discourse on how computer-assisted learning needs to be evaluated at Mary Washington College. |
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| 12:00 - 1:30 - Lunch on your
own. |
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| An Approach to Creating Video
Art Using Digital Technology Artists have always explored available tools and materials to create art. Many contemporary artists are exploring digital technology to develop their creations. As a Mary Washington College graduate student of Liberal Studies, I explored digital technology to create and develop a Video Art/installation entitled "A Soarer: Sobriety, Awareness, Enchantment and Soaring" under the advisership of Professor Joseph Di Bella, Department of Art and Art History. In this particular presentation, I will share an approach that I used to develop art integrated with digital technology using an Apple G-4. Emphasis will be given to: (1) an approach of using Final Cut Pro 3.0 for video capture and editing, (2) an approach of using CUBASE VST to create and edit music, (3) an approach of using DVD Studio Pro to create a DVD, (4) findings from this rewarding learning experience. |
1:30 | The applications of Maple 7
in Real Analysis This presentation is based on Math 471-Real Analysis I, which I taught using TI-92 and Maple 7 in the spring of 2002. Real Analysis I & II are cornerstone courses in Mathematics and based on Calculus I, II, III, and Multivariable Calculus. In this presentation, we first sketch different kinds of real-valued functions by Maple 7. Then apply Maple 7 to demonstrate the results of theorems, which we proved in class involving the limits of a sequence and a series, and limit superior and limit inferior of a sequence. We also use Maple 7 to find the upper integral and lower integral of a function, and examine whether it is Riemann integral or not. |
| Incorporating Web-based
Components into an Astronomy Course The Introductory Astronomy course at Bridgewater College will be showcased as a case-study in how an instructor may effectively enhance a classroom-based course with a variety of web-based components. Some of these include online and email discussions, online quizzes, MOO-based activities, web-based assignments and online astronomy simulations. Participants will have the opportunity to sample these activities
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2:00 | Virtual Resumes: Portfolios
in Education This session will focus on the content and presentation of portfolios for persons who are entering the teaching field. Portfolio content, state and national standards, and examples of student portfolios will be presented. In addition, a rubric based on the Virginia Department of Education's five domains will be introduced. |
| 2:30 | Electronic Tutorials Designed
to Reduce Faculty Contact Hours in Organic Chemistry Laboratory Organic chemistry laboratory exercises expose students to many new techniques. Each technique an understanding of the theory as well as the practical application of the process in the laboratory. Pre-laboratory instruction for each experiment involves about one hour of lecture by the instructor. In order to reduce faculty contact hours and permit students to complete each laboratory exercise within the allotted time, electronic tutorials of pre-laboratory instructional materials for the course were prepared. PowerPoint presentations on the techniques and the background material, including video clips of demonstrations, were developed and posted on Blackboard 5.5. Students received supplementary material in a course pack to explain further the content presented on the slides. After reviewing the materials, each student was required to complete a ten question multiple choice quiz on Blackboard before being admitted to the laboratory. The student could take a quiz as often as necessary to achieve the required perfect score before beginning an experiment. The results of this approach will be presented as well as samples of the materials used in the course. |
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| Communication in Online Learning
Environments: Framing Asynchronous Online Discussions Asynchronous discussion is a valuable communication tool that is used to engage students in collaborative learning activities throughout a course. Without the facilitation of a skilled moderator, online course discussions can stall and become dormant. How can we ensure that students engage in discussion? And further, how can we facilitate discussions that encourage and support creative and critical thinking? In this session, strategies for framing asynchronous online discussions will be explored and discussed among the participants. |
3:00 | Enhancing the Calculus I, II,
and III Curricula: The Second Year For the academic years 2000-2002, the Mathematics Department at Mary Washington College received a Jepson Funds for Excellence Grant to incorporate technology into the Calculus sequence. In the first year of the grant, the faculty members revised the Calculus I syllabus to incorporate the Maple computer software package and new graphing calculators. In the second year of the grant, the faculty revised Calculus II. Although Calculus III course revisions were not part of the original grant proposal, the instructors have also modified this course to include technology. For each Calculus course, members of the mathematics department developed computer assignments for students to explore calculus concepts and applications outside the classroom. The instructors have used Maple and other systems, Derive and Thinkwell, for classroom demonstrations also. The objectives were to improve students' conceptual understanding, decrease the difficulties that students face in graphing curves by hand, and enable students to work on more realistic applications of calculus. The Maple and Derive software packages are sophisticated symbolic computation systems that have the ability to manipulate symbols in an algebraic manner, much as a human would, and excellent graphing capabilities. Since Maple and Derive can be learned with a minimum amount of instruction, the mathematics faculty determined that they would be the software packages best suited for students to use on computer projects. We will present our experiences from the second year of the project, with examples of Maple, Derive, and Thinkwell demonstrations and assignments. |
| 4:00 Poster Sessions |
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| Estimating a Plane: Economics
in the Third Dimension Developments in both hardware and software have made delivery of 3D content over the web feasible. This presentation will demonstrate a program that creates a 3D "world" in which the user can fit a plane to a sample of data. The program selects a sample of data from the linear model Y = f(X1, X2) and plots the points in three-dimensional space. The program will then estimate the least squares coefficients of the model and plot the resulting plane. The estimated plane can then be compared to the "true" plane. The "world" can be investigated from all angles. The program is used as an in-class demonstration and out-of-class tutorial in Economics 462-Economic Forecasting to help students understand how the process of least squares works. Multimedia Projects and the Economics of Labor Unions Students in Economics 353-Economics of Labor Unions were required to do research on topics relevant to the study of labor unions. The results of their research were presented in both term paper and multimedia presentation formats. This poster session will display the multimedia presentations that resulted from this assignment. Twenty-five presentations were produced on issues such as the Beck decision and the impact of globalization on unions, on events such as the 2000 CWA strike against Verizon, the 1981 PATCO strike, the 1997 Teamsters strike against UPS and the Ludlow Massacre, and on persons such as Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Walter Reuther, Jimmy Hoffa, and Cesar Chavez. Students were taught how to use PowerPoint (As it turned out,every student had had some prior experience with PowerPoint.) and told to create a presentation that could be accessed via the web and used by the viewer as a tutorial on the topic. Many of the presentations were of very high quality in both a substantive and artistic sense. |
Contemporary Architecture Resource The Contemporary Architecture Resource is a website that functions
as a gateway to provide entry into the world of online resources
on contemporary architecture. The web site includes links to general
architecture sites which include information on contemporary architecture,
to websites on contemporary architects, to website of contemporary
architecture firms and to museums that feature exhibitions on
contemporary architecture. Intel Digital Video Camera: Digital Video for Beginners Intel's Digital Video Camera provides an inexpensive introduction to the use of digital video. The camera comes with editing software and a USB cable and is available for less than one hundred dollars. Several minutes of color video and sound, or a large number of still images, can be collected when using the camera on a stand-alone basis. Longer videos and more images can be gathered by using the camera while it is attached to its computer-linked cradle. Videos and images can be edited using the provided software and exported using the AVI file format. The camera and software are very easy to use. Student learned to use the camera, download, edit, and export files, and import the videos into Power Point presentations within a single class period. Current applications include the use of digital video for developing education resource materials (videos of science demonstrations) and for classroom-based research projects. Office XP - What’s New and Different? Microsoft's latest office suite, Office XP, is coming to the Mary Washington College campus. This session will provide an overview of Office XP's new features . Creating Video Art Using Digital Technology |
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| Tuesday | ||
| Session A | Session B | |
| Using the Computer
and Sound A session for anyone interested in using sound in instructional technology: on the World Wide Web, in multimedia/hypermedia, or in both. This hands-on workshop will introduce basic concepts and techniques of digital sound recording and editing on personal computers by means of work with SoundForge XP, a popular digital audio editor. Although the session will focus on Windows applications, the topics covered are equally relevant to PC-compatible and Macintosh personal computers. If time permits, we may also discuss digital sound processing, compression (MP3, etc.), MIDI, and using sound in Blackboard and WWW authoring. |
9:00 | A Web-Based Museum Design Project John Pearce A requirement for the “Museum” class is to develop a museum exhibit. In past years, the exhibits created were physical exhibits; the exhibit this year is a virtual one - a web site about James Monroe and the Louisiana Purchase. This presentation will review the process involved in implementing such project. Also, we’ll discuss the successes and challenges of the project, and will show the project that students developed. |
| 10:00 | Making Movies With Excel Robert Rycroft Excel can be used to create simple "movies." This presentation will show how it can be done using "The Yield Curve," a demonstration used in Economics 321-Money & Banking. The key to creating movies is a little-known Excel tool called the "Spin Button." Applications of this technique in a variety of disciplines will be suggested. |
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| Wireless Technologies in Education Wireless technologies are the wave of the future; this presentation will demonstrate some of the capabilities, and discuss the possibilities. |
11:00 | |
| Lessons Learned in Developing
Web Site Projects for History 200 - American Technology and Culture In this presentation, we will review our process in implementing a web site design project into a History class that contained students with widely varying degrees of computing experience. We will detail our planning before the class and review the steps we took to provide the support we felt the students needed to allow them to develop successful projects. We will briefly display some of the projects that students developed, and provide our impressions of where we need to improve the process in the future to avoid some of the pitfalls we encountered. |
11:30 | |
| Kaleidomania! I will demonstrate how to use Kaleidomania! - "an exciting, dynamic tool for creating symmetric designs and exploring the mathematics of symmetry." The number of different repeating patterns that are possible is limited which explains why we see so much similarity among the designs from different parts of the world. I will be using this software this summer in MATH 110 Finite Mathematics to help students see and understand the symmetry and pattern of designs from different cultures. Using the mathematical operations of symmetry, rotation, translation and glide reflection students can explore the relationship between art and mathematics. |
12:00 | |
| 12:30 |
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| MWC’s Technology Proficiency
- an Update On April 7, 1999, the faculty of Mary Washington College approved
the adoption of an Information and Technology Proficiency requirement
for all incoming students that will begin in fall 2001. Four areas
make up this requirement (E-mail, Word Processing, Spreadsheets,
and Library and Information Literacy) and in turn those four areas
are each comprised of numerous learning objectives. Staff from
the Simpson Library and the Center for Instructional Technology
are responsible for providing the instruction to all new students
and the Registrar is tasked with reflecting completion of the
requirement on students' transcripts. This session will provide
an overview of this requirement, will showcase online materials
associated with it, and will discuss where we are after the first
year of implementation. |
1:30 | |
| Eagle Link: Current and Future
Developments This session will provide an overview of where we are with EagleLink, MWC’s online registration system. The presentation will include a discussion of coming attractions with EagleLink (faculty grading over the web, student degree audits, etc.). |
2:30 | |
| State of the Network Address The campus network continues to grow in infrastructure, electronics, and applications. Annually, Joe Haynes, the network administrator for Mary Washington College, provides an update about current initiatives and future plans regarding the network infrastructure and its capabilities. This year his discussion will include: (a) voice over IP in partnership with the VCCS, (b) dial-up connectivity, (c) cable modem and DSL access to the College's network, (d) projects to upgrade electronic components and new applications, (e) a new system for proxy access through the firewall, (f) video streaming, and (g) replacement of building hubs with switches. Come to the session, listen to Joe for a bit, then ask him any questions that you have regarding the campus network infrastructure. |
3:30 | |
| Confessions of
a Computer-Mediated Communication Addict Gardner Campbell I've run listservs and web-based threaded discussion groups since 1997, usually four a semester. This semester, for a variety of reasons, I went cold turkey and stopped altogether. In this anecdotal, utterly unscientific account, I discuss my motivations, my experience with and without CMC in the classroom, and my plans for next year. |
4:30 | |
| 5:00 |
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