Tag Archives: Academic Technology

SJSU Faculty, Staff and Students Participate in the Academic Technology Expo (ATXpo) at Stanford University

On Oct. 2, San Jose State University faculty, staff and students joined colleagues from Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, UC San Francisco, University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, Santa Clara University and Saint Mary’s College of California at the Academic Technology Expo. The event provided a forum to share, discuss and promote effective practices for teaching and learning with technology. The Expo included a series of IdeaLab sessions and a student panel. The IdeaLab is a unique interactive session where presenters showcase practices, projects and technologies that are improving teaching and learning at participating institutions. Each presentation focused on a central teaching and learning challenge and how their solution might be adopted by other participants.

IdeaLab sessions included topics such as virtual reality, open education resources, writing activities, and student-centered approaches to communication, metacognition, and assessment that are enhanced by technology with eight teams of SJSU affiliates presenting throughout the day.

List of SJSU Presentations:

Presenters: David W. Parent

Presenters: Resa Kelly, Yingjie Liu

Presenters: Debra Caires, Isadora McCullough, Andrea Ulloa

Presenters: Marilyn Easter, Prabha Chandrasekar, Bobbi Makani

Presenters: Bryan Dang, Jeland Palicte, Colleen O’Leary-Kelley, Minh Tran

Presenters: Tianqin Shi, Jennifer Redd, Yingjie Liu

Presenters: Karin Jeffery, Ph.D., Emily Wughalter, Ed.D., Bethany Winslow

Presenters: Linda M. Dunn-Jensen, Prabha Chandrasekar

Additionally, Alora Frederick, Marketing ’18 with a minor in advertising, joined students from other participating campuses on a student panel. The discussion focused on teaching methods and tools used in courses. The panel provided an opportunity for students to share their experiences, thoughts and opinions on using different methods and tools.

For additional information about the event, visit the ATXpo website. For questions or for those interested in participating next year, please contact Jennifer Redd.

 

Next Generation Classrooms Offer Unique Teaching Opportunities

San Jose State professors who are interested in using new technology in a “next generation” classroom on campus gathered on May 17 to hear from colleagues who have already implemented innovative teaching methods in their courses.

During the workshop, Academic Technology and ITS staff members, and faculty members discussed the technology usage landscape, connectedness, the digital divide and building learning pathways.

Jennifer Redd, director of eCampus for Academic Technology, shared some statistics from an Educause survey that found 92 percent of college students own a smartphone while 91 percent own a laptop, making technology accessible in most classrooms. The survey found that three in five instructors use technology during class and encourage the use of collaborative tools.

Faculty members shared some of the ways they have used collaborative tools in the classroom, including telepresence, lecture capture and learning management systems.

San Jose State currently has seven “next generation” classrooms that include audio, visual and lecture capture equipment. The classrooms allow faculty members and students to interact with others remotely, record sessions to view online later and to collaborate through learning management systems such as Canvas. Mobile telepresence units, Wifi and Smartboards allow some of the same tools to be used in other classrooms on campus.

Academic Technology staff members are available to support faculty who are interested in implementing teaching techniques that use technology to enhance student engagement and learning in their classrooms.

See a schedule of upcoming workshops online.

March Newsletter: Provost Update – Technology and Teaching Intersect

At San Jose State, in the heart of Silicon Valley, we are turning to technology to support student success in many ways. New technology has evolved and expanded the way we teach classes. It is allowing us to use data and predictive analytics to make informed decisions about what resources are needed to improve graduation and retention rates. It is opening up new opportunities for students and faculty to engage together in research.

As Provost, I am encouraged by our staff and faculty who have been early adopters of new technologies and serve as examples for the campus. They have found innovative ways to use the assets we have available to take students beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom. We have faculty members who are redesigning their courses to use new applications that increase student engagement and real-time assessment. Others use telepresence and WebEx to connect with long-distance research partners or bring guest lecturers into their classrooms remotely. Still others are incorporating new software tools into their curriculum to ensure students have the skills they need to land internships in their fields.

Academic Technology, IT Services, and the Center for Faculty Development have been integral in supporting students, staff and faculty as we adopt new technologies. They coordinate group workshop and training activities such as the recent Adobe Day, where 50 staff and faculty members learned how to use new software programs at the company’s downtown office. IT Services also hosts IT Open Forums several times a year, where all students, staff and faculty are invited to learn about the ways in which technology and higher education intersect.Dates of upcoming forums are available online.

Academic Technology and ITS staff are collaborating more closely since ITS joined the Academic Affairs Division in the fall. I am enthusiastic that their joint efforts will greatly benefit us all, especially as student success continues to be a top priority on campus.

I encourage those of you who are interested in learning more about the existing technology resources we have on campus to connect with Academic Technology, IT Services and the Center for Faculty Development, or to consult with them when you discover new resources that could benefit the greater campus community. I look forward to seeing the innovative ways we can collaborate to improve student success, support RSCA and educate the future workforce of Silicon Valley.

A hundred classrooms get summer makeover

Students and faculty returned to classes this fall with new furniture, white boards and Mecho shades in more than 100 of the most used classrooms on campus. The upgrades were supported by Academic Affairs through its
21st Century Teaching and Learning Spaces priority.

Timothy Brown, a lecturer who teaches a course on compensation and rewards for the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, was pleased with the update to his classroom in BBC 021.

“I had students faced with a setting sun shining in their eyes during the Fall semester (last year),” he said, via email. “Thanks to newly installed blinds, we won’t face that problem this semester.”

The way his classroom is set up, students face west toward the front of the classroom where the setting sun shone through windows on two doors.

Over the summer, nearly 100 classrooms received new and updated furniture; new whiteboards were installed in 36 classrooms; 56 classrooms received new shades such as the one in Brown’s class; and fixed seating was upgraded in five lecture classrooms. Working in partnership with Academic Technology, 36 classrooms also received technology updates. More improvements are slated for the coming year.