The Annual Faculty Technology Showcase has become the largest technology event on campus. In the past three years, it has drawn many participants from all divisions and departments. Each year, faculty and staff members come together to exchange ideas and network with their colleagues at the Showcase. The Showcase demonstrates the continuous efforts of our faculty to integrate technology into their teaching to enhance student learning. Technology has made it possible for learning to be more interesting and collaborative and to go beyond the classroom environment. It is essential that we continue to review and reflect on our teaching strategies and strive to update them with the latest technologies available to engage students in active learning, improve student learning outcomes, and ensure that students are well prepared for the 21 st century. Being part of the Showcase has proven to be a very rewarding experience for many of us.

The Showcase features workshops, a keynote address, a plenary speaker, and faculty presentations, and a raffle at the end.

This year’s keynote speaker will be James Gabberty, Ph. D, Associate Professor of Information Systems from Pace University. Dr. Gabberty will talk about the latest trends in educational technologies — where the market is going and implications of them for educators, society, and social entrepreneurs.  The plenary speaker will be Sheri Prupis, Manager of Educational Technology for NJEdge. Ms. Prupis will bring you up to date on educational technology resources and practices provided by NJEdge, as well as new trends in New Jersey higher education.

This year’s Showcase will present variety of new topics that embrace emerging technologies for learning, as well as traditional topics for continuous discussion and improvement: (1) Faculty members from six divisions will share with you their experiences as participants in the Podcast Pilot Program in the Fall 2007 semester and discuss the benefits of the podcasts in helping student learning as well as challenges in integrating podcasts in class; (2) You will see how Nursing students’ learning has improved through Lecture123 – an online service; (3) A group of pioneer faculty members will share their experiences teaching hybrid courses and discuss best practices and tips; (4) A Technology Roundtable – an open discussion panel led by faculty from the Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences who want to share their insights regarding the effectiveness and drawbacks of various technologies, including PowerPoint, the SPSS statistical package, etc. (5) Vendor demonstrations will bring some of newest technologies on the market to campus.

Morning workshops will include presentations on Blackboard, Outlook 2007, PowerPoint 2007, and SmartBoard. These workshop topics cover the content of a new version or the latest releases of these software programs.

To register for the Showcase please contact Yifeng Bai (x790) with your choice of attending a workshop, and lunch option. For more information about Showcase, go to http://users.blomfield.edu/department/ctlt/showcase08

We look forward to seeing you at this exciting and fun campus event in January .

Yifeng Bai
Director, Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology

Laura Nova
Chair, Technology & Information Resources Committee

The 4 th Annual Faculty Showcase is being sponsored by:

The Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology
The Committee on Technology and Information Resources
The Committee on Faculty Development
The Adjunct Institute