Sheri Shepherd discusses excellence in teaching and engineering

In this talk the relationships between teaching and research are explored. Examples are presented that illustrate the variety of ways that teaching can affect the engineering student experience. The talk draws from the soon to be published book Educating Engineers: Designing for the Future, and emerging findings from the NSF-funded Academic Pathways Study (APS). Educating Engineers, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, addresses the perception that professional education has been plagued by a long-standing failure to connect theory and practice in systematic, productive ways. The APS investigates the ways that engineering college students navigate their education, and pays particular attention to how students develop skills, identity and commitment to engineering. Taken together, Educating Engineers and APS show the ways that engineering education is meeting students’ and the nation’s needs and the many ways it is failing to do so, and suggest ways that for us to embark on redesigning engineering higher education.

You can watch or download the presentation on the Rice Webcast Archives Site.

Rice Dance Theatre: Arts meet Technology

Arts and Technology met at Rice thanks to collaborative efforts between the Rice Dance Theater, The Society for the Performing Arts, and the Educational Technologies department. Using an EdTech portable videoconferencing and projection system, dance students were able to take a master class from instructors of the renowned Bocca Tango dance group from Argentina, and share in the activity with dance students at the University of Texas in Austin. The Bocca Tango masters taught a live class at Rice's Dance studio, what students at UT were able to follow along in Austin. Students at both universities were able to learn as they observed each other perform, and the Bocca Tango masters were able to provide feedback at locations. Students were exited about this opportunity, as technology does not usually travel to these non-traditional settings.

Coping with Information Overload

The Educational Technologies Department and Rice's Fondren Library will be hosting a brown bag lunch on Coping with Information Overload as part of the Teaching with Technology series.
Date: April 9, 2008
Time: 12-1 p.m.
Place: Digital Media Center (Herring Hall 129)

Summary: Recently business research firm Basex named information overload the
“problem of the year” and estimated that it costs $650 billion annually.
According to a 2005 UK study, information overload can lower IQ by as
much as 10 points. Feeling overwhelmed by the deluge of information?
Lisa Spiro, director of the Digital Media Center, will provide practical
tips for dealing with information overload as part of the Teaching with
Technology brown bag series, which is sponsored by Fondren Library’s
Digital Media Center and Information Technology’s Educational
Technologies group. She will discuss methods such as the “Getting Things
Done” approach as well as computer-based tools for finding information,
managing projects and to-do lists, organizing research, and more. Free
box lunches will be provided to the first 15 people who register online
at http://library.rice.edu/news-events-folder/infooverloadbb/view

Teaching Innovation Award Announcement

The following announcement was posted in OpenEd practices. Since the collaboration and course management tools in OWL-Space are powered by Sakai, this should be of interest to the Rice instructional community.

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Teaching with Sakai Innovation Award

Attention faculty: Are you excited about new ways in which you have been able to engage your students using Sakai? If you believe that your course transforms the learning experience, we want to hear from you. We are looking for teachers whose courses best exemplify excellent teaching practices combined with innovative solutions. Please share your story with us and with other faculty around the world by applying for the Teaching with Sakai Innovation Award. Check out our self-scoring rubric today to see how your course stacks up.

If you are the winner, you will be awarded a modest cash prize, and a trip to Paris to participate in the 9th Sakai Conference, July 1-3. There you will be recognized at an award ceremony and invited to showcase your course. If you are the winner and unable to travel to Paris, an honorarium will be awarded and we will work with you to provide an electronic presence at the conference.

Teaching Innovation

Although there are many ways in which technology, and in particular Sakai, can making the teaching process more efficient or productive, innovative technology applications truly transform the educational experience. The intent of this award is ti highlight examples of educational applications of Sakai which fall into this innovative or transformative category.

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For more information visit opened practices

Teaching With Technology Brown Bags Presents Second Life

On March 12, 2008, the Teaching with Technology Brown Bag Series, hosted in collaboration by Educational Technologies and Fondren Libraries Digital Media Center, presented invited Phil Montgomery to talk about Second Life. Phil discussed what Second Life is, as well as its history, demographics, and Rice's participation in it. Faculty present at the event presented questions and observations in a variety of areas including:

• Using this as a recruitment tool
• How this tool can be used in education ?
• How does the construction and scripting process work?
• Would you teach a class in Second Life and:
• Be able to control access to the space?
• Make it an open class?
• What are the front loading requirements for course preparation?

Rice's recent experiences in hosting conferences in Second Life were also presented. Aspects such as fostering distributed participation and interactivity were also discussed, along with efforts to host future Rice events in Second Life.

The presentation is stored in OWL-Space and is downloadable from the Teaching with Technology site. This is a joinable site. Please contact EdTEch for further information.