by Deborah Mateik

The Office of Information Technology and the Center for Teaching Excellence jointly hosted the 8th Annual Teaching With Technology Conference on March 30, 2001 (http://www.oit.umd.edu/TWT). The conference featured innovative presentations and demonstrations by College Park faculty and instructors and a thought-provoking keynote by Dr. Burks Oakley II, Associate Vice President for University of Illinois Academic Affairs.

Faculty showcased projects that make innovative uses of technology to enhance or transform instruction. This year, in addition to featuring their new "coursewares" and demonstrating best practices in instructional design facilitated by technology, they also shared research data and anecdotal observations of how technology is impacting the learning outcomes of their students.

Speakers and participants, via presentations and panel discussions, explored such issues as "Using Technology to Inform Diverse Learning Communities," "Continuing Education for Professionals via the Internet," "Building Class Community," and "Enabling the Learning Process by Making the Technology Transparent," to name a few.

The conference keynote by Professor Oakley, a nationally renowned practitioner and promoter of Internet-based asynchronous learning environments, captured the attention and enthusiasm of the conference's 135 participants with his discussion of "e-Learning: The Impact of the Internet on Higher Education." Oakley stressed that "online education isn't about technology, it's about teaching, learning, and communication." The Internet can provide students with access to learning opportunities, materials, and resources, and to other people, including fellow-students, instructors, and experts, and this access, according to Oakley, is now accomplished with such a high level of effectiveness that there is no need to qualify the learning as "e" (electronic): it's just Learning.

Oakley's presentation included live demonstration of techniques and tools, as well as results of surveys of student and faculty performance and satisfaction. (Presentation: e-Learning: The Impact of the Internet on Higher Education.

Professor Oakley also serves as the director of the University of Illinois Online (ION) initiative, a program designed to facilitate the development and delivery of University of Illinois courses, degrees, and public service resources over the Internet (http://www.online.uillinois.edu). This initiative has been highly successful for faculty and students alike. In fact, of all the Illinois faculty who have taught at least one online course through the ION initiative, 83% indicated a willingness to teach another online course in the future, primarily because of their perception that the amount and quality of student interaction was as good as or better than that experienced via comparable face-to-face instruction. Professor Oakley believes the ION initiative can serve as a model to other universities planning to incorporate online education as an instruction option for students.

Winners of the 2nd Annual University of Maryland Innovation in Teaching with Technology (UMITT) Award (http://www.oit.umd.edu/tel/UMITT) were recognized at the conference luncheon. This year's awardees came from the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) and Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS). James Greenberg and Donald Riley presented the awards, representing the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Office of Information Technology, respectively.

The AGNR interdisciplinary team of John D. Lea-Cox, David S. Ross, K. Marc Teffeau, Ellen N. Varley, and Duane S. Mason developed an interactive, web-based course entitled "Water and Nutrient Management Planning for the Nursery and Greenhouse Industry" in response to the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998. By using a problem-based learning approach, teams consisting of a resident academic student, a nursery or greenhouse professional, and an Extension faculty or professional consultant collaborated throughout the course to develop site-specific water and nutrient management plans. By combining an online course delivery model with site-specific face-to-face meetings, this course has been able to meet specific state requirements and has been recognized both regionally and nationally as a new model for educational programming. (See article at http://www.oit.umd.edu/ITforUM/2001/Spring/hort400.)

The BSOS team of Jonathan Wilkenfeld, Judith Torney-Purda, Brigid Starkey, Elizabeth Blake, and Elizabeth Kielman developed the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project which has sought to use the opportunities presented by new technologies to reshape the curriculum and offer experiential and collaborative learning opportunities for students. The ICONS project provides an environment through the use of technology for students to test theories about how nations create foreign policy and resolve conflicts in the international arena. Through active and interactive learning activities, students have the opportunity to understand and actively experience the ways that foreign policy is created and implemented by the nations within the international system. (See article at http://www.oit.umd.edu/ITforUM/2001/Spring/icons.)

UMITT awardees will present sessions on their projects at the 2002 conference.

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