Introduction to Teaching with Technology in Liberal Education: Open Plenary
Bryan Alexander, NITLE Director of Research
Location: Newell Center for Arts Technology, NCAT 003

Are you confounded by the challenges of integrating technology effectively into the curriculum? Bryan Alexander, Ph.D, NITLE Director of Research, brings a breadth of knowledge in using technology as a tool for teaching and learning in a liberal arts institution. All faculty and staff are welcome to register to attend this plenary to expand their understanding.

Introduction to Teaching with Technology in Liberal Education: Hands-On Workshop
Bryan Alexander, NITLE Director of Research
Location: Newell Center for Arts Technology, NCAT 003 (lunch included); cap 19

Faced with a flood of available instructional technologies, faculty members must make difficult decisions about which tools will help them and their students best achieve their teaching and learning goals. Just as faculty and students need technologies that make sense for liberal education, their campuses need innovative pedagogies that advance their missions and priorities.

Participants in this workshop will examine the instructional technologies available at the host campus, connect them to proven teaching and learning practices, and explore how they fit within the context of liberal education. For each technology, the workshop leader will present best practices from the host campus and elsewhere and lead hands-on practice with the technology. Participants will leave with a plan for how to use at least one new technology to advance their teaching goals and enhance their students’ learning experiences.

Available only to registered plenary participants.

Visual Literacy: Using Images for Teaching and Learning
Rebecca Anzalone, NITLE Instructional Technologist and Sean Connin, NITLE Professional Development Coordinator
Location: Newell Center for Arts Technology, NCAT 108 (lunch included); cap 13

In our media-saturated culture, communication occurs just as much through images as through text. Visual imagery has been shown to help learners process information more efficiently than using words alone, and many students identify themselves as visual learners. The easy availability of digital images makes them a natural teaching tool, but what are the best ways to use them? This workshop will address issues related to teaching with images, such as visual learning style and the basics of reading and communicating with images. Participants will learn how to find digital images in ARTstor, Flickr, and other collections and will consider copyright issues associated with reusing such images. They will leave with the basic technology skills and knowledge to incorporate digital images from such sources into their own teaching materials.

Web Mapping
Rebecca Anzalone, NITLE Instructional Technologist and Sean Connin, NITLE Professional Development Coordinator
Location: Owen D. Young Library 140B (lunch included); cap 17

Web-based mapping tools like Google Earth are changing the way we understand our world by promoting spatial thinking and visual literacy. Across the disciplines, teachers can use a visual or spatial approach as an analytic framework for curricular materials that brings key perspectives and points to students’ attention that may be missed otherwise. Since these tools do not require lengthy training, they can be easily integrated into curricula and research. Participants in this workshop will learn how easy-to-use, intuitive web-mapping and virtual globe applications can be used to develop spatially or geographically-based curricula. For example, web-mapping allows teachers and their students to

• create two-dimensional place maps with applications that turn mapping programs into social software (Wayfaring, Platial, GPS Visualizer, and many others);
• access census data maps through the American Fact Finder, Social Explorer, and others; and
• use and customize virtual globes (Google Earth and NASA's World Wind) as learning tools.

Participants will leave with a plan for integrating spatial and geographic thinking into their teaching and research.
Registration open until December 14!