Talking Tech at Techtoberfest

Faculty instruct each other about technology

left to right: Elizabeth Donley, Kitty Mackey, Dr. Katherine Sadler, Lorraine Leedy and Amy Blades

A handful of instructors gathered around history professor Dr. Katherine Sadler as she pointed to her laptop. Sadler was walking them through her online history class, which she had designed to include features like online “field trips” to relevant websites and online journals in which students had to take on the personae of fictional characters throughout history. “Oh my gosh!” exclaimed one instructor as she read a journal entry. “And they’re actually doing it—they’re really taking on these characters.” “The students really get into it,” Sadler said. “For me, this is the most fun assignment I’ve ever designed.” There was only one snag, she added, students never seemed to click on one of the field trip destinations that she thought had some of the most educational value for them. “You should try listing it first,” librarian Kitty Mackey suggested. Sadler’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t think of that!” she said. This was exactly the kind of knowledge sharing that Techtoberfest was designed to promote. Hosted jointly by the Teaching and Learning Center and eLearning, the event was an opportunity for faculty to learn about software and hardware teaching tools—such as Google Plus, iPads and Moodle—from fellow instructors who already use them.