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High Demand for Free Faculty Technology Workshops at Touro
By Phil Charach, Director of Instructional Technology Since fall 1999, the Academic Computing Department has been offering free technology workshops to faculty members in the New York metropolitan area who wish to enhance their technological skills and “keep up with the times.” In summer 2006, there was strong faculty interest in our workshops, with over 100 attendees.
I was not surprised by the strong attendance. It is only natural that faculty want to use technology to engage today’s students, who grew up with video games, other hi-tech devices, and short attention spans. Student expectations are the drivers of today’s educational technology advances.
Technology skills enable faculty to bring their subject matter to life, whether by showing a |
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 video downloaded from the Internet on a large-screen monitor or projector, or by using computer models to demonstrate complex concepts. The technology workshops offered by Academic Computing not only introduce faculty to basic computer and Internet skills; they also provide opportunities for faculty to learn how to post materials online with Blackboard course management software, check student work for plagiarism with Turnitin (workshop offered in cooperation with the Midtown Library), use Adobe Photoshop graphics software, create Macromedia Flash animations, and much more. During the summer, intensive three-day workshops offered on MS Office and Blackboard join the standard three-hour workshops offered year-round on a wide spectrum of technology.
The growing roster of engaging faculty technology workshops, with new topics introduced almost every semester, are just one more way that the Academic Computing Department, led by Dr. Issac Herskowitz, is fulfilling its mission to bring advanced instructional technology to Touro and give faculty the skills to use it. Other current projects of Academic Computing include increasing the number of projectors (both fixed and mobile) available to faculty, piloting the use of hand-held student response “clickers” in the School of Health Sciences, and much more.
To view listings or register for current faculty workshops, please visit http://www.touro.edu/faculty/workshops
To suggest new workshop topics or discuss other instructional technology issues at Touro, please contact Phil Charach, director of instructional technology, at philipc@touro.edu, 212-463-0400 ext. 688. |
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