{"id":760,"date":"2011-02-09T14:40:17","date_gmt":"2011-02-09T14:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/?p=760"},"modified":"2017-06-19T17:21:02","modified_gmt":"2017-06-19T17:21:02","slug":"its-and-academic-technology-highlighted-in-the-current-swarthmore-college-bulletin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/2011\/02\/09\/its-and-academic-technology-highlighted-in-the-current-swarthmore-college-bulletin\/","title":{"rendered":"ITS and Academic Technology Highlighted in the Current Swarthmore College’ Bulletin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several academic technology projects were highlighted in this month’s Swarthmore College’ Bulletin article on the evolution of Swarthmore’s curriculum<\/a><\/p>\n

Gayle Barton, the College\u2019s chief information technology officer was quoted on the issue of “Educating the “Net” Generation\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pace of change will continue to increase\u2014as will the volume of information and number of options\u2014so we\u2019ll need to have technologists who can help people choose solutions that fit their needs,\u201d she says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cNew tools for communication and self-publishing are becoming increasingly important in the academic arena. Scientists have had literature and data available online for years, but scholars in the humanities and social sciences are also moving in that direction. Students need to be prepared to publish their work online, with audio and video, and texts written for a public audience.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article goes on to discuss the role that Academic Technology played in supporting Professor Betsy Bolton’s Writing Nature: Digital Storytelling course from Fall 2010:<\/p>\n

Eric Behrens \u201992, associate chief information technology officer for the College, led the team that supported the course\u2019s technology component. Behrens, who has been the principal organizer, coordinator, and advocate for digital storytelling at Swarthmore, worked closely with Bolton to redesign the syllabus and assignments to revolve around digital storytelling.<\/p>\n

Borrowing cameras, audio recorders, and GPS devices (on which they input coordinates of their \u201cfinds\u201d) from the College\u2019s Media Services department, the students assemble written and visual records that are combined on the computer to form their \u201cpapers.\u201d And instead of a book, the archive of the students\u2019 work grows throughout the semester in a blog where students can watch and listen to each others\u2019 work, using the GPS map to locate the exact spots that inspired each composition. In a comments section, they engage in conversation and exchange helpful tips.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Betsy goes on to say, \u201cthere\u2019s been a paradigm shift in our understanding of teaching. I couldn\u2019t teach this course by myself. Its success really depends upon a high level of technical support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full article at the Swarthmore College’ Bulletin<\/a><\/p>\n

View projects mentioned in this article<\/h3>\n
\n