Late Breaking Higher Ed News

February Lunch and Learn Link

FEBRUARY LUNCH AND LEARN

 

Please check out the following link to view the LETU February 2014 Lunch and Learn on Educational Technology by Bruce and Leslie Bowman.

 

February 2014 Lunch and Learn

 

 

DISCLAIMER:  As always, any opinions expressed in these videos are the opinions of the presenters and not necessarily of LETU.

College Student's Cell Phone Use and a Theology of Technology

Review: College Students’ Cell Phone Use, Beliefs, and Effects on Learning, College Student Journal, 2013, Vol. 47, No 4, December, Elder.

The 2013 ECAR study of undergraduate students and information technology found 74% of responding students have their "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) experiences banned or discouraged (ECAR, 2013). Dr. Anastasia Elder, associate professor of psychology at Mississippi State published her research in the December 2013 College Student Journal (full text available through LETU EBSCOhost at http://letu.edu/_Academics/library/research/databases). As Dr. Elder admits, this topic needs additional research beyond her work. The digital age we find ourselves in tends to encourage an attitude where these devices in the classroom are considered as distractions rather than a useful tool that can be used to enhance education. Microsoft’s 2014 Super Bowl Ad appeals to our emotions toward those helpful uses (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaOvHKG0Tio). In an institution of higher learning, can teaching and learning be accomplished well in a BYOD age? Should we take the dystopian view and ban or discourage all technology use in the classroom? Is the utopian view the only alternative? Recently, the Barna Group, a group known for their reporting and statistics especially among evangelical Christians, held their first Barna Frames conference (http://www.barnaframes.com/).  Several staff  from LETU attended and the DVD and books are available for review. One of the sessions spoke of a need for a Theology of Technology. Does our faith speak to us in this digital age? As we claim our own workspaces and we encourage our students to learn to claim their own as their mission field, I would argue yes, we need a Theology of Technology.

Dr. Elder speaks of several things that can begin to frame our discussion. She speaks of “college students (and other frequent users of cell phones in varied contexts) … becoming better at multi-tasking….”  (p. 1). Her hypothesis that students who used their cell phones while in lecture would not retain as much information as those who did not was not supported by this study. When given a test on an unfamiliar topic, the performance of students multi-tasking on a cell phone did not suffer. She details many of her conclusions as to why this may be and several caveats related to the need for a more comprehensive and specific research on this topic.

I’d like to encourage you to be part of this research. The CITL is working on several topics and additional proposals in several areas. Would you join us in creating a Theology of Technology, bringing to our colleagues journal articles and other research like Dr. Elder’s? We can all learn and grow together and continue to see our workplace as our mission field with eternal value.

Matthew Henry

Dean of Innovation Education CITL

Link for January Lunch and Learn

January Lunch and Learn Video Link

"Creative Fidelity"

Speaker:  James Falzone

Please click on the link below to view this 1 hour video:

January Lunch and Learn Creative Fidelity

February 2014 Lunch and Learn

The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Presents

February 2014 Lunch and Learn

Deploying Educational Technologies:  Lessons Learned

by 

Dr. Bruce and Mrs. Leslie Bowman

What is the value of educational technology in the collegiate classroom?  Is is a tool or a toy?  How do you minimize the risks of using it and how do you find the time to learn?  If you are asking these questions and are curious to explore innovative teaching techniques, please join these two experienced practitioners.

WHERE:  Steudler Lounge

WHEN:  February 11, 2014

TIME:  12:00-1:00 p.m.      

Please RSVP to Denise Bailey at 3510 or denisebailey@letu.edu

January 2014 Lunch and Learn James Falzone

CITL

LUNCH and LEARN presents:

“Creative Fidelity”

Friday

January 17^th, 2014

12-1 p.m.

MSC – Little Theater

-     Lunch Provided –

At LeTourneau, we talk quite a bit about innovation, and improvisation is essential to innovation.  In fact, improvisation is the genesis of all we do. We thrill when we see it in dance or hear it in music, but what does it mean for our own work, life, and spiritual practice? Contrary to popular belief, improvisation is never ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ or ‘winging it.’ Rather, to improvise well necessitates mastery of craft, imagination, attention to the importance of momentariness, and a commitment to living and working within the bounds of community.  This presentation by accomplished jazz clarinetist James Falzone will encourage us to think in new ways about creativity and our shared work of teaching and learning.  A mix of music and conversation, this is sure to be a memorable gathering.

The finest improvising clarinetist in Chicago, who is also one of the top genre-crossing reedmen in the country...his expertise and curiosity allow him to stretch from traditional to modern in both classical music and jazz, with forays into folk and liturgical music as well. Some artists like to blast through the walls that separate genres. Falzone turns them into putty and lets each side seep through to the other." Neil Tesser, Examiner

"James Falzone is not sitting back contentedly watching his star ascend. As an accomplished performer, composer, improviser, and educator, Falzone pursues a musical vision rooted in the middle ground between the fully notated world of conservatory-trained musicians and the improvisation-based energy of jazz and creative music. It is a territory he explores with an omnivorous appetite for musical influences and aesthetic directions, whether leading his quartet KLANG through a set of contemporary jazz compositions at a late night haunt, directing liturgical music with the Grace Chicago Consort, or composing for orchestra." Devin Hurd, New Music Box

Please R.S.V.P. to DeniseBailey@letu.edu or by phone at 3510.

Engineering Effulge! November Continuing Education PowerPoint Slides Now Available

Here's the link to the PowerPoint slides:

http://www.letu.edu/start/publications/departments/businessandadministration/informationtechnology/CETLEngineering.pdf

The video will be available soon!