Nov. 6, 2001
Technology Program Launched for Faculty
Workshops Help Professors Integrate Technology in
Classroom
By Sara
Ortega
Professors searching for innovative instructional alternatives have
recently found a new campus department ready to guide them toward cutting-edge
classroom improvement. The Center for Instructional Design and Development
(CIDD) now caters exclusively to professors and assistants, offering
instructional consultations, workshops, grants, and print and Web-based
resources. A merger of two previous departments (the Instructional Technology
Lab and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching), this new
division has become a unit of the Center for Academic Technologies.
As students generally demonstrate advanced technological proficiency,
GW now offers its professors the opportunity to gain new expertise.
CIDD does not intend to replace traditional teaching methods, but rather
to supplement them. William Koffenberger, CIDD director, admits, Students
and subjects need to be approached differently, so wed like to
see a resource center support faculty to different degrees in their
desire to enhance classroom
instruction.
Department workshops range from beginner to advanced levels. Highlighted
clinics include Dreamweaver Course Builder, which teaches
interactive instructional Web page design, various Prometheus navigation
courses,
multimedia application support, as well as courses in constructing online
virtual classes.
Although still evolving from its infant stage, the Center for Instructional
Design and Development aims to maximize its resources in order to emphasize
collaborative relationships between the University, the classroom, and
the outside world.
Were focusing on achieving internal objectives because technology
is a motivator for faculty to produce change, Koffenberger states.
Once professors are more comfortable in mingling technology into
the classroom, they can request CIDD grants to expand research
proposals and facilitate the redesign of courses.
CIDD pledges a new era of promise for GW. The right structures need
to be in place, however, before anyone can take the first steps because
its a circular process, Koffenberger says. We
need to identify our problems, refine instructional design, implement
new strategies, and evaluate classroom success.
For further information, visit www.cidd.gwu.edu.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu