I wanted to share a few of my observations and experiences that I had at the ASEE Conference. The meeting was held in the beautiful city of Vancouver, BC, Canada. The convention center was located next to the Olympic torch used in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and was the location for paper presentations, meetings and the vendor exhibition floor.
One new technology that caught my eye was piazza which is a new way for students and faculty to ask and provide course help online. It is more of a social networking application for classrooms that was developed at Stanford and it use is rapidly spreading across campuses. It is free and there is a website where you can get started at www.piazza.com
I would like to see the College of Technology be the first users of this new technology so encourage our faculty to give it a try this fall. I would be willing to provide some development funds for anyone wanting to try this in the fall and report your results.
This brings me to a related topic which is my desire to see the College of Technology be leaders in the effective use of technology in the classroom. I believe there is much more we can do to effectively integrate technology into the classroom and study the results. There is funding to study the integration of technology into the classroom especially as it relates to STEM Education. Please contact me if you have an interest in forming a leadership group for the college with the goal to have the College of Technology become a leader in the effective use of technology in the classroom.
We were very well represented at the ASEE conference with many of our faculty and students making paper presentations and involved in the various divisions of ASEE. The Engineering Technology Division (ETD) has a great deal of involvement by our faculty who are working on an important initiative to better define and promote the value of engineering technology. This is a very important initiative and one that we should be leading for the nation. Recently retired Mike O’Haire, Bob Herrick, Mark Pagano, and Ken Burbank are leading our efforts and should be commended for their insight and leadership.
