Over the last decade technology has changed the way that both students and teachers view the educational process. In a special report to the National Research Council, the panel on the impact of information technology in higher education states, “We envision a future, enabled by information technology and driven by learner demand, in which two of the major (and taken-for-granted) ways of organizing undergraduate learning will recede in importance: the 55-minute classroom lecture and the common reading list. That digital future will challenge faculty to design technology-based experiences based primarily on interactive, collaborative learning.”

Since 1996, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences has conducted a series of summer workshops designed to help graduate students use new technologies for their teaching, research, and professional development. During that time the workshops have changed their focus to reflect the changes in institutional philosophies and technological fluency, moving from the teaching of basic internet skills through the development of course websites.

The 2005 summer workshops will emphasize the pedagogical challenges and opportunities involved in using new media not only for teaching but also for cultivating intellectual communities. Through discussion and hands-on modeling of specific classroom practices, these workshops will give participants a set of practical skills and a conceptual apparatus for thinking about the present and future of educational technologies.

Some of the discussion topics and activities will include:

• Learning and teaching styles in the Information Age.
• Course management software and the future of the university
• Using Telesis for establishing and managing class communities
• A classroom without walls: making effective use of online discussion/chat
• Using multimedia in the classroom: theory and practice
• Resources for professional development

Workshop dates:

Session 1: June 6th to 10th, 10AM to 12PM

Session 2: June 13th to 17th, 10AM to 12PM

Session 3: June 13th to 17th, 1PM to 3PM

This series of five workshops has been developed by the Washington University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in cooperation with the Teaching Center, Career Center, and the Arts and Sciences Computing Center.

The Summer 2004 workshop web pages, as well as those from the Summer 02, Summer 02, Summer 01, Summer 00, Summer 99, Summer 98, and Summer 97, can be used as tools for independent study. Please feel free to use these pages for your professional development and in your own teaching, with the condition that Washington University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences be informed and the course development team be credited.