Students teach tech in VCU program

Professors interested in bringing new technology into their classrooms are turning to a non-traditional source – students.

“Students often have skills faculty members don’t,” said Zachary Goodell, an associate director at the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Goodell said the Student Technology Expertise Program originally was in the now-defunct Academic Technology department. He said he saw potential in STEP and served as the program’s coordinator until this past fall.

“STEP is one of the first programs to integrate technology into teaching,” Goodell said. “It is also one of the few that involve students directly.”

For more information about STEP, visit http://www.vcu.edu/cte/STEP

STEP is a cost-free mentorship program matching faculty members with student interns. Faculty members submit project proposals associated with technology in the classroom.

Students submit a list of their technological skills. After a careful review, faculty and interns have their first meeting with the STEP coordinator to begin planning their project.

Four to five faculty members begin projects during the academic year, said Jeff Nugent, the center’s other associate director. Nugent took over Goodell’s post as STEP coordinator this past school year.

“The program is driven by individual faculty interest,” Nugent said. “No single department seems to have a corner on this. We’ve had folks from music to engineering, to medicine, to mathematics and everything in between, so it’s a diverse population.”

The program has two main goals. The first is the integration of technology into teaching. The second goal is student-to-faculty mentoring, in which student interns impart their technological skills to faculty members.

“Students often have skills faculty members don’t.”
-Zachary Goodell, associate director at the Center for Teaching Excellence.

According to both Goodell and Nugent, Web authoring for instructional supplemental use is the most sought-after technological skill by faculty members. Web authoring includes designing and creating dynamic Web pages using applications such as DreamWeaver and Flash.

“Digital video editing and multimedia content development skills are at the top of the list,” Nugent said.

“The ability to self-teach new technology quickly is also a valuable skill,” Goodell added.

Marie Anzalone, assistant professor of occupational therapy, turned to STEP when she wanted help with digital video editing for use in her lectures.

“Videotaped examples of clinical evaluation and intervention are central to my teaching about practice with children – seeing a child with a disability cannot be learned via books or lectures,” Anzalone said.

Anzalone said she saw the value in digital video technology’s effectiveness and efficiency, but didn’t know what editing programs to use or how to use them.

Anzalone has been working on her project since November and said her STEP experience was a positive one. She said that the help of her student intern, Ashnfara Murphy Judy, was invaluable.

“At this point, I am almost ready to be able to go with the projects independently,” Anzalone said.