{"id":3703,"date":"2016-12-21T14:53:45","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T20:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=3703"},"modified":"2016-12-21T14:53:45","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T20:53:45","slug":"chambers-receives-teaching-with-technology-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/chambers-receives-teaching-with-technology-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Chambers Receives Teaching with Technology Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 5 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n

Technology has always allowed students to focus on learning the subject or skills at hand in more engaging, efficient and effective ways, says Candace Chambers, PhD, professor of chemistry<\/a> at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP and recipient of the 2016 Teaching with Technology Award. Today\u2019s technology, she says, has the added value of allowing students to tailor their own educations like never before.<\/p>\n

\"Candace<\/a>\u201cThe average student in my courses now knows more content and skills at significantly greater depth than students that I saw in my courses 10, 15 or even 20 years ago,\u201d Chambers says. \u201cThey are learning at the leading edge of what many have called a Golden Age of Learning Technology. I don\u2019t think we should be asking ourselves \u2018Why embrace technology?’ but rather, \u2018Why learn without it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chambers received the 2016 Teaching with Technology Award during the Focus on Teaching & Technology regional conference held recently in St. Louis. She was honored for innovative approaches to using technology to promote student engagement, exceptional learning opportunities and a climate of high academic standards.<\/p>\n

Since its inception in 2015, Chambers has championed Maryville\u2019s Digital World<\/a>, a teaching and learning initiative that allows students to personalize their education in an enhanced technology environment. The program provides all undergraduate students with iPads and access to more than 80\u00a0learning, productivity and other resource apps in the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPCloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Chambers has become the standard bearer at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP for the thoughtful integration of technology in teaching and learning,\u201d Sam Harris, director of learning technology and support for the School of Adult and Online Education, wrote in his nomination letter. \u201c(She) has been fearless in utilization of the iPad in the classroom, often leading her peers through action and experimentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology has always allowed us to focus more intently on learning, Chambers says. She cites moving from typewriters to word processors and from slide rules to calculators as examples. But even more exciting is the ability to create entirely new learning experiences for students using technology,\u00a0she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tools available to students and their professors today allow them to focus their learning more efficiently than ever before \u2014 tailoring their daily studies on what they need most,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, modern polling technology allows students to rapidly self-assess topics they have mastered and topics where they need additional time. They can then be more efficient in their learning by focusing their attention on selected topics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chambers engages students using a variety of apps and other technology resources. For example, she creates videos to help students gain understanding utilizing iMovie, VideosShop, Teleprompter, VideoPhysics and ExplainEverything. Her videos provide access to sample problems 24\/7, which means they provide new opportunities to study during hours most convenient to individual schedules.<\/p>\n

\u201cI create short videos on topics students aren\u2019t likely to find elsewhere on the internet,\u201d Chambers says. \u201cFor example, at the end of the day, I sometimes make a video based on the most frequently asked question by students based on office hour visits during the day. I also make video responses to student email questions about the homework.\u201d<\/p>\n