Six outstanding instructors for online and blended courses were selected as recipients of the 2016–2018 MSU AT&T Faculty-Staff Awards in Instructional Technology.
Jessica Knott, Learning Design Manager for The MSU Hub for Innovation and selection committee coordinator, explained, “The AT&T Awards provide a venue for MSU to recognize outstanding educators who, through innovation and creativity, inspire others in new ways of thinking about technology, access, and accessibility in the design of learning experiences.”
2018 AT&T Award recipients
The winning innovations and honorable mentions of the 2017 AT&T Faculty-Staff Awards in Instructional Technology are:
BEST ONLINE COURSE
Liz Owen-Boltz, CEP 812, Applying Educational Technology to Practice
The selection committee appreciated Owen-Boltz and her team’s well-designed, immersive technology choices. This course is not a first-time winner, but the lens through which it was presented was new. While the course was fully online, the judges appreciated the focus on universal design and accessibility. Liz not only made the course accessible, but taught her students about why accessibility plays a critical role in teaching and beyond.
Honorable Mention, Fully Online
Roz Jaffer, MGT 814, Managing Diversity in the Work Place
The selection committee appreciated Jaffer’s fresh use of Second Life as a means to immerse students in experiences focused on cultural sensitivity, growth, and understanding. While the instructor worked with learning designers from an outside firm, the Second Life innovation seemed to be very much her own, and the attention to detail and consideration for the student experience was measured to be an effective one.
BEST BLENDED/HYBRID/FLIPPED COURSE
Peter White, LB 145, Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology
The selection committee appreciated White’s innovative use of video to augment the face-to-face learning experience while creating a personable, student-focused design that lowered the barrier of fear that students experience in science courses. Further, we appreciated his approach to universal design and dedication to designing an experience that bridges performance gaps for students of all demographics and academic risk levels.
Honorable Mention – Blended/Hybrid/Flipped Course
Carmen DeLorenzo, ITL 101, Elementary Italian I
The selection committee appreciated how DeLorenzo designed purposeful in-person and electronic assessment opportunities, while offering gameful pedagogy and opportunities for students to directly apply the skills learned. This effective combination lent a caring, present instructor presence to both the online and in-person student experiences. Her attention to accessible development was also appreciated, with not only Quality Matters standards represented but also focused, intentional attention to the MSU accessibility guidelines. The course is truly student-focused.
BEST TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENT
Deric McNish, THR 401, Acting with Accents
The selection committee appreciated McNish’s well-designed, purposeful, and immersive technology choices. Technology was far from the focus of his pedagogical choices, rather he used it in artful ways to amplify his teaching strategies and engage his students in the learning experiences he created for—and with—them.
Honorable Mention, Technology-Enhanced
Bei Zhang, BLD 498, Focused Problems in Clinical Laboratory Science
The selection committee appreciated Zhang’s innovative use of PlayPosit to lend an approachable air to complex materials and assessments. With PlayPosit, in-person content was augmented in playful, applicable, and approachable ways. Further, the design and use of this tool gave students interactive assessment opportunities.
2018 AT&T Awards Selection Committee:
Kathleen Hoag, 2016-2017 award winner, Associate Professor, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics, College of Natural Science
Christine Greenhow, 2016-2017 award winner, Associate Professor, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology & Special Education, College of Education
Dustin DeFelice, 2016-2017 award winner, Director of the MAFLT, College of Arts & Letters
Severin Grabski, Associate Professor, Accounting & Information Systems, Eli Broad College of Business
Jeremy VanHof, Director of Learning Technology & Development, Eli Broad College of Business
Rashad Muhammad, Instructional Designer, MSU Information Technology, MSU Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology
AT&T Awards Background
MSU established the AT&T Instructional Technology Awards program in 2005 through a gift from AT&T (then SBC). The award program is administered by the MSU Information Technology Office of the CIO and MSU Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology.
Since its inception, 63 instructional-technology innovations in MSU courses have received this award.
