Faculty, Staff, and Student Presented at Media Conference
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2010
Dr. Sandra Webster, Westminster College professor of psychology; Gary Swanson, director of Westminster's Audio Visual Services; and Westminster senior psychology major Rachael Hoffman presented at the Consortium of College and University Media Centers (CCUMC) annual conference Oct. 6-10 in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Westminster presentation, "WikiKlips: Using Vodcasts on Wikis for Student Team Lab Reports," followed the conference theme of "Convergence," focused on the crossover between media, technology, and learning.
In 2009, Westminster's AV Services received the CCUMC's Donald A. Rieck Research Grant. Swanson and Webster used the grant to show how collaboration between media technologists and faculty members is essential for success in teaching technology research.
The WikiKlips project was a combination of three cutting-edge technologies: Flip video camera vodcasts, E-Prime psychology software, and Sakai learning management software for student team reports. Each of the technologies had been used previously, but never together or led by students at the undergraduate level.
"Our project team exemplified collaboration between media technologists, faculty members, and students, each of whom is essential for success with these types of projects," Swanson said.
"It was great to work with Gary, an AV expert, and Rachael, a student expert," Webster said. "The final important ingredient to the project was the 'can-do' attitude of Westminster students who met each new technological challenge with enthusiasm and competence."
The presentation demonstrated a teaching program that Webster developed that provides undergraduate students the necessary foundations to use technology to create their own video podcasts (vodcasts) to summarize and present key concepts they have learned.
"The Flip cameras helped my students record and learn how to do complex computer-based experiments using E-Prime, a software program funded through a National Science Foundation grant to Westminster's Department of Psychology," Webster said.
Although Webster was not able to attend the conference physically, technology provided a way for her to be present.
"We used Skype to connect with her live from her classroom and used a dual projector setup to give the feel that she was seated next to us at the table," Swanson explained. "We received numerous positive comments not only on the content of our presentation, but also on how well we managed the technology so that it didn't interfere with the message."
The conference proved to be an opportunity both for networking and for information. "I enjoyed making contacts with people outside my typical field of study and being introduced to many different perspectives on the integration of technology and education," said Hoffman, who is the AV Services operations and equipment circulation manager.
In Swanson's opinion, the connections with technology experts, AV employees, and educators made for a valuable experience, one that he hopes will become an annual event.
"We have some unique programs at Westminster that we feel would be of interest to the consortium," Swanson said. "We will be submitting those presentation ideas soon with the hope of being selected to present again in 2011."
Webster, who has been with Westminster since 1983, earned undergraduate and master's degrees and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Swanson, who joined the Westminster staff in 1990, is a Westminster College graduate.
Hoffman is a daughter of Walter and Patricia Hoffman of Transfer and a graduate of Reynolds High School.
Contact Swanson at (724) 946-7188 (e-mail gswanson@westminster.edu) for additional information.
More Stories
