Professors to showcase latest classroom technology at IUPUI forum

Walking through campus, it's almost impossible to not see an iPod. And even if you don't actually see one, you know they're there. Leslie Sharpe, assistant professor of digital art, has decided that iPods shouldn't be just a form of entertainment -- they should be part of her classroom. One of the winners of this year's IU AT&T Fellows Summer Leadership Forum, Sharpe received a grant large enough to do this. Now, she uses iPods in all aspects of her teaching. \n"I like thinking of new ways we can use technology," she said. \nFriday, IU professors like Sharpe will gather in Indianapolis to demonstrate the latest technology being used in education. After spending months developing and perfecting technologically-savvy teaching methods, a few professors were rewarded for their hard work by the AT&T Fellows Program, formerly the SBC Fellows Program. \nWinners received grants ranging from less than $2,000 to $15,000, depending on both the purpose and potential magnitude of each project. According to the AT&T Fellows Web site, participants were called on to "encourage the ... thoughtful use of technology to enhance teaching and learning." \nLast year's winners will present both their methods and their findings Friday.\n"Podcasting in Education" is the official title of Sharpe's project. After hearing that she was honored with the fellowship in the middle of the spring semester, she immediately changed the structure of her class and began implementing iPods as both study materials and as the basis for image projects. Sharpe wanted her students to "think of how you can use an iPod to create art." \nIn one of her classes for the fall, Sharpe's students will collaborate with the IU Art Museum to create a video tour of the museum's more portable objects. Although few would consider art to be a mobile material, Sharpe said she believes the use of iPods in art can change this way of thinking. \n"(This project) allows us to think about how artwork is seen," she said. "You get a different kind of experience (when you are) outside of a gallery."\nAnderson Norton, an assistant professor in the School of Education, is another 2006 fellowship recipient. He is planning to use his fellowship in a different manner. Norton said he is hoping to implement a Web site for math teachers across the state. \nNorton teaches a course for education majors which links the advanced material of college courses to the material taught in high school. Norton is using his fellowship to create a Web site on which to display the projects completed by the students in his "linking course." Not only will this Web site provide a showcase for students in his class, but it will also serve as a resource for teachers across the state.\n"(The site) will try to support the development of teachers," he said. \nNorton will also be using a portion of his fellowship to create a new one-hour "linking course" which will be available to freshmen and sophomores. Called "Fox-Trot Math," the class will look at math through the humor of the popular comic strip. Norton is hoping the course will help students "see how rich mathematics can be and how rich teaching mathematics can be." \nAfter seeing how well her students have responded to using iPods in class so far, Sharpe has been reassured that exploring new technology is a worthwhile cause. \n"I'd encourage all Directors and Chairs of departments to push their faculty to apply for these fellowships," she said. "Even if their own practice is fairly 'traditional."