• Tech masters

• The days of the chalkboard may be fast disappearing.
  
  Traditional classrooms do still exist on campus and in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Professors still use the chalkboard and other basic tools of the profession when they lecture.
  
  But the technological age that is hitting the rest of our lives is getting more of a foothold in college classrooms.
  
  PowerPoint presentations have replaced the old overhead display. The Internet can provide almost instantaneous information on any number of subjects. Video clips and other technological advances are becoming more and more prevalent in large lectures, particularly in general education courses.
  
  To recognize the increasing importance of using technology in the classroom, LAS has named six faculty members as master teachers for the current academic year.
  
  The six will participate with the Center for Teaching Excellence in the planning of teaching methods seminars and in-class demonstrations. Each will establish time frames when other Iowa State faculty members can attend their classes on days when the innovative teaching methods are used.
  
  In selecting Rebecca Burnett, professor of English; Thomas Ingebritsen, associate professor of zoology and genetics; Steffen Schmidt, University professor of political science; Robert
  Stephenson, University professor of statistics; David Stuart, associate professor of music; and Doug Yarger, professor of atmospheric sciences, LAS recognized faculty members who have demonstrated success in teaching with a reputation for using innovative or unique teaching methods. This year the master teachers were selected for their use of instructional technology in the classroom, distance education and encouraging student engagement in large enrollment classes.
  
  * Burnett, an authority on technical communication, has integrated technology into her classroom by developing course discussion lists with her students.
  
  * Ingebritsen has developed Internet courses for on- and off-campus biology students. Iowa State has more biology courses on line than any other institution in the country.
  
  * Schmidt and colleagues in the political science department created a virtual American government course. Schmidt will be the first Jerry Shakeshaft Master Teacher, an award established in memory of the longtime political science professor.
  
  * Stephenson has long taught a distance learning course in statistics to employees of General Motors, 3M and the Mayo Clinic.
  
  * Stuart, for each music appreciation class period, uses a variety of technological applications in the refurbished Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall.
  
  * Yarger utilizes several computer programs developed at Iowa State that allow meteorology students to forecast the weather. "I think we're making real strides in student learning (with this approach)," Yarger said. "Instead of measuring understanding with multiple choice exams we now can see that students come out of the course being able to solve authentic weather-related programs."
  
  When Ingebritsen first got interested in the Internet, he started exploring how that new instructional tool could be used in the classroom. The result was Project BIO, a partnership for biology education that involved educators and students not only at Iowa State, but also at other higher education and secondary education institutions across the state.
  
  Project BIO offers nine different courses via the Internet each semester to approximately 500 students. Ingebritsen estimates that two-thirds of those students are regularly enrolled Iowa State students.
  
  "Since the lectures for these courses are offered 24-7, it helps them fit one of these classes into their otherwise crowded schedule," he said.
  
  The courses are divided into six modules and are presented on the Internet with some unique features including narration through RealAudio. The instructors record their lectures in a sound booth located in the basement of Science II while the course's graphics on the computer screen have been modified based on a PowerPoint presentation.
  
  "There are literally thousands of courses on the Internet," Ingebritsen said. "We have incorporated other aspects to give the students a real course type experience."
  
  And according to Ingebritsen there are advantages to this type of course over a large lecture setting.
  
  "One could argue that this is as good if not better for many students as opposed to sitting in a classroom of 500 to 600 people," he said. "We've found out many students are more willing to 'participate' in such a class with e-mail discussions with other students and/or the professor than in a large lecture situation."
  
  Burnett takes a similar approach. In her undergraduate technical communication course, a discussion list is available where she and her students pose questions related to the current course topic.
  
  "Many times the discussion we have had in class that day will be extended on the electronic discussion list," she said. "You get a much different demographic mix of students who participate in the on-line discussions."
  
  Virtually every writing project required in Burnett's class is submitted to her via e-mail. A specialized word processing program allows her to provide feedback to each student.
  
  "I can suggest editorial changes that the students can respond to, delete or incorporate into their final papers," she said. "I can now actually provide more feedback to them than I could by handwriting the suggestions on a hard copy."
  
  Ingebritsen interacts with his students entirely through the Internet. He no longer teaches a "face-to-face" course, only Internet courses. Such courses allow students to move at their own pace.
  
  "I can't tell you how many students who have taken my course have e-mailed me and said how wonderful it was to take a course where they can hear the lectures at two in the morning in their pajamas.
  
  "I think these type of courses are a great thing myself," he continued. "We all want to make learning an enjoyable thing."

From the left, Douglas Yarger, Rebecca Burnett, Robert Stephenson, Tom Ingebritsen, David Stuart, Steffen Schmidt