CyberLearning@JSU received a national 2015 Campus Technology Innovators Award from Campus Technology magazine during a recent ceremony in Boston and a special feature spotlighting its accomplishments in the Teaching and Learning category.
Annually, the technology magazine sifts through hundreds of nominations for standout projects from universities throughout the country. Twelve awardees were selected this year in five areas.
In its category, Jackson State University was among distinguished winners that included the University of Notre Dame and the University of San Diego.
During the conference, JSU’s dean of Undergraduate Studies and CyberLearning, Dr. Robert Blaine, accepted the honor, along with Dr. Deborah F. Dent, vice president of Information Technology and chief Information officer. In his submission to the magazine for the award, Blaine explained that CyberLearning@JSU is a way to bridge the digital divide and lower textbook costs by more than 90 percent.
He said, “We were creating our own internal digital divide – giving to the haves, and the have-nots were getting left further behind. So, we started a program where all our students have access to iPads as incoming freshmen. But then we had to look at the teaching and learning side. So, we started a summer professional development seminar to redevelop the curriculum. We have written more than 50 digital textbook courses through the program.”
At the conference, Blaine was accompanied by Dent and Emily A. Bishop, director of Academic Information Technology.
Blaine said, “One of the innovative differences for us is that we’re one of the first universities in the country to have a holistic cyberlearning program. It encompasses redesigning education for today’s learners by building new content and implementing it in the classroom in a digital interface.”
As well, said Blaine, “We are looking at what students need today in a digital world and how it’s different than what they needed 20 to 30 years ago. We’re examining their thinking skills and redesigning courses to help them to become successful in today’s world.”
In general, he said JSU’s accomplishments provide a front seat at the table in the conversation about how higher education has to change in this new era.
What’s next for CyberLearning@JSU?
In the fall, Blaine said the university will launch a core of digital textbooks for all general education courses. “We will be able to have a research project for every incoming freshman student based on one central question. The books will be able to focus on learning outcomes for students and allow us to redesign the learning environment in a matter of months compared to years or decades.”