There’s no shortage of good ideas at U-M when it comes to using technology in teaching and research. But it’s not always easy for these ideas to spread across schools, colleges and units on a large campus.
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The annual Enriching Scholarship conference May 6-9 will have more than 80 free workshops, demonstrations and panel discussions across campus aimed at improving teaching, learning and research through the best uses of technology.
Organized by the Teaching and Technology Collaborative and in its 22nd year, the event features the U-M community sharing and learning best practices from each other.
“If you are doing things unique in the classroom from a technology perspective, we help you elevate and share that with somebody, possibly from another discipline or school, who can use that information to draw connections to what they’re doing,” said Jason Engling, chair of the collaborative and a training specialist in Health Information Technology and Services.
“Otherwise these ideas, knowledge and lessons learned — which could be inspiring to someone on the other side of campus — kind of stay where they’re at.”
This year the conference has a public engagement track, an offering of 10 workshops and talks aimed at helping faculty, staff and students leverage technology to enhance their work outside academia and in real-world learning situations.
The public engagement track was created by a diverse group of campus partners to foster engaged learning and scholarship, and advance the university’s mission of serving the public good.
“Enriching Scholarship is one of the flagship professional development opportunities on campus each year,” said Carrie Luke, a project manager in the Office of the Provost and co-organizer of the public engagement track.
“It’s a perfect opportunity for our interdisciplinary units to come together and build capacity for effective engagement, as well as bring coherence to this complex but critical area of work.”
Public engagement sessions will cover topics such as the technology of community engagement, managing your scholarly presence, using social media, online courses and establishing publication platforms.
The conference not only focuses on how to use technology, but why to use it in learning experiences and research. The collaborative also added “Lightning and Thunder” talks, shorter TED-style talks grouped together by theme, with informal conversations with speakers after.
This year’s keynote speaker is Saundra McGuire, director emerita of the Center for Academic Success and retired professor of chemistry at Louisiana State University. She’s the author of “Teach Students How to Learn” and “Teach Yourself How to Learn.”
“There’s so much technology out there and you can find yourself wondering why to use X over Y,” Engling said. “This conference really helps you see concrete examples of what your colleagues are using in their instruction, and how you can adapt it to your own space.”
