I’m pleased to share with you the news that ITEC (Instructional Technology Enhancing the Curriculum) has changed its name to Digital Pedagogy & Scholarship.
This decision was endorsed by Vice President Bedi, Provost Altmann, the Deans and other members of Provost Council. As one member wrote, “I think it will help clarify several misconceptions on campus and allow colleagues to better understand the work and goals of the group.”
Historically, the ITEC name dates back to c.1995 when interest in Instructional Technology first solidified on campus. As the group developed, the focus primarily remained on helping faculty interested in incorporating technology in the classroom. Often, faculty were interested in tools that would facilitate and ease administrative tasks: sharing of course materials, posting grades online, collecting assignments, facilitating discussions forums, etc. As the campus community became more adept in the basics of learning management solutions, ITEC pursued opportunities for more robust uses of technology that would enhance student engagement. Discussions with faculty deepened to include the pedagogical benefits of digital and multi-modal project-based learning and underlined a higher level of thinking beyond instruction on a specific tool. ITEC, like much of Library and Information Technology, shifted from a transactional service-based model to one that was more transformational in our collaborations with faculty. The advent of Bucknell’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to support Digital Scholarship efforts on campus further broadened ITEC’s responsibilities. Whether facilitating workshops, administering summer research and course integration grant programs, or running the annual Bucknell Digital Scholarship conference, our emphasis has shifted to focus on the new modes of learning and research afforded through digital methodologies. No longer are we exclusively an Instructional Technology group, nor do we primarily provide classroom support–a frequent assumption made by the campus community even though Classroom Support is a separate group within Library and Information Technology. Instead, our focus has grown: we now help drive the Digital Pedagogy and Scholarship efforts across campus. As such, our title now reflects those efforts and areas of expertise.
Cheers,
Matt Gardzina
Director