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Merging
technology with teaching
Kathy Atnip helps Arts & Sciences stay ahead of the techno-curve By Andy Clendennen She regrets finding out about blues virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan's prowess only after he died, but that's about the only time that Kathy Atnip has missed the boat.
In junior high, she was playing tennis with a friend when a couple of guys named Matt and Brian invited them to play doubles. "They bought us huge cups of root beer afterward, and I drank every bit even though I've never liked it because Matt was so cute," Atnip said. "Then we dated in high school and each played tennis on the varsity teams." In 1983, they married and now have three children. But the home front isn't the only place that Atnip has peered into the future and had great results. Currently, Atnip and her group are working on ways to integrate technology into the classrooms of Arts & Sciences. "We're looking for ways faculty can incorporate technology into their teaching, whether it's making technology fluency important for students, or using technology in the classroom," she said. "We are interested in doing experiments and sustainable teaching projects that will allow us to work in collaboration with the faculty. "We're helping to provide an opportunity to think about teaching in a different way, and to consider how faculty may rethink their teaching when different tools and support are available." The Teaching Lab started after some discussion about the pioneering efforts that are taking place in Arts & Sciences, especially among faculty who were looking for better-organized help with approaching new technology. Atnip was chosen to head the lab. "Kathy Atnip has a passion for technology to improve teaching and learning," said Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of Arts & Sciences. "She works very well with faculty and students at all skill levels to help them achieve their goals. "She is a big part of our ongoing effort to improve the technological fluency of our faculty and our students. And in everything she does, she is a pleasure to work with." What started as a one-person operation (Atnip) quickly grew as she hired a postdoctoral student to help with the technological issues. Now the group includes three full-time and two part-time employees. Every one is needed for some of the projects they are attacking. The Teaching Lab team is working with Joseph Loewenstein, Ph.D., professor of English in Arts & Sciences, in support of a grant application to the National Endowment for the Humanities and has assisted in creating a prototype of an electronic version of the works of English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599). Spenser is perhaps best known for his six-volume The Faerie Queene, as well as a treatise on the social and political reformation of Ireland.
The Teaching Lab has supported history courses, including "Historical Research and Information Technology: Magic and Witchcraft in the Medieval and Early Modern World." "She has been immensely supportive of the history department's effort to integrate new technologies into our teaching," said Derek M. Hirst, Ph.D., the William Eliot Smith Professor of History in Arts & Sciences and chair of that department. "She has tried to work out in advance what material and techniques would work; she has been very forthcoming in providing equipment and facilities as members of the department have made suggestions; and she has been very willing to work with us in thinking of new ways that we can go toward the future. "She's been a great asset to the department." Another successful effort facilitated by Atnip is the ITeach program, which involves many different faculty and collaboration with other groups on campus. In a two-day symposium in January, faculty members got together to share ideas about how technology can be better used in teaching. The session has spawned other efforts, including discipline-specific gatherings and a newsletter. But Atnip said technology has been just one small part of the discussion. Teaching is actually the common denominator. "That's one of the most exciting synergies that I've seen," Atnip said. "People started talking about technology, but the conversation was really about teaching. We hope to continue the excitement and support this ongoing dialog among faculty." Her work now is a far cry from how she started several years ago, when the networking wasn't well known outside of those in IBM think tanks and research centers. But once again, Atnip rode the crest of the first wave at the University. After starting as a temporary employee working full-time, Atnip took a position with a new office called the Office of the Network Coordinator. A group was created within that office called the Campuswide Software Library, a central resource for managing expensive software licensing.
"I spent some time developing resources on the network that were really for people," Atnip said. "Help information, focus groups to learn about needed services and training workshops. "When the University began to offer dial-up modem service for users, I was involved in helping set up the support for that. Part of the process was trying it out for the first time myself, seeing what people might do with that sort of a service and trying to anticipate questions they might ask." And along came another cutting-edge project. A few adventurous students decided to put together the first University Web page with Atnip's help. "At that time, not many materials were available electronically, but the group attempted to take a look at campus from the view of a student on a Web page interface," Atnip said. "They called it 'By Students, For Students,' and it was a very interesting resource that several students worked very diligently to put together -- collecting, and in some cases, creating, electronic versions of information. "It was really a fun experiment because the students were very dedicated and tried to put a face on this institution for other students who didn't know about it." When she isn't working to integrate teaching and technology, Atnip finds most of her time occupied by her three children: Emily, 17, Brian, 11 (and named after Matt's junior high tennis friend), and Erica, 5. "What tends to happen is that one of them is at a critical development stage all the time," she laughed. "There is always somebody in crisis." And to get away from it all, Atnip immerses herself in blues music and traveling. But through it all, she's appreciative of her opportunities at the University. "I've been lucky to be able to zero in on the things that I'm really interested in, which have happily coincided with changing needs on campus," she said. |
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