By Cornelio Ontiveros
In 2009, the University hosted its first Southwest Teaching and Learning Conference (SWTLC). Now in its third year, the conference is gaining increased involvement, an expanded list of participants and administrative support from the University.
Held on April 1 and 2, the conference attracted over 45 of the University’s faculty who participated in workshops and panels. Faculty from TAMU-Kingsville, University of Arizona South, University of Houston-Victoria, Angelo State University, UTSA, Texas A&M-Commerce, Stephen F. Austin State University, University of Montana Western and UIW also participated.
A&M-San Antonio Provost Brent Snow stated, in an email, that “The Southwest Teaching and Learning Conference brings faculty (and students) from across Texas and beyond to our campus to present on a variety of topics related to improving both teaching and learning.”
Now a regular agenda item on the University’s spring calendar, each year academics and researchers, plus a handful of students, present on a particular theme during the two day conference hosted by Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
This year’s conference theme, Technology in the Classroom, sought to bring together academics and experts to examine some of the latest in education technology to better assist in the classroom.
Dr. Tracy Hurley, head of the School of Business and the principle organizer behind the conference gave the official opening address to begin SWTLC 2011. Hurley is also the Interim Associate Vice-President of Academic Affairs and takes an active role in organizing events that benefit the campus community, administrators say.
For conference attendees, there were many sessions and panels to choose from, titles which included: blackboard versus mobile devices, learning through digital literacies, institutional e-book program, technology tools no teacher should be without, texting in class, to tweet or not to tweet, bridging the gap between theory and application, and Skype.
The conference, which receives multiple sources of support — Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier was in attendance during the opening session — was sponsored by Apple, Cengage Learning, Vitasource, McGraw Hill Higher Education, and Wiley.
The guest speaker for the conference was Druex Ste. Marie. A systems engineer since 1988, Apple awarded him “System Engineer of the Year” four times during his 23 years with the company. Ste. Marie graduated Summa Cum Laude with a MBA in investment banking and finance from the University of Wisconsin. Today, Ste. Marie serves as a higher education market portal for Apple in Texas and Louisiana. Ste. Marie spoke on the Apple iPad 2, the newest in the Apple fleet of technology.
Ste. Marie’s presentation illustrated how the iPad 2 would enhance the educator/ student experience by using digital technology. A user, for example, can record in audio or video formats a portion or complete lecture with the iPad 2 to be recalled later.
Participants and guests who took advantage of the conference’s two full days of sessions and panels left with new ideas. Here are some key points taken in:
- Harnessing technology can feel like an undertaking, but is key for educators who want to reach their students and improve their teaching methods
- Engaging technology — and using forms to empower one’s presence in the classroom — is a foundation required in every course offered at the university level
- Lovers of hardbound books need to find room to explore and imagine the potential for e-books
- Technology use is not black and white; tools do not come with rules for use and practice. Innovative educators will try, explore and adapt, not just once, but throughout their teaching careers.
- Our education system today supports learning, mostly in classrooms and from textbooks, and depends on the relationship between individual educators and their students. The role technology plays in the nation’s classrooms varies dramatically depending on the funding priorities of states, districts, and schools and individual educators’ understanding of how to leverage it in meaningful ways.
“This is an important conference that will to continue to grow in stature and recognition,” Snow said in his email. “The conference highlights our faculty, students, and the university in general. It’s a winning combination for everyone and will continue to receive our support.”
In 2011, the Southwest Teaching and Learning Conference will launch the SWTL Journal. Download information about guidelines and instructions for possible inclusion in the inaugural journal.
