October 15, 2001

Two faculty members have been recognized for their innovative use of information technology in teaching.

Thomas Terry, an associate professor of molecular and cell biology, has received the CTDLC/SNET Technology Innovation Award in Higher Education, and Amy Dunbar, an assistant professor of accounting, received an honorable mention in that category. They were recognized during a ceremony on Oct. 13.

The award, given by the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium and SNET, recognizes the application of information technology to improvements in learning and the creation of learning environments that extend or replace the traditional classroom.

"I'm delighted that Tom and Amy have received recognition for their work," says Keith Barker, associate vice provost for undergraduat e education and instruction.

"We at the University have a lot to offer and are pleased that the state has recognized the talent here." Barker says that UConn faculty and faculty at the community colleges and the state university system have been sharing ideas on the use of information technology in teaching. "Our involvement with higher education programs in the state enables us to benefit from the talents of those at other institutions, " he says.

Terry has used the World Wide Web to enrich and supplement courses in biology and microbiology since 1995. With extensive feedback from students, he has fine-tuned many applications. As a result, he has developed model course websites that integrate teaching innovations into a "learning support center' for each of his classes. His materials are available to the global educational community, and his work is often used by other educators as a model of how to successfully integrate good pedagogy with the Web.

Some of the ways Terry uses the Web include: lecture notes that provide all essential content, to free up students to listen in class; access to rich graphic media through Web links, to replace traditional graphic media such as slides and transparencies; authoring and public distribution of high quality animations to help students learn important biological concepts; and providing study guides and interactive practice quizzes.

Dunbar has made an impact in the use and development of online - specifically WebCT - course delivery. This year, she transformed a graduate course, Taxation of Business Entities, into an online course, which she taught for the first time during the first summer session. She prepared an extensive descriptive and evaluative analysis of the transformation of the course to an online venue as part of the nomination process.

Sherry Fisher