Every once in a while I enjoy taking a step away from the broader picture of Internet technology and social media services to more closely examine the impact technology is having within my own community. When I learned that a chemistry professor at my university, the College of William & Mary, had received a national award for his use of technology in the classroom, I knew I had to share the news with readers here at andydesoto.com.
Tablet PC integration and Prof. Randy Coleman
William & Mary is a venerable school, and although our facilities are now modern, a sense of history and tradition undoubtedly pervades the campus. Unfortunately, this ‘historic aura,’ pleasant at any other time, can make it even more difficult to change old habits, ways, and lifestyles. That’s what makes Professor of Chemistry Randy Coleman’s head-first leap into embracing tablet PC technology in his classroom even more remarkable; the 2008 Campus Technology Innovator award he received was well-deserved.
Coleman found himself using a tablet PC partly as a result of W&M’s Technology Integration Program (TIP). As William & Mary News reports:
Through weekly meetings and the support of IT staff and engineers, TIP faculty members integrated the tablets into their lectures, labs and professional work, said [a senior academic technologist]. “While others achieved significant results with their pilot of the tablet, Randy served as an inspiration to all involved,” she said.
