As an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the
English Department at Bowling Green State
University, my teaching and research focus on computer-mediated
communication, gender and technology, online pedagogies, electronic
portfolios, and technology and teacher training. I have taught courses
in English and in education such as Computer Utilization in the
Secondary Schools, Computer Technologies and the Language Arts,
Computer-Mediated Writing Theory and Practice, and Online Learning for
English Educators.
In addition, I have taught a number of fully online courses,
including a portfolio-based writing course for adult learners enrolled
in BGSU’s Prior Learning Assessment Program. Throughout my
teaching career, I have learned that although the principles of both
e-learning and active learning are intertwined, we must continually
engage in reflective practice and self-assessment of how well our
efforts meet the needs of the increasingly diverse student populations
taking advantage of e-learning opportunities at our Ohio institutions.
Within this site, I hope to collaborate with other content development
specialists to provide resources and models for best practices in
e-learning, practices that are at the heart of both faculty and student
learning communities, as well as active learning.
Learning Philosophy
As Arthur Chickering and Stephen Ehrmann (1996) stress in their
discussion of active learning, "Learning is not a spectator
sport.” (Implementing the
Seven Principles: Technology as Lever, article)
Similarly, my own philosophy of active learning includes the belief that
students share responsibility for contributing to an environment in
which knowledge is collaborative and reciprocal, thus creating an
interactive space where both students and instructor become
facilitators. Although this philosophy applies to both face-to-face and
virtual classrooms, technology, combined with good practice, has the
potential to foster active learning principles by allowing students to
interact not only with instructor-generated content but also to
communicate virtually with additional experts and colleagues and to
generate new knowledge and content as a result of those interactions.
Tools such as discussion forums, real-time chat, Internet resources, and
digital media applications, allow students to better co-create and apply
course content to dynamic, real-world contexts and ultimately enhance
their understanding of teaching, learning, and the “active”
role technology can play in the process. Rather than being a
“spectator sport,” learning is team-based, requiring all
students to be active participants who use information, communication,
and presentation technologies to ask questions, represent problems,
evaluate data, and develop solutions.
Contact Kris via email
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