The goal of this project is to design, implement, evaluate, and disseminate an innovative and replicable training model of integrating visual communication tools for teacher candidates at SUNY Oswego. The objectives include: 1. Selected visual communication tools will be explored with participants of this project; 2. Selected teaching cases which parallel objective one will be organized as a training approach for participants to better prepare technology integration across curriculum; 3. Task teams will be developed for working on collaborative projects; 4. The project will be tracked and evaluated for continuous improvement, adaptation, expansion as well as replication.

Faculty Instructional Technologists at SUNY Empire State College are now in the process of creating a Faculty Development Program to be rolled out to ESC’s seven regional centers in the Spring of 2013. The program will consist of four module-based blended training units which will be designed to introduce ESC faculty and staff to several types of Web 2.0 technology tools (social media, document sharing, etc…) that have been shown to increase student learning and engagement in blended studies. Participants will engage in pre-assessment and post-assessment dialogue to allow researchers to determine the value of engagement.

The goal of this project is to pilot the Tools of Engagement Project’s (TOEP) on-demand professional development model among faculty across SUNY campuses, investigating its effectiveness in expanding their pedagogy as they integrate free online Web 2.0 tools into their courses and research. Evolving instructional technologies are changing the ways we collaborate and communicate. Faculty must learn to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape. TOEP’s self-directed professional development gives faculty a platform to experiment with cutting-edge technologies, integrating them into their curricula to engage students and improve learning. Self-directed activities encourage faculty to be lifelong learners, as they become familiar with blogging, wikis, podcasting, online collaborative, and the latest web-based instructional technology tools. After acquiring deeper knowledge about how to use these tools, faculty will become more adept at embedding 21st century skills into their teaching and meeting the expectations of their students. They will also be able to use these tools to diversify assessment of student learning, going beyond traditional strategies.

Faculty from four SUNY campuses – Cortland, Fredonia, Buffalo State, and Onondaga Community College, decided to capitalize on inter-campus skills in innovative technology integration. Their goal is to pilot a collaborative model for using relevant digital learning tools within teacher education coursework. This work will be done through mutual mentoring (in instructional design, technical knowledge, and navigating the complexity of multi-layered P-16 institutions), as we use, demonstrate, and then compile exemplary teaching strategies. We anticipate completing several rounds of modeling and refining teaching practices, by embedding what we envision as project-identified Backpack Tools in collaborators’ courses. These instructional experiences will be compiled as project digital Strategy Backpacks during Year 1, disseminating through campus and SUNY-wide channels.