Congratulations to faculty members Mukila Maitha and Sarah Mikulski, winners of the 2016 Glenn A. Reich Memorial Faculty Award for Instructional Technology! The award was established by Lori Reich in 1999 in memory of her late husband, Glenn Reich, former Director of User Services at Harper College. Glenn believed that technology could enhance the practice of teaching and learning and encouraged faculty and staff to explore new ways to use technology in the classroom.
Mukila Maitha is an Assistant Professor in the Geography department and was nominated for the award by Professor Richard Johnson, who stated that Mukila’s teaching practice and philosophy “reflect a deep engagement with current pedagogy and instructional technology in geographical instruction.” In his courses Mukila uses geospatial technologies such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) online mapping tools to engage students in deeper understanding of issues such as deforestation, pollution, urban sprawl, and climate change.
These technologies aren’t confined to the teaching of geography; however, in a recent Honors Learning Community pairing GEG 103 (Geography of the Developing World) with ENG 102 (Composition) Mukila assigned a mapping project that required students to create a story map of one of the literary texts that they read for class.
Mukila has also shared his passion for the use of GIS technology through workshops sponsored by the International Studies and Programs Committee, and a GEC course through the Academy for Teaching Excellence. And on a faculty field seminar in Uganda and Rwanda in 2014, Mukila used GIS technology to capture the learning experiences of the nine faculty members who participated. Explore the story map and read the program blog.
Sarah Mikulski, Adjunct Faculty and Language Lab Coordinator/Student Development Specialist, is also a winner this year. She was nominated by Assistant Professor Kathleen Reynolds who stated that Sarah “embodies the spirit of this award through her collaborative and student-centered use of instructional technology.” In her teaching practice with ESL students, Sarah is guided by the principle of student empowerment, building her students’ skillsets and confidence through the use of technology.
In spring 2015, the ESL/Linguistics Department purchased 25 iPads for instructional use, enabling instructors to incorporate educational apps into classroom learning. Sarah identified the potential educational value of a variety of apps, and created projects and activities that enabled ESL students to become more independent and productive learners. These apps include:
- YAKiT, an app that students used to complete mini research projects on an assigned endangered species. In pairs, students found images and information online and then used YAKiT to animate the image of the animal speaking.
- Padlet, a collaborative “digital canvas” that students used as a way to brainstorm and share examples of new vocabulary words.
- 30hands, which students used to make videos explaining academic vocabulary words. Sarah has found that integrating multimedia with rigorous academic content prepares students well for college courses, and it is an interesting and engaging tool to learn word forms and parts of speech.
Sarah shares her instructional technology expertise in many ways across the Harper campus. She is the instructor for the ESL Department’s Guided Language Lab class in which students build language skills, and is a frequent presenter in department meetings on pedagogical applications of Language Lab resources.
Glenn Reich believed that every academic discipline should expose students to technology and help them become comfortable using it; this year’s winners are realizing and carrying forward that vision. The winners were chosen from a field of nine nominees by the Faculty Development Committee’s Grants and Awards Subcommittee, chaired by Associate Professor Karen Chandra. The committee also included a former Glenn Reich Award winner and a member of the Technology Committee. Applications were evaluated based on innovation, creativity, teaching/learning evolution, shared knowledge, and future teaching/learning application. The award winners each received $1,000. The committee would like to commend all applicants on their superb work.
Mukila Maitha and Sarah Mikulski will be sharing their work during Spring Orientation Week on Wednesday, January 11 at 1:30 p.m. in the Building Y Megalab, Room Y203G. All faculty and staff are invited to see these innovative instructional technology projects.
Questions? Please contact the Academy at 847.925.6174.