8 Teaching and learning:
Reimagining what it can be
We are constantly looking for ways to engage the active minds of students and the accomplished instructors who guide them. By designing and supporting diverse learning environments, we provide opportunities for students and faculty to explore new technologies and engage with peers.
Classroom tech extends well beyond the hardware available in IU classrooms. Although more than 99 percent of IU’s classrooms feature a PC and webcam, many even have advanced tools like wireless screensharing, sophisticated microphones, and pan, tilt, and zoom cameras.
As the pandemic made particularly clear, tech like video and web conferencing and video streaming can help faculty educate students across the country and collaborate with peers across the globe. Our Collaboration Technologies team engages directly with instructors to make sure these tools run smoothly.
Formal and informal spaces enable collaborative, active learning through attention to flexible design, enhanced tools, and ongoing evaluation. In fact, IU is leading in the active learning arena, thanks to projects such as the Mosaic Initiative and the Alcove (Active Learning Classroom of Valuable Experiences) sandbox classroom, both of which foster innovative classroom design, research, and comprehensive support for all IU classrooms.
Keeping instructors’ skills sharp, at the speed of tech
To keep IU’s faculty empowered with the latest learning technologies, UITS partnered with the Office of the Vice
Provost for Undergraduate Education to create the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL).
Centers like CITL are found on every IU campus. Their staffs work with faculty to enable innovation in curricula, implementation of new technologies and pedagogies in and beyond the classroom, as well as foster student engagement with learning resources and materials that promote critical analytic and research skills.
In Bloomington, CITL’s location on the second floor of Wells Library’s east tower also encourages close collaboration with librarians specializing in information literacy. This blend of specialties enables the CITL to offer a collaborative and dynamic way of addressing complex teaching issues.