As the amount of technology available to people increases, so does the push to have it be a major part of the educational atmosphere, said Corinne Mantle-Bromley, dean for the College of Education.
“We are really interested in studying the impact of technology on people’s learning,” she said. “Specifically K through 12th grade students.”
This interest in technology and learning is the reason the University of Idaho College of Education was awarded $3 million from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation to create a Deceõ Center for Innovation and Learning, she said.
Mantle-Bromley said the college had contacted the Albertson’s Foundation, telling them they wanted to study technology integrated into learning atmospheres.
The college found out they received funding in early November, and Mantle-Bromley is excited to start the project.
“This is something I have really wanted to do since I got here,” she said.
Through this funding, the College of Education will be looking at what works with which students and why it works, while also evaluating when the best time is to use technology in the classroom, Mantle-Bromley said.
They will be utilizing more than 1600 square feet of space made available to them, which will be equipped with multiple computer screens and other learning-based technology, she said.
The space will not only be used for research. They will have classes in it, and students that are entering the teaching world will utilize the space and become familiar and comfortable with the different programs.
Besides looking at how technology works in the classroom, the university will also be looking at areas where it is already working.
“There are teachers out in schools doing phenomenal work,” Mantle-Bromley said. “We will be doing research with them and looking at them.”
Also, she said the space will be available for faculty and students in other departments to use, so they can also work in a technology-based atmosphere, and work across different technology platforms.
“I hope it is a space that UI is proud of,” she said.
The space is on track to be completed by fall 2013, and is being designed by an architect that is known for designing innovative classrooms, Mantle-Bromley said.
She said Northwest Nazarene University also received funding from the foundation, and the two universities will be partnering on this project.
Mantle-Bromley said the two universities will hold two conferences a year to discuss what they are doing and the results of research.
She said it is important to find out what type of technology works and how, and not just assuming that technological based learning is good.
Allison Griffith can be reached at [email protected]