Michael Uttendorfer
Dean

Department: School of Education
School: Education
Campus: Old Westbury

Member of NYIT Since: 2000

My undergraduate studies were conducted at S.U.N.Y. at New Paltz where I majored in Applied Mathematics and minored in Education. I began my education career as a junior high school mathematics teacher in the Freeport Public Schools. I got my start with computers in the early 1970's (before personal computers were even invented). My school district implemented the first computer-assisted instruction system on the East Coast. The computer running the program was the size of two refrigerators and the students interacted with the computer using teletypes. CRT monitors were not available.

After 12 years of teaching, I left public education in 1982 to work as an educational consultant working with school districts in the Northeast to help them implement the CAI program I had used in Freeport. It was a very interesting experience watching the programs improve and the hardware get better and less expensive.

In 1990, I became the director of software development for an educational computer company in New Jersey and used Macromedia Flash, Dreamweaver, and Authorware extensively over my ten years in that position. I graduated from the Master of Science in Instructional Technology Program at NYIT in 1995. In 2002, I finished my doctoral studies in Instructional Technology and Distance Education at Nova Southeastern University in December 2002. My dissertation is titled "Improving Faculty Adoption of Online Technologies."

I am currently a tenured Associate Professor at the NYIT and Dean at the School of Education. I still occasionally teach graduate level courses in Multimedia Applications, Computer Courseware Design, and Philosophy of Instructional Technology. I am also the former director of NYIT's Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology where I was responsible for supporting our faculty college-wide with the integration of technology into their teaching.

My research interests include faculty development, instructional design for online instruction, and the impact of interactivity in online teaching and learning. Other interests include scuba diving, underwater photography, and motorcycle touring.