NYIT empowers teachers and students with technology that redefines the future of learning.
Today’s students grew up with a game controller in one hand and a computer mouse in the other. Add iPods, cell phones and portable DVD players to the mix and you have a whole new breed – technology natives.
The difference between college students today and their counterparts 10 or 20 years ago is the difference between people who grew up watching television and those who grew up with the Internet. Just as entertainment has changed from one of observation to interaction, the tech natives expect the same of their education.
“From birth, these students have been taught by technology to expect immediate responses in every aspect of their lives,” says Dr. Harriet Arnone, vice president for planning and assessment. “It’s not that they won’t slow down for education; it’s that they can’t. Their processing just doesn’t work that way. It’s up to us to adapt or be left behind.”
Old rules, core concepts, the very nature of higher education must be reexamined on a global level. And that has NYIT faculty and staff members excited about what’s to come.
“NYIT is well-positioned to define the emerging paradigm for an outstanding 21st-century, real-world higher education because built into our DNA is the ability to embrace change,” says President Edward Guiliano. “Our willingness to adapt is one of the many great things that sets us apart from other colleges. We have no desire to replicate many of the centuries-old approaches to education. Instead, we have chosen a path that enables us to evolve.”
The college began preparing for this generation of students 50 years ago when its early professors introduced “teaching machines.” Pioneering new educational technology became a theme through the decades, ultimately leading to the advanced work being carried out today – from the college’s new, digitally oriented Master of Fine Arts degree to “first-person doctor” educational video games.
NYIT also emphasizes the need for students to be able to recognize new uses for technology in their careers. For example, a main tenet of the School of Education and Professional Services’ curriculum is that technology is an integral part of an educator’s job. “At many other schools, technology is bolted on in the form of a class or two,” says Dr. Michael Uttendorfer, director of NYIT’s Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology. “But we have seamlessly woven these tools throughout our program, instructing future teachers to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms.”
Dr. David Decker, dean of the School of Management, says a similar approach is used in business classes. He says potential students and their parents often ask if NYIT has the latest computers, videoconferencing and audiovisual equipment. And his answer is, “Yes! At a very high level of sophistication.” But, he says, there is a more intriguing query.
“The real question is whether our program helps students understand the impact of technological change on the business disciplines they’re studying,” Decker continues. “Learning the latest tool is not the hard part; it’s understanding the tool’s impact. Our curriculum is designed to explain globalization, technology and the ‘flattening’ of an organization in a way that enables students to compete in the real world. For example, they learn how improved communication tools are shrinking the product development cycle, making it possible to bring products to market much faster.”
The market to which Decker refers is global, and technology is its currency. NYIT has been spreading this wealth internationally with campuses in five countries. In addition, the college has been at the forefront of the digital learning frontier for three decades, creating its first “virtual” campus, American Open University, in the 1980s. The modern-day successor, Ellis College of NYIT, serves about 4,000 students worldwide.
“We continue to create a tapestry of connectivity,” says Stan Silverman, director of the college’s Technology-Based Learning Systems (TBLS). “Using this equipment is part of our daily business.”
This commitment to innovation has earned the TBLS program a number of honors over the years; most recently, it was named a Center of Excellence by Elluminate, a leading provider of online learning and Web-conferencing services.
“I believe NYIT will emerge as a leader among an elite group of global universities in the 21st century,” says President Guiliano. “These academic institutions will dominate because they understand human capital, emerging delivery systems, an interdependent global economy and the power of collaboration – both face to face and from a distance.”
Used correctly, technology can foster active learning, faculty-student connections and student collaboration. The next sections illustrate some of the advanced technology used to create, enable and empower learning at NYIT. |
 |
NYIT’s educational programs provide students with access to the latest technological tools. Here, Professor Peter Voci demonstrates the use of a Cyberware Head and Face Scanner to fine arts student Gregory Killian. The device allows users to create 3-D computer images of a person’s head and bust in seconds.
|
