Office of Academic Technology :: Spring Arbor University

Last Friday, the Office of Academic Technology (OAT) stopped off on its second leg of regional site faculty training called “OAT Roadtrips”.  The purpose of the training sessions are to partner with the School of Graduate and Professional Studies to enhance faculty support and training for adjunct regional site faculty.

Jason Archer began with a brief overview of what OAT is and what services it provides.  Randy Meredith then led the training session, “Getting Started with Blackboard”.  The training consisted of logging into Blackboard, how to activate a course, how to upload content in a course, and how to put grades in the grade center.  Throughout the session, faculty were encouraged to ask questions, provide feedback, and gain clarity on how they can be leveraging tools in Blackboard to assist them in their teaching as well as save time through efficiency.  While Randy focused on working through the presentation, Jason worked directly with faculty as a lab assistant, helping them with specific issues on an individual basis.

Photos of Lansing Training |  Listen to Training Session in iTunes U

Overall the faculty provided positive feedback from the initial training session.  ”It’s really an opportunity for us to stretch out to begin serving all SAU faculty, regardless of where they serve”, says Randy Meredith, Director of Academic Technology.  ”There are many tools and training sessions we can offer to regional site faculty, but I think the most significant piece of these off-site training sessions are simply the fact that we’re reaching out and introducing ourselves.  Many work for other institutions and have told us that SAU is doing more to invest in faculty than many other schools they work for.”

Kevin Chaney, Coordinator of Academic Services for the midwest region, said OAT staff “did a masterful job of not only introducing us to some of the basic changes that have come with our recent upgrade to Bb 9 but also—through both warm and inviting spirits and very transparent desire to be servants of our GPS faculty—helping to alleviate the apprehension and uneasiness (perhaps even anxiety) that often accompanies technology-focused training sessions of this kind.  I’ve already spoken with a small handful of the instructors who were in attendance last Friday night; each of them were extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn more about this particular resource in such an informed and relaxed way.  Looking forward to next February!”

The next OAT Roadtrip will be held at the Metro-Toldeo site on Friday October 23 from 6-8pm.  Faculty in that region can contact Carolyn Watson, at carolyn.watson@arbor.edu or 313.561.6287 to RSVP.