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Maria Palazzi

Christopher Hadad

Traditional pedagogy is tried and true, but as Ohio State aspires to become one of the world's great public research and teaching institutions, adopting innovative technology in the classroom is paramount.

Today, many faculty and instructors use technology tools for classroom instruction. In fact, most students across the nation expect to take at least one Web-delivered course before graduation.

At Ohio State, during each quarter of this academic year, about 400 separate class Web sites (serving about 800 course sections) were hosted on the central WebCT server supported by OIT and TELR staff. Additionally, hundreds of other class Web sites use WebCT on three other servers on our campuses. In all, about 23,000 OSU students used WebCT during each of these quarters -- many with two or more classes.

Although online courses are just one form of IT in the classroom, here we're taking a look at how Ohio State professors Christopher Hadad, and Maria Palazzi are using technology in their classrooms.

Director/Professor Relies Heavily on Technology

By Sally Hritz

Maria Palazzi is a busy faculty member with dual appointments: she's the director of the Advanced Computing Center for Art and Design (ACCAD) and an associate professor of design as well. Both roles immerse her deeply in technology.

OSU's ACCAD is world renown for pioneering computer and visualization technology, especially digital animation and graphics. Computer software, by necessity, is integral to all her ACCAD work and study. Her teaching load is computer intensive as well. In recent years it has covered courses in 3D Computer-aided Design Visualization, Digital Cinematography, and Expressive Motion, plus a research seminar in computer technology. She taught the design visualization course winter quarter.

Starting three years ago, Palazzi began building Web sites for her courses to take better advantage of online resources, enhance her interactions with students, and simplify administrative details. Her course Web sites include descriptions, syllabi, calendars with hotlinks to class assignments, pdf files for students to download or read online, links to other resources, such as tutorials and other artists' works, and anything else she thinks would be helpful.
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Hadad uses Technology to
Enhance Organic Chemistry Courses

By Emmett Crawley

Christopher Hadad, associate professor of chemistry, is involved in cutting-edge technology development in and out of the classroom. In addition to his course work, Hadad is involved with the Environmental Molecular Science Institute and the Byrd Polar Research Center to help scientists understand chemical reactions and the effect they have on pollution in Ohio.

In his organic chemistry classes, Hadad is integrating technology to change the nature of how chemistry is taught, as well as how students learn chemistry. For his Chemistry 252 course, for example, Hadad collaborated with Associate Professor Todd Lowary and other Chemistry Department staffers, Steve Parker, Patrick McCarren, and J. Alex Feng (referred to as the organic resource development team), on the concept and development of a number of online resources.

One of the resources they developed, with financial support from the Chemistry Department and a Technology Enhanced Learning and Research (TELR) grant, is a series of electronic flash cards, which help students learn and practice many aspects of organic chemistry.
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