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<\/a>The need for better integration of technology into the classroom is not limited to language departments, and neither is the Geddes Center, which also supports the Writing Program and beyond. Now, says Susan Jackson, senior associate dean of CAS, \u201cGeddes is poised for further development as an exemplary campus-wide hub\u201d for finding and integrating the current and emerging technologies that can help meet and exceed faculty members\u2019 \u201cvisions and aspirations for curriculum and teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Geddes Center, that means providing and supporting the broadest possible array of resources \u2013 which thrills Lewis. \u201cA lot of language labs have just the lab,\u201d he said recently, standing in the center\u2019s lounge as around him students compared notes between classes, and other students and faculty worked one-on-one at computers or went in and out of recording studios and screening rooms. Clearly, the Geddes Center is much more than just a lab\u2014it is a meeting point for students and faculty, and under Lewis will take on a broader consultative role.<\/p>\n
Taking Language Learning into the Digital Age<\/h4>\n
CAS offers 25 languages, from Swahili to Korean. To meet the needs of such a diverse and robust language-learning community, the Geddes Center offers resources and support for integrating technology at every level. At the center, faculty and students can create their own audio and visual materials, or draw from a library of over five thousand preexisting titles. Classes can set up at a battery of computers, where students spend an entire period working individually under an instructor\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n
Support from Geddes Center staff can be as simple as helping an instructor get acquainted with Blackboard \u2013 or as complex as creating an entire online course.<\/p>\n
As part of the President’s Digital Learning Initiative, Coordinator of African Languages Dr. Zoliswa O. Mali and Head of Korean Language Program Dr. Jaemin Roh are developing online courses for Zulu and Korean, respectively. Since BU has so many less commonly taught languages like these, the idea is to expand access beyond the university. Lewis may have just started at the end of this summer, but Mali says the director has hit the ground running with this project, already organizing a follow-up discussion for the five language instructors, including herself and Roh, who recently completed a class on developing such courses from the University of Minnesota\u2019s CARLA Summer Institute.<\/p>\n
To Lewis, it seemed only natural: working with faculty is the purpose of the Center. \u201cWe learn from them more than they learn from us,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n
The Geddes Center was founded in 1960, and Lewis\u2019s predecessor, Bob Rothstein, brought it \u201cinto the twenty-first century,\u201d says Senior Associate Dean Jackson. Rothstein installed the recording studios and screening rooms, \u201cas well as audio, video, and computer labs,\u201d Jackson adds, and \u201cmaintained a vigorous program of digital production,\u201d building up the center\u2019s library holdings. Under Rothstein, the Geddes Center also worked with CAS IT and Undergraduate Education to bring technology upgrades to Spanish classrooms. In a word, says Jackson, Rothstein was a \u201ctreasure\u201d for CAS.<\/p>\n
To fill his shoes, says Assistant Dean Hoecherl-Alden, CAS looked for someone with \u201cfirst-hand language teaching experience coupled with extensive technological expertise.\u201d Lewis fits the bill, having taught both language \u2013 German and Italian \u2013 and management information systems, and held previous positions steering academic technology integration at other institutions.<\/p>\n
Now, Lewis says he\u2019s thrilled to bring these areas together as CAS, and the university as a whole, takes this leap forward. \u201cIn a nutshell,\u201d he says, \u201cI want to be here to support the faculty as they evolve in their teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s really the heart of what Geddes is here for,\u201d he adds, \u201cand hopefully will continue on for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mark Lewis has a vision. The new director of the Geddes Language Center wants to marry technology with teaching so that students reap the benefits of both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3521,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[228,16],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15022"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20595,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15022\/revisions\/20595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}