The New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium, of which Colgate is a member, has been awarded a $150,000 grant by the Teagle Foundation to support a technology-enhanced blended-learning project.
The pilot project will support faculty from the six member campuses to develop hybrid learning in new or existing courses, in which face-to-face engagement will be combined with technology-based elements, such as online tutorials or modules, online journals, blogs, webinars, videos, and group chats.
“This pilot project represents an excellent starting point for liberal arts institutions such a ours that wish to build their curricula and incorporate cutting edge technologies into the educational model without compromising their core values, ” said Douglas A. Hicks, provost and dean of the faculty at Colgate.
The blended-learning courses will be offered to students during the 2014-15 academic year. The goal is to enhance and improve student-learning outcomes while also examining the impact of blended learning on the experience of both students and faculty.
The New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium is a cooperative venture of six upstate New York liberal arts institutions: Colgate, Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, St. Lawrence University, Skidmore College, and Union College. The consortium enhances opportunities for students, faculty, and staff, while reducing colleges’ individual and collective operating and capital costs.
“The grant will enable Colgate faculty to collaborate with colleagues on other member campuses in determining the most effective ways to integrate technology into an already strong liberal arts foundation,” said Amy Doonan Cronin, executive director of the New York Six.
To see some examples of how Colgate already has used technology in the classroom, visit the Instructional Technology webpage.