Chris Juzwiak

Carnegie Grant, Fall 2005

Week 13

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, this is a short week on campus. I completed my composition of the SPECC report and proposal, conferring with mathematics chair Peter Stathis and math instructor Yvette Hassakousian.

The great news for this week is that my formerly “technophobic” colleague has decided to join our SPECC research team for Phase 2. Since I renewed my invitation to her last week, she had spoken at length with other members of the SPECC team to get a better understanding of our work. She had also presented another PPT lecture to her class and was bolstered yet again by the enthusiasm of her students. She reports that the electronic pedagogy is like a “rebirth” in her career, and she is highly motivated to be a key contributor to the SPECC research. She also feels that the SPECC work and the expansion of electronic pedagogy among our English faculty, can set a new direction for the division.

Upon my suggestion, she has agreed to give a demonstration of her PPT materials at the next division meeting. I will take this occasion to introduce her as a new member of the SPECC team, and I will also propose a PowerPoint FIG for the many members of our division who have shown an interest in PPT instruction. This should be an excellent forum for sharing and critiquing our creations, supporting and inspiring one another, and sustaining the efforts initiated by our SPECC work. I am confident that this juncture represents a significant turning point in the recognition and sustainability of our work.