Aziza Ellozy Originally published on: September 10, 2002
Welcome back to all and I hope you’ve had a great summer. As we start this new academic year, many of you are finding out that AUC has established a new Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT), and that I have the honor of serving you in the capacity of Director of this center.
You may also be wondering what a Center for Learning and Teaching does. In a nutshell, its main function is to promote the effectiveness of the learning and teaching experience among all those involved in the process. We will do so primarily by providing instructional design and consultation for faculty and by assisting faculty (and students) in integrating technology into their classroom. What CLT will not be doing is evaluating individuals for the purpose of promotion, tenure, renewal of contract or salary.
By deciding to launch CLT, AUC underscores its leadership role in its commitment to excellence in teaching. This center will be the first of its kind in Egypt, and possibly in the region. In the United States, the history of teaching centers at colleges and universities dates back to the early seventies. Today, more than 260 such centers are found at liberal arts colleges, large state and private universities, including Harvard, MIT, Yale, Brown, Columbia and Stanford, to mention a few. If interested, you can find the links at the following URL: http://www.ku.edu/~cte/resources/websites/unitedstates.html
Our first order of business will be to meet with as many of you as possible to hear what the center can do for you, and to establish our priorities accordingly.
In preliminary talks with some faculty, concern was expressed about the time involved in learning and using new technologies. Responding to this concern, a pilot program will be initiated this semester. The program aims at hiring graduate students (and eligible undergraduate students) and training them under the direction of Academic Computing Services to assist interested faculty members in preparing instructional materials and/or using WebCT in their courses. At the end of the fall semester, there will be an evaluation of the program and recommendations will be made. This program will be an example of how the center will function. As the main contact for faculty in issues of teaching and instructional technology, we will coordinate our services with those offered by other Libraries and Learning Technologies departments. I look forward to hearing from you.