Message from the Chair
Abstract
The pint is, as educators, we have to deal with many issues related to reaching beyond the core knowledge of our discipline.
After reading an article in Prism not long ago, I started thinking about the changes we have faced as educators since I first started attending EDGD meetings. When I first started teaching, we were just on the verge of using computers to teach graphics. When CADD became a part of our curriculum, the focus of papers presented at conferences began to change rapidly. Until then, we mostly debated the relevance of graphics topics, the sequence they should be covered and some helpful techniques - remember the glass cube? Since then, conference papers focused on new topics such as hardware and software issues, board versus CADD, ways to set up a computer lab and how CADD has changed teaching graphics. We then moved on to issues like 3-D modeling versus 2-D drawings. The point is, as educators, we have had to deal with many issues related to teaching beyond the core knowledge of our discipline.
Today, we face an additional challenge related to new modes of teaching. The Prism article I referred to - "Connecting the Dots" [December, 2003] - highlighted an online course which used shared resources from multiple authors at multiple universities. The big question today has to be - How is the web impacting the way we teach? We've already seen the move to provide course materials on the Web. Once again, we find ourselves exploring new software - software that can help us publish and maintain documents on the Web. There are new points for discussion - Should we post lectures on the Web? How does it effect class attendance? How do we handle security of our materials? How does it impact communication with our students? - that will become topics for discussions with our peers. Some faculty have already moved on to including chat rooms, question/answer queues, video lectures for distance learning and even gaming simulations for their courses. AS division members share their experiences in papers, we will all benefit from the lessons they have learned as to what is effective and why. I'm excited to hear about how graphics educators are integrating these new technologies into their teaching as well as how they are coping with the changes.
Another article in the local paper started me thinking about our students and the world they are growing up in. The article was written by a woman in her late twenties and questioned why although practically anything can be done online these days we still can't vote online in elections. Her point was that in her world so much communication whether for business or pleasure is done conveniently using cell phones, text messaging, online accounts, chat rooms and any other number of communication options. She suggests that - "If voting were less of a cross between the SAT and going to the DMV and more like taking an online survey, it might be more appealing." [Confronting T-shirt logic: 'Only old people vote', Catherine Getches for the Los Angeles Times] I have to admit I had mixed reactions to the article. Although I agree we should be striving for ways to make communication as efficient as possible I worry about the effect it is having on face-to-face communication skills. In addition to the learning curve that goes with all the new technology, we also need to consider how it is impacting the relationship between faculty and their students. Some additional questions we need to discuss and explore are - How is this technology affecting the interaction and communication with our students? How do we engage students in a world so dominated by the internet with its vast array of media - animation, multimedia, video, simulation, and games. I look forward to hearing how graphics educators are exploring these challenges and particularly how they are using new technologies to reach students in new ways without losing that face-to-face interaction which is why most of us got involved with teaching in the first place. I look forward to seeing many of you at the ASEE annual Conference in Salt Lake City and hearing your presentations about current graphics issues!
