York Faculty of Arts Professor Avi Cohen (right) will present the keynote address today at the Learning Technology Symposium taking place at McMaster University in Hamilton. Cohen’s address, titled "Will They Still Come to Class if you Build it Online?: Conundrums and Challenges of Teaching with Technology", addresses the challenges faced by postsecondary instructors as they cope with the new realities of teaching in the information age.
Even in traditional face-to-face courses, more content (posted lecture notes) and interactions (e-mail and discussion boards) are moving online. Instructors face major challenges including falling attendance and rising workloads. These technology-related black clouds actually have silver linings, says Cohen, that only become apparent from rethinking the value added by instructors in a teaching-and-learning universe that now includes the Web as well as the classroom.
Cohen’s address will take place today, from 1-2pm in room MDCL 3020, located in the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning & Discovery Building at McMaster. For more information visit the Learning Technology Symposium Web site.
About Avi Cohen
Cohen's research focuses on the history of economics and student learning. He is a leading authority on capital theory in the history of economics. His research on teaching extends to improving student learning through integrating writing into the curriculum, creating interactive environments in large lectures and exploring uses of new technologies to enhance learner-centred education. Cohen teaches in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts, at York.
As advisor to the dean of arts on technology enhanced learning (TEL), he is also spearheading the design and delivery of Arts Do TEL – York's first comprehensive program preparing faculty to take advantage of new possibilities for student learning through technology.
Cohen was awarded the 3M Teaching Fellowship for Educational Leadership in 1995.