More from the EDUCAUSE Conference

This is my second post about my experiences at the recent national EDUCAUSE Conference.

I attended two sessions about diversity in IT.  The first, Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics about Diversity in Higher Education, was a presentation from three diverse leaders in the IT community.  I have been particularly impressed by Keith McIntosh, whom I first met at an EDUCAUSE Midwest conference.  He is proving to be a great role model for all of us.  Melissa Woo was named the EDUCAUSE Rising Star this year, and she presented at the last EDUCAUSE Midwest about career development.  I have served on a couple of EDUCAUSE committees with Pablo Moreno.  All are great examples of how strong leaders rise from diversity of experience and background.

I also enjoyed the session Women in Technology:  Strategies and Best Practices to Attract Young Women into IT Programs and Careers.   When I was a faculty member in Computer Science, I developed a mentoring program for women in science and engineering, and I worked hard to encourage women students to complete their work in computer science.  This presentation made me realize how I had left this effort behind when I moved into administration.  These administrators were inspiring when they talked about programs at their institutions to encourage young women to move into IT careers.  I'm thinking about how we might do something like this here.

I was very proud of Peter Angelos and Jason Davis, who joined UMTC OIT colleagues Brittany Lloyd and Brad Cohen in presenting Shared Leadership:  From IT Silos to IT Alliance.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this presentation because it conflicted with my participation on the EDUCAUSE Professional Development Advisory Committee.  However, their presentation got rave reviews, including one from UM CIO Scott Studham.

Finally, I was exceptionally proud of three UMD CLA faculty members, who presented Mobile Language Learning.   Dana Lindaman teaches French, Mike Mullins teaches German, and Dan Nolin teaches German and Russian.  They did a great job of explaining how they have incorporated iPads into their instruction.  Even more impressive is their work with students and faculty in other disciplines to develop iPad apps that support teaching and learning.  The most complete app so far is a German language grammar guide.  Their work is inspiring.