BIO/EXPERTISE
Mary Zedeck is an Instructional Designer with the TLTC at Seton Hall University. Mary is responsible for supporting departments and faculty members in the design, integration and assessment of technology resources for courses and programs. Mary is especially interested in emerging technologies and investigating new ways to enhance the teaching and learning landscape.
Dr. Michael A. Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and was the founding Director of the Environmental Studies program at Seton Hall University. Dr. Taylor’s teaching portfolio includes courses in public and environmental policy, environmental studies, and research methodology. Michael is a faculty leader for the SHUmobile initative, which seeks to integrate the use of mobile devices for teaching, learning, and research in higher education. He is also the Director of the newly founded Center for Mobile Research and Social Change at Seton Hall. Michael completed an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Environmental Economics, Environmental Science, and Philosophy at The Ohio State University. Dr. Taylor’s research focuses primarily on the use of economic instruments to control nonpoint sources of water pollution and his work has appeared in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment, and Environmental Science and Policy.
Breakout Session III Thursday11:45 – 12:45
Location: Madison
Mary Zedeck
Instructional Designer
Teaching, Learning & Technology Center
Seton Hall University
mary.zedeck@shu.edu
Dr. Michael Taylor
Assistant Professor
Political Science and Environmental Studies
Seton Hall University michael.taylor@shu.edu
ABSTRACT
The Environmental Studies program at Seton Hall University is participating in a campus-wide initiative to determine how mobile devices can be effectively used in teaching, learning, and social networking for the campus community. Environmental Studies is a multidisciplinary major that seeks to engage students in the complex interconnections of the physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professional fields in understanding environmental issues. One of the organizing principles across all of these disciplines is the importance of location and place. Two projects will be presented that demonstrate how mobile devices have improved the ability for students to collaboratively explore location awareness.
PRESENTATION CONTENT
The ability to explore location awareness in Environmental Studies has been greatly improved through the use of mobile devices. These devices have allowed for the collaborative creation of contextual learning experiences for the design, reflection, sharing, and assessment of learning materials related to the importance of location and place. Two projects from Environmental Studies courses will be highlighted to illustrate the steps taken to achieve this result. As referenced in the 2009 Horizon Report, Seton Hall University, through a new campus-wide initiative called SHUmobile, is conducting research to determine how mobile devices can be effectively used in teaching, learning, and social networking for the campus community.
The Environmental Studies program has been an early participant in this effort. Environmental Studies is a multidisciplinary major that seeks to engage students in the complex interconnections of the physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professional fields in understanding environmental issues. One of the organizing principles across all of these disciplinary approaches is the importance of location and place. Location is the spatial representation of physical space, while place is the human understanding attached to a location. Our ability to explore location awareness in various courses has been greatly improved through the use of mobile devices. In particular, these devices have allowed us to create contextual learning experiences for the creation, reflection, sharing, and assessment of learning materials related to the importance of location and place.
Two projects below will be highlighted during this presentation:
The first project, “New Jersey Environmental Narratives,” involved students creating digital stories about a special place in New Jersey that has been especially important in terms of shaping their own attitudes toward the natural environment. The creation of these personal narratives of place allowed for a deeper discussion of the roles of culture and world view in the development of environmental consciousness. Reflective stories that are created and shared among the students lead to a better understanding of each other and themselves.
The second project involved students designing a map of the East and West branches of the Rahway River using ArcGIS software. This river travels through five local municipalities (South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn, Springfield, and Union) of Essex County, New Jersey. This project was a result of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant that funded the creation of a water quality monitoring program for the Village of South Orange. Students mapped specific water quality sampling sites using GPS coordinates, and geo-tagged panoramic pictures of the sites using Nokia N95s. The map template database will store the physical, chemical, and biological indicators recorded at each site by citizen volunteers. The map will be used by the Village of South Orange for continued monitoring of the water quality in the river, as well for ensuring compliance with storm water management regulations.