The New FCPE and How We Got Here
by Astrid Palm
And then there were two
It was the beginning of the Fall semester 2005 and the Faculty Center for Professional Excellence was about to open its doors for the new year with only half of its needed team of professional staff on board. Educational Technologist Bruce Rosenbloom had recently accepted a new position at a college closer to his home and Director Mieke Caris, with baby-girl Carissa in tow, was in the process of migrating to sunny Florida where her husband had accepted a new position.
Media Technologist Richard Edwards and I had little time to contemplate the changes. Approximately forty new full-time, and over a hundred new part-time faculty were joining the Adelphi community. Faculty calls for help had to be answered, workshops had to be scheduled, laptops and projectors were to be circulated, old and new instructional technology initiatives needed implementation and care. In the midst of all this, two new instructional technology professionals had to be recruited to join us in our quest to advise and support Adelphi faculty in the effective use of technology in and outside the classroom.
Keeping up the momentum
As Interim Director, I moved into the main office in Alumnae 123 to oversee operations. Richard moved from the faculty lab into our office in Alumnae 119. A clear strategy presented itself: keep new initiatives at bay and narrow services down to the ones most crucial to teaching at Adelphi while our search for two new colleagues was under way. Nonetheless, I was determined to not interrupt the momentum that the faculty had shown in the classroom and in distance learning practices. Here was a real-life crash test in prioritizing, time-management and flexibility. Richard and I turned out to be a good team, we built on each other's strengths and together applied our years of experience working with Adelphi faculty. OITR stood by our side, helping out wherever possible and our dedicated student educational technologists showed us what they were really made of.
As a result, we managed to do more than merely survive our period of minimal staffing; we steadily moved the Center forward, building and strengthening relationships and collaborations on campus as we went along. It was a quite an exhilarating time. Days usually started with amounts of requests seemingly impossible to fulfill. They ended either with the rewarding feeling of miraculously having been able to put together the pieces or the urge to go right back bright and early to continue where we had left off. Beyond our role assisting in the solving of problems, our interactions with faculty, administration and staff served, too, as a great source of energy.
Not that I would want to re-live such conditions at the Center anytime soon. It took an enormous amount of attention and energy. In six months, I used up several years' worth of adrenaline, and my friends and family were ready to hire a private investigator to find out what had happened to the person named Astrid Palm!
The search for new talent
The search for the new technologists took the entire fall 2005 semester. To be good educators and advisors for instructional technology it is essential to have broad knowledge in both technological applications and pedagogical principles. We must not only promote technology, but more importantly, we must critically evaluate its applications and determine where it will be effective and where not. One has to be a careful listener and observer to hone in on the needs of faculty from a variety of disciplines, as well as a good communicator of ideas and processes. Just prior to the end-of-year break, we finally found two excellent professionals. Shabana Figueroa started as instructional technologist in February 2006 and we welcomed Rui Huang as our new instructional designer in March 2006.
A new team
It was worth the wait. Over the last few months our new team members have proven to be talented technologists and dedicated colleagues. Only one semester into their new positions, faculty now turn readily to Shabana and Rui for their expertise. Both have contributed notably to driving the center forward with valuable ideas and initiatives. The FCPE starts the 2006-07 academic year fully staffed with four strong and enthusiastic technology professionals, loving what they do. Look out for what's yet to come!
Meet the new FCPE:
- Astrid Palm, Assistant Director
- Astrid has an M.S. in Technological Systems Management with a concentration in Educational Computing. She had been with the FCPE as instructional technologist for 4 years before she became assistant director in the summer 2005. Her specialty lies in online and blended learning, visualizing complex concepts and information design. Before joining Adelphi she served as instructor and coordinator for educational technology and distance learning at SUNY Stony Brook and has been advising educators throughout Long Island in the integration of technology to the classroom.
- Richard Edwards, Educational Technologist
- Richard has a B.S. Computer Science and a Masters degree in Business Administration. He started out at the FCPE 51/2 years ago as a graduate assistant. Upon completion of his master’s degree in 2003 he had left such a strong mark in developing media and providing tech support for the center, he was offered a full-time position as educational media technologist. His area of expertise keeps expanding and currently lies in online and offline media development including streaming audio and video, educational software application training and trouble shooting as well as online survey design.
- Shabana Figueroa, Instructional Technologist
- Shabana has a M.S. in Instructional Technology, a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Computer Science, Technology and Business from the New York Institute Of Technology and an A.A.S. in Computer Information Systems from Nassau Community College. She has worked at Nassau Community College for 3 years in the Office Of Instructional Technology and 1 year for the Academic Computer Center before joining Adelphi University as an instructional technologist. Her expertise is in instructional design and online pedagogy.
- Rui Huang, Instructional Designer
- Rui holds a Master’s degree in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University at Bloomington. She joined FCPE as instructional designer in early 2006. She has a strong background in instructional design and development, web design, and human-computer interaction. Before joining Adelphi she also studied in Columbia University's EdD program in Instructional Technology and Media and worked as an intern in the New Lab in Teaching and Learning at Dalton School in Manhattan.
- Vivienne Pollakusky, Administrative Assistant
- Sometimes known as the honorary 5th technologist at the center, Vivienne has been a integral part of the FCPE since its very early beginnings in 1999. She has seen the center grow under different leadership and manning and has been eagerly grown along with it. Among many other areas she supports, she is in charge of scheduling and equipment loan at the center.
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