The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center is proud to award the inaugural Cisco/Presidio Teaching the Technology Honorarium to Dr. Eric Loepp, Assistant Professor in the Political Science department. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Loepp on this honor!
The Cisco/Presidio Teaching with Technology Innovator Honorarium is a recognition bestowed upon an instructor who displays an outstanding commitment to leveraging learning technologies to solve common teaching challenges related to creating rich learning experiences to increase student success.
Dr. Loepp joined the Political Science department in 2015; additionally, he has actively been involved in campus learning technology initiatives (e.g., Active Learning Academy), participated in multiple learning technology pilots (e.g., Webex Teams, PollEverywhere), and co-facilitates the Institute for Online and Blended Teaching at UW-W. Dr. Loepp’s teaching philosophy “emphasizes the development of students as analytical critics of and participants in the American political system. This approach relies on a tripartite teaching model: students in my classes develop (1) technical proficiency in the material (2) an appreciation of political processes and how political systems work; and (3) a basic understanding of the rights and responsibilities of democratic citizenship.”
Dr. Loepp incorporates technology into his teaching philosophy because of the deep learning benefits he observes students experience from these enhancements, “A natural outgrowth of improved collaboration and communication is the breakdown of traditional notions of learning as an exclusively individualistic enterprise. Indeed, the capacity for Webex Teams to turn groups of students into communities of learners is one of its most powerful contributions to my classroom.” Additionally, Dr. Loepp found a profound, positive correlation between the integration of technology and attitudinal perspectives towards communication, collaboration, and group work. Dr. Loepp’s dedication to integrating technology, in parallel with his teaching philosophy, garnered student support for more widespread use of campus-supported technologies in the classroom and enhanced his face-to-face teaching.
“A natural outgrowth of improved collaboration and communication is the breakdown of traditional notions of learning as an exclusively individualistic enterprise. Indeed, the capacity for Webex Teams to turn groups of students into communities of learners is one of its most powerful contributions to my classroom.”
Dr. Eric Loepp
This award is sponsored by Presidio and Cisco Systems in conjunction with UWW’s Division of Instructional, Communication, and Information Technology (ICIT) and ICIT’s Learning Technology Center (LTC). Presidio and Cisco are proud of their work with institutions of higher education to inspire learning and connect campuses to enhance student outcomes. ICIT and the LTC are dedicated to working with instructors to understand teaching challenges, explore solutions, implement strategies, and evaluate their effectiveness.
Congratulations Dr. Loepp!