The Cisco/Presidio Teaching with Technology Innovator Honorarium is a recognition that will be 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.

For 2021, finalists for this award need to be willing to present an interactive virtual session at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.  The instructor selected as the Teaching with Technology Innovator will receive a $1000 honorarium.  The other finalists will receive $250 honorariums.  These awards are paid for by private donated funds.

Eligibility and Expectations

There is an open call for applicants for this recognition. Any individual who applies must have taught at least six credits for the past year to be eligible. If selected as a finalist for the Teaching with Technology Innovator, the individual will receive a $250 honorarium and must agree to present an interactive session at the Celebrating Teaching and Learning Conference (May 19, 2021), where they will also be recognized.

The individual selected as the 2021 Teaching with Technology Innovator will receive a $1000 honorarium (instead of the $250 for finalists) and must also agree to the following conditions:

• Have their name and picture highlighted in a Learning Technology Center blog post and in the ConnectIT newsletter;
• Have their name and photograph displayed in the Learning Technology Center
• Partner with the Learning Technology Center to highlight their work during the Fall 2021 and/or Spring 2022 semester.  

Please note: this honorarium counts toward the 20% base salary overload maximum. 

Submission of Application Materials

• Application packages must include a: Personal reflection (1-2 pages) that includes the applicant’s teaching philosophy and the role technology plays in it, specifically discussing how they have demonstrated the innovative and effective use of learning technologies to create rich learning experiences for students that work to increase retention and success. 
• Portfolio of 3-5 items that serve as evidence of their teaching philosophy and the role technology plays in it, as well as ways their use of technology contributes to student learning and success. Possible items include, but are not limited to: 
  • Letters of support from students, colleagues, or leadership.
  • Course evaluation data. 
  • Evidence of student impact (e.g., grades, learning, etc.) after trying a technology intervention. 
  • Examples of how the instructor contributes to their college, campus community, and beyond related to teaching and learning with technology.

Materials must be submitted through Qualtrics (http://uwwhitewater.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3eflnjKb810emUt) by March 5, 2021 March 14, 2021. If materials are missing, an individual’s application may not be considered.

Selection Process

Application packages will be reviewed by a committee composed of Learning Technology Center (LTC) Staff and members of the LTC Advisory Group (which is composed of 1-2 instructors from each college) after the deadline.  Notifications of the selected finalists will be made by March 31, 2021.  Finalists will be expected to submit a description of an interactive, synchronous virtual session to be presented at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning event.

About the Sponsors 

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.

Questions? If you have questions, please reach out to the Learning Technology Center

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!