Kean Team Provides Technology Training to Rowan University Educators

Kean University’s administrative team recently visited Rowan University’s College of Education to provide professional development for faculty on using technology to increase student engagement.

Kean Senior Vice President for Administration Michael Salvatore, Ph.D., introduced the faculty to several applications, extensions and websites designed to elevate student voices in the classroom.

“This relationship-building opportunity with colleagues at a peer research institution benefits both universities,” Kean President Lamont O. Repollet said. “As we continue along the path toward Carnegie’s R2 designation, we must continue to extend ourselves to our research partners in New Jersey and beyond.”

Prepared with laptops and mobile devices, the participants used applications as if they were students in a classroom and then received guidance on how to use them as part of their own instruction.

“Dr. Salvatore presented great technology tools for reconnecting with our students and igniting excitement in learning,” said Rowan Professor Zeynep Ercan, a department chair and president-elect of the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE). “His own experience with higher education students and the tips on the best ways to utilize each tool made the session even more engaging for us”. 

Faculty participated in the training both face-to-face and virtually, reflecting the virtual and in-person instruction seen in hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, courses that are becoming more popular since the pandemic.

“The preparation to facilitate learning in an adapted HyFlex modality was a bit challenging, but the overall engagement was outstanding,” Salvatore said.