Virginia Wesleyan College Named Winner of HP EdTech Innovators Award
VWC Chemistry Program selected as one of 10 exemplary programs worldwide
December 15, 2010
(NORFOLK/VIRGINIA BEACH, VA) Virginia Wesleyan College has been selected as an HP EdTech Innovators Award recipient for its project, “Technology Enhanced Active Learning in Chemistry Curriculum.”
The New Media Consortium and HP announced 10 award winners in all. The HP EdTech Innovators program is designed to support innovative educators with technology to replicate, advance and share their successes.
Virginia Wesleyan College’s project stood out because it is a proven example of an educational project that uses technology in novel ways inside and outside the classroom. Dr. Joyce Easter, Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Wesleyan College, will oversee the project, which utilizes HP tablet PCs equipped with collaborative software to enhance the College's chemistry curriculum in the classroom and the laboratory. Based on the idea that an interactive learning experience leads to increased knowledge acquisition and skill development, the project will use this technology as a means of greater and more immediate communication between students and instructors. In this way, classroom presentations, experiments and other student activities and instructor feedback will be integrated into a seamless whole.
Only four percent of proposed projects were chosen, making Virginia Wesleyan College part of an elite cohort dedicated to enhancing education through the innovations possible at the intersection of teaching, learning and technology. The award is valued at more than $40,000.Virginia Wesleyan College’s project stood out because it is a proven example of an educational project that uses technology in novel ways inside and outside the classroom.
Gabriele Zedlmayer, Vice President of the Office of Global Social Innovation at HP, noted the excellence of the institutions and programs honored by saying, “This incredible group of social innovators from around the globe will not only likely improve the educational experience within their own classrooms and organizations, but also will demonstrate a path of success for others to follow in order to harness the unique power of technology to enhance teaching and learning outcomes.”
Award recipients were selected by a renowned judging panel consisting of over 160 representatives from governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations as well as leading education experts.
More information about the winning projects and a list of honorable mentions is available at http://www.hp.com/go/edtech.