Southeast Missouri State University to Receive National Award for Innovative Use of Technology
AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education) announced today the winner of the 2022 AACTE Best Practice Award for Innovative Use of Technology. The College of Education, Health, and Human Studies Educator Preparation Program at Southeast Missouri State University is the recipient of this prestigious award for implementation of its EDvolution Model. Southeast Missouri State University’s Trudy Giasi, Ph.D., assistant professor of STEM Education, and Jana Gerard, coordinator of the EDvolution Center, will accept the award at AACTE’s 74th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La on March 6.
Through its implementation of the EDvolution model, SEMO is preparing innovative educators. Southeast Missouri State University’s College of Education first launched the EDvolution Model in 2015 to cooperatively enhance preservice educators’ technological skills while serving the technology demands of area schools and districts. The EDvolution Center, with physical areas to support and aid faculty, students, and community educators, was launched in 2016. The center provides a variety of learning, creation, and collaboration spaces, as well as cutting-edge physical and digital teaching and learning technologies.
During the pandemic, the EDvolution Model supplied university professors, staff, students, and area P-12 educators and students with digital resources for remote learning and professional development. The best practices learned and honed during this time include new digital modes of communication, an emphasis on efficient integration of educational technology for varied teaching modalities, and innovations in providing equitable experiential learning opportunities for distance learners.
This award is given annually by AACTE to recognize the successful infusion of technology in a school, college, or department of education. Along with a description of their program’s context, objectives, and duration, applicants must address the program’s outcomes and sustainability. The AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology reviews these applications and selects the winning entry.
“We are thrilled for this recognition. It has been gratifying to see our university students benefit from the work of the EDvolution initiatives” said Joe Pujol, Ph.D., dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Studies. “Even more satisfying is the realization that thousands of students in regional school districts have had their educational experience enriched through the work of the model and the Edvolution Center with their teachers.”
The 26th annual AACTE Awards Program honors member institutions and individuals who have made bold, extraordinary, and innovative contributions to the profession of teacher education.
Lynn M. Gangone, AACTE president and chief executive officer, said, “I look forward to recognizing Southeast Missouri State University’s innovative infusion of technology into the curriculum at the 74th Annual Meeting.”
Tags: Annual Meeting, Awards
