Vanessa Schatz strongly believes that聽college coursework should directly prepare students for the聽work place. 聽Schatz,聽Adjunct Professor in the Department of Communication at CU 麻豆影院, recognizes how important it is for students to build transferable skills in college so that they will become competitive job applicants after graduation. 聽Last year, Schatz's students nominated her for an ASSETT Outstanding Teaching with Technology Award for her teaching聽of WRTG 3020, an聽upper division writing seminar with the theme of travel writing. 聽Students wrote in their nominations of Schatz about how she聽encouraged them to try new technologies in their final presentations of their writing portfolios: "As a final assignment, we were instructed to give a presentation of all the pieces we had written throughout the semester. 聽[Schatz] encouraged us to create a slideshow, video, or prezi presentation to show the聽rest of the聽class," one student wrote. 聽Schatz says she encourages her students to be creative in this endeavor, even uploading videos to Vimeo or YouTube. 聽Schatz聽points out, "It's good to be able to hyperlink," to video presentations created in college when applying for jobs. 聽She says that building connections between the classroom and the real world is most rewarding for her:
It's something I genuinely enjoy ...聽most about teaching. 聽You can inspire students. 聽It's important to remind them聽how these materials relate to life outside of the classroom and how it can help them professionally. 聽It makes my experience as a teacher more interesting, too. 聽It's reciprocal in nature. 聽It shows if you enjoy what you're doing.
Schatz is serious about students succeeding in their professional lives, and keeps聽in touch with former students:
A lot of [my former students]聽have pursued creative careers聽... [and]聽professional careers as writers. 聽Some [of them] have jobs in journalism. 聽I think that's exactly what I was trying to do in the classroom--what can you do with your skills ... and your passions?
In students' nomination of Schatz's teaching for the ASSETT Outstanding Teaching with Technology Award, they also wrote that she聽would often begin class with projecting an image onto the board as a source of聽inspiration聽about a writing topic. 聽Schatz explains that聽she聽believes in offering students, "Different sources of stimulation to increase students' awareness about what we're doing in class." 聽Recently, Schatz has also collaborated with course director Jamie Skerski to teach a public speaking course聽that involves students creating聽60 second public service announcements that would benefit聽area nonprofits and small businesses. 聽"... Technology is becoming a powerful vessel, a powerful tool in capturing the human experience," Schatz聽says. 聽"That is something I am passionate about ... That's why I think technology is useful--because it can facilitate our differences and commonalities. 聽Learning about people's lives and their stories can be inspiring."
When asked about students' attitudes about learning to use new technologies for class, Schatz said, "I found that most students were at least curious." 聽Her students were able to access professional video editing software at ATLAS and聽consult聽OIT staff for help for their final projects. 聽Schatz thoroughly understands the importance of explaining to students:
By exposing students to use or explore technologies, the biggest success you can have ...聽[is realizing that] this is something that's bigger than the classroom. 聽If you can create stimulating emotional multimedia video or presentation with visuals and storytelling, ... it can be used in your professional life. 聽[It's important to explain to students] why ... you [are proposing] these technologies and how ...聽they positively impact their learning styles.
Students' nomination of Schatz for the ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award has made her experience at CU come full circle in a way. 聽Schatz's 2008 master's research under the direction of Michele Jackson in the CU Department of Communication found opportunities for technology to improve teaching at CU. 聽That year, Jackson founded ASSETT, a new part of the College of Arts and Science聽to improve the use of technology in teaching. 聽Schatz went on to聽complete her masters, and she continues to teach at CU. 聽When she聽is not teaching, Schatz聽consults with Rosetta Stone in marketing their English Language business software.
