Katherine Tam, UC Newsroom
University of California leaders and educators will join nationally recognized experts for the first UC technology summit centered on enhancing the student experience through the latest technologies.
The summit is meant to spark a wide-ranging conversation about the role of technology at the University of California and in higher education around the country and the world. It is taking place against a background of rapid change in higher education that is challenging the conventional wisdom about technology’s role in the classroom, on campus and in the dorm. Organizers hope the summit will serve as the kickoff to an ongoing, university-wide discussion about where technology fits into the UC educational experience.
President Janet Napolitano will give welcoming remarks at UC eNGAGE, which will be held Oct. 24 in San Francisco.
More than 300 chancellors, faculty and staff from across the UC system as well as other higher education experts and leading technology companies will explore how cutting-edge, cost-effective technologies can enhance student learning, enrich student life beyond the classroom, and create a vibrant landscape for the future.
The one-day summit will feature talks and panel discussions on the impact of technology on learning and the brain, how data can be harnessed to improve graduation rates, tools to support first-generation college students, mobile apps that allow students to learn from their smartphones, and more. It will also showcase how UC campuses are already harnessing technology in innovative ways, such as by using big data and developing game-based tools that encourage more student interaction.
Featured speakers include:
- Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA and author of "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alternation of the Modern Mind," will give the keynote address.
- John Rome, deputy chief information officer at Arizona State University, will share how data analytics helps the college meet enrollment, graduation, academic and diversity goals.
- Ani Adhikari, senior lecturer, and Zach Pardos, assistant professor, both of UC Berkeley, will talk about how UC is already harnessing data to improve the student experience.
- Marlo Young, communications specialist at UC San Diego, will discuss the effectiveness of digital game-based learning and how UC San Diego Library used a mobile app to transform student orientations, typically held in person, into a mobile gaming event.
- Chris Tilghman, vice president of InsideTrack, will share coaching tools that can increase student success.
- Twitter’s Brett Baker and Google’s Katie McGlynn will talk about how social media is transforming the way universities connect with students about everything from campus emergencies to academic grades.
- Michael Grant, assistant professor at University of South Carolina, will discuss how mobile devices and apps can drive engagement and create a dynamic learning experience online or in class.
Cisco, TechSmith, Fidelis and other technology companies will share their tools and resources at a vendor pavilion.
