WOW Awards Honor Technology Initiatives in Higher Education
Five higher education
institutions have received this year's WOW Awards from the WICHE
Cooperative
for Educational Technologies (WCET).
Each year since 2004, WCET
has given the awards to colleges and universities that implement
exceptionally
creative, technology-based solutions to challenges in higher education.
WCET is
an arm of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher
Education whose goal is
to advocate for technology-based learning in higher education.
This year's awards went to California
State University Northridge, Colorado
Technical University, University
of Central Oklahoma, the University of Hawaii System and Western
Governors University.
The winners were picked from 26 projects that were
submitted to the awards program. They will be recognized during the WCET Annual
Meeting in Minneapolis Oct. 12-14.
The winning projects include:
- California
State University Northridge in Los Angeles had
an AppJam competition in which it challenged students to create apps
that could
then be used by faculty members to enhance learning. Four of the apps
have
already been designed, tested and published in the App Store. Others
are in the
pipeline.
- The
online Colorado Technical University developed CTU Mobile, an app
intended to keep students engaged when away from
campus and their studies. It provides access to live and archived
lectures,
online discussion boards and degree progress bars for motivation.
- The
University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond came up with
the Student Transformative Learning Record,
which gives students activities,
assignments and badges of accomplishments for developing non-academic
work and
life skills.
- The
University of Hawaii system has developed data
analytics and tools designed to enhance student success. With the help
of the
data analytics program, for instance, the system initiated the "15 to
Finish"
program encouraging students to take 15 units each semester in order to
graduate on time.
- The
online Western Governors University created a digital Responsible
Borrowing initiative that helps students study data on their
financial needs in order to make better decisions about student loans
they may
accrue.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.