Dr. Phyllis Egby, Assistant Professor of Education, is proof that you don’t have to be a tech star to be a super star who uses technology. A self-described “low level” user of technology, Dr. Egby has developed pioneering video projects that have focused on providing support for faculty struggling to engage students from other disciplines and for parents hoping to help their children learn math in North Portland schools. Dr. Egby talked with us recently about her two projects with the Academic Technology Roundtable and about how she uses technology in the classroom with her students who are soon-to-be teachers.
In all of the courses that I teach there is a technology piece. You know with education, not only do we need it as professionals because we do professional development online, we do grades, attendance, etcetera. It’s also a great instructional support. It can help with re-teaching, with pre-teaching, with homework help, there’s so many ways that teachers that are in the field can utilize technology.
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From Our Conversation
Dr. Egby: As a special education teacher, and a teacher who taught in very impoverished and minority areas, I understand the importance of parental support. So, what we’re doing, math is just one of those areas, it’s changed quite a bit. And for many parents, the procedures to solving math problems, and even the conceptual parts, have changed since they were in school, so we want to film teachers doing various math functions, put it on DVDs and give it to the parents for free. We’ll also make it available on a webpage as well so parents will have a link, but there’s something about having that tangible thing in your hand. And while most, not every household has access to the internet. We found that most households have some sort of gaming system, or some way to play movies on DVDs
Maria: Right.
Dr. Egby: So having that resource as well as a link that they can go to if they choose where they can literally see the classroom teachers performing these math functions. We’re hoping, well I’m hoping that it’ll empower parents to support their kids in math, as well as maybe kids can use it too as a sort of self tutoring.
Maria: Yeah what a great idea. And so, will this involve K-12 teachers in the classroom?
Dr. Egby: Starting with elementary schools. So we’re working with 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers.
Maria: Perfect, that’s good.
Sam: Oh, okay. Let’s see what else do we want to bring up?
Maria: Yeah anything else you want to tell your audience?
Dr. Egby: Get involved with the roundtable. It’s, and you know I really am self-conscious, I have an analog brain I was born in the 1950s, and I’m pretty low-level in terms of my knowledge. Don’t let that stop you; it’s a great avenue to learn, to get involved and to refine your practice.
Maria: That is such great advice. And look at the great projects you’re doing
Dr. Egby: Yeah.
Maria: I mean that is really the proof right there.
Dr. Egby: Yeah.
Sam: And well maybe it’s our opportunity in Academic Technology Services to partner with faculty that are special, you know that are special people one, but also have that expertise in certain areas. You don’t have to know everything about the technology, but we can partner together and come up with some pretty fabulous projects.
Maria: Right, and it just shows you that technology is for everybody; you know it’s not just for the tech-savvy or whatever
Dr. Egby: Yes.
Maria: It’s for everybody.
A complete transcript of our conversation
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