Jackson State University News June 13, 2014 CyberLearning introducing new learning system in the fall How do schools of higher learning teach the 21st century student? What is the role of institutions of higher learning when information is everywhere? How do we develop a student thinker who understands societal issues and creates new tools for problem solving? These are the kinds of questions Jackson State University's CyberLearning Initiative addresses head on. CyberLearning at JSU uses technology to stimulate creativity and innovation in teaching and learning throughout the JSU community. "In this newer landscape of ubiquitous information, a university can no longer be a gatekeeper for information. It's no longer just about how you access information, but how you use that information to create new knowledge," explained Dr. Robert Blaine, special assistant to the Provost for CyberLearning. Thus far, the CyberLearning Initiative at JSU has included the provision of iPads for incoming freshmen, the integration of digital textbooks and the spring opening of Innovate, the new digital content production center for faculty located in the H.T. Sampson Library. Using Innovate, groups of faculty and staff have been preparing for the launch of the next phase of CyberLearning this fall. Incoming freshmen will be introduced to a new learning system that includes the redesign of English 101, Math 111 and Biology 104. These courses will rely on the use of university-designed digital textbooks. These multi-touch books include audio, video and interactive tools and support a curriculum that is intentionally project- and problem-based. The content from the curriculum and digital textbooks connects with the student learning center called Create, which will open this fall in the library. Create will provide space and resources for students to discuss, conceive, realize and eventually create virtually or physically. "It's this creative process that is the nexus of where higher education has to move in the 21st century. Jackson State is taking a leadership role," Blaine said. "Historically Black Colleges and Universities have not really had an opportunity to be in a leadership role on a national conversation about where education is going. This opportunity for us is a game changer." JSU faculty have been implementing CyberLearning methodologies since the start of JSU's iPad initiative. Many have successfully used multi-touch books that they've authored in their courses. Dr. Everett Neasman, who specializes in British literature, views the technology as a tool to bring other parts of the world into the classroom. Neasman wrote Shakespeare's Tragedies, Global Awareness through Dramatic Lenses, a multi-touch book that uses Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and Othello to discuss foreign relations, interdisciplinary thought and cross-cultural studies. During a trip to China in 2013, Neasman used his book at Nanjing University. He's also created a blog about Shakespeare, which allows his students to interact with students at Nanjing University. "The blog allows for an analysis of plays, such as Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, from a global perspective," Neasman said. "A lot of what the iPad and technology does is supplement what teachers and institutions have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years. It brings culture together." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2014meeting-form.html for the October 26-28, 2014 HBCU Library Alliance 6th Membership Meeting in Atlanta GA!