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When it comes to incorporating technology into teaching, Holly Gayley has run the gamut. ÌýGayley, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at CU Boulder, has harnessed several of ASSETT's resources over the past few years toÌýhelp make her teaching more effective. ÌýShe first participated in ASSETT's 2012 Teaching with Technology Faculty Seminar, which provided a framework for her to build upon herÌýdigital storytelling course about Ritual and Media.ÌýÌýLater, sheÌýtook the ASSETT Hybrid and Online Course Design Seminar in 2013. ÌýGayley says, "ASSETT has been helpful in learning about which kinds of pedagogical goals these technologies are best suited for." ÌýIn recognition of her efforts, ASSETT has awarded Gayley both aÌýstudent-nominated Fall 2013 ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award and also the 2013-2014 ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award, which was presented to her at the 2014 ASSETT Teaching with Technology SymposiumÌýin May this year.

For Gayley, technology isÌýa tool that can facilitate independent and critical thinking among students. ÌýShe says, "I can't imagine giving a lecture without interaction," and she uses technology to create opportunities for student participation even in large lecture classrooms. ÌýFor example, in the large course, Foundations of Buddhism, Gayley splitsÌýstudents into smaller groups to discuss potential morals for the multivalent tales of Buddha's past lives. ÌýThe groups come to their ownÌýconclusions about the morals of the story that the class is reading. ÌýGayley inserts their answers as choices for an entire class clicker question about the best moral of the story. ÌýThen, the class has the opportunity toÌývote on and discuss the messages in the tale and how they serve Buddhist ethics. ÌýIn addition to empowering students to come to their own conclusions, this exercise, "... teaches students that such tales are multivalent and can have layered ethical messages," GayleyÌýsays.

Students as Knowledge Generators

Gayley says she sees students as knowledge generators, and she recognizes the potential of "Students [to] harness technology to express knowledge." ÌýIn that spirit, GayleyÌýassigns students the task of becoming documentary film makers themselves inÌýher Ritual and Media course. ÌýSheÌýencourages students to use the technological resources that CU provides on campus to support their work; in particular, "The ATLAS media lab has been terrific [in supporting students],"ÌýGayleyÌýsays. ÌýWhen students complete their original 3-5 minute documentary shorts, they upload them toÌýa course blog that sheÌýcreated. ÌýThere, students can comment on and respond to one another's work. ÌýThrough her efforts to incorporate technology into her teaching, Gayley has found that not all attempts areÌýalways well received. ÌýFor example, she has observedÌýthat while students are generally enthusiastic to comment onÌýonline discussion boards on their own time, they mayÌýnot be as willing to attend live online discussions at scheduled times.

Gayley stresses that a course on Buddhism would be incomplete without inclusion of visuals. ÌýShe explains that throughout pre-Modern Buddhist Asia, the general population was often illiterate, and intricate visuals were therefore essential to convey symbolism and myths. ÌýGayley has recently collaborated with Ariana Maki, the Associate Curator of Asian Art at the CU Art Museum, to apply for a GAMM interdisciplinary teaching grant to teach a class about Buddhist Art and Ritual. ÌýIf the grant comes through, Gayley wouldÌýuse Voicethread to facilitate online discussion of Buddhist images. ÌýStudents wouldÌýrecord their own impressions andÌýparticipate in interactive online discussions about works of art in relation to their ritual contexts. ÌýI asked her,ÌýWhy would you use Voicethread instead of just having students type in their comments on an online discussion board?Ìý GayleyÌýrespondedÌýthat hearing the voices of other students makes the dialogue more personal and dynamic, as opposed to reading a typed opinion. ÌýSuch understanding of the opportunities technology offers to facilitate learning has earned herÌýawards and progress.